„Milošas“ ar / ir „Milãšius“?

JONAS PALIONIS Vilnius University Research interests: the history of written Lithuanian, general language culture, publication and study of old Lithuanian writings, onomastics. MÌLOŠAS OR / AND MILAŠIUS? Not long ago, we commemorated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the eminent poet, essayist, and translator of Lithuanian origin, Nobel Prize laureate Česlovas Milašius (Milošas). On Lithuanian radio, television, and in the periodical press, his surname is now generally used in the form Milošas. This somewhat Lithuanianized form is also found in the book Lietuviškieji Česlovo Milošo kontekstai, published in 2011 by Viktorija Daujotytė and Mindaugas Kvietkauskas. However, in prewar independent Lithuania, this renowned writer and cultural figure was sometimes also called Milāšiumi. This was neither accidental nor the result of linguists’ efforts to Lithuanianize his surname in this way. As can be seen from the Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames (hereafter LPŽ) (LPŽ II 237), the form Milāšius is very widespread in the Samogitian and Eastern Highlander dialects (the dictionary records as many as 44 instances in total!). This gives reason to think that the surname may be of Lithuanian origin and related to the Lithuanian word mìlas, ‘a thick, homespun woolen cloth,’ which also has the figurative meaning ‘a clumsy person, a lazybones’ (LKŽ VIII 184–185). This hypothesis is supported especially by the latter figurative meaning, recorded around Garliava, Geistarai, Pajavonis, and Virbalis, that is, in Western Highlander dialects (LKŽ VIII 184–185), particularly if it arose in ancient times. The surnames Milāšas, Milāšis, Mila-Milašauskas, Milašauskas, Milaševīčius and others are undoubtedly also related to the surname Milāšius. Village names derived from this surname include Milāšiai (Ignalina district), Milāšaičiai (Raseiniai district), Milāšinė (Vilnius district), Milāšiškės (Molėtai district), Milāšiškiai (Jonava district), Milāšiūnai (Kėdainiai and Ukmergė districts), and Milāšius (Ignalina district) (Directory of the Administrative-Territorial Division of the Lithuanian SSR II 185). This broad range of formations with the stem Miloš- also suggests that the surname Milāšius may have been of Lithuanian origin. In his work Lithuanian Personal Names (Zinkevičius 2008: 289–290), Prof. Zigmas Zinkevičius, too, is inclined to discern a Lithuanian origin for this surname, although he does not examine the question of its origin in greater detail: he is content to include it among reconstructed former compound words Įžvalgos / Insights 257 JONAS PALIONIS tariamą pirmąjį dėmenį Milas ir siejimu pa-mil-ti (Zinkevičius 2008: 116)1. LPŽ pavardė Milăšius siejama su lenkų Milosz ir baltarusių Milou (LPŽ II 237). Toks siejimas yra ir istoriškai, ir lingvistiškai patikimas. Tačiau lenkiškasis jos atitikmuo nėra dažnas senuosiuose lenkų rašto paminkluose. Vitoldo Tašickio redaguotame senųjų asmenvardžių žodyne, apimančiame tokius žodžius, fiksuotus raštuose iki 1500 m., pateikta tik 10 atvejų su formomis Milosz, Milos, Mylos (pastarosios dvi yra lotynizuotos) (Słownik [...] III 514–515). Ir įdomu tai, kad tarp jų vienas yra iš Lietuvos: Lentupio (Lynthup) bažnyčios mokesčių mokėtojo (tributori) asmenvardis Milosh, pastebėtas Vilniaus katedros bei diecezijos diplomatiniame 1461 m. kodekse: Codex diplomaticus ecclesiae cathedralis necno dioeceseos Vilnensis2. Undoubtedly, the church of the town of Lęntupis, mentioned in this codex, was in eastern Lithuania; the town, now part of Belarus, belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1385 to 1795 (it lies 12 km southeast of Švenčionys, by the Lentupis stream). It is thought that a wooden church built here in 1495 by Andrius Daugirdaitis, Voivode of Vilnius, stood until 1700 and was later renovated and converted into a brick building3. The codex preserves the dialectal form of the town’s name (with yn < en). The form mentioned in the codex, of course, tells us nothing about the origin of the surname Milăšius. It shows only that this personal name was present in the territory of Lithuania long ago. However, its wide geographical distribution, preserved to the present day, and its possible connection with the figurative meaning of the Lithuanian word milas, ‘a clumsy person, a lazybones,’ support the hypothesis of its Lithuanian origin. Without discussing all possible hypotheses concerning the origin of the surname Milăšius and leaving that to specialists in etymology, we now turn back to the problem of the surname’s current usage. In prewar independent Lithuania, as today, the Lithuanian form of Oskaras Milašius’s (1877–1939) surname was used, although this Lithuanian poet, who wrote in French, and diplomat of Lithuania came from the former Mogilev Governorate. However, the surname of Česlovas Milašius (1911–2004), born in Šeteniai (in what is now Kėdainiai district) and writing in Polish, 1 The author finds this element in as many as seventy surnames, including several doubtful cases (for example, Milinavičius, Milevičius, Miliauskas, Milevskis and others, which may conceal the underlying personal name Milis or Milius). 2 This example is cited in V. Tašickis’s dictionary from the edition prepared by J. Fijałek and V. Semkowicz and printed in Kraków in 1938–1948: Codex diplomaticus ecclesiae cathedralis dioceses Vilnensis, Kodex dyplomatyczny katedry i diecezji wilenskiej. I. 1387–1507. Wyd. J. Fijałek i W. Semkowicz. Wydawnictwo Komisji Hystorycznej Pok. Akademii Umiejętności. Kraków 1938–1948 (Vln 240). 3 For more, see: LE IV 445; VLE XI 799; Республика Беларусь IV 574. 258 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXII Milošas ar / ir Milašius? The surname form was used inconsistently in prewar independent Lithuania: in 1939, in his translations into Lithuanian published in Naujojoje Romuvoje, both Miłosz-Milašius and Milosz (Milašius) were used (Naujoji Romuva 33–34, p. 610; 45, p. 801). The postwar American Lietuvių enciklopedijoje gave the form Milosz (LE XVIII 478)4. The latter form is also the one most often found in the writings of restored independent Lithuania (for example, in Tomo Venclovos’s articles about Česlovas5, and in V. Daujotytė and M. Kvietkauskas’s book Lietuviškieji Česlovo Milošo kontekstai, published in 2011). The question arises: why is the surname of one person who has contributed to Lithuanian national culture, and is of identical origin, written in one form, a Lithuanian one, while that of another, who has also greatly benefited Lithuania, is written in a non-Lithuanian form? Might the different attitudes of these two unrelated individuals toward their nationality have had an influence here? However, from the articles by T. Venclova, who personally knew the renowned writer Česlovas, about his views and role in the history of Lithuanian culture, it is not apparent that he objected to being considered Lithuanian, much less to the use of a Lithuanian form of his surname. Moreover, Česlovas himself wrote that “The Lithuanian who speaks Polish is a type of consciousness that took shape historically in the territory of the GDL and spread into ethnic Lithuanian lands as well” (Milosz 2003: 58). Did Česlovas not consider himself part of this type? It seems to me that this is perfectly obvious. Therefore, avoiding the Lithuanian form of his surname is entirely unwarranted and even rather odd and illogical. Both Oskaras and Česlovas ought to be called Milašiai in Lithuanian, rather than by different surname forms, as is done not only in the writings of our literary historians but even in the encyclopedias mentioned above. It should also be added that works about Česlovas Milasius’s life give different forms of the name of his birthplace. The American Lietuvių enciklopedijoje states that he was born in Šateiniai (p. 478), whereas T. Venclova’s book Vilniaus vardai (Venclova 2006: 298) gives Šeteiniai, near Kėdainiai. However, neither Lietuvos TSR administracinio-teritorinio suskirstymo žinyne nor Vietovardžių žodyne lists the form Šeteiniai. The gazetteer lists only Šetėniai (II 302), while the dictionary gives two forms: Šetėniai and Šateiniai, that is, variant forms. The first is the headword here (the second is given in square brackets), so it should be considered the normative form. From a linguistic point of view, spelling and using the same surname in two different ways is unjustifiable. 4 This is probably also the form that the editors of Visuotinės lietuvių enciklopedijos followed; see VLE XV 144. 5 Veidas 35 and elsewhere. Įžvalgos / Insights 259 JONAS PALIONIS LITERATŪRA Daujotytė Viktorija, Kvietkauskas Mindaugas 2011: Lietuviškieji Česlovo Milošo kontekstai. Vilnius: Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas. LE IV; XVIII – Lietuvių enciklopedija 4; 18. Boston, 1959; 1985. Lietuvos TSR administracinio-teritorinio suskirstymo žinynas 2. Vilnius, 1976. LKŽ VIII – Lietuvių kalbos žodynas 8. Vilnius, 1970. LPŽ I–II – Lietuvių pavardžių žodynas 1–2. Vilnius: Mokslas, 1985–1989. Milosz Czesław 2003: Išvyka į Dvidešimtmetį. Vilnius: Pasviręs pasaulis. Naujoji Romuva. 1939, Nr. 33–34; 45. Słownik staropolskich nazw osobowych 3, red. Witold Taszycki. Wrocław, 1973. Veidas. 2004, Nr. 35. Venclova Tomas 2006: Vilniaus vardai. Vilnius: R. Paknio leidykla. Vietovardžių žodynas 2002. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. VLE I–XXV – Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija 1–25. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras, 2001–2015. Zinkevičius Zigmas 2008: Lietuvių asmenvardžiai. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. Республика Беларусь 4. Минск, 2007. Įteikta 2015 m. birželio 5 d. JONAS PALIONIS Juozo Tumo-Vaižganto g. 9–27, LT-01108 Vilnius, Lietuva 260 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXII