During the past three decades Norbert Boretzky (born 1935 in Breslau) has contributed excellent scholarly work in an impressive variety of subject matters in various linguistic subdisciplines. Among his many scientific achievements, his groundbreaking research in the field of Pidgin and Creole language studies stands out much in the same way as his well-renowned and well-received publications in Balkan linguistics, Albanian linguistics, Slavic philology, theoretical diachrony, lexical semantics, contact linguistics, language typology, and most recently Romani linguistics. The Festschrift reflects the plethora of interests of Norbert Boretzky to whom his colleagues, disciples, and friends dedicate their contributions.