Keywords: context, folklore collector, folklore collection, games, Siberian Estonians
This article looks at the descriptions of games written down by Rosalie Ottesson, who lived in the Siberian Estonian community in Russia, mainly in the village of Ülem-Bulanka. The descriptions were sent to the Folklore Department (currently Estonian Folklore Archives) of the Literary Museum in the 1960s and 1970s.
We will approach Ottesson’s descriptions of games and game situations through the concept of vernacular literacy. As a folklore collector, Rosalie Ottesson played a dual role in the village society – on the one hand, she had a traditional background similar to that…

Keywords: Estonian literature, theatre, songs, Juhan Smuul
The play “The Atlantic Ocean” (Atlandi ookean) by the renowned Soviet-era Estonian writer Juhan Smuul has received very little critical attention so far. By closely looking at the work, we can find nuances and undercurrents that help us understand the motives and reasoning behind the characters’ – but in some cases also their author’s – deeds, choices, and attitudes. This article focuses on the songs referred to in the play. The shortish four-act play that is set onboard a Soviet Estonian herring trawler in the summer of 1955 contains references to 22 songs in…

Keywords: figurative speech, conceptual metaphors, figurative framing, discourse analysis
The paper analyses the patterns of figurative language and thought addressing the abstract domain of “language”, which emerged in the discourse about the language norms and standardisation in Estonian public media in 2020–2022. The situation was perceived as critical by the language practitioners (editors, proof-readers, translators, teachers, etc) because of confusion and ambiguity in respect of when and in what form would the new edition of ÕS (the traditional prescriptive dictionary of Standard Estonian), appear. The ambiguous feelings were accompanied by the sense of threat to fundamental values, and the sense of…

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…

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…

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…