The Eastern Romance Languages as Members of the Balkan Sprachbund

Abstract

The purpose of the present article is to compare four Eastern Romance languages, namely Daco-Romanian, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian, and Istro-Romanian, in terms of their morphological and syntactical features typical for the Balkan Sprachbund. The twelve features listed in the work by Jouko Lindstedt (2000) are examined. First, the languages are assessed using Lindstedt’s methodology. Afterwards, more sensitive quotients are given depending on the frequency of the phenomena in question. The study has found that the most Balkanized Eastern Romance language is Aromanian, followed by Daco-Romanian and Megleno-Romanian. Istro-Romanian contains the least Balkan innovations.