LTMonografijoje analizuojami kalbiniai ir sociolingvistiniai duomenys, surinkti iš 17-os Lietuvių kalbos atlaso (LKA) punktų, esančių pietiniame ir pietrytiniame Lietuvos pakraščiuose, ir iš 4-ių LKA punktų, buvusių lietuviškų salų Baltarusijoje. Tiriamosios medžiagos laikotarpis apima apie 70 metų – nuo XX a. antrosios pusės iki XXI a. pradžios. Knygoje empirinių duomenų pagrindu atskleidžiama sociolingvistinė ir etnolingvistinė Pietryčių Lietuvos ir lietuvių kalbos salų Baltarusijoje situacija, nustatomos lietuvių kalbos tarmių traukimosi ir sunykimo aplinkybės. Remiantis vietinių gyventojų garso įrašų ir anketinių duomenų analize, apibūdinama regiono etninės sudėties kaita, nustatomos slavų kalbų išplitimo priežastys, vartojimo sritys ir mastas. Analizuojama paribio gyventojų komunikacijos ypatybė – kodų kaita. Iškeliamos pagrindinės kodų kaitos priežastys trijų gyventojų kartų diskurse. Remiantis Ramaškonių mikroarealo duomenimis, nagrinėjamos oficialioje ir neoficialioje aplinkoje vartojamų kalbų arba jų atmainų funkcijos, nustatoma, kaip ir kodėl jos (pa)kito. [Leidėjo anotacija]
ENThe monograph draws upon linguistic and sociolinguistic research addressing the borderlands of Southeastern Lithuania and Lithuanian islands (enclaves) in Belarus. The data analysed in the study were collected from 17 points of Atlas of the Lithuanian Language (Lietuvių kalbos atlasas, LKA) situated in the southern and southeastern border regions of Lithuania and from four points of LKA, which were either present or still exist in Lithuanian islands in Belarus. The period covered by the research material spans almost seven decades, from the second half of the 20th century to the second decade of the 21st century. Until 1990, the southeastern region of Lithuania and the ethnic Lithuanian areas in Belarus were united by historical, sociolinguistic, ethnolinguistic, and sociocultural contexts. Both areas were identical or very similar because during the Soviet era, the administrative border between Lithuania and Belarus created no obstacles for local residents to communicate and move freely. However, after the restoration of the independent Republic of Lithuania, the linguistic, cultural, ethnic, and civic unity between these two areas ceased to exist. Four points of LKA attributed to the Southern Aukštaitian dialect already found themselves in another country, i.e., Belarus. These Lithuanian- speaking islands, which were already located beyond the borders of Lithuania, experienced isolation, and their further development differed from the areas within the territory of Southeastern Lithuania.In present-day Eastern and Southeastern Lithuania, also known as Vilnius Region and Vilnija, a society featuring linguistic, cultural and religious diversity emerged in the first half of the 20th century. The Polish occupation during the years of 1920–1939 left a particularly significant imprint on the ethnic and socio-cultural identity of the residents of this region. Owing to World War II, the borders between Lithuania and neighbouring countries underwent multiple changes. Thirty years have passed since the restoration of independence, but the political, economic, social and cultural development of the southeastern region of Lithuania, as well as issues related to the integration of its residents, remain relevant. This is due to the education and cultural policies implemented by the Soviet authorities in the past, which encouraged the isolation of local residents from the rest of the Lithuanian society. Interest in the status of the Lithuanian language in the southeastern borderlands of Lithuania and its ethnic lands in Belarus increased in the post-war period. Until the 1980s, these areas were actively investigated by historians, linguists, and folklorists. They were later joined by sociolinguists and ethnolinguists. During that time, four languages were simultaneously used in the region, namely Lithuanian, Belarusian, Polish, and Russian. However, the conditions for the functioning of the Lithuanian language and local Slavic languages significantly differed in different areas.Later on, the attention of Lithuanian linguists somewhat decreased, as full bilingualism of Lithuanian and Belarusian, which existed in the borderland areas, and even the bilingualism of Lithuanian and Polish in some places, gave way to Slavic monolingualism. Over time, the varieties of Slavic languages gained prominence in the lives of people of various age groups; they began to be used in public and private settings. The use of the Lithuanian language and, in general, the cultural uniqueness conveyed through language faced a rapid decline in the formerly Lithuanian borderland areas and trans-border islands in Belarus, as there was no natural perspective for continuity. In Lithuania, a substantial amount of linguistic, sociolinguistic, ethnolinguistic, historical and archival data was already accumulated in earlier periods, allowing for the continuation of research on the southeastern regions of Lithuania and ethnic Lithuanian territories, the presentation of new insights, and the supplementation of less-studied areas with new findings. The object of the monograph is two linguistic borderland areas: the first one includes 17 points of the southeastern borderland of Lithuania from Atlas of the Lithuanian Language (hereinafter – LKA) and the second one is comprised of four points, which constitute the continuation of Southern Aukštaitian beyond the borders of Lithuania, i.e., Lithuanian islands (enclaves) in Belarus [...]. [From the publication]