LANGUAGE

ACTIVITIES AT THE DEPARTMENTS
 

Head of the Department: Prof. Dr. Habil. A. Holvoet

The department carries out research into the development of the grammar and sentence structure of modern Lithuanian.

A new edition of Lietuvių kalbos gramatika (Grammar of the Lithuanian Language) is currently being prepared. Its aim is to renew the theoretical bases of research into the structure of Lithuanian grammar and meet the practical needs of language users. Discussions on the theoretical foundation for this new Lithuanian grammar began in 2002, at seminars organized by the Grammar Department. Many of the theoretical positions underlying this grammar project have already been formulated and are reflected in the collection of articles Working Papers in Lithuanian Grammar, V. 1 (ed. A. Holvoet and A. Judžentis).
 

Head of the Department: Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Mikulėnienė

Main Areas of Activity

The Department carries out research into the history of the Lithuanian language and the connections between dialects and languages. Research into the history of the Lithuanian language involves the comprehensive examination of the development and tendencies of written Lithuanian and of the formation of standard Lithuanian within the context of Western European languages as well as the study of the philological aspects of 16^th-19^th century Lithuanian writings, of the origin of the Lithuanian language and nation, of historical word formation, etc. Research into the connections between languages is mostly carried out by analyzing the phonetics, phonology, morphology, lexis, syntax, and prosody of dialects as well as the interaction between dialects and languages, etc.
 

Head of the Archive: Dr. D. Vaišnienė
http://www.lki.lt/tarm_arch.htm

The Dialect Archive was established in June 2002 and is part of the Department of Language History and Dialectology at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language.

Its supporters are the Open Society Fund-Lithuania, the State Commission for the Lithuanian Language, the E. Kolupaitė-Masiokienė and B. Masiokas Fund, and the Lithuanian State Fund for Science and Studies.

The Dialect Archive collects, maintains, and organizes various dialectal data, sound recordings, responses from The Atlas of the Lithuanian Language as well as from dialectal questionnaires and surveys, transcribed texts, etc. The Archive is constantly updated with new data, not only gathered during our own linguistic expeditions but also provided by those who help us: dialectologists, schoolchildren, etc.
 

The Center for Lexicography was established on January 2, 2002, by merging the departments of The Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language and of the Dictionaries of Standard Lithuanian. The Department of The Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language (until 1998 – the Dictionary Department) was set up in 1941, after establishing the Institute of the Lithuanian Language in the Academy of Sciences. The Department of the Dictionaries of Standard Lithuanian existed from 1998 to 2001.

The Center engages in theoretical and practical work on Lithuanian lexicology and lexicography.

In 2002, the 20th and last volume of The Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language (DLL) was published. J. Balčikonis, J. Kruopas, K. Ulvydas, and V. Vitkauskas were the executive editors for its individual volumes. The DLL is important not only for Lithuanian linguistics but also for the comparative study of Indo-European languages. This dictionary is of a scholarly nature. It presents information about word origins and histories, the distribution of words in various dialects, accentuation, grammatical forms and categories, derivational links, and variant forms. It gives a comprehensive analysis of the semantic structure of words in light of nuances of usage and style. Words are illustrated with quotations from a variety of sources: dialect, religious and scientific literature, popularizations of science, literary and journalistic writing. The lexis of dialects is transcribed into the standard language in accordance with phonetic laws. At present, an electronic version of The Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language is being prepared (under the direction of G. Naktinienė). It is foreseen that many of the entries of the electronic DLL will be put on the Institute’s website at the end of this year. The dictionary will also be available on a CD. Another, fully updated edition of the dictionary is planned for the future. In addition, the following dictionaries are being compiled: Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian (editor-in-chief D. Liutkevičienė), Dictionary of Lithuanian Onomatopoeic Interjections (J. Zabarskaitė), Dictionary of the Kupiškis Dialect (K. Vosylytė), and Dictionary of the Kaltanėnai Subdialect (A. Vilutytė). V. Vitkauskas is writing a monograph entitled Žodžiai Nebuvėliai (Long-Lost Words).
 

Head of the Department: Dr. Laimutis Bilkis

The Onomastics Department was established as a separate subdivision of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language in 1991. Before that time, there was a toponymy group (set up in 1958).

The department researches proper nouns: historical and current personal names and place names. Both theoretical and practical work is done.

Work on the multivolume Dictionary of Lithuanian Place Names began in 1999. This is a dictionary of current place names recorded from the living language. Place names are presented here in the standard language – in accordance with standard phonetics and accentuation. This is an etymological dictionary. Entries in this dictionary are listed in alphabetical order. The dictionary will probably run into 10 volumes. At present, the first volume of the dictionary (the letters A-B) is being prepared. It should encompass about 40 author’s sheets and is expected to be completed in 2005.