Category
Topic
Year
(raie)lank ‘cutting area’ as a reflection of time and history
Keywords: Estonian language, history of vocabulary, etymology
The article discusses the etymology of the Estonian word (raie)lank ‘a piece of forest land meant for cutting’. The first documented use of this word dates back to 1898. The word has no etymological counterparts in other Balto-Finnic languages. In etymological literature, the Estonian lank has been linked to the verb langema ‘to fall’, assuming the formation of a new basic root – lank – through the sound change g > k in the root. This explanation is unconvincing. The assumption is not supported by any derivative relationships in the relevant vocabulary in the neighbouring…
The article discusses the etymology of the Estonian word (raie)lank ‘a piece of forest land meant for cutting’. The first documented use of this word dates back to 1898. The word has no etymological counterparts in other Balto-Finnic languages. In etymological literature, the Estonian lank has been linked to the verb langema ‘to fall’, assuming the formation of a new basic root – lank – through the sound change g > k in the root. This explanation is unconvincing. The assumption is not supported by any derivative relationships in the relevant vocabulary in the neighbouring…
Remarks on the age of farm names on the example of Audru
Keywords: Estonian language, farm names, etymologies
The article looks at Estonian farm names, using examples from Audru Parish. Farm names are considered younger than village names, although historians believe that the farm is older than the village as a settlement unit. It has been suggested that farm names developed in the 9th century. This article shows that many farm names were already documented in the 16th century. In the past, villages were subject to taxation, but from the 16th century onwards, farm families (Gesinde) became the tax unit. Indeed, it was in the 16th century that the names of peasants…
The article looks at Estonian farm names, using examples from Audru Parish. Farm names are considered younger than village names, although historians believe that the farm is older than the village as a settlement unit. It has been suggested that farm names developed in the 9th century. This article shows that many farm names were already documented in the 16th century. In the past, villages were subject to taxation, but from the 16th century onwards, farm families (Gesinde) became the tax unit. Indeed, it was in the 16th century that the names of peasants…
The other singers
Keywords: runo song, folk singer, representation, intersubjectivity
This article discusses the terminology and representations concerning the older Estonian oral song tradition specialists in Estonian folkloristic literature from the late 19th century to the second half of the 20th century. The folk singers’ relationships with their family, community, and folklorists from the perspective of diachronic and synchronic intersubjectivity is also considered.
At the heart of the documentation and study of runo songs (regilaulud) are folk singers who actively embody the song culture. They are specialists who, in addition to having knowledge of the lyrics, tunes and performing practices, also have a need…
This article discusses the terminology and representations concerning the older Estonian oral song tradition specialists in Estonian folkloristic literature from the late 19th century to the second half of the 20th century. The folk singers’ relationships with their family, community, and folklorists from the perspective of diachronic and synchronic intersubjectivity is also considered.
At the heart of the documentation and study of runo songs (regilaulud) are folk singers who actively embody the song culture. They are specialists who, in addition to having knowledge of the lyrics, tunes and performing practices, also have a need…
Barriers to the acceptance of Estonian Russian-language literature in 1918–1940
Keywords: Igor Severyanin, Russian-language literature in Estonia, identity, Estonian literature, Estonian literary history, integration
The article looks at the history of Estonian Russian-language literature in the young Republic of Estonia (1918–1940) and the life and work of the Russian-speaking poet Igor Severyanin (1887–1941) from the perspective of Estonian literature. In 1918, Severyanin, as a mature author, moved permanently from Russia to Estonia. Gradually, he developed a hybrid identity: he became fond of Estonia and wrote in Russian. However, his works have been omitted from the Estonian literary history.
The article sets out the following hypotheses:
1) Estonian Russian-language literature from 1918…
The article looks at the history of Estonian Russian-language literature in the young Republic of Estonia (1918–1940) and the life and work of the Russian-speaking poet Igor Severyanin (1887–1941) from the perspective of Estonian literature. In 1918, Severyanin, as a mature author, moved permanently from Russia to Estonia. Gradually, he developed a hybrid identity: he became fond of Estonia and wrote in Russian. However, his works have been omitted from the Estonian literary history.
The article sets out the following hypotheses:
1) Estonian Russian-language literature from 1918…
The origin of Estonian oht and ohter
Keywords: etymology, origin of Finnic phonetics, Germanic borrowings, Scandinavian borrowings, derivatives
The dictionary of Estonian dialects (EMS) lists oht as three lexical items: oht1 (= South Estonian oht) ‘1 peril, danger, menace; jeopardy, risk, hazard; 2 distress’; oht2 ‘(herbal) medicine, drug, antidote’; and the partitive-only ohtu ‘-like, -ish, resembling, as good as’. Mägiste (1929) has connected oht1 to Votic and Ingrian ohto ‘enough’ and further with Estonian oher (in literary language ohter) ‘abundant, plentiful; liberal, bountiful; rich; opulent; profuse’, explaining the meaning ‘distress’ as derived from ‘abundance of distress’.
I equate the Estonian, Votic and Ingrian words with the Finnish and Karelian ehto ‘condition;…
The dictionary of Estonian dialects (EMS) lists oht as three lexical items: oht1 (= South Estonian oht) ‘1 peril, danger, menace; jeopardy, risk, hazard; 2 distress’; oht2 ‘(herbal) medicine, drug, antidote’; and the partitive-only ohtu ‘-like, -ish, resembling, as good as’. Mägiste (1929) has connected oht1 to Votic and Ingrian ohto ‘enough’ and further with Estonian oher (in literary language ohter) ‘abundant, plentiful; liberal, bountiful; rich; opulent; profuse’, explaining the meaning ‘distress’ as derived from ‘abundance of distress’.
I equate the Estonian, Votic and Ingrian words with the Finnish and Karelian ehto ‘condition;…
Struggle over the ages II
Keywords: rhetoric, “The Anxiety of Influence”, synecdoche, hyperbole, metalepsis, Harold Bloom, Paul de Man
This article is a sequel to “Struggle over the ages I: Reading Kreutzwald’s “Kalevipoeg” as opposite in meaning to Goethe’s “Faust”” (Parksepp 2023). The pair of articles aims to exemplify how Harold Bloom’s and Paul de Man’s complementary views on rhetoric and tropes help to reveal the differences and similarities between Goethe’s and Kreutzwald’s masterpieces. The objective of the first article was to describe how, according to the anxiety of influence theory, the limiting tropes of irony, metonymy and metaphor can be used to depict the change…
This article is a sequel to “Struggle over the ages I: Reading Kreutzwald’s “Kalevipoeg” as opposite in meaning to Goethe’s “Faust”” (Parksepp 2023). The pair of articles aims to exemplify how Harold Bloom’s and Paul de Man’s complementary views on rhetoric and tropes help to reveal the differences and similarities between Goethe’s and Kreutzwald’s masterpieces. The objective of the first article was to describe how, according to the anxiety of influence theory, the limiting tropes of irony, metonymy and metaphor can be used to depict the change…
Mothers and daughters in life narratives
Keywords: family relationships, life narrative, life writing, personal experience stories, trauma
Recent public debates on family-related issues (What constitutes a traditional family? How widespread is domestic violence? What is the purpose of child protective services?) prompted an examination of these themes from the perspective of people’s personal experience. The article is based on manuscripts of life narratives obtained from the collection of Estonian Life Histories in the Estonian Cultural History Archives (EKM EKLA, f 350). The narratives were written down between 1989 and 2017 and provide a glimpse into the societal changes that took place between the 1930s and the early 21st century. The favoured narrative…
Recent public debates on family-related issues (What constitutes a traditional family? How widespread is domestic violence? What is the purpose of child protective services?) prompted an examination of these themes from the perspective of people’s personal experience. The article is based on manuscripts of life narratives obtained from the collection of Estonian Life Histories in the Estonian Cultural History Archives (EKM EKLA, f 350). The narratives were written down between 1989 and 2017 and provide a glimpse into the societal changes that took place between the 1930s and the early 21st century. The favoured narrative…