Realtà storica o favola? Ancora intorno a un’ipotesi sulla glottogenesi slava

Abstract

The author re-examines some of the most controversial aspects of the theory of the late formation of Proto-Slavic, allegedly developed in the region north of the Danube due to political and cultural contact with the Roman Empire and thus dating back to a period no earlier than the middle of the 1st millennium AD. This interpretation, put forward almost exclusively by historians and archaeologists, does not, however, take into account the data of historical linguistics and dialectology, which, on the contrary, project the formation of Proto-Slavic far back in time. The article considers the main objections to this theory, with reference to some of the most recent contributions in the field of linguistics.