This exploratory study investigates the use of linking adverbials (LAs) in argumentative English essays written by Estonian school-leavers as part of their state examination in English. Using a sub-corpus of 150 essays from the English State Examination Corpus (ESEC) and comparing it to British students’ A-level1 essays from the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (LOCNESS), this paper examines the frequency, variety, and semantic categories of LAs employed by Estonian school-leavers. The results indicate that, compared to native speakers, who demonstrate a more balanced and varied use across semantic categories of LAs, Estonian L1 learners markedly overuse enumeration and addition adverbials (e.g., firstly, secondly, also). The study highlights the tendency of Estonian learners to rely on familiar LAs, often resulting in formulaic and overly structured essays. This overuse may be attributed to teaching practices that emphasise explicit marking of cohesion – or to insufficient instruction in the use of other cohesive devices.
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"Konnektiivlaiendid gümnaasiumilõpetajate inglise keele riigieksami esseedes" *** Artiklis analüüsitakse siduvate üldlaiendite ehk konnektiivlaiendite kasutamist Eesti koolilõpetajate inglise keele riigieksami arutlevates esseedes. Uurimuse käigus võrreldi inglise keele riigieksami korpuse (ESEC) 150 õppijakeelset esseed LOCNESS-i (Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays) Briti keskkooli lõpuesseede alakorpusega. Tulemused näitavad, et Eesti õppijad kasutavad teksti sidustamisel oluliselt rohkem loendamise või täiendamise põhitähendusega konnektiive (nt firstly, secondly, also) võrreldes emakeelsete kirjutajatega, kelle siduvate üldlaiendite kasutus on mitmekesisem ja tasakaalustatum. Emakeelsed kirjutajad kasutavad rohkem tulemusele ja järeldusele viitavaid laiendeid (nt therefore, thus) ning mitmekesisemaid vastandavaid ja kontekstipõhiseid laiendeid (nt however, on the other hand). Lisaks esineb nende tekstides muid sidustamisvahendeid (nt leksikaalne sidusus, seisukohamarkerid). Õppijate keeletasemete (A2, B1, B2) võrdlemisel selgus, et konnektiivlaiendite kasutus muutub keerukamaks ja mitmekesisemaks keeletaseme tõustes. Siiski on kõigil keeletasemetel domineerivaks semantiliseks kategooriaks loetelule ja täiendamisele viitavad siduvad üldlaiendid. Üks peamisi põhjusi, miks Eesti õppijad nimetatud laiendeid üle kasutavad, võib olla see, et inglise keele õpikud ja õppemeetodid rõhutavad eksplitsiitset sidusust ega pööra piisavalt tähelepanu ülejäänud sidustamisvahendite kasutamisele. Selle tulemusena võivad esseed muutuda n-ö šabloonseks ja ülestruktureerituks. Näeme vajadust täiendada õpetamispraktikaid, et julgustada õppijaid kasutama laiemat valikut konnektiivlaiendeid ning neile lisaks teisi sidustamisvahendeid. Abi võib olla ka korpustööriistade kasutamisest inglise keele tundides, tutvustamaks õppijatele konnektiivlaiendite loomulikke kasutusmustreid koos teiste sidustamisvahenditega.
This article discusses demonstrative pronouns in the Soikkola dialect of the Ingrian language. The material for the research comes from the collection of spontaneous speech samples recorded in the 21st century. All the examples are published for the first time. The article presents mainly a qualitative analysis and aims at overviewing the basic functions of the Ingrian demonstrative pronouns tämä and še. It is shown that in the contemporary Ingrian the demonstratives are used as deictic and anaphoric devices, and also as discourse markers. Individual speakers demonstrate differences in the use of these pronouns due to the contact influence from the neighbouring languages.
Kokkuvõte. Elena Markus, Fedor Rozhanskiy: Demonstratiivpronoomenite funktsioonid tänapäeva isuri keele Soikkola murdes. Käesolevas artiklis käsitletakse demonstratiivpronoomeneid isuri keele Soikkola murdes. Uurimuse materjal pärineb 21. sajandil salvestatud spontaanse kõne näidiste kogust. Kõik näited avaldatakse esimest korda. Artiklis esitatakse peamiselt kvalitatiivne analüüs ja selle eesmärk on anda ülevaade isuri demonstratiivpronoomenite tämä ja še põhifunktsioonidest. Näidatakse, et tänapäeva isuri keeles kasutatakse demonstratiive deiktiliste ja anafoorsete vahenditena ning ka diskursuse markeritena. Üksikutel kõnelejatel esineb nende asesõnade kasutamisel erinevusi naaberkeelte kontaktmõju tõttu.
This study investigates the language contact between Tver Karelian and Russian, attempting to provide a comprehensive overview of the lexicon of bilingual code. The methodology includes a combination of statistical analyses and handling contact-induced change in terms of the Code-Copying Framework (=CCF). Nine interviews with nine people were conducted using the memory walk method. In code copying, correlations were found between different word classes and contact-relatedness. In code alternation, few differences were found between different speakers and one commonality was the use of complex numerals as Russian phrases without adapting them into the Tver Karelian code. The findings confirm that the copies are of a certain kind
and appear in certain word classes. Code alternation sequences suggest that, according to the CCF, the discourse rather than the language is mixed. The findings within CCF have implications on minority language policies, as the findings support the use of bilingual terminology.
Kokkuvõte. Susanna Tavi: Karjala-vene kakskeelsuse mõju tverikarjala keele sõnavarale. Käesolevas uurimistöös uuritakse tverikarjala ja vene keele kontakte. See uuring püüab anda tervikliku ülevaate kakskeelse koodi sõnavarast. Metoodika sisaldab kombinatsiooni statistilistest analüüsidest ja kontaktidest põhjustatud muutuste käsitlemisest koodikopeerimise raamistiku (Code-Copying Framework = CCF) osas. Üheksa intervjuud üheksa inimesega viidi läbi mälukõnni meetodil. Leiti seoseid erinevate sõnaklasside ja kontaktidega seotuse vahel. Koodivahelduses leiti eri kõnelejate vahel vähe erinevusi ja üheks ühiseks jooneks oli keerukate arvsõnade kasutamine venekeelsete fraasidena, ilma neid tverikarjala koodi sobitamata. Leiud kinnitavad, et koopiad on teatud liiki ja esinevad teatud sõnaklassides. Koodi vaheldumise jadad viitavad sellele, et CCF-i kohaselt on segatud eelkõige diskursus, ja mitte keel. CCF-i leiud avaldavad mõju vähemuskeelte poliitikale, kuna leiud toetavad kakskeelse terminoloogia kasutamist.
Uuring keskendub isikuandmeid sisaldavate keeleandmete jagamisele, mis kujutab endast isikuandmete töötlemist. Rahvusvahelises praktikas ei ole üheselt selge, kuidas jaguneb vastutus isikuandmete töötlemise eest konkreetse teadlase ja teadusasutuse vahel. Näiteks erineb Prantsusmaa ja Saksamaa mudel Eesti, Leedu ja Soome mudelist. Omalaadset lähenemist pakub Kreeka mudel. Üldiselt vastutab isikuandmete töötlemise eest tööandja (organisatsioon ehk juriidiline isik). Samas on teadustööl oma spetsiifika, mida iseloomustab akadeemiline vabadus ja ka teadlaste mobiilsus. Olukorra muudab keerukamaks keeleandmete jagamine läbi teadusvõrgustike nagu CLARIN.
Käesolevas uuringus analüüsivad autorid kohustuste ja vastutuse jaotust teadlase ja teadusasutuse (sh teadusvõrgustike) vahel. Autorid analüüsivad samuti, kuidas peaks isikuandmete kaitse perspektiivist toimuma andmete jagamine. Oluline on selgitada, kas andmete andja ja saaja on mõlemad vastutavad töötlejad (kaasvastutavad töötlejad) ning kuidas jaguneb vastutus andmete jagamisel.
Analüüsi autorid on interdistsiplinaarse ja rahvusvahelise taustaga, kattes erinevaid õigusvaldkondi (andmekaitse, tööõigus, lepinguõigus) ja jurisdiktsioone (Eesti, Itaalia, Kreeka, Leedu, Prantsusmaa, Saksamaa, Soome) ning keeletehnoloogiat.
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Legal framework for the sharing of linguistic data containing personal data: Obligations and responsibilities of the researcher and the research organization
The study focuses on the sharing of linguistic data containing personal data, which is the processing of personal data. Therefore, the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) must be complied with. Compliance with these requirements is the responsibility of the controller, who may use the assistance of processors to process the data.
In international practice, it is not clear how the responsibility for the processing of personal data is divided between a specific researcher and a research institution. For example, the French and German models differ from the Estonian, Lithuanian and Finnish models. The Greek model offers a unique approach. In general, the employer (organization or legal entity) is responsible for the processing of personal data. At the same time, research has its own specificity, which is characterized by academic freedom and as well as mobility of researchers. The situation is further complicated by the sharing of language data through research networks such as CLARIN.
In the present study, the authors analyze the division of duties and responsibilities between the researcher and the research institution (including research networks). The authors also analyze how data sharing should take place from a personal data protection perspective. It is important to clarify whether the data provider and the data recipient are both controllers, joint controllers or the recipient is the processor and how the responsibility for data sharing is shared.
The authors of the analysis have an interdisciplinary and international background, covering different areas of law (data protection, labor law, contract law) and jurisdictions (Estonia, Italy, Greece, Lithuania, France, Germany, Finland) and language technology.
This article deals with language comprehension strategies of German language speakers with receptive skills in Hungarian. This study explores how they come to terms with understanding two short Hungarian texts. To achieve this goal, I chose an introspective method of thinking aloud to visualize internal processes and strategies of comprehension. The results show that contextual knowledge and general knowledge of the world are highly important when it comes to (text) comprehension. In addition, the pronunciation of words must be properly memorized for the participants to be able to recognize them. Furthermore, the so-called “lack of contrast” plays an important role in the results, meaning that the participants often find the words familiar but are not able to access their meanings.
This article examines the way rulers are depicted in Icelandic literary sources such as Egils saga and some other literary sources belonging to medieval Scandinavia. We may presume that the construction and description of the image of Norwegian kings in that age, when Christianity had not totally replaced the Old beliefs in Iceland, are conclusive when attempting to better understand and analyze the mixed ideology of power in 12th and 13th century Norway and Iceland. Our aim is to explore the foundations of the political ideology of Early Medieval Norway, which were consolidated in the 12th and 13th centuries, when the authors and sources constructed an intercultural model of kingship based on the recently Christianized culture over which the influences of the old faith was overlapping.
"Words of variable quantity degrees as a problem for speech synthesis"
Estonian text-to-speech synthesis relies in its determination of pronunciation on the Dictionary of Standard Estonian (ÕS 2013), which is the basis of standard Estonian. However, for roughly 300 words, this dictionary allows pronunciation with both the second and third quantity degree. This causes problems in the text-to-speech synthesis system, since the automatic text analysis cannot handle multiple outputs. It is necessary to give preference to one of the pronunciation variants in the text analysis process, and therefore it is important to identify which variant is more common among language users in actual speech.
For the studies of quantity degrees, words were chosen which ÕS 2013 lists as being pronounced with both the second and third quantity degree. This study is based on a reading experiment conducted with 23 informants (15 women and 8 men), in which each informant read 52 sentences aloud. These sentences contained 47 target words, i.e. words of variable quantity degrees; in total, the study yielded 1080 pronunciation instances to examine. The group of target words includes those with varying vowel quantity degrees as well as those with varying consonant quantity degrees; the duration ratios characteristic of each quantity degree were calculated on the basis of the primary-stress syllable and the unstressed syllable following it. The average duration ratio for the second quantity degree is 1.8, and for the third quantity degree 2.9. These results are similar to those obtained in previous studies.
On the basis of the informants’ pronunciation, the words were grouped into three categories: second quantity degree, variable quantity degree (where neither the second nor the third quantity degree accounted for more than 2/3 of all pronunciations) and third quantity degree. Based on the duration ratio, 8 words fell into the second quantity degree group; however, based on auditory assessment, this group increased to 17 words. The variable quantity degree group contained 15 words based on duration ratios, but only 5 words based on auditory assessment. The third quantity degree group contained 24 words by duration ratio and 25 words by auditory assessment.
Finding trends in word structure among words in the same quantity degree groups would make it possible to draw inferences about other words of the same type as well, which would increase the applied value of the study. Generally, though words of the same syllable structure and part of speech did not exhibit the same pronunciation patterns. However, it can at least be stated that the third quantity degree dominated among both two- and three-syllable adjectives formed with the suffix -lik. Of the 15 such words analysed in the study, only two were pronounced predominantly with the second quantity degree.
Artiklis tutvustame lugemiseksperimenti, mille põhjal uurime nn varieeruva vältega sõnade hääldust. Varieeruva vältega sõnade määratlemisel lähtume õigekeelsussõnaraamatu (ÕS 2013) normingutest – uurime sõnu, mida lubatakse hääldada nii teises kui kolmandas vältes. Analüüsime sõnade pearõhulise ja järgsilbi kestussuhteid ja võrdleme saadud andmeid kuuldelise hinnangu tulemustega. Uurime, kas sarnase silbistruktuuri ja sama sõnaliigilise kuuluvusega sõnade häälduses on sarnaseid jooni. Rakenduslikust aspektist kannus- tab uurimust vajadus leida lahendus probleemidele, mida varieeruvus tekitab tekst-kõne sünteesi protsessis. Uuringu tulemusel selgusid peamised trendid varieeruva vältega sõnade häälduseelistustes. Nii silpide kestussuhete kui kuuldelise hinnangu alusel moodustusid kindlad sõnarühmad, kus domineeris üks või teine välde. Sõnatüüpide kaupa analüüs võimaldas määrata ka välte varieerumise trende tüübiti, nt kõik kolmesilbilised lik-liitelised adjektiivid ühe erandiga hääldusid kolmandas vältes.
Artikkel käsitleb Salatsi liivi verbiprefiksite esinemist Johann Andreas Sjögreni materjalide põhjal. Arvestades Kuramaa liivi vastavaid uurimusi ja asjaolu, et Sjögreni ajal oli Salatsi liivi juba väljasurev keel, oleks ootuspärane verbiprefiksite arvukas kasutus. Siiski analüüs osutab, et ühelt poolt ei ole verbiprefiksite hulk kuigi suur, teiselt poolt võib neid leida peamiselt kirjalikest tekstidest, mis on otse läti keelest liivi keelde tõlgitud: enamikul juhtudel esinevad verbiprefiksid Salatsi liivi keeles siis, kui need on ka läti keeles. Ühtlasi ilmneb, et verbiprefiksid on küll Salatsi liivis omaks võetud, kuid seda ainult vähesel määral.
Abstract. Eberhard Winkler: Verb prefixes in Salaca Livonian. The article discusses the occurrence of Salaca Livonian verb prefixes based on Andreas Sjögren's data. Considering the relevant studies in Courland Livonian and the fact that Salaca Livonian was already a dying language at the time of Sjögren frequent use of verb prefixes would be expected. However, the analysis shows that on the one hand the use of verb prefixes is not very frequent, on the other hand they can mainly be found in written texts translated directly from Latvian to Livonian: in most cases the prefixes occur in Livonian when they are also presen in Latvian. Moreover, it appears that verb prefixes have been adopted in Salaca Livonian but only to a small extent.
Keywords: verb prefixes; Livonian; Salaca Livonian; Courland Livonian
"Finnish and Estonian kyl(lä)/küll and the word order of negative clauses"
This paper looks comparatively at the Finnish kyl(lä) and Estonian küll, which function as an epistemic adverb and a particle in both languages, and have a common origin in the noun ‘abundance’. Even though the word is mostly used to formulate positive answers, it also occurs in negative utterances. This is the focus of the current paper, which at the same time touches on the complex area of word order.
Even though both languages feature more or less free pragmatic word order, the patterns for negative utterances which contain both the negation word ei and kyl(lä)/küll are varied, especially regarding the placement of adverbs and particles. On the basis of conversational data the study establishes four patterns for Finnish((X+)ei,en+X+kyl(lä);ei+X+kyllä#;ei+V+kyl(lä)+Y;X+ei+ kyl(lä) +Y, where X denotes one or several noun phrases and Y an adverbial) and three patterns for Estonian (X + ei + V (+X) + küll + other; ei + V + küll# (+ other); X/Y + küll + ei + V + other), where only the last one is frequent. Accordingly, Finnish reveals more flexibility in word order and negation-initial patterns, while in Estonian ei regularly follows küll, which is impossible in Finnish. The negation word and the finite verb have to occur near each other in Estonian but not in Finnish.
In order to analyze the interactional functions of these patterns, the conversation analytic method is used which makes it possible to reveal participants’ local understanding of each prior action. The study shows that there are two relatively small functional areas where the word order patterns coincide in Finnish and Estonian: in a concessive use ((X+) ei, en + V + kyl(lä)/küll), and when kyl(lä)/küll is used as an utterance-final epistemic marker. The latter pattern, however, is extremely rare in Estonian, and has developed a special implication of ‘as a matter of fact’ in Finnish.
In other functions, the word order is different. In particular, in answers to polar questions the ordering of the negation word and kyl(lä) or küll is the opposite, with negation preceding kyl(lä) in Finnish and following küll in Estonian. While in Finnish the word kyl(lä) functions as an epistemic reassurance for the recipient, in Estonian the küll + ei pattern is typically used for building contrast with the prior and setting the initial element into focus. Regardless of the phonological and historical similarity, the syntactic patterns for this adverb/ particle are different, which may reflect more overarching differences in word order between the two languages – something that remains to be explored. At least when it comes to kyl(lä) and küll, Finnish word order is more flexible, while Estonian displays a distinct grammaticalized pattern. Accordingly, the function of the “same” epistemic word emerges in a more content-related manner in Finnish, where it expresses speaker certainty, and as more of a syntactic device in Estonian, where it marks another element in the clause as being contrasted. This illustrates the decisive role of interactional and syntactic context in (the development of) word meaning.
The paper is devoted to the grammaticalisation of the deictic pronoun se into a definite article in Votic. The author traces this process diachronically demonstrating the results of her studies with the examples of a folktale written down by August Ahlqvist in the middle of the 19th century, and of a text written down by herself at the beginning of the 21st century. The reason for article-like usage of se in Votic narrative in the 19th century seems to be the same as in Finnish narratives in the 19th century, as we can judge from Laury (1991): NPs that are prefaced with se have references that are important in some way for the narrative. In modern Votic se lost its function of marking NPs as prominent and became the marker of identifiability. The author draws the conclusion that the grammaticalisation of se in Votic is not yet completed, because se is not compulsory.
Artiklis vaadeldakse kahe lapse spontaanse kõne andmestiku põhjal eesti keele süntaksi varast omandamist. Laste süntaksi varase arengu saab jaotada kolme perioodi strateegia järgi, mida laps esimeste mitmesõnaliste lausungite moodustamiseks kasutab. Andmetest nähtub, et eesti lapsed kasutavad mitmesõnaliste lausungite loomisel esialgu palju grammatikavälist vahendit, kordust. Lapse vanusega korduste hulk järk-järgult väheneb ja kõnesse ilmuvad kahest sõnast koosnevad, kuid süntaktiliselt sidumata lausungid. Viimasel vaatlusvahemikul leidub laste kõnes süntaktilistel baassuhetel, nagu subjekt-verb, verb-objekt põhinevaid lausungeid.
This paper introduces the concept of the sea as lieu de mémoire into maritime history. Pierre Nora has developed his „Lieux de mémoire” in France. According to Nora „a lieu de mémoire is any significant entity, whether material or non-material in nature […] which has become a symbolic element of the memorial heritage of any community”. Nora thus highlights symbolic values, hitherto often separated from historical sciences and reduced to historical narratives. In my paper I shall focus on shared memories, divided memories and entangled histories, but especially shared sites of memory. These – material or immaterial – „lieux de mémoire divisés” constitute symbolic intersections between cultures, spaces and times. They simultaneously affect not only the neighbouring countries and the national cultures of memory, but also societies and ethnic or religious groups. In two comparative case studies on the straits of the Sound (Oresund) and Dardanelles I shall try to test the application of the concept with respect to the various memories of the seafaring nations and ethnic communities, settling at the entrance of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.
While Turkish immigrants in Western Europe orient themselves to the norms of Standard Turkish, their Turkish is constantly being influenced by the European language they also speak. As a result of language contact, slowly but surely, new varieties of Turkish seem to be evolving, exhibiting loss of certain features and/or borrowing of words and structures taken from European languages. In this article, the focus is on Immigrant Turkish in the Netherlands, particularly on how it forms subordinate clauses. We compare data from the Netherlands and Turkey, with the data coming from two sources: spontaneous conversation and a sentence recall task. The main finding that both data sources converge on is that Dutch Turkish speakers clearly prefer to use finite subordinate clauses, especially in reported speech structures, and that this is a clear influence from Dutch. In Turkey, subordination is predominantly non-finite. The findings are interpreted in a usage-based perspective on contact-induced change.
<p><span>The article reports the findings of a survey among 440 teachers of English in Estonia who participate in the oral proficiency interview of the national examination in the English language as interviewers. Examining the results of the questionnaire statement by statement, the study reveals that interviewer behavioural patterns emerge during the interview, some of them threatening its validity.The understanding of interviewer competence is very diverse among the interviewers and the degree to which they adhere to the standards defined for the interviewers of national examination in the English langage in Estonia is sometimes quite low. The interviewers are often unable to separate their role as an interviewer from being a teacher; they transfer their teaching behaviour to the interviewing situation. The teachers have difficulties with identification of appropriate accommodation strategies as well as controlling the extent of interaction between the interviewer and the assessor. The authors suggest a number of interviewer training strategies to combat the problems. </span></p><p>DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5128/ERYa9.08</p>
The basic colour terms for black and white are studied in four archaic and two contemporary linguistic norms of the Chinese language. It is presented that studied Chinese linguistic norms use a common term for white and three different terms for black. It is suggested that the different basic colour terms for black might originate from different source languages. The study supports a panchronic language development instead of a diachronic one, and includes introductions to histories of the Chinese linguistic norms
This article deals with the knowledge of the Karelian language of school children living in a Karelian village. Karelian is an endangered language and it is said that it is a language of old people, that is why I was interested in children’s knowledge of Karelian. The aim is consider how the children self-estimate their ability to speak, understand, read or write Karelian. This study shows that Karelian children do somehow know their heritage language. But to become skilful Karelian speakers children need plenty of help and support from their parents, teachers and from the community
The period of Stalinism is usually overshadowed by accounts of terror and a topic like leisure seems not to be appropriate. Nevertheless, leisure was an important aspect of everyday life in Estonia under Stalin’s reign. Some elements of continuity with the interwar period might be identified. The state struggled to control leisure activities and to re-educate the population but obviously failed. Listening to foreign radio stations or reading forbidden books might have been subversive but were not yet signs of resistance. Many leisure activities bore the character of escaping from a harsh reality and from poverty. The paper is based on archival documents, oral history and life stories.