In and Around the Balkans: Romance Languages and the Making of Layered Languages

Abstract The languages of the Balkans are a rich source data on contact-induced language change. result centuries long process lexical and structural convergence has been referred to as ‘sprachbund’. While widely applied, this notion has, however, increasingly questioned with respect its usefulness. Addressing linguistic makeup Balkan languages, sprachbund is critically assessed. It shown that a) exclaves (Albanian Greek spoken Italian peninsula) share similar phenomena, b) principal processes underlying development borrowing reanalysis, two fundamental general mechanisms