Category
Topic
Year
Estonian adolescent speech III
Keywords: adolescent speech tempo, speaking rate, articulation rate, phone rate, syllable structures, syllable duration, speech motor development
The paper explores the developmental changes of speech tempo and syllable durations in Estonian adolescent speech depending on age, gender and text characteristics. The research material consists of read speech utterances from 175 girls and 134 boys in the age range of 10 to 18 years. For each sentence, the speech rate, articulation rate and phone rates were calculated. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMM) were applied to analyze the variations in the measures of speech tempo and syllable durations.
The effect of age on the…
The paper explores the developmental changes of speech tempo and syllable durations in Estonian adolescent speech depending on age, gender and text characteristics. The research material consists of read speech utterances from 175 girls and 134 boys in the age range of 10 to 18 years. For each sentence, the speech rate, articulation rate and phone rates were calculated. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMM) were applied to analyze the variations in the measures of speech tempo and syllable durations.
The effect of age on the…
Healthiness of the nurse
Keywords: literary reviewing in Estonia, sociology of literature
An old cliché in Estonian literary criticism describes the critic as ‘kirjanduse sanitar’ – the nurse of literature, implicitly comparing her role to that of wolf in the natural ecosystem. But the healthcare of a literary ecosystem does not have to take predatory forms. Research in the sociology of literature has identified the role of journalistic book-reviewing in establishing the canon and enabling a system to emerge from the multitude of books and authors. On the other hand, sociologists have downplayed the critics’ ability to base their assessment on ‘internal’ qualities of texts…
An old cliché in Estonian literary criticism describes the critic as ‘kirjanduse sanitar’ – the nurse of literature, implicitly comparing her role to that of wolf in the natural ecosystem. But the healthcare of a literary ecosystem does not have to take predatory forms. Research in the sociology of literature has identified the role of journalistic book-reviewing in establishing the canon and enabling a system to emerge from the multitude of books and authors. On the other hand, sociologists have downplayed the critics’ ability to base their assessment on ‘internal’ qualities of texts…
National identity in the late 19th-century travelogues from Japan written by Estonian sailors
Keywords: depiction of a nation, travelogues, sailors, Japan, 19th-century Estonia
The aim of the article is to examine what the Estonians’ idea of their own nationality was in the late 19th century. The empirical evidence comes from Estonian sailors’ travelogues from Japan, published in Estonian language press. Those travelogues, comparing own and other cultures, enable an analysis of how Estonians would depict and construct the Estonian nation, doing it from a considerable distance and against the background of another nation. The sailors could be relied on as people with a wide horizon and rich experience, while Japan is distant enough, both…
The aim of the article is to examine what the Estonians’ idea of their own nationality was in the late 19th century. The empirical evidence comes from Estonian sailors’ travelogues from Japan, published in Estonian language press. Those travelogues, comparing own and other cultures, enable an analysis of how Estonians would depict and construct the Estonian nation, doing it from a considerable distance and against the background of another nation. The sailors could be relied on as people with a wide horizon and rich experience, while Japan is distant enough, both…
I’m afraid your happiness and mine lie at some distance from each other
Keywords: Estonian, verb, emotion, epistemic modality, markers, pragmatisation
Based on the material of Estonian language corpora the uses of the sequence (ma) kardan (et) ‘I’m afraid (that)’ as a discourse marker and the relationship of those uses with the marker’s source structure – a predicate expressing a psychological state and modified by a complement clause – are analysed. Compared to other complement taking predicate markers (CTP-markers) the kardan-marker stands out for semantic diversity. To analyse the (inter)subjective uses of the kardan-marker we propose a model considering four layers co-operating in semantics and pragmatics: 1) shifts in the semantic structure, 2) the function…
Based on the material of Estonian language corpora the uses of the sequence (ma) kardan (et) ‘I’m afraid (that)’ as a discourse marker and the relationship of those uses with the marker’s source structure – a predicate expressing a psychological state and modified by a complement clause – are analysed. Compared to other complement taking predicate markers (CTP-markers) the kardan-marker stands out for semantic diversity. To analyse the (inter)subjective uses of the kardan-marker we propose a model considering four layers co-operating in semantics and pragmatics: 1) shifts in the semantic structure, 2) the function…
CTP-marker (ma) arvan (et) ’(I) think (that)’ in directives in Estonian everyday interaction
Keywords: CTP-markers, subjectivity, deontic authority, epistemic authority, opinion, interactional linguistics
This paper targets directive utterances in Estonian everyday interaction that include the CTP-marker (ma) arvan (et) ‘(I) think (that)’. The aim of the study was to find out for what purposes interactants use this marker in directives. The data was drawn from the Corpus of Spoken Estonian of the University of Tartu. For analyzing the data, principles of interactional linguistics and conversation analysis were applied. The study revealed that the main functions of the CTP-marker (ma) arvan (et) in directives are the following:
The marker is used for showing that what…
This paper targets directive utterances in Estonian everyday interaction that include the CTP-marker (ma) arvan (et) ‘(I) think (that)’. The aim of the study was to find out for what purposes interactants use this marker in directives. The data was drawn from the Corpus of Spoken Estonian of the University of Tartu. For analyzing the data, principles of interactional linguistics and conversation analysis were applied. The study revealed that the main functions of the CTP-marker (ma) arvan (et) in directives are the following:
The marker is used for showing that what…
Complement-taking predicate markers in different registers in Estonian
Keywords: Estonian language, corpus pragmatics, discourse markers, register variation
The use of Estonian CTP-markers (ma) arvan (et) ‘I think that’, (ma) usun (et) ‘I believe that’, (ma) loodan (et) ‘I hope that’, (mulle) näib (et) ‘it seems to me that’, (mulle) tundub (et) ‘it feels to me that’, (mulle) paistab (et) ‘it looks to me that’ was analysed in everyday conversation, oral institutional communication, prose fiction, the press, scientific research, online chats and online comments. It was revealed that:
1) Compared to others, (ma) arvan (et) occurs very often.
2) The marker (ma) arvan (et) dominates in oral registers, exceeds the frequency of…
The use of Estonian CTP-markers (ma) arvan (et) ‘I think that’, (ma) usun (et) ‘I believe that’, (ma) loodan (et) ‘I hope that’, (mulle) näib (et) ‘it seems to me that’, (mulle) tundub (et) ‘it feels to me that’, (mulle) paistab (et) ‘it looks to me that’ was analysed in everyday conversation, oral institutional communication, prose fiction, the press, scientific research, online chats and online comments. It was revealed that:
1) Compared to others, (ma) arvan (et) occurs very often.
2) The marker (ma) arvan (et) dominates in oral registers, exceeds the frequency of…
The particle VED’ in Udmurt, Komi and Erzya
Keywords: modal particles, sentence types, particle borrowing, pragmatics
This article considers the model of adaptation of the Russian modal particle ведь in three Eastern Finno-Ugric languages: Udmurt, Komi (Zyryan), and Erzya. We focus on contextual (sentence type) restrictions that hold for VED’ in the source language and aim at finding how particle (in its phonetic variants) behaves in the corresponding contexts in the recipient languages. The analysis is based on the results of a questionnaire where native speakers were asked to evaluate the naturalness of the use of the particle VED’ as well as its indigenous counterparts. We analyzed the following…
This article considers the model of adaptation of the Russian modal particle ведь in three Eastern Finno-Ugric languages: Udmurt, Komi (Zyryan), and Erzya. We focus on contextual (sentence type) restrictions that hold for VED’ in the source language and aim at finding how particle (in its phonetic variants) behaves in the corresponding contexts in the recipient languages. The analysis is based on the results of a questionnaire where native speakers were asked to evaluate the naturalness of the use of the particle VED’ as well as its indigenous counterparts. We analyzed the following…
Frequently used discourse particles in spoken Livonian recordings
Keywords: Livonian, Finnic languages, spoken language, dialogues, discourse particles
The article is focused on offering the first possible classification of Livonian discourse particles based on the spontaneous speech material of recorded Livonian conversations held at the University of Tartu Archives of Estonian Dialects and Kindred Languages. Based on 17 recordings from six native Livonian speakers the main discourse particle groups were distinguished according to Tiit Hennoste’s classification of discourse particles (2000). Thereafter seven particles (si’z ‘then’, ne’i ‘so’, nu and no ‘well’, agā ‘but, perhaps, maybe’, and the tonal particles ju and jo) frequently occurring in the material were analyzed more…
The article is focused on offering the first possible classification of Livonian discourse particles based on the spontaneous speech material of recorded Livonian conversations held at the University of Tartu Archives of Estonian Dialects and Kindred Languages. Based on 17 recordings from six native Livonian speakers the main discourse particle groups were distinguished according to Tiit Hennoste’s classification of discourse particles (2000). Thereafter seven particles (si’z ‘then’, ne’i ‘so’, nu and no ‘well’, agā ‘but, perhaps, maybe’, and the tonal particles ju and jo) frequently occurring in the material were analyzed more…
Discourse particles in the Soikkola dialect of Ingrian
Keywords: modal particles, focus particles, uncontroversial information, contrast
This article offers a general overview of the discourse particles in Soikkola Ingrian. The research material comes from 48 unpublished Ingrian texts recorded in the course of field trips in 2006–2013 from 23 fluent speakers of Soikkola Ingrian. Most of the texts are narratives, there are also four dialogues. The paper presents text examples that illustrate the basic functions of discourse particles, and also mentions the non-discourse usages of the same units if attested.
In the analysed texts, there are nine particles that have counterparts in other Finnic languages, namely ‑ha/-hä, –ki, –kaa/-kää,…
This article offers a general overview of the discourse particles in Soikkola Ingrian. The research material comes from 48 unpublished Ingrian texts recorded in the course of field trips in 2006–2013 from 23 fluent speakers of Soikkola Ingrian. Most of the texts are narratives, there are also four dialogues. The paper presents text examples that illustrate the basic functions of discourse particles, and also mentions the non-discourse usages of the same units if attested.
In the analysed texts, there are nine particles that have counterparts in other Finnic languages, namely ‑ha/-hä, –ki, –kaa/-kää,…
Downgrading and upgrading with the particle lihtsalt in Estonian emergency calls
Keywords: spoken Estonian, emergency call, interactional linguistics, upgrade, downgrade, particle
The aim of the paper is to find out the functions and meanings of the particle lihtsalt ‘just, simply’ in Estonian emergency calls and to find out if callers and call-takers use it for different purposes. For the paper, 75 emergency calls containing 83 particles lihtsalt were analysed following the principles of interactional linguistics. The analysis shows that callers use the particle lihtsalt to downgrade, upgrade or in both functions at once. Call-takers use lihtsalt only to downgrade.
Callers downgrade to express either the accidentality of an incident or to reduce…
The aim of the paper is to find out the functions and meanings of the particle lihtsalt ‘just, simply’ in Estonian emergency calls and to find out if callers and call-takers use it for different purposes. For the paper, 75 emergency calls containing 83 particles lihtsalt were analysed following the principles of interactional linguistics. The analysis shows that callers use the particle lihtsalt to downgrade, upgrade or in both functions at once. Call-takers use lihtsalt only to downgrade.
Callers downgrade to express either the accidentality of an incident or to reduce…
The long journey of the probability particle vist in literary Estonian
Keywords: Estonian, Old Literary Estonian, corpus pragmatics, discourse grammar, epistemic particle, pragmaticalization
A survey is given of the development of the content and shape of the epistemic particle vist in Estonian texts from the oldest written records to this day. Diachronic analysis revealed a change in the use and meaning of the particle, notably, a gradual decrease in its epistemic certainty. In 17th century texts the forerunner of the modern particle vist was the adverb vissist, meaning ‘for sure’, but in modern standard Estonian vist expresses medium certainty, like oletatavasti ‘probably’. Consequently, we have to do with a process of pragmaticalization.
According…
A survey is given of the development of the content and shape of the epistemic particle vist in Estonian texts from the oldest written records to this day. Diachronic analysis revealed a change in the use and meaning of the particle, notably, a gradual decrease in its epistemic certainty. In 17th century texts the forerunner of the modern particle vist was the adverb vissist, meaning ‘for sure’, but in modern standard Estonian vist expresses medium certainty, like oletatavasti ‘probably’. Consequently, we have to do with a process of pragmaticalization.
According…
The need and complexity of describing discourse particles in minor Uralic languages
Keywords: common ground, uncontroversial information, particle combination, language contact, grammaticalisation
A better description of discourse particles and discourse markers and their anchoring in grammar is undoubtedly a desideratum for many of the minor languages of the Uralic language family. In comparison with research traditions of Estonian or German, the lack of studies in which native speaker authors follow their intuitions about the meaning and function of so-called small words is particularly noticeable. In the present article, the author uses data from Komi, Udmurt, Mari, Selkup and Kamass to discuss some problems in connection with typical discourse particles functions such as the…
A better description of discourse particles and discourse markers and their anchoring in grammar is undoubtedly a desideratum for many of the minor languages of the Uralic language family. In comparison with research traditions of Estonian or German, the lack of studies in which native speaker authors follow their intuitions about the meaning and function of so-called small words is particularly noticeable. In the present article, the author uses data from Komi, Udmurt, Mari, Selkup and Kamass to discuss some problems in connection with typical discourse particles functions such as the…
Discourse markers and pragmatics
Keywords: discourse markers, pragmatic particles, complement-taking predicate markers, typology, pragmatics, functions
The article provides an introductory survey of pragmatic particles and complement-taking predicate markers (CTP-markers), their essence and typology in Estonian linguistics. In the present study, pragmatic particle is an umbrella concept covering three main types of particles:
1) Particles that can make up a whole turn in conversation. Those particles can be divided into four types: Response forms are used as markers of response (feedback) in the dialogue (e.g. ahah ’oh’); Open class repair initiators indicate that there was something wrong in the partner’s previous turn, without specifying what or…
The article provides an introductory survey of pragmatic particles and complement-taking predicate markers (CTP-markers), their essence and typology in Estonian linguistics. In the present study, pragmatic particle is an umbrella concept covering three main types of particles:
1) Particles that can make up a whole turn in conversation. Those particles can be divided into four types: Response forms are used as markers of response (feedback) in the dialogue (e.g. ahah ’oh’); Open class repair initiators indicate that there was something wrong in the partner’s previous turn, without specifying what or…
Kostuma and kostma
Keywords: reflexive verbs, corpus planning, meanings
The u-reflexive kostuma ‘to be heard’ of the reflexive verb kostma ‘to be heard’ and other verbs with -uma ending began to spread in Estonian in the first half of the 20th century. Estonian linguist Johannes Aavik revived the use of u-reflexives during the Estonian language renewal, but he also established a rule in the 1920s to prevent the use of u-derivatives created from reflexive verbs (such as kostma > kostuma, pleekima > pleekuma ‘to fade’). During the century, this rule was copied in both grammar and school textbooks, without taking into account the actual use…
The u-reflexive kostuma ‘to be heard’ of the reflexive verb kostma ‘to be heard’ and other verbs with -uma ending began to spread in Estonian in the first half of the 20th century. Estonian linguist Johannes Aavik revived the use of u-reflexives during the Estonian language renewal, but he also established a rule in the 1920s to prevent the use of u-derivatives created from reflexive verbs (such as kostma > kostuma, pleekima > pleekuma ‘to fade’). During the century, this rule was copied in both grammar and school textbooks, without taking into account the actual use…
The changing mind
Keywords: Estonian, WAT, mental lexicon, psycholinguistics
The paper addresses the changeable vs persistent part of the culturally constructed unconscious – the so-called “dark matter of the mind” (Everett 2016). Two sets of responses given to an identical list of Estonian stimuli in a word association test (WAT) are compared. The first set originates in the time when Estonia was ruled by the Soviet regime and the second (an excerpt from a larger database) in the 21st century during political independence. The aim was to detect which associations tended to survive and which did not. The quantitative results show that two-thirds of…
The paper addresses the changeable vs persistent part of the culturally constructed unconscious – the so-called “dark matter of the mind” (Everett 2016). Two sets of responses given to an identical list of Estonian stimuli in a word association test (WAT) are compared. The first set originates in the time when Estonia was ruled by the Soviet regime and the second (an excerpt from a larger database) in the 21st century during political independence. The aim was to detect which associations tended to survive and which did not. The quantitative results show that two-thirds of…
Das Õ
Stichwörter: der Buchstabe Õ, der Laut Õ, Otto Wilhelm Masing, Orthographie, Sprachplanung
Der Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts durch Otto Wilhelm Masing (1763–1832) eingeführte Buchstabe Õ ist das orthografische Element, welches in der estnischen Linguistik und in der Öffentlichkeit stets die meiste Aufmerksamkeit auf sich gezogen hat. 2016 wurde das 200-jährige Bestehen des Õ-Zeichens mit einer wissenschaftlichen Konferenz gefeiert, und 2020 wurde auf Saaremaa eine fünf Meter hohe Õ/Ö-Grenzmarkierung eingeweiht, um die Variation der Aussprache innerhalb des Sprachgebiets zu kennzeichnen.
Der Artikel befasst sich mit der Entstehungsgeschichte des Õ-Zeichens und dessen Verbreitung in schriftlichen Texten des 19. Jahrhunderts. Übergeordnetes Ziel des Artikels ist…
Der Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts durch Otto Wilhelm Masing (1763–1832) eingeführte Buchstabe Õ ist das orthografische Element, welches in der estnischen Linguistik und in der Öffentlichkeit stets die meiste Aufmerksamkeit auf sich gezogen hat. 2016 wurde das 200-jährige Bestehen des Õ-Zeichens mit einer wissenschaftlichen Konferenz gefeiert, und 2020 wurde auf Saaremaa eine fünf Meter hohe Õ/Ö-Grenzmarkierung eingeweiht, um die Variation der Aussprache innerhalb des Sprachgebiets zu kennzeichnen.
Der Artikel befasst sich mit der Entstehungsgeschichte des Õ-Zeichens und dessen Verbreitung in schriftlichen Texten des 19. Jahrhunderts. Übergeordnetes Ziel des Artikels ist…