Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis

The article reviews tombstone inscriptions of Klaipėda Region cemeteries of the late 19th to mid-20th c. from a linguistic viewpoint. The inscriptions are German or Lithuanian, less frequently bilingual (in German and Lithuanian on the same tombstone). The greatest attention is paid to the Lithuanian inscriptions, with the focus on their vocabulary and morphology. Moreover, the principal linguistic characteristics of personal names are discussed.

The article reviews the historical causes of multilingualism in Klaipėda Region and the reflection of language combinations in the objects of confessional heritage, mainly in the epitaphs recorded in the Old Lutheran cemeteries of Klaipėda Region. The specificity of the confessional heritage in the context of Lithuania is disclosed by comparing some specific characteristics of the Old cemetery (the tradition of cross erection, the use of languages in epitaphs) to the Old cemetery artefacts in other Lithuanian regions.