Topics and methodological approaches in Serbian dialectology of the first two decades of the 21st century

The article offers an overview of the publications, research areas, and methodological approaches in Serbian dialectology during the initial two decades of the twenty-first century. It presents a collection of monographs, general and specialized dialectal dictionaries, as well as publications containing linguistic maps. Additionally, the article explores research on dialectal syntax, Balkan ethnocultural and linguistic issues, and highlights the most significant achievements in the domain of urban speech investigation. The traditional monographic approach employed in the processing and interpretation of gathered dialectal data has facilitated a comprehensive understanding of distinct speech varieties and their intricacies. Moreover, it has encompassed a broad spectrum of dialectal zones and local speech variations. Furthermore, this approach has led to the realization of the necessity to prevent the inevitable “standardization” and disappearance of folk speech. We contend that without adopting such an approach to dialectal material, it would have been infeasible to establish a robust foundation for addressing novel issues and exploring new avenues in Serbian dialectology throughout the past decades. These avenues encompass syntactic-semantic and ethnodialectological studies, intensive research on interlingual and interdialectal interference, urban dialectology, and the areal (linguistic-geographical) approach to dialectal material, among others. Presently, Serbian dialectologists may be justifiably criticized for the uneven allocation of attention to different linguistic levels, inadequate description of isoglosses pertaining to important and late-established phonological characteristics in the speech varieties of Serbia, and partially for the belated and/or limited adoption of contemporary methodological approaches from primarily Anglo-Saxon linguistic schools. Nonetheless, it cannot be refuted that field data have been and remain the paramount “arbiter” in all Serbian dialectological research.