Category
Topic
Year
obadus and plinder
Keywords: Estonian vocabulary, etymology, loanwords
Quite a blow
According to Julius Mägiste, obadus ’metal loop’ is a Russian loanword; cf. Russian óбод ’hoop, ring; arched fastening’ and dialectal обóдь ’ring, hook, clasp, bow’. The article notes that the meaning ’blow, hit’ developed in the semantic field of obadus within the Estonian linguistic context, where many fastening devices have acquired a secondary sense ’blow, hit’. Examples include haak ’hook, part of a latch or fastening’ ⇒ ’a boxing hook delivered from below or the side with a bent arm’; kiil ’iron or wooden wedge used for joining or sealing objects or their parts’ ⇒ ’blow,…
Quite a blow
According to Julius Mägiste, obadus ’metal loop’ is a Russian loanword; cf. Russian óбод ’hoop, ring; arched fastening’ and dialectal обóдь ’ring, hook, clasp, bow’. The article notes that the meaning ’blow, hit’ developed in the semantic field of obadus within the Estonian linguistic context, where many fastening devices have acquired a secondary sense ’blow, hit’. Examples include haak ’hook, part of a latch or fastening’ ⇒ ’a boxing hook delivered from below or the side with a bent arm’; kiil ’iron or wooden wedge used for joining or sealing objects or their parts’ ⇒ ’blow,…
Pizarro in Estonia
Keywords: August von Kotzebue, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Baltic German, English, reception, provenance
Around 1800, the German dramatist August von Kotzebue was immensely popular in the Anglophone world. Since his fame as a playwright began in Tallinn and he was married to three noblewomen from Estonia, this article examines whether any of the numerous English adaptations of his works reached Estonia. Based on the collections of Estonian research libraries, it appears that only a few such texts have survived: Kotzebue’s memoirs describing his deportation to Siberia in 1800, and two adaptations of his play Die Spanier in Peru, one by Richard Brinsley…
Around 1800, the German dramatist August von Kotzebue was immensely popular in the Anglophone world. Since his fame as a playwright began in Tallinn and he was married to three noblewomen from Estonia, this article examines whether any of the numerous English adaptations of his works reached Estonia. Based on the collections of Estonian research libraries, it appears that only a few such texts have survived: Kotzebue’s memoirs describing his deportation to Siberia in 1800, and two adaptations of his play Die Spanier in Peru, one by Richard Brinsley…
Orthography as a stylistic device in modern Estonian poetry
Keywords: stylistics, poetics, spelling, deviation, language norms
This article examines instances of nonstandard orthography in poetry books published in Estonia between 2000 and 2023. The aim is to identify the types of orthographic deviation that appear in contemporary Estonian poetry and the stylistic functions that they serve. The theoretical section provides an overview of the concept of stylistic deviation, international research on orthographic deviation, and earlier studies on this topic in Estonia. The analysis proposes five functions of orthographic deviation: marking belonging, constructing authorial style, referencing linguistic varieties, guiding the reading process, and language play. These functional categories are then examined…
This article examines instances of nonstandard orthography in poetry books published in Estonia between 2000 and 2023. The aim is to identify the types of orthographic deviation that appear in contemporary Estonian poetry and the stylistic functions that they serve. The theoretical section provides an overview of the concept of stylistic deviation, international research on orthographic deviation, and earlier studies on this topic in Estonia. The analysis proposes five functions of orthographic deviation: marking belonging, constructing authorial style, referencing linguistic varieties, guiding the reading process, and language play. These functional categories are then examined…
Appropriation or mere translation?
Keywords: Cultural appropriation, Seto song culture, translation, history of folkloristics
Translation and adaptation are common phenomena in folklore. However, when translation is undertaken by folklorists in positions of power and driven by ideological motives, the matter becomes problematic. The relationship between Estonian folkloristics and Seto folklore has been both variable and complex. For historical reasons, the Setos themselves have not had a voice in the processes of publishing or translating folklore. This article examines three cases of translation that demonstrate how even seemingly “innocent” acts of translation can amount to cultural appropriation. Although the cases originate from different periods and reflect…
Translation and adaptation are common phenomena in folklore. However, when translation is undertaken by folklorists in positions of power and driven by ideological motives, the matter becomes problematic. The relationship between Estonian folkloristics and Seto folklore has been both variable and complex. For historical reasons, the Setos themselves have not had a voice in the processes of publishing or translating folklore. This article examines three cases of translation that demonstrate how even seemingly “innocent” acts of translation can amount to cultural appropriation. Although the cases originate from different periods and reflect…
Variations of runosong in contemporary Estonia
Keywords: folklore, ethnomusicology, runosong, Estonia, folk music revival
This article provides an overview of the contemporary, largely revitalized, and multi-layered runosong tradition within the context of its historical development, showing how the ancient Finnic song heritage – nearly extinct by the end of the 19th century – began to revive in the second half of the 20th century through earlier documentation, surviving peripheral traditions, and the postmodern re-evaluation of folk music.
The focus lies on the social aspects of the 21st-century runosong tradition – its functions, contexts, and social organization. Contemporary runosong performances can be grouped into: (1) tradition-related singing integrated into…
This article provides an overview of the contemporary, largely revitalized, and multi-layered runosong tradition within the context of its historical development, showing how the ancient Finnic song heritage – nearly extinct by the end of the 19th century – began to revive in the second half of the 20th century through earlier documentation, surviving peripheral traditions, and the postmodern re-evaluation of folk music.
The focus lies on the social aspects of the 21st-century runosong tradition – its functions, contexts, and social organization. Contemporary runosong performances can be grouped into: (1) tradition-related singing integrated into…
Written traces in the Estonian runosong corpus
Keywords: folklore, runosong, authenticity, orality and literacy, digital humanities
Authenticity, antiquity, and orality have traditionally been regarded as hallmarks of the Estonian runosong (regilaul). Yet these songs were collected during a period of modernization in Estonian society, when, among other changes, a transition from oral to written culture was taking place.
Oral and written cultures have often been viewed as fundamentally different, even oppositional. Written culture is thought to transform oral modes of thought irreversibly. For this reason, folklorists have viewed the rise of written culture as a key factor in the decline of oral traditions and archaic genres: as society modernized,…
Authenticity, antiquity, and orality have traditionally been regarded as hallmarks of the Estonian runosong (regilaul). Yet these songs were collected during a period of modernization in Estonian society, when, among other changes, a transition from oral to written culture was taking place.
Oral and written cultures have often been viewed as fundamentally different, even oppositional. Written culture is thought to transform oral modes of thought irreversibly. For this reason, folklorists have viewed the rise of written culture as a key factor in the decline of oral traditions and archaic genres: as society modernized,…
Runosong as a system of variability
Keywords: folklore, runosong, variation, oral poetry, digital humanities, Finnic languages
This article aims to highlight the value and potential of combining a large, well-organized collection of Finnic runosongs and computational research for obtaining new information on various aspects of the tradition and, more broadly, also for data-driven modelling of the general mechanisms underlying oral poetry. The article summarizes developments over the past five years as well as prospects for future research.
Folkloric creativity differs in several respects from modern, authorship-based creativity. Rooted in oral cultures, folklore has evolved as a tool for long-term information storage. Hence, variability is an essential feature…
This article aims to highlight the value and potential of combining a large, well-organized collection of Finnic runosongs and computational research for obtaining new information on various aspects of the tradition and, more broadly, also for data-driven modelling of the general mechanisms underlying oral poetry. The article summarizes developments over the past five years as well as prospects for future research.
Folkloric creativity differs in several respects from modern, authorship-based creativity. Rooted in oral cultures, folklore has evolved as a tool for long-term information storage. Hence, variability is an essential feature…