On Latin-Protoslavic Language Contacts. Some Remarks on a Recent Paper by Salvatore Del Gaudio

Abstract

The Author discusses a recent paper by Del Gaudio concerning the problem of Latin and Protoromance borrowings in Protoslavic and Old Church Slavonic. He appreciates Del Gaudio’s attempt to illustrate the historical frame of Latin/Romance – Slavic linguistic contact in a deeper and more insightful way, but criticizes several statements regarding mainly: a) certain methodological issues concerning Protoslavic and his reconstruction; b) linguistic relations between the Slavs and other ethno-linguistic groups within the Indo-European family; c) some controversial phonological questions involving lexical items borrowed by the Slavs; d) the treatment of eleven Old Church Slavonic lexical items allegedly directly borrowed from Latin.