Category
Topic
Year
The rehabilitation of tuhar
Keywords: Estonian vocabulary, etymology, history of the written language
This article examines the etymology of the South Estonian dialect word tuhar : tuhara ‘the paired posterior part of the body formed by muscles and fat pads extending from the iliac bone and attached to the femur; buttock, posterior’ and traces its path into written Estonian. In contemporary Estonian, tuhar is a neutral anatomical term that is widely known and used throughout the standard language.
The origin of the word has been repeatedly discussed in the etymological literature, but no convincing explanation has emerged. Among the proposed hypotheses, the one that deserves particular attention…
This article examines the etymology of the South Estonian dialect word tuhar : tuhara ‘the paired posterior part of the body formed by muscles and fat pads extending from the iliac bone and attached to the femur; buttock, posterior’ and traces its path into written Estonian. In contemporary Estonian, tuhar is a neutral anatomical term that is widely known and used throughout the standard language.
The origin of the word has been repeatedly discussed in the etymological literature, but no convincing explanation has emerged. Among the proposed hypotheses, the one that deserves particular attention…
Under and Ivask
Keywords: life writing, correspondence, poetry translation and interpretation, Marie Under, Ivar Ivask, Heimito von Doderer, Charles Baudelaire
Since the 1990s, more texts not originally intended for public circulation or readership have been published in Estonia than ever before: correspondence, diaries, personal notes on one’s own life and that of friends and family members, private and official documents, and other such materials. This is an ongoing reaction to Soviet-era cultural policy, which discouraged the publication of such writings.
One of the most substantial corpora of life writing, amounting to nearly 1,200 printed pages, appeared in 2025 under the title Princess and the Troubadours:…
Since the 1990s, more texts not originally intended for public circulation or readership have been published in Estonia than ever before: correspondence, diaries, personal notes on one’s own life and that of friends and family members, private and official documents, and other such materials. This is an ongoing reaction to Soviet-era cultural policy, which discouraged the publication of such writings.
One of the most substantial corpora of life writing, amounting to nearly 1,200 printed pages, appeared in 2025 under the title Princess and the Troubadours:…
The Americanized Estonian and its humorous representations
Keywords: humour, Estonian diaspora, Americanization, satire, character archetype
Appearing across a range of cultural forms, from drama and literature to media and social media representations, the humorous archetype of the Americanized Estonian is rather elusive to pinpoint, but nevertheless exhibits a set of discernible characteristics. In this paper, I trace the lineage of the archetype from its appearance in the filmic and dramatic works of the post-Second World War Estonian diaspora in America to comedic characters and satirical media representations that emerged after the restoration of Estonian independence.
Through the lens of superiority and incongruity theories and satire, I examine the contexts…
Appearing across a range of cultural forms, from drama and literature to media and social media representations, the humorous archetype of the Americanized Estonian is rather elusive to pinpoint, but nevertheless exhibits a set of discernible characteristics. In this paper, I trace the lineage of the archetype from its appearance in the filmic and dramatic works of the post-Second World War Estonian diaspora in America to comedic characters and satirical media representations that emerged after the restoration of Estonian independence.
Through the lens of superiority and incongruity theories and satire, I examine the contexts…
ahvatlema
Keywords: Estonian vocabulary, Finnic languages, etymology, loanwords
The Estonian verb ahvatlema ‘to entice, to lure; to tempt, to seduce’ has been a subject of etymological research for over two centuries, yet no convincing explanation of its origin has been reached. In this word study, I propose a new etymology. ahvatlema belongs to a large word family with three stem variants: the standard-language ahvata- and avata-, and the dialectal ahata-. Previous etymological treatments of the verb stem have failed to account for the variation in the stem consonants, while the variant ahata- has been excluded from consideration altogether. The Estonian verb and…
The Estonian verb ahvatlema ‘to entice, to lure; to tempt, to seduce’ has been a subject of etymological research for over two centuries, yet no convincing explanation of its origin has been reached. In this word study, I propose a new etymology. ahvatlema belongs to a large word family with three stem variants: the standard-language ahvata- and avata-, and the dialectal ahata-. Previous etymological treatments of the verb stem have failed to account for the variation in the stem consonants, while the variant ahata- has been excluded from consideration altogether. The Estonian verb and…
Two examples of revolutionary literature from 1905: “In Times of Struggle” and “Forward: Workers’ Christmas Album”
Keywords: revolutionary literature, workers’ literature, Young Estonia
This article compares two literary albums published amid the upheavals of the 1905 Revolution: “In Times of Struggle” (Wõitluse päiwil), issued by the Young Estonia (Noor-Eesti) movement, and “Forward: Workers’ Christmas Album” (Edasi. Tööliste jõulualbum), a collection compiled by working-class authors. The study examines the ways in which subjectivity and voice are employed to articulate revolutionary ideas. Alongside struggle and resistance, Estonian revolutionary literature at the turn of the 20th century was also marked by an ambivalence between individual and collective self-definition. How do these two albums reflect the era’s impulse towards transformation through…
This article compares two literary albums published amid the upheavals of the 1905 Revolution: “In Times of Struggle” (Wõitluse päiwil), issued by the Young Estonia (Noor-Eesti) movement, and “Forward: Workers’ Christmas Album” (Edasi. Tööliste jõulualbum), a collection compiled by working-class authors. The study examines the ways in which subjectivity and voice are employed to articulate revolutionary ideas. Alongside struggle and resistance, Estonian revolutionary literature at the turn of the 20th century was also marked by an ambivalence between individual and collective self-definition. How do these two albums reflect the era’s impulse towards transformation through…
Insights into Hindrik Prants’s collection of Seto folklore
Keywords: folklore, history of folkloristics, Seto culture, Jakob Hurt, Hindrik Prants
This article focuses on the material recorded by the folklore collector Hindrik Prants, a native of Vastseliina Parish, during his travels in Setomaa between 1887 and 1890. His collecting work is documented in the folklore texts themselves, in letters sent to Jakob Hurt, and in memoirs written some fifty years later. Although these sources differ in content, genre, purpose, and temporal perspective, together they make it possible to examine different representations of the same events, explore their common features, and identify contradictions between them.
Three main issues emerging from Prants’s letters…
This article focuses on the material recorded by the folklore collector Hindrik Prants, a native of Vastseliina Parish, during his travels in Setomaa between 1887 and 1890. His collecting work is documented in the folklore texts themselves, in letters sent to Jakob Hurt, and in memoirs written some fifty years later. Although these sources differ in content, genre, purpose, and temporal perspective, together they make it possible to examine different representations of the same events, explore their common features, and identify contradictions between them.
Three main issues emerging from Prants’s letters…