Multilingual Finnic. Language contact and change.

Multilingual Finnic. Language contact and change. Sofia Björklöf & Santra Jantunen (eds). [Uralica Helsingiensia 14.] Helsinki: Finno-Ugrian Society. 7-12., 2019

Lähivõrdlusi. Lähivertailuja, 2018

This 28th issue of Lahivordlusi. Lahivertailuja is partly based on papers presented at the 20th anniversary conference of the VIRSU network in Tallinn on October 5th and 6th, 2017. The languages under study in most of the articles are Estonian and Finnish, but two further Finno-Ugric languages, namely Karelian and Hungarian, are also dealt with in some contributions. A central theme present in many contributions is the history of linguistics and language teaching and the impact of traditions on today’s linguistics.

Multilingual Finnic. Language contact and change. Sofia Björklöf & Santra Jantunen (eds). [Uralica Helsingiensia 14.] Helsinki: Finno-Ugrian Society. 89-153., 2019

The aim of this article is 1) to describe the historical language contact situation between the genetically closely related Finnic varieties of western Ingria, 2) to give examples of the numerous loanwords originating from mutual contacts among local Finnic varieties as well as areal diffusion, and 3) to discuss the method of investigating contacts and borrowing among closely related varieties. The data are taken from old dialectal materials published in vocabularies and dictionaries as well as preserved in archives. The words that are analysed and discussed etymologically in more detail are drawn from Vote, Ingrian, and Estonian. Although it is often difficult to confirm the direction of borrowing among closely related varieties, I seek to determine the direction of diffusion in the varieties whose development cannot be described merely in terms of a traditional binary family tree model. Examples of mutual borrowing between Vote, Ingrian, Estonian, and Finnish are presented. Estonian loanwords in Vote and Ingrian can usually be recognised by their distribution. Most vocabulary originating as loans (in Vote, Ingrian, and Estonian) has been borrowed from Finnish. Loans in both Vote and Estonian often have a distribution not only in Ingrian but also in Finnish. Because of the phonetic similarity of these varieties, the donor variety usually cannot be defined. Vote loanwords occur only sporadically in Ingrian and Estonian: they may also form a substratum. The speakers of Finnic varieties in western Ingria used to live in old rural communities with long-term plurilingualism, villages with a mixed population, and vague language boundaries. The arrival of new inhabitants from the countries, which ruled this area and the foundation of St. Petersburg in 1703 changed the ethnographic balance between different peoples in Ingria. This increased linguistic diversity and altered the hierarchy of the languages leading gradually to accelerating language and identity shift of the local peoples of Ingria. [Summary in Finnish and in Estonian]

Eesti ja soome-ugri keeleteaduse ajakiri. Journal of Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics, 2014

The areas of the distribution of Indo-European loanwords in Finnic dialects are described on many lexical maps of the Atlas Linguarum Fennicarum and the Atlas Linguarum Europae. The maps of those atlases offer an opportunity to follow the post-formational contacts of the languages. The analysis of the spread of loanwords makes it possible to find the main routes and centres of Indo-European innovations in Finnic dialects and discuss the reasons for the different sources of the influences. Sometimes, the Finnic area has been a boundary zone for several widespread Indo- European stems coming from different directions. Often the area distribution of dialect words is etymologically suggestive, but the source language depends on the concept. The differences in the use of stems with the same Indo-European origin in different Finnic languages may, at least partly, be due to the words having been borrowed at different times and from different donor languages.Kokkuvõte. Vilja Oja: Indoeuroop...

Lähivõrdlusi. Lähivertailuja, 2012

is state of the art review aims at discussing the potential relevance of Finno-Ugric languages in the larger context of second language research. Key results received in the studies conducted in the eld of Finno-Ugric languages as second languages are introduced, and some interim conclusions based on them are made. e main areas in focus are cross-linguistic in uence, forms and constructions, second language interaction, and motivation, identities and integration. Furthermore, some future lines of investigation are suggested for the researchers of the eld. e research activities are recommended to get more closely bound to the internationally established or emerging paradigms, and research activities involving several Finno-Ugric languages are strongly encouraged. To promote international co-operation, some existing gaps or obvious needs for research are pointed out, and preliminary research initiatives are made.