Hasil untuk "Finnic. Baltic-Finnic"

Raili Pool

Artikkel on teine osa algajate eesti keele õppijate ja eesti keelt emakeelena kõnelejate suulist interaktsiooni käsitlevast pikiuuringust. Informantideks on viis täiskasvanud keeleõppijat, kellest neljaga on nende aastasel eesti keele intensiivkursusel osalemise perioodil salvestatud neli, ühega kaks vaba vestlust emakeelekõnelejatega, vestluste vahe on keskmiselt kaks kuud. Artiklis käsitletakse suulises interaktsioonis toimuvaid muutusi eesti keele õppijate keeleoskuse täienemise käigus. Pikiuurimuse materjali analüüs näitas, et õppijate keeleoskuse arenedes suureneb õppija voorust põhjustatud tähendusläbirääkimiste hulk ning mitmekesistuvad õppijate kasutatud abiotsimisstrateegiad. Seejuures toetuvad keeleõppijad muudele interaktsioonis osalejate ühistele keeltele kogu uurimisperioodi vältel ning võtavad eesti vestluspartnerite pakutud keelelise toetuse enamasti vestluses vastu keelendite vahetu kordamise teel. Eesti emakeelega osalejate tekstis esineb ka keeleõppesituatsioonile omaseid suulise korrigeeriva tagasiside andmise juhtumeid. "Changes in the interactions between learners of Estonian and native speakers over one year." This article is the second part of a longitudinal study of the oral interactions of learners of Estonian as a second language (L2) and native speakers (L1). The informants in the research are five adult language learners (native languages English, Romanian, Udmurt and Russian), who studied Estonian in an intensive course and who did not know Estonian prior to the beginning of their studies. As partners of the language learners three speakers of Estonian as a native language participated in the research; all of them had prior experience in teaching Estonian as a second language but none of them had taught the informants. During the year the research was conducted, four free-form conversations with native speakers were recorded with four of the language learners and two with one of them; the average length of the conversations was 20 minutes and the average interval between the conversations was two months. The article examines the particularities of the L1 and L2 learners’ interactions and changes over the period of the year as the Estonian language competence of the learners continues to grow.

Denis Kuzmin

The article analyzes old personal names of the Karelian population. As the author demonstrates, the revealed corpus of historical Karelian names is yet very incomplete and severely understudied. This is to be due to a number of causes, including the relative scarcity of names recorded in historical documents, the limited number of sources, and the lack of research devoted to medieval Karelian names. Thus, this article is the author’s look into the evolution of the old given names of Karelians and a step towards their further description and study. Kokkuvõte. Denis Kuzmin: Vanad karjalaste isikunimed. Artiklis analüüsitakse Karjala elanikkonna vanu isikunimesid. Nagu autor näitab, on teadaolevate ajalooliste karjalaste nimede korpus veel väga puudulik ja väheuuritud. Põhjusi selleks on mitu, sealhulgas ajalooürikutes kirja pandud nimede suhteline nappus, allikate piiratus, keskaegsete karjala nimede vähene uuritus. Käesolev artikkel annab ülevaate karjalaste vanade eesnimede kujunemisest ning on samm nende edasise kirjeldamise ja uurimise suunas.

Osward Chanda, Peeter Päll

Names constitute a key component of the cultural heritage of any region. Though geographically, culturally and linguistically apart, Estonia and Zambia share some elements and motivations in naming. Zambia’s British colonial experience and Estonia’s Danish, German, Polish, Swedish and Russian/ Soviet influence in the past made significant changes to personal and place names in both regions. Following independence, both states made strides in the indigenisation of names for promoting local heritage and national identity. Zambia predominantly focused on changing the names of some towns, and of the country (from Northern Rhodesia to Zambia). On the other hand, the Estonian onomastic experience has been more comprehensive – regulating both personal and place names, enacting corresponding laws and maintaining the Institute of the Estonian Language to oversee language and name planning, among other responsibilities. Kokkuvõte. Osward Chanda ja Peeter Päll: Nimekorraldus Sambias ja Eestis: võrdlev analüüs. Artikkel vaatleb Sambia ja Eesti nimesituatsiooni erinevusi ja sarnasusi. Sambia on mitmekeelne maa, ametikeel on inglise; Eesti on ametlikult ükskeelne maa, praktikas käibivad eesti keele kõrval ka vene ja inglise keel. Sambia isikunimedes on perekonnanimed valdavalt kohalikku päritolu, eesnimed enamjaolt euroopalikud; kohanimed on valdavalt ühekordsed. Sambias ei ole erinevalt Eestist nimeseadusi isiku- ja kohanimede reguleerimiseks. Ühine on mõlema maa puhul asjaolu, et ajaloos on varem domineerinud võõrvõimud, mis on jätnud jälje nimepilti. Kui proovida sõnastada universaalseid nimekorralduspõhimõtteid, siis võiksid need olla 1) nimede kui kultuuripärandi kaitse; 2) kohalike nimekujude eelistamine; 3) nimede keeleline korrektsus, 4) oma kultuuriidentiteedi hoidmine, 5) nimede pragmaatiliste aspektide (eristatavus, nimeinfo kättesaadavus jm) arvestamine.

Tiina Laansalu, Peeter Päll

Marja Kallasmaa 70.

Reili Argus, Eveli Makko

Artiklis vaadeldakse väljamõeldud grammatikareegli omandamist katsesituatsioonis. Tegemist on esimese eestikeelse uuringuga, mis vaatleb seda, kuidas toimub morfoloogilise reegli omandamise protsess üldiselt. Uuringus on kasutatud Sara Fermani ja Avi Karni (2010, 2014) katse lühendatud ja eesti keele jaoks mugandatud varianti, kus katsealused peavad hindama keelelise stiimuli õigsust. Katse eesmärk oli jälgida, kuidas muutub kaheksa katsealuse lapse ja võrdlusgrupi ehk nelja täiskasvanu õigete vastuste hulk ja vastamiskiirus 11 katsesessiooni jooksul. Vaatluse all oli ka see, millest sõltub reegli omandamine: kas tüve astmevahelduslikkusest või subjekti elususest/elutusest. Tulemused näitavad, et kaheksast lapsest omandas reegli kuus, nende laste tulemused saavutasid maksimumilähedase õigete vastuste hulga kolmandaks sessiooniks. Võrreldes lapsi ja täiskasvanuid, võib öelda, et omandamine toimus üldjoontes sarnaselt. Astmevahelduslike ja astmevahelduseta verbide ning elusate ja elutute subjektide puhul ei olnud erinevused korrektsete vastuste hulgas ja vastamise kiiruses statistiliselt olulised. *** "Acquisition of an artificial morphological rule by 8-year old Estonian children" The aim of the current article is to present the first results of an experiment conducted with 8 Estonian children and 4 young adults as a control group for testing the acquisition of an artificial morphological rule (AMR). Each participant was individually trained in 10 consecutive daily training sessions (1–4 days apart) and re-tested for retention after an interval of one month. The experiment was based on the experiment conducted by Sara Ferman and Avi Karni (2010, 2014) but was shortened and adopted for Estonian language. The AMR was designed to be analogous to the morphophonological rules of Estonian grammar and participants were supposed to add different verbal suffixes depending on the animacy of the subject. Training occurred through exposure to and use of the AMR in the performance of a judgment task wherein the participants were instructed to make a forced-choice (correct – incorrect) response. Both the number of correct answers and reaction time were measured. There was no explicit instruction on the nature of the AMR at any time during the training. As a result of the experiment, 6 of the 8 children acquired the rule by the third session, their performance reaching to the level of approximately 85% of correct answers, while 2 children did not acquire the rule (the answers of one child were random from the first until the last session, the second child just decided that one of the suffixes was correct in every sentence). The increase in the number of correct answers and decrease of reaction time demonstrated a similar pattern in children’s and young adults’ results. The adults’ performance was 10% superior to that of the children. The results show that children did not give more correct answers to verbs occurring with animate subjects, nor did they perform better with verbs having different morphophonological structure (grade alternation of the verb stem).

Ingrida Balčiūnienė, Ineta Dabašinskienė

The study examines macro- and microstructural characteristics of narrative production in Lithuanian as the first language of a group of Lithuanian-English sequential young (mean age 6;1) bilinguals (n = 12) living in the UK; the control group of monolingual Lithuanian children (n = 12) residing in Lithuania was tested as well. Monolingual children demonstrated greater vocabulary diversity and used a wider range of syntactic devices to create story cohesion than the bilinguals, although general story length (words, utterances, communication units) was higher in the bilingual group. The results point to specific aspects of language that may be difficult for children to acquire without formal education in Lithuanian. We speculate that the advantage in story length for bilingual speakers might be attributed to a greater emphasis on oral narratives within the UK educational system. *** "Dominantkeel kakskeelses keeleomandamises: narratiiviloome juhtumiuuring leedu keeles" Uuring käsitleb Ühendkuningriigis elavate leedu-inglise suktsessiivsete kakskeelsete laste (n = 12, keskmine vanus 6;1) leedukeelse narratiiviloome makro- ja mikrostruktuurseid tunnuseid. Kontrollgrupina testiti Leedus elavaid ükskeelseid leedu lapsi (n = 12). Ükskeelsed lapsed moodustasid mitmekesisema sõnavara ja süntaktiliste vahendite abil sidusama narratiivi kui kakskeelsed, ehkki loo üldine pikkus (sõnad, lausungid, kommunikatiivsed üksused) oli kakskeelsel grupil suurem. Tulemused osutavad eri keelenähtustele, mille omandamisel võib lastel olla raskusi ilma leedukeelse formaalhariduseta. Oletame, et kakskeelsete kõnelejate paremus loo pikkuses võib olla seotud suurema rõhuasetusega suulisele narratiivile Ühendkuningriikide haridussüsteemis.

Kari Alenius

When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, it also conquered the territory of Estonia by the end of the year. The German occupation administration of the new territories ruled by the Germans needed the help of local residents everywhere. For this purpose, a semi-autonomous (or quasi-autonomous) Estonian Self-Administration was established. Similar administrative bodies were established in Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus as well. Based on previous studies, it is known that the Estonian Self-Administration worked closely with the German occupation administration. Thus, it is partially responsible for crimes committed in the name of the national socialist ideology in Estonia. It is clear that the Estonian members of the organization were German-minded and at least accepted the German rule for the time being. Otherwise, they would not have been able to join the Self-Administration. However, in previous studies, little attention has been paid to how Estonians tried to balance the interests of Germany and Estonia. Based on the preserved archival material, it seems that the Estonian actors also tried to promote the national interests of the Estonians while cooperating with the Germans and working for them. The article is mainly based on the materials of the German Security Police and other German and Estonian archival material. In addition, the presentation analyzes how the Estonians who worked in the organization later described their wartime activities in their memoirs.

Marjut Vehkanen

Artikkelini käsittelee Johannes Aavikin (1902) Praktilik Soome keele õpetus (Käytännöllinen suomen kielen opetus) ja Béla Györffyn (1939) Gyakorlati Finn Nyelvkönyv(Suomen kielen harjoituskirja) -oppikirjatekstien aihepiirejä ja oppikirjojen käyttäjäryhmiä. Tarkastelen näiden kahden oppikirjan sisältöjen suhdetta oman aikansa ilmiöihin. Tutkin kulttuurihistoriallisesta näkökulmasta käsin, löytyykö teksteistä esimerkiksi kielisukulaisuuteen viittaavia ratkaisuja tai mahdollisia yhtymäkohtia ilmestymisajankohtien historiallisiin todellisuuksiin. Tavoitteeni on oppikirjatekstien aihepiirejä vertailemalla avata näkökulmia kirjoittajien ajatusmaailmaan ja heidän oppimiskäsityksiinsä sekä kirjoille asetettuihin mahdollisiin erityistehtäviin niiden ilmestymisajankohtina. Kirjoittajat ovat sidoksissa aikaansa – tässä tapauksessa oppikirjan ilmestymisajankohtaan ja kirjoitusprosessin aikaiseen todellisuuteen ja sen luomiin vaatimuksiin. *** "The relationship of the text contents of the Finnish as a foreign language textbooks with the phenomena of their own time: Johannes Aavik Praktilik Soome keele õpetus (1902) and Béla Györffy Gyarkorlati Finn Nyelvkönyv (1939)" My paper concerns the contents and user groups of two textbooks, those of Johannes Aavik (1902) Praktilik Soome keele õpetus (A practical textbook of Finnish) and Béla Györffy (1939) Gyokorlati Finn Nyelvkönyv (A practical Finnish textbook). I will look at the relationship between the contents of these textbooks and the phenomena of the time they were written. From a cultural-historical point of view, I seek solutions in the textual content of the books that refer to linguistic relationships or possible confluences with historical realities at the time the books were published (1902, 1939). My aim is to open up perspectives to the authors’ thought and learning concepts by means of a comparison of the themes of text contents, as well as to possible special assignments set for the books at their publishing time. The authors are linked to their own time, in this case by the time of publication of the textbook and by the reality of the writing process and the requirements it has created. What in particular can be said about the contents of the texts in these books? In the Hungarian textbook there is a strong emphasis on religious content, as it was intended for students of the Lutheran church. The Estonian textbook has many fragments of Finnish fiction (Juhani Aho), Finnish songs (Maamme, the national anthem) and also many features of Finnish nationalism due to the difficult Russian grand duchy time. Beforehand I had thought that the texts in the Hungarian textbook were completely disregarding the historical reality of that time (the year 1939), but after reading one particular chapter at the end of the book I realized that the writer was full of worries surrounding him and Europe.

Ilia Moshnikov

"Developing websites in the Karelian language as part of virtual linguistic landscape" Today, besides various physical linguistic landscapes, also virtual ones are being actively developed in cyberspaces such as the Internet and digital environments. Virtual linguistic landscapes have recently become a significant indicator of a level of language vitality. Indeed, minority and endangered languages are experiencing multiple opportunities to be revived and promoted. Because of modern digitalization, the Karelian language has also become part of the Internet. Having access to the Karelian language in cyberspace enables the use this language, even when it might be difficult to find in real life. This study is focused on exploring which varieties of Karelian are used today as an optional language of communication at different websites. In addition, the study aims at investigating the contexts in which these particular websites are being developed and the initiators of this development process. The research data consists of 16 websites offering the Karelian language as a language of the virtual interface. The research material has been analyzed based on both physical and virtual linguistic landscape theories. The former type was introduced by Landry and Bourhis in 1997, and later Ivkovic and Lotherington (2009) adapted it to develop their own virtual linguistic landscape theory. Furthermore, Reh’s (2004) four multilingual writing strategies, particularly duplicating, fragmentary, overlapping and complementary, have been used to analyze the interfaces and contents of the selected websites. This study reveals that the most commonly used Karelian dialect in virtual linguistic landscapes is Livvi-Karelian; 10 out of the 16 sites use this particular variety as the language of the interface. Of the remaining websites, three use only the Karelian Proper dialect and three others offer a language choice in one of the two above-mentioned dialects. The results may primarily be explained by there being no common standard Karelian language; moreover, the Karelian language does not have an official status in any country. Analyzing the visibility of the Karelian language in the cyber space reveals that most websites have been developed by cultural societies, linguistic researchers, newspaper editorial teams or individuals interested in the Karelian language. Thus, this study presents an overall picture of visibility of Karelian in the Internet and suggests a few possible ways of promoting this endangered language not only in the virtual environment, but also in real life. In fact, even a minor initiative contributes to the revitalization of the Karelian language.

Eleri Aedmaa

The purposes of this article are to automatically classify Estonian particle verbs and detect their degree of compositionality. In order to group particle verbs, the lexical association measures (AMs) are compared. For the detection of the degree of compositionality of Estonian particle verbs, a model based on distributional semantics is used. The experiment is carried out with the word2vec tool, using a continuous bag-of-words model which predicts the word given its context. The analysis of the comparison of AMs revealed that none of the AMs used achieve high enough precision values to classify the particle verbs. Hence, it can be assumed that Estonian particle verbs cannot be divided cleanly into the classes of compositional and non-compositional particle verbs, but rather populate a continuum between entirely compositional and entirely non-compositional expressions. The experiment of assessing the degree of compositionality of the particle verbs using distributional semantic model proved successful. It is demonstrated that the value of cosine similarity can predict the degree of compositionality of particle verbs. However, in order to evaluate the method introduced here, it is important to create a ranking of human judgement on semantic compositionality for a series of particle verbs and base verbs to which they correspond.

Vitolds Muižnieks

Johanna Laakso

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship of Finno-Ugric studies and language teaching: What can the Finno-Ugric inheritance or relatedness mean in the practice of teaching and learning Finno-Ugric languages as a second or foreign language? Beyond the background knowledge which is typically incorporated in the academic teaching of the Finno-Ugric languages, questions of the history and relatedness of these languages may surface in connection with two aspects. First, the teaching of the rich and complex morphology and, in particular, morphophonology might profit from excursions into the (pre)history of the language. Second, Finno-Ugric languages are often “othered”, seen as “something different” and contrasted with major (Indo-)European languages. This fact, although it may play a crucial role for the recruitment and motivation of the students, has – like aspects of identity in general – often been ignored in the study of language teaching.

Ekaterina Zakharova

The paper offers an analysis of one of the best represented groups of substrate appellative lexis fixed in the toponymy of Eastern Obonezh’e – the landscape term, which is found in all structural types of the Finnic toponymic substrate in the study area. This group of terms from the toponymy of the region portrays the characteristic features and varieties of the landscape people use to build settlements, and practice industries and trades. Hence, through analysis and identification of structural and lexical-semantic models typical of specific time periods and ethnic groups one can reconstruct the main stages and pathways of colonisation of the land, determine the nature of contacts between cultures and languages, and form conjectures about land use, since the models of naming geographical objects are transferred to new territories as the population moves.

Чимиза Кудер-ооловна Ламажаа, А Т Бердин

Елена Л. Березович, Анна A. Макарова, И. И. Муллонен

The paper presents a comparative study of “demonological” root cert - and hiisi - in the currently used Russian toponymy of the Russian North (Arkhangelsk, Vologda regions, the surrounding areas of Yaroslavl, Kostroma regions), and the Republic of Karelia. In the toponymy of Russian origin, the most frequent names are toponyms with the root cert - (80 % of “demonological” names), which continue Proto-Slavic * cьrt -. The places named using cert- have a number of common features: often these are places with a negative relief, usually filled with water (names of water objects dominate in this type); the economic exploitation of cert- places is either impossible or extremely difficult. The popularity of the root cert- in toponymy is also supported by the use of * cьrtež ‘cleared arable land’, and may be associated with the archaic tradition of the perception of a place in relation to the “spirit of the place”. There are certain factors which caused an increase of cert- toponyms: “landscape” (their number increases in the areas rich with swamps, rapid rivers, dense forests etc.); agricultural activity; a significant number of churches and monasteries. Factors mitigating the productivity of cert- toponyms are: hunting activity; the onomastic tradition of contact languages (e.g., low productivity of the corresponding word in Komi); linguistic taboos. In Finnic toponymy the corresponding root is hiisi -/ hiite -, which can be traced back to * hiite . The popularity of the root in toponymy is connected with the semantics that originally included a “local” component. Hiisi was originally used for a pagan cemetery located on a hill, with a large conspicuous stone in the centre. Gradually the word came to mean a grove which developed on the site of the cemetery. With the spread of Christianity in the eastern dialects, the word acquired the meaning ‘devil’. The most likely source of the model in the substrate toponymy of the Russian North is the Karelian tradition. In the toponymy of Karelian Priladozhye, this root is used to denote primarily the highest mountains located near a settlement. About a quarter of the names with the root hiisi - in the substrate toponymy also denote mountains, most of them located in the west of the area, that is on the White Sea and in Obonezhye. This toponymic root referred to prominent heights  in the territory where villages often stood, as well as Orthodox chapels and churches. On the other hand, they are known as places connected with impure force. This toponymic root is evident in the Russian North with different phonology: Hiž - in the north-west, on the Onega-White Sea watershed; forms with the loss of the initial consonant ( Iž -, Id - et al.) in Eastern Obonezhye; Hid - mainly in the central area, especially on Onega; Hit - in the south. The coexistence of different variants in the same area ( Hid and Hižestrov ) reflected the fact that hiisi took the form hiide - (<* hiiδe -) in obliqiue cases. The whole area where the toponymic root occurs in the Russian North (from the White Sea, the Lake Onega and the White Lake in the west to Pinega in the east) largely corresponds to the territory of the eastward Karelian expansion in the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries.

M. Magi

M. Merilainen

Alexander I. Pereswetoff-Morath

Sven-Erik Soosaar

1. Introduction The research on the etymology of Estonian lexicon has already lasted for several centuries. Since the last conclusive overview, more than quarter of a century has passed (Ratsep 1983, 1986) and during this time the etymology of many stems has been adjusted and numerous new etymologies have been proposed. The first etymological reference books of Estonian were published in the early 1980s. Julius Magiste's monumental "Estnisches etymologisches Worterbuch" remained unfinished because of the death of the author, but Finno-Ugrian Society in Helsinki published the manuscript of it in 1983 in twelve volumes (EEW). One year before that Alo Raun had published a small reference book, that in a very concise style gives in one line the origin of the word and a few cognates (Raun 1982). The most recent attempt to give an overview of the etymology of Estonian lexicon was made in the Estonian Etymological Dictionary (EES), which is the first etymological dictionary of Estonian published in Estonia. Based on EES, I will give a new overview of the Estonian lexicon and statistical analysis of cognates in related languages. The methods and principles are similar to the ones used in Huno Ratsep's articles (Ratsep 1983, 1986) but there are some differences in the distribution of historical layers of the lexicon. It should also be noted that Ratsep based his research on his own card catalogue, not available to the public, the present research is based on published source in the shape of EES. First of all it has to be defined what a stem in the case of Estonian is. Based on synchronic linguistics all these lexemes should be considered stems, from which no case endings, number markers, tense markers, derivational suffixes etc. can be separated. But in the case of historical linguistics we also have to find all historical suffixes that have been merged to the stems and are no more considered as derivational suffixes. Plus we have to find all phonological rules, contractions of stems and other possible changes. One lexical morpheme (stem) from the viewpoint of contemporary language may historically derive from several stems, like e.g. praegu 'now' which is composed of two stems or may contain historically a derivational suffix. EES has made a questionable choice of defining as stems only the lexems that are not derived from other stems either in Estonian or in any proto-language from which Estonian derives. Accordingly the derivations from the Finnic or FinnoPermic period are not considered separate stems. For example nagu 'face' and nagema 'to see' are considered as one stem, although nagu is as Finno-Saamic derivation from the stem in Estonian nagema and which derives from Finno-Ugric stem *nake- (UEW:302). The word nagu has cognates in addition to all Finnic also in most Saami languages, e.g. North Saami niekko 'dream' (SSA 2:251). Another example is the case of words valva-(ma) 'to keep watch' and vaata-(ma) 'to watch', because the latter has been derived from the first by means of derivational suffix ta. Later the simplification of consonant cluster and contraction of syllables *lv > *l > O has yielded the word vaatama. In dubious cases the stems are dealt as separate ones, e.g. in case of valvama it has been proposed that this stem is an old derivation from a stem represented by Estonian vala-(ma) 'to pour'. The stem kat- in the word kat-(ma) 'to cover' is in contemporary Estonian undividable lexical morpheme. However, etymologically it derives from the sequence of two morphemes: *kante- and causative suffix *-tta-, besides *kanteis the same morpheme, found in contemporary Estonian kaas 'cover, lid'. According to the existence of cognates in related languages it is possible to divide stems of contemporary language into historical layers. In case of dubious etymologies it has been counted how many stems there are where cognates in some closer language are doubtless or to which other layer of loans the stem in question may belong. …

Karl Pajusalu

Artikkel kasitleb Salomo Heinrich Vestringi eesti-saksa sonaraamatut „Lexicon Esthonico Germanicum”, mis on koostatud 18. sajandi alguses ja ilmus trukituna esmakordselt alles 1998. aastal. Vestring sundis Parnus ja tootas enamiku oma elust seal pastorina. Selleparast on ootusparane, et sonaraamat kajastab suuresti tollast Parnu umbruse ja laiemalt Edela-Eesti keelepruuki. Artiklis kasitletaksegi sonaraamatus esivaid Edela-Eesti kohanimesid, muud sonavara ning fonoloogilisi ja morfoloogilisi erijooni. Ilmneb, et suurel osal sellest sonavarast ja grammatilistest erijoontest on vasted ka liivi keeles, eriti Pohja-Latis koneldud Salatsi liivi keeles. Vestringi esitatud ainesest tuleb esile selliseidki keelejooni, mis on hiljem tuntud uksnes liivi keelest. See annab alust arvata, et kunagi on Edela-Eesti murded olnud liivi keelele veel lahedasemad kui 20. sajandil, ning toetab seisukohta, et Edela-Eesti murded ja liivi keel on varem moodustanud uhtse edelalaanemeresoome murdekontiinumi. South-western Estonian places and language in Salomo Heinrich Vestring’s dictionary. The article concerns the Estonian- German dictionary „Lexicon Esthonico Germanicum” by Salomo Heinrich Vestring which was compiled in early 18th century and first published in 1998. Vestring was born in Parnu and spent most of his life working there as a pastor. Therefore it is not surprising that the dictionary largely reflects contemporary language use of Parnu area and south-western Estonia in general. The article discusses south-western Estonian place names, other vocabulary and characteristic phonological and morphological features occurring in the dictionary. It appears that a large part of the vocabulary and characteristic features of grammar have cognates in Livonian, particularly in Salaca Livonian spoken in northern Latvia. Vestring’s material even includes language features that are later only known to exist in Livonian. This gives a reason to believe that south-western Estonian dialects have earlier been closer to Livonian than in the 20th century and supports the view that south-western Estonian dialects and Livonian used to form a single south-western Finnic dialect continuum.