The language of the Serbians and the Croatians is, with the exception of some differences of phonetic and lexical nature, one and the same; thus it is customary to speak of it as the Serbo-Croatian language. Speakers of Orthodox heritage use the Cyrillic alphabet, Croatians use the Latin alphabet. It is, however, only in very early times, and now, that there have been any general centripetal tendencies, to outweigh the centrifugal forces that have guided writers in different directions as far as the linguistic unity of the two cultural groups is concerned. The purpose of this study is to present the linguistic divergencies which followed after the Slavonic peoples first came into the Balkan peninsula and, in comparatively recent times, the common efforts to re-unite linguistically the divergent elements within the Serbo-Croatian group. A survey of the contents of the chapters of this thesis aims at showing how the author worked. Chapter I examines historical developments of the Serbian and the Croatian languages, as separate entities, from the time of Cyril and Methodius, up to the eighteenth century. I take into account various political and cultural factors which were responsible for important differences in the linguistic and literary development of the two peoples. Special emphasis Is placed on the life and works of the Lomonosov of the Yugoslav Renaissance, Dositej Obradović, the man who long strove to introduce the vernacular into literature and to put an end to unnatural, artificial languages hitherto used. Chapter II deals with 0bradović's disciples, Sava Mrkalj and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Also examined, to some extent, is the work of Ljudevit Gaj who did the same in standarizing his language arid in adopting it for modern literature. The linguistic contributions of Karadžić, however, are dealt with in more detail. In spite of dogged opposition, he strove for, and achieved, the introduction of a simplified and rationalized alphabet, a reformed system of orthography and recognition of the national vernacular as the literary language, rejecting the confusion of Church Slavonic, Russian and Serbian used by writers before. Pew languages in the world have such a simple, phonemic orthography as Serbian has. Inspired by Vuk's work and fostered by nationalistic ideas, Gaj also decided that the language of the traditional ballads should also become the literary language of his people. Early in the nineteenth century both branches of the nation realized the advantage of using one language. Thus in the middle of the nineteenth century it was agreed that they should unite their literatures by the use of one, namely, "štokavian" form. This was sanctioned by the 1850 Agreement. Latin and Cyrillic were to be used for the same literary language and were granted equal status. One can fairly say that Vuk was an early leader in what is now an accepted theory in linguistic science, namely that a graphic symbol should consistently, as far as possible, record in print the phonemes of a language. Evidence for this is innovation in the Cyrillic alphabet used by the Serbians. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

Cette thèse, en se fondant sur des exemples de la littérature et de la presse de la deuxième moitié du dix-neuvième siècle jusqu’à nos jours mais également sur la langue orale (standard et dialectale), porte sur l’étude des numéraux (ou noms de nombre) du serbo-croate (bosniaque, croate, monténégrin, serbe). Ces derniers forment en effet un groupe plutôt vaste et obéissent à des règles multiples, d’une rigueur souvent instable. De plus, les meilleures grammaires ne donnent que des indications restreintes, isolées, voire bien souvent en contradiction avec l’usage. De nombreuses questions restent alors sans réponse et ce travail tente par conséquent de rassembler les données qui permettent une identification ainsi qu’une caractérisation grammaticale et sémantique plus aisées desdits numéraux. Dans la première partie nous décrivons les différents types de noms de nombres et leurs caractéristiques grammaticales, ce qui nous amène entre autres à étudier l’épineux problème de la déclinaison des numéraux et à déduire les deux constructions numériques fondamentales du serbo-croate : la construction partitive et la construction concordante. La seconde partie présente d’abord l’analyse de la distribution réciproque entre les numéraux et les noms comptables, domaine où la norme est très floue et dans lequel la langue poursuit ses efforts pour introduire un peu de régularité et traite ensuite des accords des numéraux avec les autres éléments de la phrase quantifiante en abordant plus spécifiquement le problème des accords dits « doubles » (accord grammatical et/ou sémantique du prédicat verbal et des déterminants). / This thesis, based on examples of literature and press from the second half of the nineteenth century to the present but also on oral language (standard and dialectal), focuses on the study of the numerals (or names of numbers) in Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian). The latter indeed form a rather vast group and obey multiple rules of an often unstable precision. Furthermore, the best grammars give only restricted and isolated information, very often in contradiction with the usage. Thus, numerous questions remain unanswered and this work tries consequently to gather the data which will allow both an easier identification and grammatical and semantic characterization of the aforementioned numerals. The first part thus describes the various types of names of numbers as well as their grammatical characteristics, which brings us, among other things, to study the thorny problem of the declension of the numerals and to deduct the two fundamental numeric constructions in Serbo – Croatian : the partitive construction and the congruent construction. The second part is at first dedicated to the analysis of the mutual distribution between the numerals and the countable nouns, a field where the norm is very vague and in which the language pursues its efforts to introduce a little bit of regularity, and then presents the agreements of the numerals with the other elements of the quantifying sentence by more specifically describing the problem of the so-called « double » agreements (grammatical and\or semantic agreement of the predicate and the determiners).

This theses will pay attention to a commented translation of selected short stories of contemporary Croatian author Julijana Matanović from her storybook Zašto sam vam lagala. The first part of the theses will be focused on a introducing of the author and her literary production including her place in the context of Croatian literature. The second, essential, part will contain the translation of the selected short stories into Czech language. In the third part will be sketched the translating process, there will be also described the applied translation methods. Here will be also concretely analysed some translatological problems. In the language side, the work will be reviewed with the Czech language possibilities. There would be also the comparison with the already existing German translation of the storybook.

This thesis examines the role of transfer of first (L1) language properties and access to knowledge of Universal Grammar in second language (L2) acquisition. Two empirical components are included: a study of the syntax of anaphora in Serbo-Croatian and an experimental study of second language acquisition of reflexive binding. Data from field work on the coreference properties of anaphors in Serbo-Croatian are discussed in terms of standard, parameterized, LF movement, and Relativized SUBJECT approaches to Binding Theory. Recent versions of the theory identify a categorial distinction between morphologically simple ($ rm X sp circ$) and complex (XP) anaphor types as a crucial factor in determining coreference relations between reflexive pronouns and their syntactic antecedents. / The predictions of a morphological approach to the Binding Theory were tested in a study of the acquisition of the binding properties of English XP reflexives by native speakers of Serbo-Croatian, a language with $ rm X sp circ$ reflexives. Acquisition of the English binding pattern by this group of L2 learners requires recognition of the morphological complexity of English reflexives. Prior to reanalysis, learners are predicted to produce an incorrect L1 coreference pattern in the L2 environment. / Two sentence comprehension tasks were administered to adolescent and adult Serbo-Croatian speaking L2 learners of English and similar groups of English native speaker controls. Picture identification and multiple choice comprehension tasks produced convergent results with significant differences between control (n = 47) and L2 learner (n = 73) interpretations of reflexives in complex noun phrases and object control infinitival sentences. Their pattern of interpretation shows evidence of transfer of the $ rm X sp circ$ anaphor type found in Serbo-Croatian to the target grammar and suggests L2 learners are able to apply a deductive system constrained by Universal Grammar to compute binding domains in second language acquisition.

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This thesis focuses on the unusual phenomenon of exile from a frontier land, as it is explored by the work of the Istrian writer Fulvio Tomizza. It deals with the diaspora from Istria, a territory at the intersection of different civilizations – the Italian and the Croat-Slovenian – which has historically shaped a mixture of cultures and languages, remarkable for its hybridity. The massive exile which took place at the end of the Second World War, after the redefinition of the Italo-Yugoslav border, presents original features which, by taking advantage of the narrative tool, overturn traditional parameters attributed to exile. Focusing on Fulvio Tomizza’s novels Materada, La ragazza di Petrovia and L’albero dei sogni, and also on some of his most significant essays, I will seek to outline the specific traits that typify the detachment from one’s own native country. In particular, I shall suggest that identity and idioms are called into question even before characters have left their homeland. In addition, exile begins with a clarification of characters’ sense of belonging, which inevitably leads them to split, making the choice of whether to abandon the home country even more complicated. Once abroad, characters will develop a deep sense of estrangement, dictated by the impossibility of fitting into any other context, which will eventually drive them to a double, parallel, unsuccessful exile. In order to investigate fully the characteristics of Fulvio Tomizza’s exile, I will employ some linguistic postulates to examine the bilingualism and diglossia of the origins. The theoretical approaches of Edward Said, Sigmund Freud and Julia Kristeva will be used to inform my analysis of the more subtle mechanisms which rule exile, starting with doubleness and examining the dynamics which commonly characterize the exilic experience, including those in relation to the elaboration of the narrative itself. The novelty of this work lies in its approach to exile without preconceived arguments, which run the risk of limiting the analysis of the topic, and in the exploration of the most crucial aspects of a frontier land shaken by a territorial redefinition. This thesis also aims to reallocate the figure of Fulvio Tomizza, who has as yet not been investigated in any significant manner, most often being neglected or misunderstood. The aim is also to highlight one of the most European writers of the Italian second Novecento and his relationship with Eastern European languages and literatures.

The topic of this dissertation is agreement and case assignment, with particular reference to conjoined noun phrases. The initial chapters look at the different possibilities available in such contexts, including agreement with the features of each individual conjunct, agreement with the features of only one conjunct, or agreement with features computed on the basis of those of the individual conjuncts but not necessarily possessed by them. We propose a way of handling all of these patterns with a single formal mechanism, later applying the same intuitions to the assignment (or non-assignment) of case values by a head to its dependents. Attempts are also made to explore in greater depth some of the factors that might influence the choice of alternative agreement configurations, as well as to extend the scope of the model which we elaborate as we go along to non-conjoined environments where variable agreement occurs. Special emphasis is laid throughout on fluctuations in agreement, either because the controller has mismatched attributes or because the syntactic structure and/or the semantic interpretation allow variation. The final conclusion is that a modular approach to grammar is best placed to deal with the empirical facts. The complexities of the data call for bringing together purely morpho-syntactic, declensional information, syntactic hierarchy, order and constituency, coupled with semantics and pragmatics. The successful, appropriately regulated, interaction of these modules is shown to offer a satisfactory explanation which is difficult to obtain by exclusively relying on syntax or semantics alone.

The thesis deals with interlingual lexical homonymy in the Croatian and Belarusian languages. The core of the thesis is a Croatian-Belarusian dictionary of homonyms. The preceding, theoretical part focuses first on the denomination of the linguistic phenomenon of interlingual homonymy and on the existing research in the sphere of homonymy among the Slavic languages. A following section of the thesis is devoted to the various types of intralingual and interlingual homonyms and to some differences in their classification. The thesis also looks at the ways in which interlingual homonyms originate, in relation to the origin of the lexical units that make pairs of homonyms. Two principal ways in which pairs of homonyms can originate are described: coincidental formal agreement and agreement as a result of common development or of the borrowing of the same foreign word. Depending on their origin, homonyms are divided into pairs representing the common Slavic lexical stock and pairs of foreign origin. The next part of the thesis presents the principles under which lexicographic material for the dictionary was collected, the lexicographic sources used in the process, and the structure of the dictionary entries. The dictionary of Croatian-Belarusian interlingual homonyms contains 1,048 entries, which represent all...

This work is a study of a community of Croatian immigrants to Southeast Louisiana in the twentieth century. Drawn from a multidisciplinary approach that included spatial analysis of settlement patterns, quantitative analysis of seafood industry data, the records of voluntary associations, and guided by the oral histories of men and women of Croatia who immigrated to Louisiana, this work reveals a community that has managed to maintain close ties despite its distribution both in urban New Orleans and rural coastal Louisiana through links created by and supportive of the state’s seafood and restaurant industries. The study points out how the custom of returning to Croatia for marriage and the retention of property in Croatia helped the group maintain links with its national and cultural origins in ways not always seen with other ethnic groups in America, pointing out the range of the immigrant experience in the United States.