Lietuvos etninių sričių gyventojų charakterio bruožai kalbos pasaulėvaizdyje

S.PaPaurėlytė, K.ŽuPerKa.ethnic and character traits of Lithuanians in the world view of language 185 Silvija PaPaurėlytė Kazimieras ŽuPerKa University of Šiauliai Population characteristics The aim of this article was to find out which traits of character in the worldview of the Lithuanian language are attributed to the inhabitants of the ethnic areas (ethnographic regions) of the language, i.e., the High Lithuanians, the Žemaites, the Dzūks and the Valkiečiai. The research material was selected from various sources of the written and spoken language: periodicals, fiction, oral language, dictionaries, textbooks, texts from the contemporary Lithuanian language collection, which were selected from contexts with the proper names of the High Lithuanians, the Žemaites, the Dzūks, the Valkiečiai, one or other way describing the traits of the manner of the people of the ethnic groups, ethnic stereotypes. Linguistic analysis results based conclusions supplement and clarify the association experiment. The study of ethnic stereotypes is current, but they are associated with ethnic groups and have an impact on people’s behavior, reflecting the specific community’s perception of the world and attitudes towards other people. This topic is discussed by dialectologists and other linguists, ethnologists and psychologists. It is believed that the specificity of the Žemaičių kalbos character has been discussed in detail (Bliumas 1998; Pakalniškis 2001; Kalnius 2002, 2006, 2007; Nakienė 2007). The most reliable conclusions can be obtained only by comparing the results of several research areas. 186 Languages and Culture 128)1.Thecontextsinwhichsomeorothercharacter ofLithuania’sLithuanianinhabitantsisdescribed,thecollectedmaterialissomewhatdifferent,sothearticlediscussionsonlythehighland,Lithuanian,LithuanianandWalloniancharacterinthelanguageworldview.ThelistedtermsareselectedintheLithuanianLanguageEncyclopediaandusedintheethnicarea(theethnicologists’workistheusualethnographicregion).Besides,intheabsenceofmoreexactterms,weusesynonymousexpressionsinhabitantsofethnicareasandpeopleofethnicgroups,although,understandably,someethnicareasandpeoplemayandcannotliveintheirethnicareas.Thearticletriestodisclosethestereotypesoflanguageworldviewrecordedintheethnicareasandthecharacterrecordedintheethnicareasandtheinhabitantsofethnicareas.Thecomparisonprovidespartoftheethnologists’analysisresultsonthespecificityoftheLithuanian,LithuanianandWallonianopinionsontheirethnicareasandtheinhabitantsofethnicareasandsupportstheautostereotypes2. 2008:539). Linguists have already drawn a boundary between the Upper Livonian and Lower Livonian dialects, but it is still being discussed whether this is true. It is concluded that“the most important indicator of the present Livonian language is the territory where they live, not the historical Livonian region, but a different language. The orientation line is the language isophone, which varies on both sides of the border, in the area of almost 40 km² of the Lower Livonian region” (Kalnius 2006:116). The names of the dialects used in everyday speech only partly coincide with the classification given by dialectologists. The Zemgallen are called the same group of people in both cases, but the people of other dialects are defined differently. 2In Petro Kalniaus(2002) work, which is used to describe stereotypes, other information is not provided, only the self-stereotypes of Žemaičiai, Valkiečiai and Radzūkai are presented. S. Papurėlytė, K. Župerka. The character and traits of the inhabitants of the ethnic regions of Lithuania in the language and world picture 187 people of the eastern and western highland regions of Lithuania are described as Dzukians or Valachians. It is not possible to know exactly what dialectologists classify, what ethnic division is, what is understood in everyday language, what was in the mind of a person when describing the character as highland, therefore it is necessary to admit that the problem of naming is not solved. For example, „ethnic Žemaites“understand only the category of „Žemaičiai“, which refers to all inhabitants of Lithuania who are not Žemaites (Pakalniškis 2001: 199). When analysing the combination of the word „Žemaičių“ with the characteristics and names of the people, it is necessary to take into account the fact that this can be applied not only to the inhabitants of the easternŽemaičiai, but also to those of other ethnic regions ofŽemaitija, if the author of the text is aŽemaitis. According to psychologists, the totality of consistent characteristics of human behavior, which expresses its relationship with other people, with itself, with its actions, is called character. „Typical characteristic traits depend on the general circumstances of human life and society, and are derived from social experience. Individual characteristic traits are formed by the physiological assumptions of individual development, and are not repeatable situations in which human socialization and education take place.“ (PŽh1993: h47). Human socialization and upbringing also directly depend on the environment, on the value systems, on the patterns of behavior. The formation of the character of a person living in the same place is always partially determined from the beginning, but if it is a reasonable assumption that individuals from different ethnic groups behave at least slightly differently in the same circumstances, it can be affirmed that a child most often sees examples of similar behavior and similar attitude to the world, growing up among the same stereotypes and heterostereotypes. It is justifiably affirmed that“the autostereotypes and heterostereotypes of Lithuanian regional groups have several decades of origin, have their continuity and are present in the thinking of the 188 Languages in the worldscape have been recorded over many years by the attitudes that have developed about the otherwise-speaking people (living in another ethnic area of Lithuania) and their vitality is maintained by the media. Stereotypes can change in principle, but change is very slow. The results of research in textbooks show that most information about the character of the High Lithuanians is found in the texts. 3. Such same descriptions are not proof that the character of the people of the mentioned groups is perceived in the same way. The naming of the same characteristics of the people of the mentioned groups, of course, allows us to say that we are talking about at least partly similar things, but not only that the descriptions of the people of Upper Lithuania, Zemgale, Dzūkija, Suvalkija define the essential differences. From theselectedexamples, it is possible to create a true picture, which character traits in the picture of Lithuanian language and world are attributed to the Aukštaitijos, Žemaitija, Audūkija and Valakija. The inhabitants of all ethnic regions can be described very simplely, sometimes with abstract words of character, mentality, nature, nature, characterized by descriptions indicating their belonging. Žemaitiškas way, Žemaitiškas character, Žemaitiškas nature; Dzūkiškas character, o dzūkiška nature, ydzūkiškas temperament; The Valakian way, the Valakian character, the Valakian mentality, the Valakian nature, and the orientation of the reader, the words Valakian, -a, Valakian, -a, Valakian, -a connecting and not only with geographical and geographical affiliation. These words are the names of the corresponding categories, and they should already be connected in the language and in the consumer's consciousness, and it is likely that this could have led to the mentioned Valakian tradition of calling all Valakians Valakians, even those who are not Valakians. S. Papurėlytė, K. Župerka. the traits of character of the ethnic regions of the inhabitants of the language in the world picture 189 are represented by the true information. strong straightforward purely highland way; Oh, that damn Highland nature. First you do, then you think; of a hard Žemaitijos manner; at least the character is really very žemaitinisas–apakankamai [–ganainly] unpleasant; wonderfully warm and distinctive Dzūkijos character; good Dzūkian character; active Valakian character. and almost all the words specifying the description of the character are very clearly expressing the evaluation of the subject – either positive or negative; and a neutral description is hardly possible in cases where the whole character and its meaning is to be expressed in one or two words. and the lyricism is attributed to the High Aits in the texts. Mysterious to my generation remained the pureness of the high-class lyricism; sąmoningai tramdomą V. Račicko polinkį aukštaitiškai sulyriškėti.lyrizmaspirmiausiasietinassu poezija.literatūrostyrinėtojaidažnaipabrėžiarytųaukštaitijosdainų, rytųaukštaičiųpoetųlyrikų(ypačJonoaisčio)kūryboselegiškągraudumą. Sulyrizmusiejasijausmingumas,liūdesysirnostalgija.Poemoje„lietuva“ (1888) Maironis has presented the following characteristics of the distant, unconventional poet: Although firm in manner, slow in words, / Loving, cordial, though, it seems, cold. <...> He is little attracted by people’s joy, / Deeper than joy he feels pain, / On a sad face marked by greatness / You see a squeezed and deep feeling Mairr311. and although such an emotional state is usually caused by some loss, the highland sadness can be assigned to the positively evaluated abstract phenomena: the deep layer of his soul – the bright highland sadness – he combines with irony, glimpses of smile; R. Vanags’ short story “My childhood candy” is based on childhood memories and is filled with romantic nostalgia of the Highlands. The dominant characteristics of gentleness and sensitivity include many other traits that in the texts describe the relationship of the Highlanders with the world and with other people: The character of these Vilnius residents is based on purely Highland traits: openness, sincerity, simplicity, stronger relationship with nature, greater community spirit, tenderness; In J. Biliūnas’s work we feel Aukštaitija: higher, clearer skies, brighter forests (pine forests), different way of people: more lyrical, softer, more talkative, more open daujlllł107; But the eternal Aukštaitija sadness remains in our blood StrielkłtVl66.ęItis worth mentioning that sometimes there are similar conclusions. 190 Languages and Culture is a book written by ethnologists who studied the customs and lifestyle of the people of Upper Lithuania. According to Vida Savoniakaitė (2007:174), “all the people of Upper Lithuania who met me were connected with the environment, with nature. People of different ages and with better education poetically expressed their love for their native land”. Romas had money, he fed with a real high-class feast. It must be said that there are some observed and some fundamentally contrary behavioral tendencies, and there are mentions of highlandish stubbornness and shyness. In the texts it is recorded that the highlanders are not only lyrical dreamers. It is worth mentioning their attitude toward work, which allows them to achieve their goals: they are small nature lovers, who are able to implement their ideas with highlandish diligence and perseverance. The poet Henrikas Čigriejus thus speaks about the heart of sadness and laughs about the nature of the people of his homeland of Biržai–Pasvalys: „these are our people of my homeland – they are great mockers. They are greedy and often laugh. And even before death they laugh and I like to laugh. Therefore, it can be generalized that the observations about the Aukštaitija people recorded in the texts are still contradictory; their characterization is still rather confusing. The Zemgalians are described in a completely different way. This word is used in most of the examples related to the behaviour and attitude of the Zemgales and their life and identity. From the contexts, it is possible to conclude that perseverance is valued positively, that it not only helps to overcome everyday tasks, but that it also makes impossible things: I think that the most important thing I can be proud of is the Zemgales perseverance, to which, with a little talent, you can quickly pedal a bicycle; Žemaitijos stubbornness and endless desire to live made a miracle – the illness withdrew.šŠis character traits in the texts are not often mentioned together:šWhat our prime minister does not lack is perseverance and stubbornness. 191 You can’t do anything – žemaitisšŠnaj1992aj05aj14;ojOnly thanks to such perseverance and Žemaitis’s stubbornness (=only because of such perseverance and Žemaitis’s stubbornness), carefully managing the meagre finances of „Sakalo“, Kniukšta succeeded. perseverance was distinguished from stubbornness by the greater influence of reason, by the absence of emotions, by the fact that stubbornness sometimes could be unfounded, by the fact that perseverance was linked to clear goals: the Lithuanian perseverance in his character was underpinned by freedom and hope and a bright belief in the rebirth of the Lithuanian state; However, his persistence was modest. He diligently improved his chosen profession, travelled to the East to consult. It wasn’t true that the Zemgallians were stubborn and persistent, but other traits of the Zemgallians’ character (Zemgallian openness, Zemgallian honesty) could be perceived as helping the subject to carry out certain actions: We wish the colleague to continue to work in the chosen direction with the Zemgallian perseverance; J. Švedas pursued his goals in various fields of activity with typical Žemaitijos stubbornness and perseverance; The president of the Chamber of Agriculture detailed with all the openness of Žemaitija; Napoleon carried out this task with Žemaitija honesty until he stepped on a mine. It is necessary to specify that in sometexts it is called Zemgalish openness, and otherwise than in the Upper Zemgalish (and especially in the Dzūkian) openness, openness, means not a human tendency to speak, but the habit of speaking without ambiguity; in other words, this characteristic could be called openness. This characteristic, based on the texts and material, is manifested not by raising the importance of oneself, but by following the rules of true dignity: After checking the work, the teachers went home carrying one flower at a time: long live Žemaičių dignity! ; But her Žemaitiška dignity did not allow her to accompany us while we were lying in bed.hDignity provides the basis for Žemaitiška modesty:hWe grew up listening to our grandparents – the “smuggler” and the book carriers – Žemaitiška modest, but very intelligent stories. that,whichissaidhereaboutŽemaičiai,whichcanbecompletedwiththematerialoftheethnologists’analysis.basedonthedataofthesurveys,itispositive,which„Žemaičiaihaveaverygoodself-esteem,whichmakesthembetter,whichisdirectlyrelatedtoŽemaičiųidentity.Itis purelypositiveandhigh-qualityvalue.especially,„better“traitsaregistedforŽemaičiai,whichdefinetheirmoralquality.Positiveself-esteemissupposesafeelingofŽemaičiųsuperiority“(Pakalniškis,Žemaičiųetnologists,whichsomeoftheŽemaičiųcharacter traitscouldbestrengthenedbyvarioushistoricalcircumstances,whichneedtodefend,whichcontinuallyrejectothers. 2001:204–205). 192 LanguageCulturean|an83 against the attacks of the Crusaders, the Zemgales developed patriotism and patience. This is a human property that can be extended to a great extent, but it is not negative, and it can end: the Zemgales' patience, perseverance and great love for their homeland helped them to resist the long-term attacks of the Crusaders; In February, my Žemaitian patience was finally exhausted and I demanded the manuscript to be returned. In part of the analyzed examples are mentioned such traits of Žemaičių charakteris, which from the outside can often be viewed negatively. The surroundings of Buračo’s homeland are characterized by Žemaitija’s hardness and stubbornness; Žemaičiai already when he will cut, already when he will cut, there are not even words in his mouth what to revoke lrr2001h03h 30.so, sometimes it is difficult to make a Žemaitis interested in new things or to change his opinion, and it can be said and done by using associations with inanimate objects of nature: he is not interested in all other topics. It is a real Žemaitija strain.attoksėinflexibilityat and slownessat preventsat adapt to changes: at Only the most conservative, Suvalkian-saving or Žemaitija-slow-thinking people will have to change tickets twice; [Journalist:] Do you feel your Žemaitijos nature? [PoetasasalgimantasšMikuta,jėkilimoommažeikiškis:] Yes, I can’t boast of flexibility. A kind of inertia, stiffness, slow reaction dlgj1999oj12oj24.oj anecdotal situations, especially emphasizing that some Žemaičiai are very slow-talking, slow-speaking: ojTwo Žemaičiai, father and son, cut trees in the forest. Winter, cold. They are hurrying, silent. The drunken son looks around and says: / – It’s nice weather. / In the evening, after loading firewood into sleds, they return home. The father says: / – Yes. The analysis of language usage examples is related to the self-stereotypes of the Žemaites mentioned in the work of ethnologists. The Žemaites themselves claim that they are “sharper and more offensive, angrier, rougher, slower, jealouser, uncleaner, more closed and finally... most stubborn” (Kalnius 2002:37). :uWe, the Žemaites, do not go to books, we say straight lKŽųXIIIų719; the Žemaitic rudeness5 finds its proper place in me.ųBesides, the Žemaites are sincere, friendly, courageous, persistent, enduring and hardworking (see Kalnius2002: 37).ų The writer of the Žemaitic language that published the works of the homeland, the apolonian Petras Bagdonas, exalts the Žemaites:ųI am not going to run the cool Žemaites history, but I am going to emphasize that the Žemaites outperformed other Icelandic families in their courage, perseverance and love for their native land. 5 regarding the use of the adjective rough in the meaning of “rude, rude” see V. and regarding the semantics of the adjective rough. – Res humanitariae 6, Klaipėda: Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla, 2009, pp. 42–55 (and references to unspecified literature). 193 Among the traits of the Dzūkian character recorded in the texts, there are none that are clearly dominant; the most frequent mention of the Dzūkian sincerity. Based on examples of consumption, it can be considered as a distinctive characteristic of the Dzūkians: a single woman raised a son, Eduard, and a daughter, Evelina, and instilled in them the natural traits of Dzūkian diligence and sincerity; He and the residents of Alytus sincerely thanked him for the Dzūkian sincerity and feastfulness experienced by the participants of the LASS days "Meetings". This characteristic of the Dzūkians is reinforced by other descriptions, expressed by words and sayings of close meaning: Dzūkians love to tell stories. full of Dzūkian openness, laid out his secret; the people of Balbieriškis, although they are „Dzuks with a mixture of Suvalkians“, are very eloquent and hospitable llu2004aj20aj22;uwith all Dzūkian openheartedness preached a sermon to the slow-moving Zanavys; It is difficult to find a greater “hearted person” than a dzūkelis, and Dzūkijos songs are the most eloquent mirror of that “heartedness” tVaus2005h07h23–29.aaloyzasšGudavičiusšAmong the Lithuanian stereotypes, a dzūkas is a cheerful and kind-hearted person (see Gudavičiusš2009: h216).šEmotional feelingsšBrings the Dzūkijos closer to the ethnic Dzūkijos:šEmotionality is attributed to the individuals of both DzūkijosgroupsšOnly, of course, it differs in abstract notesšGeneralizing descriptionsšDescribing the character of the DzūkijosgroupsšI remember that Vytautas Bubnis and I were amazed by the special atmosphere of the evening that lasted until late, the Dzūkijos sensuality.šBesides that, the Dzūkijos are described as being people with very poetic souls.šThe Dzūkijos people are people who do not give importance to material thingsšPeople:šIn general, the Dzūkijos are very poetic souls. They live like birds. These are the little singers. This is a special Lithuanian tribe. In their minds, existentialism is interesting. Lives for the day, doesn't load wealth JonasasJurašas (Mth1997h11h106). Dzūkai is characterized by a sense of pride, honor and awareness that can be described as a foreign word, the unor6:ų Probably all Dzūkai are as small as, well, as I said here and your Dzūkiška unor without offending. Dzūkiškas darbštumas is determined by Dzūkiškas energy. This allows us to assume that these ethnic groups are not only passive and sensitive observers: we will add Dzūkiška energy. In Vytautas Rimkevičius’s humorous short story „Devil’s temptations“ (about the inhabitants of Lithuania of four ethnic groups), the devil is depicted as attached to his father’s village, and as being afraid of it („in Dzūkija the sun is hotter“); friendly, and talkative, and interested in his neighbors’ lives (the devil says: „<...> I don’t need anythingmore, I just want to talk nicely!“; „That’s the devil like a relative!“); 6o Polish honoras(honor, honour, honour) used in the meaning of „excessive self-esteem, pride, pridefulness, ambition“ (lKŽuVIIIa1004,a1005;ullKŽuXVIIa450,a458). lrr–enThe New York Times (daily newspaper).h Mairr–enMaironis.hRaštai 2,hVilnius,h1988.h 200 LanguagesCulture|e83 lll–enFree newspaper. MTV (magazine). OrinttKlll–aP.oOrintaitė.aWhat fairies decided. Liepalotų medžiai.atsiminimai, ir apybraižos, uVilnius, u1993. The Republic (daily newspaper). 27 Confessions, Vilnius, 1975. Strielkūnas, J. Only once, Vilnius, 1998. 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Compiled byKazys Morkūnas and edited by Vytautas Šambrazas.Vilnius:Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. n a k i e n ė  a.2007:Žemaičiųsavimonėspaieškosinternete.–Tautosakos darbai34,214–220. Pa k a l n i š k i s ur V.uk2001:Žemaitiškumas globaliame pasaulyje.uk–ukLietuvos etnologija 1uk(10),ukVilnius:uklietuvos istorijos institutas,uk199–216.uk PŽa1993:ukPsychology Dictionary. editorsrimvydassaaugis,irrimantassKočiūnas,uVilnius:uMoksloirenciklopedijųslaida. S avo n i a k a i t ė ų V.uk2007:ogeneral,obutoself:oaboutthemodernAukštaitija.o–oLithuanianCulture:Aukštaitija customs.oAuthorsŽilvytisŠaknys,oVilnius:oLithuanianHistoryInstitute,oPublisher,o169–208.  S.PaPaurėlytė,K.ŽuPerKa.lietuvosetniniųsričiųgyventojųcharakteriobruožaikalbospasaulėvaizdyje 201 tu m ė n a s  V.2007:Konvencionalūs,klasifikaciniaiirinterpretaciniairegioninėstapatybės- aspektaiirsąsajossutautodaile. – Ethnology of Lithuania 7aj(16), Vilnius:Lithuanian Institute of History,aj125–156.aj Ž u p e r k a ur K.aj2006:commentary of dialectal language in non-linguistic texts.aj–ajActa humanitarica universitatis Saulensis.ajMoksloajdarbai,ajŠiauliai:Šiaulių universiteto leidykla,aj178–aj191.aj       Gauta20100929 charactertraItSOFlIthuanIan ethnIcGrOuPSInlInGuIStIcrealIty Summary The article presents a study of Lithuanian character traits attributed to people who represent different ethnic and cultural subgroups, i.e. Aukštaičiai, Žemaičiai, Dzūkai and Suvalkiečiai. The material was collected from mass media, fiction, spoken language, dictionaries and the electronic corpus of contemporary Lithuanian (Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos tekstynas). The findings of the linguistic analysis have been supplemented with experimental data from an association test. The results suggest that Aukštaičiai (highlanders) are poetic and emotional, their character is a combination of sadness and gaiety. The most prominent feature of Žemaičiai (Samogitians) is stubbornness which is inseparable from persistence, straightforwardness, dignity and self-esteem. Dzūkai are most often referred to as sincere, open, sensitive people with a special code of honour. People coming from Dzūkija do not attach much importance to material things but to material wealth. This subgroup is described as being miserly, sparing, orderly and smart. Certain traits of character may be attributed to more than one ethnic subgroup but not a single trait has been established as a common feature of all subgroups. SIlVIJahPaPaurėlytė KazIMIeraSzŽuPerKa University of Šiauliai PovilohVišinskioag.v38,vltv76352vŠiauliai [email protected] [email protected]