Lietuvos moterų nepriesaginės (latviškos darybos) pavardės

216 Languages and Culture | 85 KAZIMIERAS GARŠVA lietuvių kalbos institutas Lithuanian Women's National Team (LatVIŠKos DarYbas) Surnames KEY WORDS: surnames, pronunciation, dialects, common language. 1. INTRODUCTION Ten years ago, when the State Lithuanian Language Commission (VlKK) adopted a resolution on the possible official abbreviation of Lithuanian female surnames, many did not know about it, and those who knew did not pay due attention. Only six years later, when the unusual endings of female surnames began to make the eyes and ears sick, the Lithuanian albino Petrulis presented a letter to the Names Section of the Lithuanian Language Institute on March 26, 2009, entitled “On the Revocation of Decision No. N-2 (87) of the Lithuanian National Council of Culture of 2003-06-26 “On the Formation of Female Surnames”, in which he wrote: Lithuanian language, the oldest living Indo-European language, is characterized by special beauty, sound, richness, charm and uniqueness, the most perfect system of name formation. only in the language created by our people, men, girls and married women have differently constructed, beautifully sounding, amused, combined with other parts of the language surnames. Surnames for girls with minor suffixes organically correspond to the features of their age, sound pleasantly. Uniquely beautiful, original and married female surnames with traditional suffixes -ien-, -(i)uvien-. They show sacred belonging to the family, symbolize loyalty, close relationship of spouses. only women who live immorally, indecently are despised by nicknames without these suffixes. By Decision No. N-2 (87) of 26 June 2003, the State Lithuanian Language Commission authorized the creation of female surnames from the male form of the surname with the ending -ė. The conversion of a derogatory nickname used by the whole Lithuanian nation since ancient times into an unaesthetically sounding official name is an unprecedented, unforgivable error that must be urgently corrected. it is a deliberate betrayal of one of the most precious treasures of the mother tongue. absurd and the motives and reasons for which the pearl of our language was broken. If you want to hide your marital status, you can do it in a civilized, traditional, Lithuanian-acceptable way – by keeping your maiden name. K. Garšva. 217 We would like to ask the honourable Seimas to urgently resolve the issue of the revocation of the Decision No. N-2 (87) of the VlKK of 26 June 2003 “On the making of female surnames”. Respectfully, albino Petrulis, Lithuanian pedagogue. Soon the letter was handed over to the President of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania with the signatures of several other people of culture and science, who supported the ideas raised. At the invitation of journalists, discussions took place on Lithuanian television (program “Right to Know”), in the newspaper Respublikos, many news were in Delfi, other websites. but the language commission's decision remained unchanged. During the consideration of the application to revoke the decision, the VlKK violated the procedure: it did not discuss all the available arguments for and against artificial names, did not collect all the information, did not consult on this issue with the Names Section of the Lithuanian Language Institute (which is the most competent authority in this matter in Lithuania) and other organizations, did not invite any of the applicants to the consideration of this issue and did not discuss their arguments. also insufficient consultation with linguistics specialists, teachers, society. The surname is not just a personal matter and a trademark. it is also the cultural heritage of a nation, which must be protected. Language is a means of human communication and is subject to norms that must be clear, acceptable and not cause negative reactions. The purpose of this article is to provide arguments why non-prepositional female surnames are not suitable for the official Lithuanian language. Lithuanians and many other Indo-Europeans in ancient times had only a name (without a surname). Even the noble Lithuanians, who received their surnames first, are mentioned only by name in the 1390 treaty. Lithuanian female names then and later differed from male names only in the ending -a or -ė, cf. Daûgirdas – Daûgirda, Daûgirdis – In Lithuania, surnames were formed over 400 years from the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (peasants and women got their surnames later). Similarly, in neighboring countries: in Germany, in Poland, the surnames were formed in the 13th–19th centuries, in Latvia – in the 18th century (official – 1800), in Russia – in the 19th–20th centuries (cf. Zinkevičius 2008: 29–42). Lithuanian female surnames were derived from male surnames in the 16th–18th centuries. Female surnames had suffixes -aitė, -ytė, -(i)ūtė, -utė (in dialects: -aičia, -yčia, -(i)ūčia, -ikė, -(i)ukė, -ėlė, -okė and so on). The surnames of married women were 218 Languages Culture | 85 are made up of the male surname, with the addition of the Lithuanian suffix -ienė (to the u stem personal names and -(i)uvienė), cf. Stripienė, Grigienė, Kairienė, Ožkinienė, Rimkūnienė, Skardžiuvienė. Many names and their suffixes are distorted in Lithuanian archive documents written in Latin, Polish and Russian. The suffix -ienė was also written differently in foreign alphabets by scribes who often did not know Lithuanian: -iene, -ienie, -ienia, -iena, -ene, -enie, -enia, -ena and so on (see Maciejauskienė 1991: 256–300). The different spelling of the same suffix is not only due to the spelling of foreign languages, but also to the different Lithuanian dialects, fifteen dialects and about 100 dialects, in which the same sound can be pronounced differently, but corresponds to the same sound of the common language. For example, in the northern Panevėžys dialect Žėkeenė is pronounced Žėkeene / Žikeene, and Báikienė – Báikene / Báikėne / Báikine (in unpronunciated syllables, vowels are reduced, their undistributed variant remains). The use of the prefix -en in the Baltic languages is long-standing. The name of the person whose wife is the subject of the reference word is also used in common words such as uncle, brother, sister-in-law. in Latvia there is the river Blydiena, the settlements Saliena, Skrudaliena, etc. (in Lithuanian it would correspond to the suffix -yn-). It is doubtful whether the 13th-century place name Blidenen (now also Blīdiene, Blīdiena, cf. Žeimelis 2010: 351) can be related to this suffix. In Polish writings written in Lithuania, the suffix -ienė could not immediately make its way to the public. Knowing the husband's surname, it was not necessary to ask for the woman's name, so married women were written with the Slavic suffix -ova (unmarried - with -ovna). For the scribes who came from far away, Lithuanian writing was very strange, incomprehensible, and they tried to avoid it. In the creation of female surnames, the suffix -ienė has been used for more than 100 years not only in common Lithuanian language. This suffix has been used for half a millennium in all Lithuanian dialects and dialects, and even outside Lithuania. about 130 km north of Zarasai is Ciskoda parish, where 100 and 70 years ago a newly married girl “was immediately called Moroziene, Korsakiene, Čepuliene, Leideriene, which is not in the Latvian language area”1. Lithuanian women in ethnic lands kept their surnames with the suffix -ienė in Indrica, Laucesa, Daugavpils, Aknysta and other places in Latvia, Gudija, Poland, Canada, the United States and other countries (this is shown by the entries on tombstones). 1 From the letter of a. Vasiljeva, descendant of Lithuanians of Ciskoda, dated 21 July 2012 to the author of the article. K. Garšva. 219 In defence of the formation of new surnames, it is liked to repeat that in the 17th-century metrics several women from Northern Lithuania were recorded as Derkinte, Loke, Raude (cf. salys 1983: 14). but there is something else that should not be ignored: 1) it is a very rare thing; 2) it is not a surname, but a pronoun – a denoting word next to the name, indicating all kinds of nicknames, the father’s name, the names of the trade, origin, place of residence2; 3) at that time, peasant surnames were only being formed, their system was not yet in place and the personality was tried to be specified in various ways; 4) on the border with Latvia, these forms are also influenced by the Latvian language; 5) Derkintis is an old name, and the formation of names is slightly different from that of surnames; 6) it can be a one-time unofficial thing, as in the same Northern Lithuania the younger Kareivą is called Kareiviukas in colloquial language, and Kareivaitę – Kareiviuke. so were formed and children's surnames (2010: 351). It is also liked to repeat that once Jonas Jablonskis, when talking about surnames, said that he could not get used to the fact that we call a first-year student Laukiù (unofficially it would be Laukiukas), and a university graduating student Laukýte, although she is already all Lauk (cf. Zinkevičius 2008: 338). but with these words the patriarch of the language did not say the conclusions of detailed studies, but anyway a one-time fun impression, caused perhaps by the same Northern Lithuania, which he has often visited, and in Mintauja – a lot of communication with students of that region (from Žeimelis came his wife). The most important sources of Lithuanian linguistics say that the traditional, very peculiar pattern of the formation of Lithuanian female surnames is a naturally formed exceptional language phenomenon, which should be preserved and promoted (lKE 2008: 400; Zinkevičius 2008: 42). but the State Lithuanian Language Commission adopted a resolution violating the traditional designation of women. 2 Interesting ancient Greek compound name (with a given name and a pronoun indicating the branch of the family) Bukanosis Plikagalvis (Plikio sūnus) 2003 m. birželio 26 d. nutarimo „Dėl moterų pavardžių darymo“ (Valstybės žinios, 2003, nr. 65-3009) pirmas punktas skelbia, kad pagrindiniu Kranonietis (Zinkevičius 2008: 31, 39). 220 Languages Culture | 85 indicating a woman's marital status. The second paragraph of the same decree legalized the innovative formation of female surnames with the ending -ė: “in cases where it is desired to have (to give) a form of surname that does not indicate marital status, a surname from a male form of the surname may be made with the ending -ė [...]. The authors of the hasty resolution checked that the modern female surname in certain cases will no longer be distinguishable from the male surname (when it has the ending -ė: Bložė, Gervė, Kielė, Kregždė, Mitė, Ropė, Skrebė, Vėgėlė, Žagrė, etc.), but did not name eleven other things for the less linguistically savvy compatriots. The new surnames are not to be called Latvian-made surnames, but “female surnames that do not indicate marital status” (see stundžia 2010: 8–11). but wishes do not always coincide with reality. These surnames, as a matter of fact, indicate not only “marital status”, but also two other things that the owners of these surnames do not want to hear. A surname without a suffix with the ending -ė indicates that a woman of marriageable age has probably actually been married at least once, because her surname has been changed (neither girls nor pensioners are called with such surnames). In this way, the marriage is attempted to be hidden, and some may be interested and inquire what is the purpose of this hiding. rejecting the requirements of their language system, impoverishing, damaging the nation’s name book, renouncing even the tradition of making the names of their mother, grandmother and other female ancestors. Having abandoned the suffixes of their fathers and ancestors, women switch to the Latvian construction system, and when writing in the Lithuanian alphabet it is no longer clear whether they are Lithuanians or Latvians, e.g. : Baluodė, Jansonė, Dauguvietė, Kalnietė. The Lithuanian language does not adequately “understand” the other language’s system of personal names formation, is not adapted to it and therefore the society and the owners of new surnames face linguistic, ethnic, legal, semantic problems. Surnames are also a legal act; are passed down from generation to generation, they cannot be officially changed, because even the change of one letter in the surname is legally the formation of a new surname (lPZ 1985: 16). By changing their surnames, married women separate themselves from their husband's family, and unmarried women from their parents and relatives. by renouncing the suffixes -aitė, -ytė, -(i)ūtė, -utė the minor-adjective meaning is lost, and by renouncing the suffix -ienė the neutral meaning is lost, K. Garšva. 221 of Lithuanian women’s non-proprietary (Latvian) surnames coincide with undesirable realities (Bobelė, Gygonė, Dručkė, Kiaulė, Vištelė, neigiamos prasmės neturinti priesaga ir įgyjama šiurkštesnė forma, kaip tik įgaunanti neigiamų atspalvių. be priesagos -ienė kai kurių pavardžių reikšŽilė, etc.) or the owner of the surname is assigned realities that she does not have or would not like to have. By creating non-traditional variants of surnames, damage is done to the Lithuanian language, its construction system is broken down; surnames of non-Lithuanian origin lose their Lithuanianness when the Lithuanian suffixes are removed (Rucinska will be called Ruczinska by Poles, etc.). The surnames Apuokė, Katinė, Sakalė, Strazdė, Vanagė, Žvirblė, Gaidė, Gaigalė, Gąsinė, Ešerė, Karosė, Karpė, Šapalė, Žiobrė, Bitinė, Parė, Žiogė, Ahopnė, Dagė, Dobilė, Kopūstė, Baržė, Ridikė, Žirnė and so on impose on citizens a language-unknown family, and the VlKK has already litigated about it three times. Surnames are cultural heritage, belonging not only to the owner of the surname, but also to the nation, state, community, family. The new experiments with surnames insult radio and TV listeners and visitors to institutions, although hundreds of representatives of the public have asked for these things to be regulated in accordance with laws and language laws (see also Miliūnaitė 2012). For women who shorten their surnames and whose husband’s or father’s last name has the suffix -aitis, the language itself does not allow them to hide their “family status”, because Grigaitienė or Grigaitytė, having dropped the suffixes -ienė or -ytė, would become Grigaite, i.e. not Grigaičio wife or daughter, but Grigo daughters (see labutis 2009: 17). Some surnames (Birutė, Giedrė, Milė (Emilija) and so on) now coincide with names and it is not clear where the person's name is and where the surname is. There are examples where, due to the new name formation, the meaning of the husband's surname no longer coincides with the meaning of the wife's surname, e.g. : Raudonikis – Raudonikė, Šakalys – Šakalė. Sooner or later, these problems should be solved. In 2009, academic Zigmas Zinkevičius wrote in Voruta: Various people often ask me: how do I look at the supposedly modern female surnames Žvirblis and Žvirblė instead of Žvirblytė and Žvirblienė. I will say in advance that with small exceptions – negatively. And here's why. From ancient times Lithuanians inherited a clear and very convenient system of personal naming. The daughter of a man whose name was Žvirblis was called Žvirblyte, with a minor suffix, because she was a little man, still a child. Instead of the suffix -ytė, in certain cases the suffixes -aitė, -ūtė, -ikė and others were added, whose original meaning was also minor. 222 Languages and Culture | 85 When Žvirblytė (Žvirblė) married, she received her husband's surname with the suffix -ienė (in some places -uvienė), so after marrying Karvelis she became Karveliene. They were not called Karvela, because it was no longer necessary to indicate the maturity of the woman, after all, it is already a married woman, thus a wife. Korvelė (with -ė from the husband's surname!) used to say it only in mockery, usually if the woman is a whore of free conduct, as the people used to say. so it is still said in some places. [...] Sometimes we hear that women start to use the male form of the surname, for example, Žvirblis instead of Žvirblytė or Karvelis instead of Karvelienė. This is not right. The Lithuanian language system, which distinguishes the gender of nouns by endings, does not allow this, and in addition, such use is illogical. It is also uncomfortable because it is imperfect. [...] foreign Baltists have repeatedly expressed their admiration for the perfect Lithuanian system of personal pronouns. and we, imitating strangers, shake it! 4. aPIbENDrINaMosIos Notes The article sets out 12 arguments why the new artificial female surnames with the ending -ė are useless neither for them nor for the state, language, nation. Only two arguments are known why some women need these artificial names – it is allegedly shorter and easier to communicate with foreigners. but the same can be achieved in a civilized way and doublely more beneficial: according to the Order of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania of October 12, 2009 No. 1r-318 “On the approval of the rules for changing a person’s name, surname and nationality” 11.12, the applicant may “shorten the surname if there is a shorter, non-prepositional variant in traditional usage”. so Vitkauskaitė or Vitkevičiūtė can become Vitkute, and Vitkauskienė or Vitkevičienė – Vitkiene (representatives of the male gender could also shorten their surnames). The Slavic adverbs imposed are not to be abandoned for economic reasons. In accordance with Articles 11.1, 11.7, 11.9, 12 of the above-mentioned Order of the Minister of Justice, the applicant is allowed to change (or exchange) the surname if it degrades the dignity of the owner of the surname or is inconvenient to use, the form of the surname does not correspond to the human sex, does not wish to hide the so-called family status (and the connection with her or her husband’s relatives, traditional culture), if the surname contradicts morality and the public order of the Republic of Lithuania. Lithuanians abroad are also a kind of ambassador of their nation, state. His surname may automatically indicate his nationality. traditional forms of female surnames are supported by linguists professors Vitas labutis, Jonas Palionis, aldona Paulauskienė, Zigmas Zinkevičius and K. Garšva. Lithuanian female non-prepositional (Latvian form) surnames 223 others. The clear ideologist of the opposite opinion and his detailed arguments are still not well known. Due to the circumstances outlined above, the initiative to repeal VlKK Decision No. N-2 (87) of 26 June 2003 “On the formation of female surnames” remains relevant. Non-prepositional female surnames undermine the traditional Lithuanian language construction system, have a harsher, negative connotation and indicate against the wishes of the owners that the woman is of marriageable age and most likely married or divorced. The above-mentioned resolution was adopted without adequate public awareness of the draft, without discussion and without the support of the majority of citizens and linguists. Non-traditional female surnames do not have prestige and are detrimental to the Lithuanian language, so artificial names should be abandoned. lItEratūra l a b u t i s V. 2009: Again about female surnames. – Native Language 9, 12– lKE 2008: Encyclopedia of Lithuanian Language. second revised and 19. supplemented edition. by K. Morkūnas, edited by V. ambrazas. Vilnius: Institute of Science and Encyclopedia Publishing. lPŽ 1985: Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames 1st ed. a. Vanagas. Vilnius: Mokslas. Maciejauskienė V. 1991: The formation of Lithuanian surnames in the 16th–18th centuries, Vilnius: Mokslas. M i l i ū n a i tė r. 2012: Current variety of forms of female surnames in Lithuania and options (excerpt from the study What do you think about non-adjective female surnames). Access via the Internet: <www.kalbosnamai.lt> (accessed 10 November 2012). s a l y s a. 1983: Raštai 2: Tikrieji pavadinimai, Roma: Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Sciences. s t u n d ž i a b. 2010: How to pronounce female surnames that do not indicate marital status? – Native Language 4, 8–11. Z i n k evi či us Z. 2008: Lithuanian personal names, Vilnius: Lithuanian Language Institute. Z i n k evi či us Z. 2009: About female surnames. – Voruta, No. 12(678), 1, 16; June 20. 2010: Autumn. Part II. compiler a. bėčius. Vilnius: Versmė. Received 15 November 2012 224 Languages Culture | 85 lItHuaNIaN WoMEN’s surNaMEs (oF latVIaN WorD-ForMatIoN) WItHout suFFIXEs Summary The article provides 12 arguments why the new artificial surnames of women with the ending -ė are not beneficial for the women themselves or for the state, language and nation. there are only two arguments why these artificial surnames are necessary for some women – they are shorter and easier when communicating with foreigners. the same could be achieved in a more civilized and beneficial way: following the order of the Minister of Justice the applicant can shorten the surname if in traditional usage there is a shorter variant without suffix. Thus Vitkauskaitė or Vitkevičiūtė can become Vitkutė and Vitkauskienė or Vitkevičienė – Vitkienė (men should shorten their surnames too). the traditional way of feminine surname formation is supported by professors Vitas labutis, Jonas Palionis, aldona Paulauskienė, Zigmas Zinkevičius and others. there is no evident ideologist of the opposing side and comprehensive arguments are still not known. In our opinion the artificial forms of surnames (without a suffix and with the ending -ė) ruin the traditional word-formation system of the Lithuanian language, give a rougher, negative shade to the surname and against the will of the owner indicate that a woman is of marrying age and most likely married or divorced. Non-traditional surnames are not prestigious; they harm the lithuanian language and should be abandoned. KEYWORDS: surnames, word-formation, dialects, standard language. KaZIMIEras GarŠVa lietuvių kalbos institutas P. Vileišio g. 5, lt-10308 Vilnius [email protected]