LTKauno rajonas visada užėmė ypatingą padėtį geografiniu, socioekonominiu, istoriniu-kultūriniu-turistiniu ir kalbiniu atžvilgiu. Tai daugeliu aspektų patraukli teritorija, geografiškai išsidėsčiusi centrinėje Lietuvos dalyje, turinti turtingą istorinę praeitį, gerai išvystytą infrastruktūrą ir stiprią ekonomiką. Lietuvių kalbos instituto geolingvistų atliktas kompleksinis ir daugiaaspektis tyrimas atskleidė šio regiono išskirtinę vertę lietuvių kalbos ploto lingvistiniame kraštovaizdyje: analizuotoje teritorijoje nustatyta realiai egzistuojanti bendrinės lietuvių kalbos zona ir keletas kalbinių arealų, apibūdinamų kaip tradicinių šnektų tąsa. Šiaurrytinė Kauno rajono dalis ne tik keliatarmė – čia iki šiol aktyviai vartojamos vietinės lietuvių, lenkų, senosios rusų ir kt. kalbų atmainos. Daugiasluoksnis Kauno rajono kalbinis variantiškumas reprezentuoja daugelyje lietuvių patarmių vykstančius procesus: senųjų šnektų tąsą, jų kaitą, kelių kalbinių sistemų konvergenciją, konkurenciją ir pan., todėl Kauno rajono kalbiniai tyrimai ypač reikšmingi viso lietuvių kalbos ploto variantiškumo stebėsenos modeliams ir prognostikai. [Leidėjo anotacija]
ENThis monograph presents the research conducted on local Lithuanian variants spoken in the district of Kaunas, also known as Pakaunė. Encouraged and strongly supported by the Kaunas District Municipality, the studies were conducted in 2018– 2020. The district of Kaunas is an important geographical, socio-economic and linguistic region of Lithuania. With the resident population of 97,549 (according to the official statistics of 1st July 2021), this is one of the largest district municipalities in the country. Spread across the central part of Lithuania, the district of Kaunas boasts rich historical past, well-developed infrastructure and strong economy, making it an attractive place to live, work and rest in. Not surprisingly, the region’s population is diverse – as is the language spoken locally. Research territory. The district of Kaunas is currently split into 25 elderships: Akademija, Alšėnai, Babtai, Batniava, Čekiškės, Domeikava, Ežerėlis, Garliava, Garliava rural eldership, Kačerginė, Karmėlava, Kulautuva, Lapės, Linksmakalnis, Neveronys, Raudondvaris, Ringaudai, Rokai, Samylai, Taurakiemis, Užliedžiai, Vandžiogala, Vilkija, Vilkija rural eldership and Zapyškis. [...].Research object: The choice of object – local variants of Lithuanian in Pakaunė – was determined by abundant empirical data and the demand for in-depth studies. Goals and tasks. The main goal of this research is to analyse and describe in detail the local Lithuanian variants dominating in Pakaunė (both in Užnemunė and Panemunė), identifying their boundaries and marking the territory which could be considered the zone of Standard Lithuanian. It is also important to record the actual usage of local variants (wherever they are on the dialectal spectrum) in apparent time. Still prominent across Pakaunė is the Western Aukštaitian subdialect of Kaunas which provided the basis for the formation of Standard Lithuanian. But this subdialect is not and has never been homogenous, so it was important to clarify the historical boundaries of some of its features, despite the fact that the socio-linguistic situation has changed (due to factors such as the construction of the Kaunas Reservoir) and some of the characteristics have been erased from active use. The authors of this monograph were also interested in the impact of the local Polish variant on the local Lithuanian variants. Spoken not just in the area of the Western Aukštaitian subdialect of Kaunas but in the Western Aukštaitian of Šiauliai too, it could have had (and has had) an impact on the traditional dialects of Lithuania and even on their classification. On the other hand, the expeditions have shown that the local variants which had formed based on traditional dialects coexist perfectly with the variants currently taking shape and becoming the focus of more in-depth studies. All of the materials collected and published in this monograph will therefore be useful for further linguistic prognostic research.The following tasks have been set in order to achieve the above-mentioned goals: 1) Collect and systematically describe the empirical material illustrating local variants used in the Kaunas district municipality; assess possible changes from a socio-linguistic perspective while applying the same theoretical and methodological principles; 2) Identify within the territory of the Kaunas district municipality the zone of Standard Lithuanian which had potentially formed around the former temporary capital Kaunas; 3) If possible, reconstruct the distribution of extinct linguistic features within the geolinguistic map of Pakaunė; 4) Assess the potential impact of other local languages spoken in the past (or still used today) on the local Lithuanian variant; 5) Conduct a study of linguistic attitudes amongst local youth; 6) Develop a map of socio-cultural networks and resident mobility illustrating the trends and directions of linguistic change; forecast the continuity of local language variants; 7) Characterise the localism of residential areas within the Kaunas district based on one of its attributes – street names; 8) Supplement the socio-historical landscape of the region with new data and historical sources. All of the above tasks were completed by bringing together a number of smaller parts of the combined research. [...]. [From the publication]