Category
Topic
Year
On truth in Estonian language descriptions
Keywords: history of Estonian language description, Estonian case system, quantity degrees, palatalisation
The article sketches a picture of the past 400 years of studying the Estonian language, starting from the very first attempts to describe it. It is speculated whether and to what extent the truth about the Estonian language has been revealed by now and what might the truth about a language be anyway. Also, to what extent, if any, does it depend on the ideological background of this or that period of history, the method of research applied, and the purpose of the particular description? The discussion is illustrated…
The article sketches a picture of the past 400 years of studying the Estonian language, starting from the very first attempts to describe it. It is speculated whether and to what extent the truth about the Estonian language has been revealed by now and what might the truth about a language be anyway. Also, to what extent, if any, does it depend on the ideological background of this or that period of history, the method of research applied, and the purpose of the particular description? The discussion is illustrated…
Truth, identity and the moral absolute
Keywords: social constructivism, core values, ethnocentric truth, perception of moral truths, absolute truth
The article analyses the mutual relationship of truth and identity in the context of the crumbling hegemony of truth, and its ramifications for the humanities. The author highlights the difference between the physical and humanitarian scientific truths, which during the past hundred years or more has led to serious scepticism about truth. Regarding truth as a social construct one has to admit that any truth is bound to identity: Truth is ethnocentric as it is based on the consensus of a community or a cultural group. Yet, although…
The article analyses the mutual relationship of truth and identity in the context of the crumbling hegemony of truth, and its ramifications for the humanities. The author highlights the difference between the physical and humanitarian scientific truths, which during the past hundred years or more has led to serious scepticism about truth. Regarding truth as a social construct one has to admit that any truth is bound to identity: Truth is ethnocentric as it is based on the consensus of a community or a cultural group. Yet, although…
The moral choices of a researcher in the process of creating cultural memory
Keywords: folklore, archives, cultural process, national culture, morality
The article aims to analyse, on the example of folkloristics, a researcher’s choices in studying and documenting culture. The article reveals the contradictions arising from the dual role of a cultural researcher who, on the one hand, should function as an independent observer, but on the other hand their work, activities and knowledge make them a creator, transmitter and developer of culture, as well as a designer of identity-bound social processes. The modern standards of cultural studies require an awareness of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting the researcher’s perspective and the research…
The article aims to analyse, on the example of folkloristics, a researcher’s choices in studying and documenting culture. The article reveals the contradictions arising from the dual role of a cultural researcher who, on the one hand, should function as an independent observer, but on the other hand their work, activities and knowledge make them a creator, transmitter and developer of culture, as well as a designer of identity-bound social processes. The modern standards of cultural studies require an awareness of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting the researcher’s perspective and the research…
Die Wahrheit in Wissenschaft, Geisteswissenschaft, Philologie
Stichwörter: Wahrheit, Geisteswissenschaft, Philologie
Philologie ist die Wissenschaft, die sich mit der Beziehung
WIRKLICHKEIT (MENSCH ↔ TEXT)
befaßt: erstens untersucht sie, wie der Mensch die Wirklichkeit in Texte verwandelt, und zweitens, wie er Texte wirklich werden läßt. Als Wissenschaft muß Philologie bestimmten Kriterien entsprechen (logisch zweiwertige Metasprache, Entdeckungspflicht, Zuläßlichkeit der Annahmen nur in Folgerungen, nicht in Voraussetzungen), als eine Geisteswissenschaft geht sie deduktiv von der Idee (Hypothese) aus, die Interpretation eines Textes ist zuläßlich, soweit sie den Text nicht durch einen anderen oder durch sich selber ersetzt. Die Einhaltung dieser Kriterien gewährt der Philologie die wissenschaftliche Wahrheit, die sich von der geoffenbarten Wahrheit…
Philologie ist die Wissenschaft, die sich mit der Beziehung
WIRKLICHKEIT (MENSCH ↔ TEXT)
befaßt: erstens untersucht sie, wie der Mensch die Wirklichkeit in Texte verwandelt, und zweitens, wie er Texte wirklich werden läßt. Als Wissenschaft muß Philologie bestimmten Kriterien entsprechen (logisch zweiwertige Metasprache, Entdeckungspflicht, Zuläßlichkeit der Annahmen nur in Folgerungen, nicht in Voraussetzungen), als eine Geisteswissenschaft geht sie deduktiv von der Idee (Hypothese) aus, die Interpretation eines Textes ist zuläßlich, soweit sie den Text nicht durch einen anderen oder durch sich selber ersetzt. Die Einhaltung dieser Kriterien gewährt der Philologie die wissenschaftliche Wahrheit, die sich von der geoffenbarten Wahrheit…
Cognitive autonomy – a perishing ideal?
Keywords: cognitive autonomy, personal autonomy, liberalism, John Locke, Russell Hardin
In today’s world, knowledge is increasingly becoming a social, collective phenomenon. Enlightenment philosophers, notably John Locke, declared that any opinion accepted without critical scrutiny, based on pure trust and testimony of others, was worthless, whereas it seems more characteristic of our time to claim that to pursue cognitive autonomy is an obsolete ideal. It is now normal and desirable to delegate judgment in intellectual matters to special sciences, human or machine experts, opinion leaders. The agent’s general personal autonomy is often (though not always) highly valued by those endorsing the liberal…
In today’s world, knowledge is increasingly becoming a social, collective phenomenon. Enlightenment philosophers, notably John Locke, declared that any opinion accepted without critical scrutiny, based on pure trust and testimony of others, was worthless, whereas it seems more characteristic of our time to claim that to pursue cognitive autonomy is an obsolete ideal. It is now normal and desirable to delegate judgment in intellectual matters to special sciences, human or machine experts, opinion leaders. The agent’s general personal autonomy is often (though not always) highly valued by those endorsing the liberal…
From the truths of the 20th century to 21th-century post-truth
Keywords: truth, humanities, post-truth, existentialism, postmodernism, constructivism, emancipation
Contemporary humanities are increasingly criticized for their abandonment of rigorous scientific methods and their indifference, if not hostility, to the issue of truth. Particularly postmodernism is accused of being directly responsible for the emergence of the post-truth era in the academic and cultural field. Such critiques have been recently appropriated by conservative thinkers and the far-right, who turn them into political attacks against liberal values.
The article aims at identifying and analyzing those features of the contemporary humanities which risk to offer theoretical support to the practical attitudes characteristic of our post-truth era. I…
Contemporary humanities are increasingly criticized for their abandonment of rigorous scientific methods and their indifference, if not hostility, to the issue of truth. Particularly postmodernism is accused of being directly responsible for the emergence of the post-truth era in the academic and cultural field. Such critiques have been recently appropriated by conservative thinkers and the far-right, who turn them into political attacks against liberal values.
The article aims at identifying and analyzing those features of the contemporary humanities which risk to offer theoretical support to the practical attitudes characteristic of our post-truth era. I…
Situated knowledge in the post-truth era
Keywords: discourse analysis, post-truth, post-critique, postmodernism
Postmodernism and situated truths have been named among the creators of the post-truth world in both academic texts and mainstream media. Discourse studies is one of the disciplines associated with situated truths. That label covers, on the one hand, theoretical analyses inspired by the work of Michel Foucault and, on the other hand, the subfield of linguistics that studies contexualised language use. While critics habitually target discourse theory, the present think piece asks whether we could use empirically grounded discourse analysis to study the post-truth condition. The focus is on Johannes Angermüller’s programme of discourse…
Postmodernism and situated truths have been named among the creators of the post-truth world in both academic texts and mainstream media. Discourse studies is one of the disciplines associated with situated truths. That label covers, on the one hand, theoretical analyses inspired by the work of Michel Foucault and, on the other hand, the subfield of linguistics that studies contexualised language use. While critics habitually target discourse theory, the present think piece asks whether we could use empirically grounded discourse analysis to study the post-truth condition. The focus is on Johannes Angermüller’s programme of discourse…
What is his game?
Keywords: Mati Unt, game, archetype, postmodernism, modernism, romanticism
The article discusses Unt’s oeuvre of the 1990s and 2000s, with the main focus on his novels Öös on asju (Things in the Night, 1990) and Brecht ilmub öösel (Brecht will appear at night, 1997) and the keyword “game”. The article investigates whether Unt’s later works, described in his time as complicated and confusing, really differ so much from his earlier period as far as the themes and focus are concerned. In addition, the article makes an attempt to map the relationship between Unt and postmodernism, which is by no means clear. Although Unt seems…
The article discusses Unt’s oeuvre of the 1990s and 2000s, with the main focus on his novels Öös on asju (Things in the Night, 1990) and Brecht ilmub öösel (Brecht will appear at night, 1997) and the keyword “game”. The article investigates whether Unt’s later works, described in his time as complicated and confusing, really differ so much from his earlier period as far as the themes and focus are concerned. In addition, the article makes an attempt to map the relationship between Unt and postmodernism, which is by no means clear. Although Unt seems…
More on the language of Agenda Parva
Keywords: Tartu dialect, Agenda Parva, Estonian language history
The Catholic church manual Agenda Parva (1622) is a South Estonian linguistic monument. Its language has been studied since 1938, but some specifications are still in order. In the phrase omme wiide mielde-ga ‘with one’s own five senses’ (modern spelling omme viide meeldega) omme should not be interpreted as an erroneously spelt genitive singular but rather as the genitive plural of the pronoun oma ‘one’s own’, spelt according to the general principle followed throughout the publication, notably that a long consonant is rendered by doubling the letter. As for wiide (the middle word of the phrase) it has hitherto been interpreted as a very archaic…
The Catholic church manual Agenda Parva (1622) is a South Estonian linguistic monument. Its language has been studied since 1938, but some specifications are still in order. In the phrase omme wiide mielde-ga ‘with one’s own five senses’ (modern spelling omme viide meeldega) omme should not be interpreted as an erroneously spelt genitive singular but rather as the genitive plural of the pronoun oma ‘one’s own’, spelt according to the general principle followed throughout the publication, notably that a long consonant is rendered by doubling the letter. As for wiide (the middle word of the phrase) it has hitherto been interpreted as a very archaic…
Palatalisation of consonants after a long vowel at the end of monosyllabic i-stemmed words
Keywords: Estonian, palatalisation, i-stemmed words, reading experiment, dialectical variation, text-to-speech synthesis
The study focuses on the palatalisation of the consonants l, n, s, t and d at the end of i-stemmed monosyllabic Estonian words, e.g. saal ‘hall’, veen ‘vein’, roos ‘rose’, pruut ‘bride’, kood ‘code’. The purpose of the study is to ascertain the extent of palatalisation. According to the Dictionary of Standard Estonian, which provides the basis for Estonian text-to-speech synthesis,the final consonant of an i-stemmed word with a (C)VVC structure should be palatalised. There is, however, large variation in actual pronunciation.
The investigation addresses 2274 pronunciations of 57 words with the above structure. There are 36 i-stemmed words and 21 words with some other stem vowel, chosen to enable a comparison of…
The study focuses on the palatalisation of the consonants l, n, s, t and d at the end of i-stemmed monosyllabic Estonian words, e.g. saal ‘hall’, veen ‘vein’, roos ‘rose’, pruut ‘bride’, kood ‘code’. The purpose of the study is to ascertain the extent of palatalisation. According to the Dictionary of Standard Estonian, which provides the basis for Estonian text-to-speech synthesis,the final consonant of an i-stemmed word with a (C)VVC structure should be palatalised. There is, however, large variation in actual pronunciation.
The investigation addresses 2274 pronunciations of 57 words with the above structure. There are 36 i-stemmed words and 21 words with some other stem vowel, chosen to enable a comparison of…
What is a posthuman theatre text?
Keywords: dramaturgy, subjectivity, consciousness, corporeality, technology
In this article, I read a selection of 21st century Estonian plays through the lenses of posthumanism. I examine the matters of subjectivity, corporeality, consciousness and relation to technology of the characters based on Katherine N. Hayles’ pioneering How We Became Posthuman (1999) and Rosi Braidotti’s The Posthuman (2013); some relevant ideas of transhumanism exceeding the biological limits of the human organism (Nick Bostrom) are also considered.
The first selected play is uus elysium. une luup (new elysium. dream loupe, 2001) by Andreas W and Jaak Tomberg. The play is a textual experiment of the technological…
In this article, I read a selection of 21st century Estonian plays through the lenses of posthumanism. I examine the matters of subjectivity, corporeality, consciousness and relation to technology of the characters based on Katherine N. Hayles’ pioneering How We Became Posthuman (1999) and Rosi Braidotti’s The Posthuman (2013); some relevant ideas of transhumanism exceeding the biological limits of the human organism (Nick Bostrom) are also considered.
The first selected play is uus elysium. une luup (new elysium. dream loupe, 2001) by Andreas W and Jaak Tomberg. The play is a textual experiment of the technological…
A dialogue of the verbal and the visual
Keywords: Estonian poetry, photography, lyricism, narrativity, deictics
The interplay of lyrical poetry and photography has not been discussed much in literary theory. The present study is of an introductory nature, analysing the central features arising from the interaction of two different ways of representation. Those features include changes in narrativity, in lyricism and in metaphoricity. The analysis is based on a book published in 1997, titled as Kaalud (The Scales), which contains 31 poems written by Hasso Krull and one folk song as inspired by 34 photographs by Toomas Kalve. This is perhaps the best known example, in Estonian literature, of photographs and…
The interplay of lyrical poetry and photography has not been discussed much in literary theory. The present study is of an introductory nature, analysing the central features arising from the interaction of two different ways of representation. Those features include changes in narrativity, in lyricism and in metaphoricity. The analysis is based on a book published in 1997, titled as Kaalud (The Scales), which contains 31 poems written by Hasso Krull and one folk song as inspired by 34 photographs by Toomas Kalve. This is perhaps the best known example, in Estonian literature, of photographs and…
Estonian names for the tag game
Keywords: Estonian, Estonian dialects, etymology, Swedish loanwords, German loanwords, Russian loanwords
Tag is a well-known children’s game popular all over Europe. This is a chase game where usually one player chases all the rest. The game has a lot of variants and names. As revealed by the 1992 contest of school lore collection the four most popular Estonian names for the game are kull, läts ~ lets, mats and leka. The article discusses the possible origin of the names. The name kull is probably motivated by the general term for a bird of prey; a similar term has been used for the catcher in older Estonian song games. On the…
Tag is a well-known children’s game popular all over Europe. This is a chase game where usually one player chases all the rest. The game has a lot of variants and names. As revealed by the 1992 contest of school lore collection the four most popular Estonian names for the game are kull, läts ~ lets, mats and leka. The article discusses the possible origin of the names. The name kull is probably motivated by the general term for a bird of prey; a similar term has been used for the catcher in older Estonian song games. On the…
Countryside homes in the Estonian SSR
Keywords: Estonian Soviet era literature, Hando Runnel, sense of self, kolkhoz, summer homes, Estonian life writing
The article is interested in the interconnection of cultural imaginaries and everyday materialities; these phenomena are explored in the context of commonly shared ideas about countryside home-life in Soviet Estonia. Based on Soviet-era fiction and poetry, and supported by life-writing and interviews, the essay outlines some basic strategies that are foregrounded in cultural imaginaries of the era: a nostalgic regard for the “authenticity” of pre-Soviet Estonian farm life, a belief in the salutary nature of countryside surroundings, and an ironical attitude towards summerhoming as it…
The article is interested in the interconnection of cultural imaginaries and everyday materialities; these phenomena are explored in the context of commonly shared ideas about countryside home-life in Soviet Estonia. Based on Soviet-era fiction and poetry, and supported by life-writing and interviews, the essay outlines some basic strategies that are foregrounded in cultural imaginaries of the era: a nostalgic regard for the “authenticity” of pre-Soviet Estonian farm life, a belief in the salutary nature of countryside surroundings, and an ironical attitude towards summerhoming as it…
About collecting and researching kolkhoz folklore in the early Soviet Estonia
Keywords: Soviet folklore, Stalinism, fieldwork, representation
In early Soviet Estonia, folkloristics had to conform to the new ideology. The institutions were reorganised, the previous work was re-evaluated, while new folklore on Soviet topics was expected to be collected, published and studied. The directions on what and how to study came from Soviet research conferences visited by Estonian scholars.
Recommendable Soviet folklore such as, for example, materials about the Great Patriotic War or worker movement being hard to find, kolkhozes looked a more promising terrain. As soon as in 1950, a year after mass collectivisation in Soviet Estonia, folklorists and folklore students were…
In early Soviet Estonia, folkloristics had to conform to the new ideology. The institutions were reorganised, the previous work was re-evaluated, while new folklore on Soviet topics was expected to be collected, published and studied. The directions on what and how to study came from Soviet research conferences visited by Estonian scholars.
Recommendable Soviet folklore such as, for example, materials about the Great Patriotic War or worker movement being hard to find, kolkhozes looked a more promising terrain. As soon as in 1950, a year after mass collectivisation in Soviet Estonia, folklorists and folklore students were…