Category
Topic
Year
The literary nomenklatura of Soviet Estonia
Keywords: Estonian SSR, nomenklatura, Writers’ Union
This article looks at the meaning of the term nomenklatura, the positions within the Soviet Estonian literary life that were included in the Communist Party nomenklatura, the day-to-day practices used when dealing with “nomenklatural writers,” and the most prominent “nomenklatural writers” during the post-Stalin era.
The term nomenklatura has a number of meanings in the Soviet context. Firstly, it was a (secret) list of key positions to which people were appointed and from which they were removed by a decision of a specific party committee; secondly, it was a set of bureaucratic procedures; and thirdly, the…
This article looks at the meaning of the term nomenklatura, the positions within the Soviet Estonian literary life that were included in the Communist Party nomenklatura, the day-to-day practices used when dealing with “nomenklatural writers,” and the most prominent “nomenklatural writers” during the post-Stalin era.
The term nomenklatura has a number of meanings in the Soviet context. Firstly, it was a (secret) list of key positions to which people were appointed and from which they were removed by a decision of a specific party committee; secondly, it was a set of bureaucratic procedures; and thirdly, the…
“The man can see! Can write!”
Keywords: the Stalin Prize, Hans Leberecht, Writers’ Union of the Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonian literature, Sovietization of literary life
The Stalin Prize (established in 1939) was awarded in two broad fields: for (1) groundbreaking scientific achievements and inventions, and (2) outstanding literary and artistic achievements. The procedure for selecting and nominating the candidates and making the final decision was overseen by the party apparatus and by Joseph Stalin personally. The prize was an instrument of exerting control over intellectual life as well as an important link in the system of social etiquette (recognition, perks and privilege) of the time. Especially noteworthy…
The Stalin Prize (established in 1939) was awarded in two broad fields: for (1) groundbreaking scientific achievements and inventions, and (2) outstanding literary and artistic achievements. The procedure for selecting and nominating the candidates and making the final decision was overseen by the party apparatus and by Joseph Stalin personally. The prize was an instrument of exerting control over intellectual life as well as an important link in the system of social etiquette (recognition, perks and privilege) of the time. Especially noteworthy…
Depiction of the oil shale industry in Looming magazine between 1940 and 1956
Keywords: Estonian literature, Soviet studies, North-East Estonia, natural resources
The focus of the article is on the depiction of oil shale mining, which had intensified after the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940, in Looming magazine during the first decades of the occupation. It also provides a brief overview of the coverage of the extraction of this natural resource during the Republic of Estonia: from the second half of the 1930, in particular, literature, art, film and photography began to be urged to cover topics deemed to be of national importance, while the exports of shale oil increased…
The focus of the article is on the depiction of oil shale mining, which had intensified after the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940, in Looming magazine during the first decades of the occupation. It also provides a brief overview of the coverage of the extraction of this natural resource during the Republic of Estonia: from the second half of the 1930, in particular, literature, art, film and photography began to be urged to cover topics deemed to be of national importance, while the exports of shale oil increased…
Linguistic discourse of Stalinism
Keywords: linguistic ideology, Stalinism, Marrism, environment, heredity, Lamarckism
The battlefield of linguistic policy in the 1920s to 1950s Soviet Union centred around two authoritarian figures: in Saint Petersburg the orientalist and active member of the Academy of Sciences Nikolai Marr, and in Moscow the dictator of the workers’ empire Joseph Stalin, an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences since 1939. Both spoke Georgian as their mother-tongue.
Marr’s “new theory of language,” which was at times reminiscent of Medieval kabbalism (the descent of all languages from four original words, etc.), aspired to the status of the official linguistic doctrine of the Soviet…
The battlefield of linguistic policy in the 1920s to 1950s Soviet Union centred around two authoritarian figures: in Saint Petersburg the orientalist and active member of the Academy of Sciences Nikolai Marr, and in Moscow the dictator of the workers’ empire Joseph Stalin, an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences since 1939. Both spoke Georgian as their mother-tongue.
Marr’s “new theory of language,” which was at times reminiscent of Medieval kabbalism (the descent of all languages from four original words, etc.), aspired to the status of the official linguistic doctrine of the Soviet…
The mystery of taarn
Keywords: Estonian, Slavic languages, lexical history
In the glossary of Heinrich Göseken’s (1641–1681) Estonian handbook Manuductio ad Linguam Oesthonicam. Anführung zur Öhstnischen Sprache (1660) the word taarn is explained as follows: Abgrund / tarn / süggaw paick ‘abyss’ (p. 98) and Grundlos / Taarn (p. 507). The relevant information presented in the Estnisch-deutsches Wörterbuch by F. J. Wiedemann, which was first published in 1869, comes from Göseken. Estonian dialect collectors have never recorded the word from actual usage. In the 1920s, the word taarn was proposed as a geographic term denoting ‘a narrow abyss with vertical walls’. In some cases the…
In the glossary of Heinrich Göseken’s (1641–1681) Estonian handbook Manuductio ad Linguam Oesthonicam. Anführung zur Öhstnischen Sprache (1660) the word taarn is explained as follows: Abgrund / tarn / süggaw paick ‘abyss’ (p. 98) and Grundlos / Taarn (p. 507). The relevant information presented in the Estnisch-deutsches Wörterbuch by F. J. Wiedemann, which was first published in 1869, comes from Göseken. Estonian dialect collectors have never recorded the word from actual usage. In the 1920s, the word taarn was proposed as a geographic term denoting ‘a narrow abyss with vertical walls’. In some cases the…
Language committee of the Mother Tongue Society and corpus planning
Keywords: standard language, language norm, codification, language change, orthology, orthography, Estonian ortographic dictionary ÕS
The article provides an insider’s personal view on the satus, composition and operating principles of the language committee of the Mother Tongue Society, and summarizes its decisions.
The language committee does not deal with language learning or teaching, nor with issues of language status: its sole concern is corpus planning. In an advanced democracy, the purpose of such activity is to guarantee, on the one hand, the comprehensibility of Estonian texts over time and all over Estonia and, on the other hand, the unambiguity and clarity of business…
The article provides an insider’s personal view on the satus, composition and operating principles of the language committee of the Mother Tongue Society, and summarizes its decisions.
The language committee does not deal with language learning or teaching, nor with issues of language status: its sole concern is corpus planning. In an advanced democracy, the purpose of such activity is to guarantee, on the one hand, the comprehensibility of Estonian texts over time and all over Estonia and, on the other hand, the unambiguity and clarity of business…
Corpus planning in Soviet Estonia
Keywords: corpus planning, language codification, Institute of Language and Literature, orthographic dictionary, Estonian Orthological Committee
As far as Estonian language planning is concerned, the 45 years after World War II, when Estonian was ruled by Soviet power, were not all of equal weight. The first post-war decade was spent in an effort to make Estonian a “Soviet” language by following the guidelines coming down from the leadership of the Academy of Sciences, the state publishing house and other government agencies. For the next quarter of a century, i.e., up to the late 1970s, Estonian corpus planning was the responsibility of conservative…
As far as Estonian language planning is concerned, the 45 years after World War II, when Estonian was ruled by Soviet power, were not all of equal weight. The first post-war decade was spent in an effort to make Estonian a “Soviet” language by following the guidelines coming down from the leadership of the Academy of Sciences, the state publishing house and other government agencies. For the next quarter of a century, i.e., up to the late 1970s, Estonian corpus planning was the responsibility of conservative…
The vernacular approach in Estonian language planning during the first decades of the 20th century
Keywords: Estonian language planning, language standardization, corpus planning, vernacular
The early 20th century brought an awareness of a dire need for the standardization of Estonian. The article discusses the trends and views characteristic of Estonian corpus planning at that time, focusing on the role of the approach based on actual language use, which is the most prominent principle in language planning in Estonia today. In the beginning of the last century, when most Estonians still spoke their local vernacular, it was known as the vernacular approach. Although the language reform initiated by Johannes Aavik and the language-regulation led by Johannes Voldemar…
The early 20th century brought an awareness of a dire need for the standardization of Estonian. The article discusses the trends and views characteristic of Estonian corpus planning at that time, focusing on the role of the approach based on actual language use, which is the most prominent principle in language planning in Estonia today. In the beginning of the last century, when most Estonians still spoke their local vernacular, it was known as the vernacular approach. Although the language reform initiated by Johannes Aavik and the language-regulation led by Johannes Voldemar…
The Baltic-German period in Estonian language planning
Keywords: language standardisation, language ideology, historical sociolinguistics, history of written Estonian
An overview is provided of the conscious development of an Estonian language standard from the 17th to the 19th century. That period, shaped by Baltic-German clerics, can be considered the precursor of Estonian national language planning. The article discusses the most significant early authors and their views on standard language. Their relevant efforts are viewed as a continuous process aimed at creating an unified language variety to mediate whatever was important in society. This period of 250 years witnessed gradual shifts in the interpretation of the standard language, which was…
An overview is provided of the conscious development of an Estonian language standard from the 17th to the 19th century. That period, shaped by Baltic-German clerics, can be considered the precursor of Estonian national language planning. The article discusses the most significant early authors and their views on standard language. Their relevant efforts are viewed as a continuous process aimed at creating an unified language variety to mediate whatever was important in society. This period of 250 years witnessed gradual shifts in the interpretation of the standard language, which was…
An insight into the research of youth language in Estonia
Keywords: youth language, vocabulary, language variation, language contacts, data
Although the beginning of collection and research of Estonian youth language dates back to the early decades of the last century, the practice has not been quite consistent. The current knowledge of young people’s vocabulary and communicative practices is based on written as well as spoken data. Various methods of data collection have been used throughout the past century to reach them. During those hundred years, data collection has undergone various changes depending on technological developments (e.g. means of recording spoken and written communication, as well as systematization and analysis of…
Although the beginning of collection and research of Estonian youth language dates back to the early decades of the last century, the practice has not been quite consistent. The current knowledge of young people’s vocabulary and communicative practices is based on written as well as spoken data. Various methods of data collection have been used throughout the past century to reach them. During those hundred years, data collection has undergone various changes depending on technological developments (e.g. means of recording spoken and written communication, as well as systematization and analysis of…
Scholarship and kinship
Keywords: ethnography, colonialism, Finno-Ugric peoples, Khanty, scull, artefacts
The idea of Finno-Ugric kinship is based on the linguistic affinity of the languages spoken by these peoples. The fact of Finno-Ugric linguistic affinity was academically established in the 18th century, and this inspired further scholarly searches for historical links between these peoples. Not only material and spiritual culture, but also the study of physical anthropology was regarded as potential sources for demonstrating the Finno-Ugric kinship and its historical developments. The focus of this article is on the darker side of tracing Finno-Ugric connections through material evidence. The quest for knowledge included search…
The idea of Finno-Ugric kinship is based on the linguistic affinity of the languages spoken by these peoples. The fact of Finno-Ugric linguistic affinity was academically established in the 18th century, and this inspired further scholarly searches for historical links between these peoples. Not only material and spiritual culture, but also the study of physical anthropology was regarded as potential sources for demonstrating the Finno-Ugric kinship and its historical developments. The focus of this article is on the darker side of tracing Finno-Ugric connections through material evidence. The quest for knowledge included search…
„Roguish and inspiring”:
Keywords: Soviet camp literature, short story, picaresque, Jaan Kross, Rolf Hochhuth, life writing
The article deals with the experience of Gulag as reflected in Jaan Kross’s fiction, memoirs and letters from the camp, focusing on its fictional representation in his short stories. The article argues that Kross conveys his experience by using the conventions of the picaresque novel: a loose plot that is based on lucky coincidences and satire that is meant to criticise the power relations in the society. By comparing Kross’s representation to the canonical text about Soviet camp experience by Solzhenitsyn and Shalamov, the article shows that the…
The article deals with the experience of Gulag as reflected in Jaan Kross’s fiction, memoirs and letters from the camp, focusing on its fictional representation in his short stories. The article argues that Kross conveys his experience by using the conventions of the picaresque novel: a loose plot that is based on lucky coincidences and satire that is meant to criticise the power relations in the society. By comparing Kross’s representation to the canonical text about Soviet camp experience by Solzhenitsyn and Shalamov, the article shows that the…