On actual usage of accentuation of Lithuanian simple nouns dumblas, gandras, rakandas, urvas

The accentuation norm of certain simple nouns in Standard Lithuanian is not stable ñ the codified accentuation norm is not always supported by actual usage. The growing gap between the actual usage of language users and the established accentuation norm forces the codifiers of accentuation norms to evaluate more popular accentuation variants in terms of systemization. Accentuation variants, which compete between themselves without prejudice to the language system, can be officially approved (see Girdenis, 1970, 66). When compiling the new dictionary of Standard Lithuanian, the Subcommittee of Pronunciation and Accentuation of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language revised all more problematic cases of accentuation of simple nouns; in 2003 it proposed to adopt the Recommendation to revise the accentuation norms of 45 nouns of such type. The recommendation was adopted with reference to fragmentary data of actual usage, the principles of language systemization and consistent change of norms through variants. No individual more comprehensive studies of actual usage were carried out in Lithuanian regions. To find out the extent to which actual usage supports the aforementioned resolution of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, in 2009ñ2010 an experimental survey was carried out; 500 respondents from 3 different Lithuanian localities participated in the survey.The survey results revealed that actual usage supports the majority of accentuation norms of simple nouns that were changed or corrected. However, actual usage supports the corrected accentuation norms of certain nouns only partially ñ the newly established secondary variants are far more popular than principal variants. The nouns dumblas, gandras, rakandas, urvas stand out from such nouns. With reference to the tendencies of actual usage, it would be appropriate to repeatedly correct their accentuation norms by reversing the order of the existing variants: dumblas 4 and dumblas 2; gañdras 4 and gañdras 2; rakándas 1 and rakañdas 2; urvas 4 and ùrvas 3