In memoriam Valija Dambė (1912–1995)

Lithuanianisms used in the common Latvian language, e.g., §imis, hangover, although the latter are also mentioned quite often in the dissertation). In the opinion of the reviewers, it would have been better to include all Lithuanianisms in the dictionary, since the dissertation thesis author admits that there is no general study of these borrowings in Latvian linguistics. In addition, the dictionary contains etymologies of Lithuanianisms, more than a quarter of which are her own explanations. Both the author and the reviewers emphasized the practical significance of the dissertation — the material collected according to the questions of the questionnaire compiled by the dissertant can be used both for compiling dictionaries of Latvian speakers, as well as for seminars on dialect vocabulary, language contacts (this is already being done at Daugavpils Pedagogical University) and elsewhere. On June 20, 1995, Vilma Kalme, a lecturer at the Liepaja Higher Pedagogical School, defended her doctoral dissertation “Terms of gymnastics in Latvian language”. Official reviewers of the dissertation: habil. dr. V. Skujinia, doc. dr. Ms. Smiltniece, Prof. Dr. J. Rosenberg. The dissertation examines the vocabulary of one sport — gymnastics, analyzes the changes in the terms of this field from the 1860s to the present and gives specific advice on how to improve the terms of gymnastics in Latvian. The specificity of Kalmė’s research is determined by the specificity of the chosen field of study – gymnastics: here, not only terms, but also entire syntactic constructions are used as terminological units. This extends the limits of the term itself. Unfortunately, as the reviewers have pointed out, it is not always clear on the basis of what criteria some sports teams are considered to be team terms or constructions indicating the performance of certain elements (i.e., descriptions of these elements) — word combinations or sentence terms. However, despite these ambiguities, the reviewers appreciated the great specific significance of the dissertation not only for the terminology of sports, but also for the development of the entire Latvian terminology. Evija LIPARTĖ IN MEMORIAM VALIJA DAMBĖ (1912—1995) On October 15, 1995, the famous Latvian linguist Valija Dambe died in Riga and was buried in the Forest Cemetery of the city. V. Dambe was one of the few Latvian linguists who linked the current Latvian linguistics with the pre-war University of Latvia, the best traditions of this Latvian cultural center. V. Dambe was born in Riga on 26 May 1912. In 1941 he graduated from the Department of Classical Philology of the University of Latvia. In addition to classical philology at the university, she also attended lectures on Baltic philology. Since 1946, V. Dambe has worked at the Institute of Language and Literature of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. In 1963, she was awarded the degree of candidate of philological sciences without a special dissertation for her research on Latvian toponymy. Among her researches, the study “Blydienés vietvardi kā pagātnes liecinieki” (*“Blydienes vietvardi ka pagatnes liecinieki”. —Rakstu krastam... J. Endzelinam. Riga, 1959, pp. 391—452) is particularly noteworthy. It proves that the Ziemgalians, like the Lithuanians and Prussians, retained the consonants Kk, g before the vowels of the front row. The history and traditions of collecting and studying place 233 names in Latvia were discussed in a comprehensive article by V. Dambė "Vietvardu vakšana un petišana Latvijas PSR" ("Collection and study of place names in the Latvian SSR"). —Latvijas PSR Z.A. Valodas un lit. i-ta Raksti, III, 1954, pp. 175—187. In "Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimuose" (1963, 6, pp. 247—267) she published a study entitled "Keletas pastabų apie Latvijos TSR pietvakarinę dalį toponimika" (A few remarks about the place names of the southwestern part of the Latvian SSR, pp. 247—267). For both Latvian and Lithuanian toponymy researchers, the study of V. Dambė “The roots bal(i)-, pal(i)-(change of sounds) in place names with the meaning of wet places” (“Saknes bal(1i)-, pal(i)-(skanu mija) ar slapjas vietas nozimi vietvardos”) is very important. —Dedication to...J. Endzelinam, Riga, 1972, p. 125—150). In 1990, V. Dambis's book "Latvijas apdzivoto vietu un to iedzivotaju nosaukumi" ("Latvia's Names of Places of Residence and Their Inhabitants") was published in Riga. One of the last important researches of V. Dambis was the article "On the origin of the name of Riga" ("Par Rigas varda izcelsmi" —Onomastica Lettica, Riga, 1990, pp. 5—20). : Perhaps the greatest part of his scientific activity the late professor devoted to works related to the name of the great Latvian linguist Janis Endzelyns. She supplemented, edited and continued J. Endzelynas' work "Latvijas TSR vietvardi" ("Latvijas PSR vietvardi", Riga, 1956—1961; further volumes of the work prepared by V. Dambes, unfortunately, have been in the publishing house for many years). Together with other Latvian linguists, V. Dambe extremely carefully prepared and edited for the press J. Endzelyno- 's "Selection of Works" ("Darbu izlase", I-IV. Riga, 1971—1982; Vol. III, Parts I and II were prepared by V. Dambe alone). in 1993 the Latvian Academy of Sciences awarded V. Dambei an honorary doctorate. i V. Dambė spoke Lithuanian fluently and visited Lithuania many times. Sincere ties of friendship linked her with our older generation of linguists Juozas Balčikonis, Jonas Kruopa, Juozas Senkus, Kazis Ulvydas. In 1964, she participated in a conference organized in Vilnius on the initiative of Jon Kazlauskas, which gave rise to what later became international Baltist conferences. Valija Dambė was an extremely humble, sincere colleague, who helped many of our linguists in various ways, including the author of these lines. - Thank you. Algirdas Sabaliauskas 234