Dialectal Stylization in “Kujawskie legendy, gawędy i gadki” [Legends, Tales and Gab of Kujawy] by Antoni Benedykt Łukaszewicz

Abstract

In this article, I focus on the dialectal jargon stylization in “Kujawskie legendy, gawędy i gadki” (Wrocław 2012, hereinafter referred to as KL) collected and adapted by Antoni Benedykt Łukaszewicz, to subsequently answer the question to what extent the linguistic exponents fall within the system of the Kujawy dialect and whether the texts compiled in the KL can be regarded as representative for the Kujawy region. As the material is fairly extensive, I limited the excerption to phonetic stylistic exponents, which I firstly compared with other studies of the Kujawy dialect and later with the scientific syntheses linked with the Polish dialectology. Based on the analyzed material I came to a conclusion that the most frequently applied exponents are narrowing of the vowels, de-nasalization of the nasal consonants, onset preiotation and labialization, and consonant reduction. Deviations from the ablaut or inter-word voicing phonetics are quite rare. The majority of these phenomena occur in the regions of Wielkopolska, Northern Poland and Mazowsze. They are characteristic not only of Kujawy but of a broader dialectal complex. Undoubtedly, their use in Kujawy appears to be common and the frequency of their occurrence in the text may point out to application of reconstructive stylization, which to a large extent is closer to the basis, i.e. the stylization model signifying the author’s attempt at a fairly consistent reflection of the systemic features of the Kujawy dialect.