Studien zur sprachlichen Interferenz, I. Deutsch-sorbische Dialekttexte aus Nochten, KreisWeißwasser by S. Michalk; H. ProtzeReview by: Gerald StoneThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 47, No. 108 (Jan., 1969), pp. 249-250Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4206060 .

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REVIEWS 249

Publication of the next volume (covering the years 1966-1970) is fore? seen for 1971. Thereafter further volumes will appear at five year inter? vals. An additional facility is, of course, provided by the annual supple? mentary bibliographies published in the Letopis Instituta za serbski ludospyt.

Nottingham Gerald Stone

Michalk, S. & Protze, H. Studien zur sprachlichen Interferenz, I. Deutsch-sor- bische Dialekttexte aus Nochten, Kreis Weifiwasser. VEB Domowina-

Verlag, Bautzen, 1967. 173 pages.

This is the first volume of a series of bilingual dialect texts, accompanied by linguistic commentaries which isolate and examine German-Sorbian interference phenomena. The authors claim that this is the first time that texts in two languages of the speech of bilinguals have been published, though Uriel Weinreich is known to have made and used such recordings during his research into bilingualism in Switzerland.

This volume is based on recordings of the speech of three bilinguals from Wochozy/Nochten, a village with 588 inhabitants, of whom (accord? ing to the 1955-6 figures) 454 have 'sorbische Sprachkenntnisse'. The

three informants were born in 1886, 1929 and 1938 respectively, and the fact that it was therefore possible to compare relative degrees of inter?

ference in the speech of representatives of three generations has resulted in several significant historical conclusions.

The introduction contains a brief description of the local dialects, Sorbian and German, indicating those respects in which each differs from its literary variant. The Sorbian dialect of Wochozy is transitional

but predominantly Upper Sorbian, the village being situated in the south? east of the transitional zone.

The informants were each asked to translate a text from standard

German into (i) the German local dialect and (ii) the Sorbian local dia?

lect. They were then asked to talk freely on a given subject, first in Ger?

man and then in Sorbian. Four types of interference are examined, viz. (i) influence of the Sorbian

local dialect on the German local dialect, (ii) influence of the German

local dialect on the Sorbian local dialect, (iii) influence of the German

literary language on the German local dialect and (iv) influence of the Sorbian literary language on the Sorbian local dialect.

The transcription procedure followed in the production of the German texts is the same as that previously employed in the preparation of the

published Sorbian dialect texts. Both investigators made their trans?

cripts independently, but compared them subsequently in an attempt to eliminate discrepancies. Where agreement was impossible this is indicated in the commentary. Since only one of the authors is a Sorb, this method could not be employed in the transcription of the Sorbian

texts, which have been prepared by Michalk unaided. This is unlikely to have affected their accuracy, however, in view of his wide experience in this field, including particular experience of this dialect. (Cf. H.

Jentsch, S. Michalk, Sorbische Dialekttexte II, Nochten, Kreis Weifiwasser,

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25O THE SLAVONIC REVIEW

Bautzen, 1964). German neo-Lusatian (neulausitzisch) dialects, on the other hand, have not previously been transcribed for publication.

The book is divided into three parts: A. Introduction; B. Investiga? tions into the influence of Sorbian on German and vice versa, and C.

Texts, translations and commentaries. The essence of the results of the research is to be found in Part B, which deals with interference phenomena under ten headings. Eight of these deal with phonological and one with lexical interference. Only one grammatical feature (the use of articles) is dealt with here.

There are, of course, many other instances of grammatical interference to be found in the texts, and attention is drawn to them in the commen?

tary. These include the omission of pronouns in German, incomplete morphological integration of some German loanwords and confusion of

gender in Sorbian. Differences between the three informants produce occasional surprises.

The youngest informant claims (p. 159, ?199-202) that although he learned Sorbian at home and at school, he now no longer uses it. Never?

theless, the frequency of the articles in his Sorbian is far less than in that of the older informants. This is attributed to increased influence of the

literary language among the younger generation. To the same cause is attributed the fact that the youngest informant uses Sorbian numerals whereas the others normally replace them by German loanwords.

An interesting instance of grammatical interference in the speech of the informant born in 1929 is the omission of the preposition in the clause '. . . und arbeiten jetzt der Genossenschaft . . .' (for '. . . und wir arbeiten

jetzt in der Genossenschaft . . .') (p. 119, ?77). The commentary (p. 131) on this is: 'Die Preposition "z/z" (w) wird vor Konsonanten im Sorb, nicht ausgesprochen.' The omission of the preposition in German surely indicates that in Sorbian it is absent not only on the phonological level.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of this publication is the attention it draws to the question of Sorbian influence on German?a much neg? lected subject. Even the question of German influence on Sorbian, how?

ever, has not yet received the attention it deserves, particularly in fields outside lexicology. There is a significant gap here, which this new series will help to fill. It promises, moreover, to be of value not only to Slavists and Germanists but to everyone interested in the problems of bilingualism.

Nottingham Gerald Stone

Schenker, A. M. Beginning Polish. 2 vols. Yale Linguistic Series, Yale

University Press, New Haven/London, 1966, 1967. Ix + 494 pages; 336 pages. Glossary.

The title of this work reflects its principal purpose: to give the ab initio student a solid grounding in Polish grammar. Of interest and usefulness to the linguist is the picture of Polish given in terms of descriptive grammar; indeed, in the fields of phonetics and morphology it illuminates those

idiosyncrasies of grammar which most frequently are glossed over or

ignored by native grammarians.

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