Category
Topic
Year
The position and function of locative demonstrative adverbs in Estonian
Keywords: locative demonstrative adverbs, reference, spatial semantics, syntax, motion, Estonian
Demonstratives are extremely important in all languages due to them having various pragmatic, semantic, and syntactic functions. For this reason, they are frequently studied and our current knowledge of demonstratives is also comparatively rich. However, research into demonstratives tends to concentrate mainly on demonstrative pronouns, while demonstrative adverbs have received much less attention. The same applies to Estonian linguistic tradition in that demonstrative pronouns are much more exhaustively investigated than demonstrative adverbs. The current study aims to fill this gap by analysing the use and function of locative demonstrative adverbs in…
Demonstratives are extremely important in all languages due to them having various pragmatic, semantic, and syntactic functions. For this reason, they are frequently studied and our current knowledge of demonstratives is also comparatively rich. However, research into demonstratives tends to concentrate mainly on demonstrative pronouns, while demonstrative adverbs have received much less attention. The same applies to Estonian linguistic tradition in that demonstrative pronouns are much more exhaustively investigated than demonstrative adverbs. The current study aims to fill this gap by analysing the use and function of locative demonstrative adverbs in…
The body and soul of a sportswoman as seen in Johannes Semper’s short story collection „Ellinor”
Keywords: Johannes Semper, body studies, sports, New Woman, homosexuality
The article explores the depiction of the body of a sporting woman, especially of one playing tennis or swimming, in Johannes Semper’s short story collection„Ellinor” (1927). There are three reasons why „Ellinor” has a radical meaning in the Estonian literature of the time. Firstly, the activities are consistently portrayed through the female point of view; secondly, the stories are permeated by an enthusiastic and luxuriant sense of life, which defies the book culture as remote from life; and thirdly, both a sporting „new woman” and homosexuality were certainly novel subjects in the…
The article explores the depiction of the body of a sporting woman, especially of one playing tennis or swimming, in Johannes Semper’s short story collection„Ellinor” (1927). There are three reasons why „Ellinor” has a radical meaning in the Estonian literature of the time. Firstly, the activities are consistently portrayed through the female point of view; secondly, the stories are permeated by an enthusiastic and luxuriant sense of life, which defies the book culture as remote from life; and thirdly, both a sporting „new woman” and homosexuality were certainly novel subjects in the…
Etymology of the folk name Mulks
Keywords: etymology of folk names, migration, oral history
The article explores whether the widespread belief that the folk name Mulks and the region name Mulgimaa derive from the Latvian word muļķis, muļķe ‘stupid, fool’ is based on evidence and possibly justified. Phonetic similarity between the words mulk and muļķis is evident indeed, but we lack convincing evidence that the word mulk is of Latvian origin. By tracing the emergence and use of the folk name Mulks, the authors explore its social, historical and cultural context. By combining contemporary fiction, polemics in media, memorates and other forms of oral tradition, sources on settlement and migration, it appears that the folk name Mulks was most probably used by…
The article explores whether the widespread belief that the folk name Mulks and the region name Mulgimaa derive from the Latvian word muļķis, muļķe ‘stupid, fool’ is based on evidence and possibly justified. Phonetic similarity between the words mulk and muļķis is evident indeed, but we lack convincing evidence that the word mulk is of Latvian origin. By tracing the emergence and use of the folk name Mulks, the authors explore its social, historical and cultural context. By combining contemporary fiction, polemics in media, memorates and other forms of oral tradition, sources on settlement and migration, it appears that the folk name Mulks was most probably used by…
üpris – indigenous or loanword?
Keywords: lexicology, etymology, Estonian
The article discusses the etymology of üpris, which is a common word in standard Estonian. There are different hypotheses about its origin, but still no consensus. In the 17th–19th-century Estonian writings the word usually means either ’very’ or ’great; wonderfully’, in the 19th century also ’rather’, like to-day. Reports of its dialectal use are rare. Most probably we have here a loanword expressing superlativity. Phonetically and semantically, as well as according to dialect material the source word could have been ypperst (dial. also ypp(e)rster etc) ’the most wonderful; most wonderfully’ originating in Old Modern Swedish. However, the…
The article discusses the etymology of üpris, which is a common word in standard Estonian. There are different hypotheses about its origin, but still no consensus. In the 17th–19th-century Estonian writings the word usually means either ’very’ or ’great; wonderfully’, in the 19th century also ’rather’, like to-day. Reports of its dialectal use are rare. Most probably we have here a loanword expressing superlativity. Phonetically and semantically, as well as according to dialect material the source word could have been ypperst (dial. also ypp(e)rster etc) ’the most wonderful; most wonderfully’ originating in Old Modern Swedish. However, the…
A geocritical approach to literature written about Lake Peipus
Keywords: geocriticism, literary theory of space, comparative literary studies, Bertrand Westphal, Peipus-literature.
The aim of the article is to analyse literature related to Lake Peipus from the perspective of geocriticism.
First, the article gives an overview about geocriticism and a brief introduction to its origins, that is, the spatial turn of the 1980s.
The second part of the article has its focus on Bertrand Westphal’s theory, especially the four elements of geocriticism: multifocalization, polysensoriality, stratigraphic vision and intertextuality. According to the principle of multifocalization, the geocritic is required to engage with many different points of view. Polysensoriality means that it is not only…
The aim of the article is to analyse literature related to Lake Peipus from the perspective of geocriticism.
First, the article gives an overview about geocriticism and a brief introduction to its origins, that is, the spatial turn of the 1980s.
The second part of the article has its focus on Bertrand Westphal’s theory, especially the four elements of geocriticism: multifocalization, polysensoriality, stratigraphic vision and intertextuality. According to the principle of multifocalization, the geocritic is required to engage with many different points of view. Polysensoriality means that it is not only…
Conversational intentions as reflected in the breathing pattern
Keywords: phonetics, spontaneous speech, speech breathing, speech planning, turn taking, backchannels
The main aim of this article was to describe how two functionally different objects in terms of speech planning behave in the respiratory patterns of spontaneous speech. First, the focus was on the timing of utterances and backchannels (short feedback items signalling that the listener understands and follows the speaker) in the respiratory cycle. The second focus was on the parametres of the inhalations preceding utterances and backchannels. The article is an overview of research done in speech breathing using data from spontaneous Estonian conversations.
The data is made up of…
The main aim of this article was to describe how two functionally different objects in terms of speech planning behave in the respiratory patterns of spontaneous speech. First, the focus was on the timing of utterances and backchannels (short feedback items signalling that the listener understands and follows the speaker) in the respiratory cycle. The second focus was on the parametres of the inhalations preceding utterances and backchannels. The article is an overview of research done in speech breathing using data from spontaneous Estonian conversations.
The data is made up of…
Mikhail Plotnikov and his poem Yangal-Maa
Keywords: Mansi epic, Mansi folklore, Ob-Ugrian folklore, Mikhail Plotnikov
The poem Yangal-Maa was written in Russian by Mikhail Plotnikov and published in its entirety in 1933. Its Estonian translation (2016) is subtitled as „Mansi epic”. The research questions asked in the article are: What prompted the author to write such a piece? How well did he know Mansi folklore and to what extent does the poem reflect it? The introduction also provides a short overview of some other epics of the kindred Finno-Ugric peoples, which have been written in Russian and translated into Estonian. Considering the plot, setting, characters and the…
The poem Yangal-Maa was written in Russian by Mikhail Plotnikov and published in its entirety in 1933. Its Estonian translation (2016) is subtitled as „Mansi epic”. The research questions asked in the article are: What prompted the author to write such a piece? How well did he know Mansi folklore and to what extent does the poem reflect it? The introduction also provides a short overview of some other epics of the kindred Finno-Ugric peoples, which have been written in Russian and translated into Estonian. Considering the plot, setting, characters and the…
Greek proper names in ancient-literature textbooks on the example of Baltic countries
Keywords: history of translation, proper names, ancient literature, domestication, foreignization
In studying the history of translation, it is important to pay attention not only to the focal questions such as who translated, what was translated, or how it was translated, but also to some narrower issues, such as for example the rendering of puns, culture-specific items, terms, and proper names. Proper names are often more than just simple carriers of orthographic norms: they can also be signs of an era, expressing the dominant tendencies in culture and/or ideology.
The purpose of this paper is to compare the history of rendering Greek proper…
In studying the history of translation, it is important to pay attention not only to the focal questions such as who translated, what was translated, or how it was translated, but also to some narrower issues, such as for example the rendering of puns, culture-specific items, terms, and proper names. Proper names are often more than just simple carriers of orthographic norms: they can also be signs of an era, expressing the dominant tendencies in culture and/or ideology.
The purpose of this paper is to compare the history of rendering Greek proper…
Translated into the language of trauma
Keywords: transcultural memory, transnational memory, trauma, Estonian memory culture, the Gulag, Imbi Paju
The article deals with a transformation in the ways of remembering the Soviet deportations and the Gulag in Estonia. Of particular interest is the new vocabulary of testimony and trauma that emerged in the Estonian memorial culture about those events in the mid-2000s, mainly in the aesthetic media of memory. While the first attempt to remember these aspects of Estonian history among expatriate Estonians in the 1970s and in Estonia at the end of the 1980s, in fiction, used the vocabulary of resistance and survival, the article shows…
The article deals with a transformation in the ways of remembering the Soviet deportations and the Gulag in Estonia. Of particular interest is the new vocabulary of testimony and trauma that emerged in the Estonian memorial culture about those events in the mid-2000s, mainly in the aesthetic media of memory. While the first attempt to remember these aspects of Estonian history among expatriate Estonians in the 1970s and in Estonia at the end of the 1980s, in fiction, used the vocabulary of resistance and survival, the article shows…
The influence of the finite verb on object case in the Estonian da-infinitive object construction
Keywords: differential object marking, variation,infinitives, constructions, agency
The present paper examines the influence of the finite verb on the choice of total vs. partial object in the Estonian da-infinitive object construction. This construction consists of a finite verb modified by a da-infinitive phrase which itself contains an object nominal, e.g. Tahan osta korteri/korterit ‘I want to buy an apartment (gen/part)’. The competition between the finite verb and the non-finite verb in determining the case of the object leads to substantial variation in usage. Moreover, some finite verbs favor the partial object, while others favor the total object.
The paper draws on corpus data to compare object…
The present paper examines the influence of the finite verb on the choice of total vs. partial object in the Estonian da-infinitive object construction. This construction consists of a finite verb modified by a da-infinitive phrase which itself contains an object nominal, e.g. Tahan osta korteri/korterit ‘I want to buy an apartment (gen/part)’. The competition between the finite verb and the non-finite verb in determining the case of the object leads to substantial variation in usage. Moreover, some finite verbs favor the partial object, while others favor the total object.
The paper draws on corpus data to compare object…
Folklore collecting in an epistolary context
Keywords: folklore collecting, epistolary culture, Helene Maasen, Jakob Hurt
The article is based on the correspondence between folklorist Jakob Hurt (1839–1907) and local folklore collector Helene Maasen (1869–1933). My main aim is to analyse the way Hurt communicated with his co-workers and to see how this communication was divided between public (reports about folklore collecting published in newspapers) and private spheres (letters). Maasen was one of the most prolific female co-workers of Hurt – in the years 1888–1896 she sent in 1150 pages of folkloric materials (tales, songs, minor forms etc.). Besides folklore she also sent Hurt several letters; some of…
The article is based on the correspondence between folklorist Jakob Hurt (1839–1907) and local folklore collector Helene Maasen (1869–1933). My main aim is to analyse the way Hurt communicated with his co-workers and to see how this communication was divided between public (reports about folklore collecting published in newspapers) and private spheres (letters). Maasen was one of the most prolific female co-workers of Hurt – in the years 1888–1896 she sent in 1150 pages of folkloric materials (tales, songs, minor forms etc.). Besides folklore she also sent Hurt several letters; some of…
The Sons of the Son of the Muses: Literary Marginalia in the „Noorus” Magazine of the 1960s, Part II
Keywords: Paul-Eerik Rummo, Jaak Põldmäe, criticism, marginalia, Estonian literature, world literature, subtext, poetics, 1960s
This entry is a continuation to the article „Sly Ain and the Old Heathen: Literary Marginalia in the „Noorus” Magazine of the 1960s, Part I (Keel ja Kirjandus 2016, 7: 489−503), which discussed the educating literary commentary published by mentor Ain Kaalep alias O. Muusapoeg ’lit. O. Son of the Muses’ in the 1960s editions of the magazine Noorus („Youth”). It highlighted the rhetoric of irony between the lines, which could be regarded as cultural counterpropaganda addressed to the younger generation of Soviet Estonia. Inspired by the…
This entry is a continuation to the article „Sly Ain and the Old Heathen: Literary Marginalia in the „Noorus” Magazine of the 1960s, Part I (Keel ja Kirjandus 2016, 7: 489−503), which discussed the educating literary commentary published by mentor Ain Kaalep alias O. Muusapoeg ’lit. O. Son of the Muses’ in the 1960s editions of the magazine Noorus („Youth”). It highlighted the rhetoric of irony between the lines, which could be regarded as cultural counterpropaganda addressed to the younger generation of Soviet Estonia. Inspired by the…