324 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXIX
aLdona PauLauskienė
Vilniaus uni e si e as
Resea ch a eas include g amma heo y, his o y o g amma
science, and social linguis ics.
i a Miliūnai ė
Wha is Mano e
aPie neP iesagines
The women's PaVa des?
Vilnius: Li huanian Language Ins i u e, 2013, page 359
isbn 978-609-411-090-0 he name o he s udio […] opical and wo hy o a en ion
ques ion. Why is i so ele an when we' e been ee and independen o o e wo
decades? because he un eadable ( eadable and un eadable) Li huanian women's
su names a e o eign o ou language, hei use o he e b -ė is con a y o
Li huanian cus oms and es ablished language no ms. In 1979, Jus in Ma cinke ich
spoke o he na ion in a poe ic way:
The li le ones, he
goes, emb acing
h ough ou oo s,
h ough ou
desi e o li e, li le
Wha 's you hope? Whe e's he sudden disappea ance o ha g ea desi e o
li le ones! And he
you name,
whe e you ga e us
language, you
one, we a e small, whe e o hide and wha a g ea desi e o emain!
su i e? Why was i eplaced by a desi e no o be, o disappea in o he wide wo ld?
Why do so many people now ind ou language ugly and poo , ou women's su names
ugly, and in gene al, why don' we wan o be who we a e? I we' e no ou sel es, we' e
no jus impo e ishing ou sel es. The disappea ance o a na ion's language and
cul u e would be a g ea loss o he whole wo ld. he unnecessa y emale su names
a e only a small pa o he g ea Li huanian desi e o disappea . i a Miliūnai ė ga e
us an excellen s udy o wha was and s ill is hough abou Li huanian women's
su names, wha we e he mo i es o changing o keeping hem. A e eading i , I
would like o add ess e e yone wi h he ph ase ans o med om he i s
Li huanian book: Take i and ead i ! And don' o ge o ead while you' e a i ! Don'
jus wo k, wo k i you wan o su i e. You a e now mis akenly con inced ha
no hing bad can happen o Li huanian languages, bu i has al eady happened. And i s
o all, shu up, you alke s! Educa ion, s udy and olk medicine canno eplace
i a Miliūnai ė
Ką mano e apie nep iesagines mo e ų pa a des?
325 e iews ki e he his o y, cus oms, language, o eign languages and cul u es o you
coun y and i s people and ake a sobe look a all ha has happened and is s ill
happening. You' e jus passi e obse e s now. The go e nmen decla ed he Li huanian
language a s a e language, es ablished he S a e Li huanian Language Commission a he
Seimo o he Republic o Li huania and washed i s hands, no ca ing abou wha he
commission has o can do. Milūnai ė w o e a book ha was ele an and beau i ul in
e e y way. Wha kind o high cul u e o w i ing de e mines i s objec i i y and
g ožybė i šelyje! Vi šelis a spindi i knygos g ožį, obulumą: puiki kompozicija i
a ac i eness, because he objec o s udy is clea ly de ined, he goals and asks a e
ou lined, and he consequences o non-co ec ed coding a e possible. The i le o he
book i sel asks: "Wha do you hink abou women's pseudonyms?" and aises a numbe
o o he ques ions: A e he o icial pe mission o women o ha e pseudonyms, is i
s ill possible o de end hei o me sys em? I so, how? I you can' , why? And why is i
so unwise o imi a e he example o o eign languages in one's mo he ongue?
The au ho 's expe ience is wo hy o a en ion in he dedica ion o he book: […][...] he
gi l's su name le in he ou h cen u y has no caused any disc imina o y
expe iences, obs acles o complexes in he li e[…]. and based on schola ship and popula
discou se, he s udy concludes wi h an unpleasan conclusion: […][...] he eminis
ebellion agains he ows o women's su names e en ually u ned in o a ebellion
agains he en i e Li huanian su name sys em as pa o Li huanian iden i y[…] (p. 319).
Le 's no be a aid o he e m "people's language" because o mo e han hal a
cen u y, he wo d "people" has been used. This Li huanian wo d, used by Simona
daukan o, is also w i en om he duse ų egion and has he meaning minia, a la ge
c owd o people (Li huanian language dic iona y Vii 391). In p o essional medicine, he e's
olk medicine, and in p o essional speech, he e's olk speech, because i seems o a
pe son ha he al eady knows e e y hing abou himsel : he can ea himsel , he can
decide o himsel wha his language should be, and he keeps his las name as a hing in his
possession. E e y heal hy pe son has a language, bu he language is no his own, bu he
p ope y o socie y, so his su name is also he p ope y o he language. An indi idual
can only c ea e a nickname a will. A well-es ablished nickname o a amous pe son o en
hides he eal name om people. The e o e, some may no know he eal names o
Mai onio, Vaižgan o, K ė ės, Vienuolio, Žemai ės.
p o essional medicine, no can olk language eplace p o essional medicine. People's
mo i es o changing su names a e no compa ible wi h p o essional linguis ics. Can a
change o su name lead o any kind o gende equali y? Equali y is c ea ed by seeking
inequali y, because he na u al des iny o man and woman is incompa ible and canno
coincide: men will ne e gi e bi h o child en. Women in many coun ies expe ience
disc imina ion ega dless o hei su name. Then why is he e such a ebellion agains
Li huanian women's su names?
326 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXIX om he ema ks o Zigmas Zinke ičius and
aLdona PauLauskienė
An ano Salio i is seen ha he e was a ime when Li huanian women's su names
di e ed om men only by ends (Daugi das […] Daugi da, De kin is […] De kin ė), bu i
is no known how wide. he e i o y bo de s La ia, whe e he La ian emale
su names (Ozols Ozola, Kalnačs Kalnača, Rozenbe gs Rozenbe ga) a e consis en ly
o med wi h wo endings (-a and -e); Balodis […] Balode, Ru dz is […] a egula ly
occu ing eminine su name. Li huanian male su names a e mo e a ied han La ian
Rudz e, Cepl is – Cepl e), ne odančios p iklausymo šeimai. i niekas iš lie u ių
kalbininkų nea k eipė dėmesio į pap as esnes la ių y ų pa a des, leidžiančias
ones. The e o e, i is no possible o make egula emale su names wi h one ending
-ė. In e es ingly, he su ix -ienė applies o all Li huanian men's su names, bu which
o he young beau i ul women would like o ha e a su name wi h his su ix, which has
al eady acqui ed om ou consciousness an almos uns essed ma king o ma iage.
In he s udio o he Milky Way, we also ind a sugges ion o use i o all women's
names, and he eason is ha i esembles an old woman who has g own up, e en
hough she is s ill young and beau i ul a e ma iage, and we will all g ow old wi hou
excep ion.
Today, language science is as a om he Li huanian-speaking socie y (and e en
om some speake s) as a s a is om a s a . Wha can be said abou he language,
he unmis akable emale su name e en in he Bal ic dialec , when in gene al
Li huanian su names a e om a ai ly la e ime (Li huanian p inces did no ha e
su names), and women's su names a e e en la e han men's?
The s udy o a lo ed one s a s om he ou line o he objec , i s me hods and
goals o s udy, om he c ea ion o a science ha explains Li huanian su names. I
is used in he wo ks o Zigma Zinke ičius, Meilu ė Ramonienė, Vi alija Macijauskienė,
almos agauskai ė and o he s. In he lis o li e a u e, we will ind all he speake s
and non-speake s who ha e publicly exp essed hei opinion abou women's
su names. The s o ies also eco d he a i ude o ou language's a he , Jon
Jablonski, o unusual emale su names. bu he s o ies a e no documen s: on he
one hand, i seems ha Jablonsky looked a hem a o ably (p. 50). He se ed he old
gi l De eiky ė wi h juozu senkumi, saying ha he name De eikė would be be e o
he and ha he names o adul gi ls should be used wi hou diminu i e adjec i es.
Jablonsky called Vosyle and Vosly e, bu he doesn' know unde wha ci cums ances:
did he say ha o he ace, o did he jus alk o o he s. I had a e y long and
in ima e ela ionship wi h B one Vosyly e, I hea d a lo o s o ies abou Jablonsky,
bu she ne e men ioned ha Jablonsky called he Vosyly. Senkus says Jablonski's
opinion: he illage s did well o call he small Senks Senkiuku, bu he elemen a y
school did no do well o call he small peppe Senkum.
In he discussions o hese days, he Albanian Pe ulis ecalls Jablonski's comple ely
opposi e s a emen (p. 54), ha only bu ied women a e en i led o non- adi ional su names.
i a Miliūnai ė
Ką mano e apie nep iesagines mo e ų pa a des?
327 ecenzijos / e iews
jablonskis galėjęs saky i i ienaip, i ki aip, nes jis ne ik ašęs g ama ikas, be
And lis ening o he e e yday speech o he people. and people could call an adul and
s ill p egnan woman by he own name, and hey could equa e he ows o adul gi ls'
names wi h he mino and mino ows o common wo ds and jus i y hei disbelie in
he p egnan woman. Li le boys a e eally called and a e s ill called Senkiukas,
Vi kauskiukas, Jonaichiukas, showing ha hey a e no g own up, no sa a ankiški,
s ill belong o he Senki, Vi kauskų, Jonaičių amilies. Bu no one has e e sugges ed
ha men's su names be w i en in mino o ms in documen s, because he ime will
come when boys will g ow up, ma y, sepa a e om hei pa en s, become he heads
o o he amilies, and hen hei su names will be changed o he su names o hei
wi es and daugh e s, and hei amily's li le boys will also be called mino o ms un il
hey g ow up and s a hei own amilies. Jablonsky, a p o essional linguis , who has
eason o say ha no e o ms can be made o he es ablished su name sys em, ha
only bu ied women a e p o ec ed by su names ha a e no su names. And you ha e
o belie e ha , because a he ime o Jablonski's li e, he mo al alues o he
Li huanian amily we e s ill e y s ong. Li huanian su name diminu i e su ixes do
no ha e a diminu i e meaning. Women indica e belonging o he amily, and men a e
comple ely un eachable: Labu is, Seibu is, U bu is, G ažulis, Balčy is, Sauly is,
An anėlis, Kunigėlis, e c. To be e unde s and he di e ence be ween he meanings
o eal and common nouns, le 's compa e he wo, jus opposi e nouns […] Didžiulis and
Mažiulis. A e y small man may ha e he su name Big, and a small man may ha e he
su name Plan . Names belong o he same naming sys em as he names o ci ies,
i e s, and lakes, and di e in seman ic ea u es om common nouns. Miliūnai ė
w i es ha he po en ial o he a gumen s p esen ed in he discussions o he
beginning o he wen ie h cen u y was no ully exploi ed. We' e he kind o people
who don' ca e abou wha o he people ha e said o a e s ill saying, bu we wan o
come ou wi h ou own one u h. Milena's s udy is he i s o show a wide a ie y o
a gumen s, bu whe he anyone will ake ad an age o he po en ial o he b illian
a ional a gumen s is s ill in doub , because we e y o en o e look indi idual minds.
In he 1967 deba e, Kazys Ul ydas w o e he mos cle e ly (p. 62[…]63). Who can ell me
how ha mind o his was o be ansmi ed o he public? He was joined by Jonah
Kazlausek, bu , o example, Alex Gi denis didn' e en see any linguis ic p oblems he e:
pu as much as you wan ha end -ė. Maybe a i s i will seem s ange Degu ė,
Gi denė, Vanagė, Skiau e ė, Kače auskė, bu […]when he e is no hing in hose names,
hey a e easily adap ed o e ime[…] (p. 65). The wol didn' make a mis ake, and he
dee did. I depended on he ime in which hey li ed and he b and and he age, he
acquisi ion o he essence o he objec .
328 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXIX ul ydas did no see any need o possibili y o
aLdona PauLauskienė
anyone o in e e e in he na u al p ocesses o language phenomena's o ma ion and
de elopmen . He's con inced ha wha 's unique, speci ic, beau i ul in language is
aluable and sa e. I 's no he su name, i 's he social o de ha changes he
a i ude owa ds ma ied and unma ied women. He does no iden i y pe sonal names
wi h pai s o p o essional names (doc o […] doc o ), much less wi h animals (wol […]
wol ), and Gi denis a gues ha i is hese examples ha show ha unp e en ious
emale su names do no con adic he na u e o he Li huanian language (p. 64). In
he opinion o he lis ene , only one linguis ic de ail would be unclea : i a man's
su name was Di sė, Lapė, Kupė, Ru ė, Ružė, Tupė, Žylė, hen a woman's su name would
no be di e en om a man's. Bu in he end, he gi den's conclusion does no lead o
a coup, because he eason o he change o women's su names is no linguis ic, bu
social, and he e o e e e y hing emains as i was (p. 64). So i 's close o social
linguis ics han lis ening. The opinion was also exp essed in he s udio o he
gi l iend ha he Poles had gi en us p e-a anged gi l names, and hen hey
hemsel es e used. Social linguis ics denies his, because i s udies no only
language, bu also he his o y o he socie y ha uses i , he cus oms, he
adi ions, he olklo e, om which he no ms o socie y's li e, he amily's mo ali y
can be seen. Li huanians ha e an old my hological s o y abou he queen o so ows.
I 's p obably om pagan imes, when Li huanians wo shipped ees and didn' ha e
su names ye , and i al eady e lec s he no ms o amily o ma ion. Zhil in was he
king o he Zla y, and Eglė, his wi e, was he queen o he Zla y. hei child en […]
h ee sons and one younges daugh e ha e ee names: […]žuolas, Uosis, Be žas and
D ebulė. The ma iage o Zhil ino and Eglė was no based on lo e a all, bu on
decep ion and coe cion. The gi l p omised o un away o ge he ma shmallows, and
hen he gi l was o ced o lea e he pa en s' home o he hi d ime. Eglé was
happy in he home, bu she also missed he pa en s, b o he s, and sis e s, and wan ed
o isi hem. Wi h he help o his wi e, a e o e coming a di icul obs acle, he man
was eleased on he condi ion ha his name no be men ioned. And she didn' men ion
i , and he sons didn' be ay he , and she be ayed he daugh e . A e Zhil ins
dea h, he gi l s ill did no e u n o he pa en s home, because he e is no way back
o he pa en s amily a e ma iage. She cu sed he daugh e , she cu sed he son,
and she cu sed he sel , and hey all u ned in o ees. Tha 's wha a amily is. Sons
emain loyal o hei a he s, and daugh e s lea e hei a he s' homes. The
Li huanian language e lec s he di e ence be ween he na u e and posi ion o men
and women in he amily: men ma y, while women ma y, ake he husband's su name,
become he husband's p ope y. I 's he en h commandmen o God. And e en now,
when ha commandmen is wo ded a li le di e en ly, wi hou emphasizing ha a
wi e is as much a man's p ope y as a donkey o a hing, men s ill don' like i when a
gi l jumps o e hem, si s on hei necks, wan s o con ol a man. They' e no
in e es ed in ha , because hei na u e is o ge a wi e by o e coming obs acles. In
na u e, he males igh o he emales. You can see how a social linguis ics can go om he science o language as we all unde s and i . The sys em o Li huanian women's su names was o med by he socie y's iew o he amily as a na u al en i y and a sac ed hing. And i was he igh hing o do. Le 's ha e a look.

i a Miliūnai ė
Ką mano e apie nep iesagines mo e ų pa a des?
329 ecenzijos / e iews
hei wedding cus oms. They'll show ha i 's no lo e ha 's impo an , i 's wisdom:
i was seen as a way o a amily o li e a no mal li e, o ha e a oo o e hei
gal os i duonos kasdieninės. ė ai dažniausiai pa inkda o, ką es i i už ko ekė-
heads: he gi ls ca ied he land, and he men wen o see i he inge s we e lying
o no . The b ide always c ied a he wedding, because i 's no going o be as good
wi h he aun as i is wi h he mo he . Ma iages o lo e we e a e, bu amilies
we e nume ous and s ong: o a good husband as o a wall. Responsibili y o he
amily and child en is sha ed equally, wo k acco ding o possibili ies. The men
plowed he land, sowed he c ops, cu he ye, buil houses, plan ed ga dens, ook
ca e o all he ha d wo k, and he women could no do he a m wo k, bu hey
ne e wen o he s alls wi h he he d. The women cooked, wo e, wo e, we e close
o he child en, o he house. In he i s hal o he 20 h cen u y, he e we e no
eminis s in Li huania who sough equali y be ween men and women. And he lo e o
ma iage wasn' numbe one. My pa en s didn' ha e a husband anymo e because
he e we e o he imes, bu when I asked my mo he wha happens when lo e
passes, she said, "You don' look a wha passes, you jus look a wha comes". […]
Wha 's coming? […] Responsibili y o husband and child en, ca e and he wa m h o he home depends on you. […]
The monas e y "Paskenduolė" om he i s hal o he 20 h cen u y. How deeply
and sub ly he alen o he Monkey eels in o he pligh o he un o una e
Ve onica, ha i seems o he eade ha Ve onica is su ounded by only e y
e ible, insensi i e, c uel, unjus people (e en he a he and o he s who lo ed
Ve onica so much). And in ac , he people who su ounded Ve onica, who li ed in a
socie y whe e ex ama i al sex was conside ed pe missible, a mo al sin, we e
pe ec ly no mal. The p ies , and he didn' o gi e: in on o he whole chu ch, he
kicked Ve onica ou o he audi o ium. In So ie imes, when I and a li e a u e
eache and a lec u e a Vilnius Uni e si y, B one Ka ine, ook he exams wi h he
wo d " u u e" s uden s, hey all, wi hou excep ion, c i icized he bou geois o de ,
he da kness o he people, and said ha in So ie imes, Ve onika should no ha e
been killed, because e en he go e nmen suppo ed hei mo he s. And hen he ca
would say,
[…] Is i okay o a gi l and a child in So ie imes?
klausiamasis nežinoda o, ką a saky i. jausda o, kad nege ai, be žinoda o i ai,
kad okių mo e ų y a nemažai, kad į jas jau ki aip žiū ima, i jų aikų niekas ypa-
laziness does no dis inguish be ween o he s.
Much has changed in So ie imes: people ha e been e ic ed om hei homes, land has
been collec i ized, chu ches ha e been des oyed, li ing s anda ds ha e been abolished,
and he igh s o men and women ha e been equalized. Women, like men, d essed in all
so s o ancy sui s ha concealed hei beau y and highligh ed hei sho comings,
w apped in cemen , ca ied b icks, plas e ed he walls o hei homes, s aigh ened and
330 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXIX o ius. This is he i s ime ha he Li huanian
aLdona PauLauskienė
language has been used in he Eu opean Union. Th oughou he union, he name o
Pasha Angelina, he i s ac o d i e o he So ie Union, was hea d. Is ha he
kind o equali y ha ou mode n eminis s wan ? Does she wan o be alone wi h a
bunch o kids?
Miliūnai ė no iced ha he e we e no linguis ic mo i es in all he discussions and
ulings on non-con en ional emale su names. The e wouldn' be enough pu e
linguis ic mo i es. We needed social linguis ics. Fo example, in a 1967 discussion o
emale su names, Gi denis, one o he mos gi ed Li huanian speake s, was no
obse ed by any linguis s. The no maliza ion o language ha ook place du ing he
So ie yea s could no ye eplace social linguis ics. Now i 's like i 's ound, bu i 's
jus no iced. I does no y and canno ye answe he ques ion o whe he i is
wo hwhile o enounce he inhe i ance o women's and gi ls' su names
al oge he , i hey ha e no subsequen o ances al meaning.
asphal ed he oads, and did no d i e o be nei he ma ied no widowed, o he oa h
-ien does no indica e ha i was a obbe y, and he oa h o i gini y does no indica e
ha hei owne was an unhappy old woman. On he con a y, he maiden names ha e
adi ionally been e ained by amous women o he s age: Vosyliu ė (daugu ie ienė),
Daugu ie y ė, Mi onai ė, Juody ė, Kyman ai ė, Ožely ė, Plešky ė, Kaz agy ė,
Teiše sky ė, Kochansky ė, Lei ai ė, K acky ė, S a ošaup ai ė, Ibelha Rubi ė,
P udniko ai ė and o he s. When i comes o keeping a gi l's maiden name, no ma iage
and no e en na ionali y, no he coun y in which you now li e, is he mos impo an
hing! The choice o a name is de e mined by espec o he na i e and inna e cul u e o
which you belong and which you ep esen no only in Li huania bu also in he whole
wo ld. A long- ime eache o Li huanian language and li e a u e, w i e , a eling
a ound Li huania wi h he help o c ea o s, Benjamin Kond a enka consciously chose he
su name Kond a . he eason o changing his su name: […]no ha m, i in ma iage he e
is a mix u e o na ionali ies o eligions, i is impo an how you beha e in he coun y
whe e you we e bo n, li e and speak i s language, he coun y ha is now like he mo he 's homeland[…] (kond a as benjaminas. Kū ėjų pėdsakais Vilnius, 6.2010, p. 138).
I' e al eady said ha eminis s who wan equal o e en b oade igh s should s op
wi h gi l names and s op wi h se led o ms o women's names (p. 117), and I'm
epea ing ha now. o eign su names a e no equi ed o be w i en in he o iginal
language. The La ians did no do ha , hey kep he adi ional spelling as hey say,
e en hough hey had o go o cou . un a o able and he ans o ma ion o
Li huanian women's su names by abolishing hei ows. A wo ld- enowned ope a
iš ekėjusi už ki a aučio i įėjusi į jo šeimą, nepasiėmė y o pa a dės, be susi um-
solois , she changed he Li huanian su name om U mana ičiū ė o U maną. The
la e does no con lic wi h he no ms o he language, a leas i indica es he
emale gende and is encou aged. bu ano he p imadona, o en seen on Li huanian
ele ision, om Kazlauskai ė became he uncommon su name Kazlaus. This su name is
simply impossible in he con ex o Li huanian language and cul u e, and i al eady exis s.
i a Miliūnai ė
Ką mano e apie nep iesagines mo e ų pa a des?
331 e iews and e iews
Li huanian women ab oad we e o ced o ake hei husband's su name acco ding o
he laws o o eign coun ies. I 's a condi ional o eign language ha doesn'
dis inguish be ween ela i es a all. In he con ex o English language and cul u e,
acco ding o he laws, D usu 's wi e was also o be D usu . And now in Li huania,
dis ega ding hei alues, hei language, hei cul u e and hei laws, despi e he
ac ha a woman's name is no sui able o a man's name, i is no accep able ha
she is sepa a ed om a man's name as i i we e un amilia , some choose a man's
name e en wi hou he abili y o show a woman's gende . I'm alking abou a e y
beau i ul woman named Boss. Le 's hink o i in he con ex o language. Li huanians
and neighbo s called each o he by su names mo e o en han by su names:
[…]Sa kus goes o he ma ke alone and akes ca e o he amily, while Ša ku ienė
li es like a lady, ne e lea es he house.[…] Now le 's use he emale su name Boss in
his con ex . Wha do we ge ? And wha Li huanian laws legi imize such su names? I
I say " he boss's house", I'll unde s and people who ha en' los hei sense o
Li huanian ye , jus alking abou he husband's house, and I wan ed o say ha his
is his wi e's house. Enough wi h he women's names! In he end, i has o be said ha
i 's jus a small pa o a e y big uphea al in he li e o socie y, ha ou cul u e as
a whole is collapsing. E e y hing we now call mode n has no ace o na ionalism.
The e a e many examples o suppo his claim: all kinds o a , o icial and uno icial
publica ions, ad e isemen s, ad e isemen s, ou language manne s, cu ses,
emo ions, and exp essi e wo ds. The Li huanian language has so many o hem (i
dis inguishes be ween senses and emo ions ha o he languages do no ), and i
u ns ou ha we do no ha e enough o ou own: we shou supe , yes, wow! So wha
a e he de ende s o ou na ional language and na ional cul u e going o do? In he
u u e, e en mo e o hose de ende s will be s igma ized, because who can say now
when Li huanian s udies will become a p es igious special y, when i will be chosen by
he bes g adua es o seconda y schools. In he So ie Union, we s ill had he desi e
o eedom, o g ow up in ou homeland, and now maybe only du ing he baske ball
game do we shou "Li huania!" Now in he homeland o ou a he s, as he P esiden o he Eu opean Union said in he cou ya d o Vilnius Uni e si y, g ee ing he Li huanian P esidency o he Pa liamen .
I can' wai o inish e iewing Milena's book omo ow. All I can do is answe he
ques ion a he op. I don' hink we need a spa e.
mo e ų pa a dės.
Į eik a 2013 m. spalio 27 d.
aLdona PauLauskienė
Vilniaus uni e si e as
Balio S uogos g. 8-1, LT-10220 Vilnius, Li huania, which is loca ed in he dis ic o Balio S uogos, Li huania.
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