Category
Topic
Year
A unique term for malt
Keywords: etymology, Estonian, Votic, Old Russian loanword
In Estonian and Votic malt is called linnas, mostly used in the plural form linnased. The term is general in the dialects of both languages. Literary Estonian knows the word since the 17th century. The origin of the word stem is unclear. It cannot be rooted in a genuine Estonian-Votic material as there are no words of a similar stem in either language. Nor are there credible cognates in other Finnic languages. This is why attention has been turned to possible loan relationships.
In medieval times Estonia and Livonia were in active trade with Riga,…
In Estonian and Votic malt is called linnas, mostly used in the plural form linnased. The term is general in the dialects of both languages. Literary Estonian knows the word since the 17th century. The origin of the word stem is unclear. It cannot be rooted in a genuine Estonian-Votic material as there are no words of a similar stem in either language. Nor are there credible cognates in other Finnic languages. This is why attention has been turned to possible loan relationships.
In medieval times Estonia and Livonia were in active trade with Riga,…
Numerals and counting in Estonian
Keywords: numerals, Estonian dialects, old literary Estonian, Finnic languages, language contacts
Modern Estonian numerals demonstrate the typical Finno-Ugric decimal system: the first ten digits are referred to by simple words, after ten come teen numerals, and from 20 on the count goes by tens followed by simple numbers as (and if) necessary (e.g. twenty-one, thirty-three, eighty-eight etc.). However, this has not always been the case. According to the old Finnic tradition, numbers from eleven to nineteen were counted as ones of the second ten, numbers from 21 to 29 as numbers of the third ten, from 31 to 39 as numbers…
Modern Estonian numerals demonstrate the typical Finno-Ugric decimal system: the first ten digits are referred to by simple words, after ten come teen numerals, and from 20 on the count goes by tens followed by simple numbers as (and if) necessary (e.g. twenty-one, thirty-three, eighty-eight etc.). However, this has not always been the case. According to the old Finnic tradition, numbers from eleven to nineteen were counted as ones of the second ten, numbers from 21 to 29 as numbers of the third ten, from 31 to 39 as numbers…
Dissolution of storytelling and scenic representation in Ene Mihkelson’s prose
Keywords: modernist novel, description, scene, story, affect
In the study of the poetics of the modernist novel, one of the unifying topics is the decrease of coherent storytelling in the proportion of representation. At the same time, the modern literary process has brought up new images, which function in a similar way as the descriptions familiar from the realist tradition but are meant to be associated with elusive physical tensions characteristic of modern society. According to Fredric Jameson the starting point of this development is in Gustave Flaubert’s literary innovations, while Jameson’s definition of modernism largely rests on an increasing domination…
In the study of the poetics of the modernist novel, one of the unifying topics is the decrease of coherent storytelling in the proportion of representation. At the same time, the modern literary process has brought up new images, which function in a similar way as the descriptions familiar from the realist tradition but are meant to be associated with elusive physical tensions characteristic of modern society. According to Fredric Jameson the starting point of this development is in Gustave Flaubert’s literary innovations, while Jameson’s definition of modernism largely rests on an increasing domination…
From a Mansi creation song to the Estonian bird of creation
Keywords: Estonian regilaul, creation myth, Mansi folklore
The paper is analysing the Mansi (Wogul) creation myth as presented in songs and stories collected by Hungarian scientists in the 19th century. Some of these texts are considered sacred among the Mansi people. The texts tell us about the creation of the Earth, man, animals and fish, conditions for human life etc. The main focus of analysis is on how and with what words the creation and its results are described. In the “Sacred song of creation” the world just created is small like the silver ring of a spindle and rotates…
The paper is analysing the Mansi (Wogul) creation myth as presented in songs and stories collected by Hungarian scientists in the 19th century. Some of these texts are considered sacred among the Mansi people. The texts tell us about the creation of the Earth, man, animals and fish, conditions for human life etc. The main focus of analysis is on how and with what words the creation and its results are described. In the “Sacred song of creation” the world just created is small like the silver ring of a spindle and rotates…
Whence the name Sipsik for a favourite Estonian ragdoll character?
Keywords: Estonian language, lexical history, etymology
The article discusses the Estonian dialect word sipsik ‘kid, brat’, which has a rather narrow distribution area, and its possible loan etymology. The word sipsik has been introduced to wider public by the popular children’s book of the same name, written by Eno Raud. The article assumes that sipsik has a Latvian relative žipčiks ‘a quick, agile, playful (mostly) boy’. The Latvian žipčiks is widespread in Latvian dialects as well as colloquially, being recorded in Mīlenbachs-Endzelīns dictionary and its supplementary volume (ME 4: 811). The Latvian word derives from the Russian noun жи́вчик ‘live bait…
The article discusses the Estonian dialect word sipsik ‘kid, brat’, which has a rather narrow distribution area, and its possible loan etymology. The word sipsik has been introduced to wider public by the popular children’s book of the same name, written by Eno Raud. The article assumes that sipsik has a Latvian relative žipčiks ‘a quick, agile, playful (mostly) boy’. The Latvian žipčiks is widespread in Latvian dialects as well as colloquially, being recorded in Mīlenbachs-Endzelīns dictionary and its supplementary volume (ME 4: 811). The Latvian word derives from the Russian noun жи́вчик ‘live bait…
Adaptation of the neoclassical prefixes super-, hüper-, mega- and ultra- in Estonian
Keywords: neoclassical prefixes, corpus study, free listing task, synonymy
Neoclassical prefixes are bound morphemes that originate from Latin or Ancient Greek and have become building blocks of international vocabulary within the last few centuries. This paper provides a short overview of this phenomenon and an analysis of four semantically similar morphemes super-, hüper-, mega– and ultra– in contemporary Estonian. The study was synchronic and empirical and was focused principally on the frequency, meaning, usage, and intensity of the aforementioned prefixes.
The data for the inquiries was collected from etTenTen13 (Estonian corpus of webpages). The lemmas of words starting with super-, hüper-,…
Neoclassical prefixes are bound morphemes that originate from Latin or Ancient Greek and have become building blocks of international vocabulary within the last few centuries. This paper provides a short overview of this phenomenon and an analysis of four semantically similar morphemes super-, hüper-, mega– and ultra– in contemporary Estonian. The study was synchronic and empirical and was focused principally on the frequency, meaning, usage, and intensity of the aforementioned prefixes.
The data for the inquiries was collected from etTenTen13 (Estonian corpus of webpages). The lemmas of words starting with super-, hüper-,…
Contradictions in the depiction of Stalinist time in contemporary prose
Keywords: Estonian Soviet literature, socialist realism, democracy, authoritarity
Stalinist literature has not received much attention from the aesthetic viewpoint. True, this could not even be expected of the criticism of the time, but a certain inconsistency can hardly escape the eye of today’s reader. The reason probably lies in the internal contradiction of socialist realism – the incompatibility of realistic vs romantic or utopian modality. Things were required to be depicted at once as they were and as they should or would be in the future.
The article is focused on the depiction of meeting as one of the recurring motives…
Stalinist literature has not received much attention from the aesthetic viewpoint. True, this could not even be expected of the criticism of the time, but a certain inconsistency can hardly escape the eye of today’s reader. The reason probably lies in the internal contradiction of socialist realism – the incompatibility of realistic vs romantic or utopian modality. Things were required to be depicted at once as they were and as they should or would be in the future.
The article is focused on the depiction of meeting as one of the recurring motives…