Archaisms and Innovations in Polabian Phonology: Some Comparative Remarks

Abstract

The article analyses some significant phonological isoglosses in the Polabian language, from the point of view of comparative Slavic linguistics. The primary goal is to shed new light on traditional problems, but the article is also aimed at determining the exact position of Polabian within the Lekhitic subgroup of West Slavic (which consists of Polabian, Kashubian and Polish). The issues discussed here are: the *ę-przegłos, the outcome of *čr-, vowel length resolution, and the liquid metathesis in Lekhitic.