Category
Topic
Year
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…
Concession: when’s it kuid and when’s it kuigi?
Keywords: concession, coordination, subordination, but, although, contemporary Estonian
The article analyzes the concessive usage of coordinative kuid– (’but’) and subordinative kuigi-sentences (’although’) in contemporary Estonian.
In this study, a corpus-driven analysis of 242 kuid-sentences and 263 kuigi-sentences was complemented with an experiment with 53 test subjects. The data from the experiment was also analyzed using Pearson’s chi-squared test for independence and correlation coefficent.
The corpus analysis found considerable semantical differences between the two constructions; which were categorized into a network, which was the basis for modeling the independent variables of the experiment.
The corpus analysis revealed that the contrasted situations in direct and indirect concession (see Izutsu 2008)…
The article analyzes the concessive usage of coordinative kuid– (’but’) and subordinative kuigi-sentences (’although’) in contemporary Estonian.
In this study, a corpus-driven analysis of 242 kuid-sentences and 263 kuigi-sentences was complemented with an experiment with 53 test subjects. The data from the experiment was also analyzed using Pearson’s chi-squared test for independence and correlation coefficent.
The corpus analysis found considerable semantical differences between the two constructions; which were categorized into a network, which was the basis for modeling the independent variables of the experiment.
The corpus analysis revealed that the contrasted situations in direct and indirect concession (see Izutsu 2008)…
The folk ballad and stories of Sambla Anu
Keywords: folk ballad, folk song, rumour, commonplace books, remembrances, vernacular literature
In principle, the new folksongs or folk ballads telling about dramatic events could as well be called versified media news, as their aim was to mediate topical shocking events, in particular accidents or murders, thus serving as rumours, news and entertainment all in one. In Estonia, the late 19th and early 20th century could be seen as a period of convergence of the local folklore and literature: the verses of the country poets were sometimes published in press or in booklets. The popular spread of the songs was further fostered…
In principle, the new folksongs or folk ballads telling about dramatic events could as well be called versified media news, as their aim was to mediate topical shocking events, in particular accidents or murders, thus serving as rumours, news and entertainment all in one. In Estonia, the late 19th and early 20th century could be seen as a period of convergence of the local folklore and literature: the verses of the country poets were sometimes published in press or in booklets. The popular spread of the songs was further fostered…
Our dispassionate literary criticism: A survey of 2015–2016
Keywords: literary criticism, arts and culture journalism, literary studies, modern literature, debate in criticism
Estonian literary criticism over the past two years (with digressions to 2014 and 2017) is discussed. The authors address criticism at large, not just reviews, trying to capture attitudinal stances aimed at transforming the literary field. The period is represented by ten bright moments, ten tendencies characteristic of criticism at large, and a description of the formal aspect of literary criticism. Various points of obstruction are listed, including an inability to analyse the changed field of poetry (due to obsolete methods), lack of passion, thin argumentation, the…
Estonian literary criticism over the past two years (with digressions to 2014 and 2017) is discussed. The authors address criticism at large, not just reviews, trying to capture attitudinal stances aimed at transforming the literary field. The period is represented by ten bright moments, ten tendencies characteristic of criticism at large, and a description of the formal aspect of literary criticism. Various points of obstruction are listed, including an inability to analyse the changed field of poetry (due to obsolete methods), lack of passion, thin argumentation, the…
The entangling I: Jaan Kross’ encapsulations of reality
Keywords: entangled literature, episteme, sensible and intelligible in culture, Jaan Kross, historical fictions, history as aesthetics
As an outcome of a paper presented initially at the conference „Entangled literature: national, cultural and generic intersections in the literary culture of Estonia”, the article tries to ground the concept of entangled literature in the presumably in–between and negative character of literary discourse in modern culture. Drawing inspiration from Michel Foucault’s The Order of Things, which states a kind of exclusion of literariness from the Western episteme since Cartesianism, the article argues for the specific role of modern literature (the novel) in building up minor (individual or…
As an outcome of a paper presented initially at the conference „Entangled literature: national, cultural and generic intersections in the literary culture of Estonia”, the article tries to ground the concept of entangled literature in the presumably in–between and negative character of literary discourse in modern culture. Drawing inspiration from Michel Foucault’s The Order of Things, which states a kind of exclusion of literariness from the Western episteme since Cartesianism, the article argues for the specific role of modern literature (the novel) in building up minor (individual or…
Books for listening
Keywords: audio books, speech synthesis, prosodic markers of text structure, phonetic database of foreign names, text-to-speech interface for library materials
The article describes the text-to-speech system Vox Populi, the Iselugeja (Self-Reader) application of Elisa Raamat, and the interactive service of reading aloud library materials in DIGAR user environment. Digitation of written library materials, electronic book circulation and the developments in speech technologies now enable the linguistically challenged – people suffering from visual impairment or dyslexia – to receive library services in the form of texts read aloud in synthetic speech or of audio books instead of paper books (no matter whether…
The article describes the text-to-speech system Vox Populi, the Iselugeja (Self-Reader) application of Elisa Raamat, and the interactive service of reading aloud library materials in DIGAR user environment. Digitation of written library materials, electronic book circulation and the developments in speech technologies now enable the linguistically challenged – people suffering from visual impairment or dyslexia – to receive library services in the form of texts read aloud in synthetic speech or of audio books instead of paper books (no matter whether…
Congeniality in the translations of ancient literature: discussions proceeding from the Estonian translation of Livy’s Ab urbe condita
Keywords: translation criticism, translation theory, congeniality, literary studies, Roman historical literature, ancient Greek literature, Titus Livius (Livy)
The principles of translation and commenting on classical literature are discussed on the example of an Estonian translation of Livy’s „History of Rome” (Ab urbe condita), Book 1. According to the translators Kristi Viiding, Mart Noorkõiv and Tuuli Triin Truusalu, they followed Johannes Aavik’s principle of team translation. The article points out that although the translation is largely successful, the translation strategy applied obviously deviates from the one claimed to have been used. Notably, the core concept of Aavik’s idea is congeniality, meaning that…
The principles of translation and commenting on classical literature are discussed on the example of an Estonian translation of Livy’s „History of Rome” (Ab urbe condita), Book 1. According to the translators Kristi Viiding, Mart Noorkõiv and Tuuli Triin Truusalu, they followed Johannes Aavik’s principle of team translation. The article points out that although the translation is largely successful, the translation strategy applied obviously deviates from the one claimed to have been used. Notably, the core concept of Aavik’s idea is congeniality, meaning that…