AUŠRA RIMKUTĖ

Institute of the Lithuanian Language

STANDARDIZATION OF RELIGIOUS TERMS IN THE LITTLE CATECHISM FOR CHILDREN BY PRIEST JUOZAS LAUKAITIS

For the centenary of the Prayer Commission

Juozas Laukaitis (1873–1952) – vienas svarbiausių XX a. pradžios lietuvių bažnytinės kalbos gaivintojų, puoselėtojų ir religijos terminijos normintojų. Į šį darbą jis įtraukė kunigus Alfonsą Petrulį ir Adomą Jakštą-Dambrauską, su kuriais beveik dvejus metus taisė poterių kalbą, kiek galėdami stengėsi apvalyti svarbiausių maldų tekstus nuo svetimybių ir keisti jas lietuviškais žodžiais. 1909 metais į Seinus susirinkę garsiausi ano meto kalbininkai – Jonas Jablonskis, Kazimieras Būga, Juozas Balčikonis ir Jurgis Šlapelis, kartu su J. Laukaičiu ir kitais kunigais per porą mėnesių apsvarstė daug pagrindinių lietuvių kalbos gramatikos ir rašybos taisyklių, sutvarkė svarbesnių lietuviškų maldų, giesmių, litanijų kalbą, patvirtino kai kuriuos religijos terminus. Vad(in)amosios Poterių komisijos nelengvo ir kruopštaus darbo rezultatai pirmą kartą buvo paskelbti 1909 m. 9-ame Vadovo numeryje.

The chairman of the Prayer Commission, Priest J. Laukaitis, was a fervent defender of the language of the revised prayers. When unfavorable criticism appeared, he responded rather sternly to Jonas Totoraitis’s article New Prayers (The Prayer Commission’s Errors), which raised the question of whether “barbarisms are already incomprehensible, and whether they can no longer remain in the prayers under any circumstances? <...> Perhaps the Commission thinks that with one wave of the hand it will tear and uproot the old form from the hearts and souls of Lithuanians, and thrust a new one in its place, just as in spring one digs an old oak out of the ground in a garden with forks, spades¹, stakes and poles, and plants in its place a young apple tree, which may not even take root?” (Totoraitis 1909: 296)². In the article To Dr. Jonas Totoraitis (On the Revision of the Prayers), J. Laukaitis wrote: “Anyone who has read Puriškevičius’s speeches in the Russian Duma defending the old state order can recognize Lithuania’s Puriškevičius in the ‘Vadovas’ article ‘New Prayers,’ only

¹x spatas – spade, shovel (LKŽ_e).

²The language of quotations in the article has not been edited.

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in another soil—that is, in the life of an antiquated, unsuitable translation of the most exalted prayers”; whereas the Prayer Commission works as best it knows and can (Laukaitis 1909^d: 415).

J. Laukaitis began his work to revive Lithuanian identity while still studying at the Sejny Priest Seminary. He belonged to a secret group of Lithuanian seminarians (for a time he was its leader), which sought to revive the native language and circulate Lithuanian publications. Priest J. Vailokaitis wrote in 1910 Šaltinyje that J. Laukaitis acquired his knowledge of Lithuanian from Bishop Antanas Baranauskas, “from that source of knowledge of the treasures of our beautiful language,” and knew it so well that “today there is no one in Suvalkija equal to him” (Vailokaitis 1910: 422). Apparently, that is why, when Lithuanian began to be taught at the Sejny Seminary in the 1904–1905 academic year, J. Laukaitis became its first Lithuanian-language instructor. The active work of “Professor³ Priest J. Laukaitis did not please the Polonized seminary teachers. They called him a “Lithuaniophile,” although Laukaitis was tolerant toward everyone in national, political, and religious matters alike” (Vaičiūnas 1996: 8).

J. Laukaitis was one of the founders of the St. Casimir Society, established in Kaunas in 1905 to publish Christian writings. That same year, he also chaired the book-publishing company “Laukaitis, Dvaranauskas, Narjauskas and Co.”; edited newspapers and magazines; wrote articles; and translated hymns, psalms, and literary works into Lithuanian. He edited the Christian Democratic weekly Šaltinis (he signed the first three issues in the name of Kazimieras Prapuolenis⁴, and issues 4 through 22 in his own name; later he handed over the editorship to Juozapas Vailokaitis). He also conceived the publication Šaltinėlis (1906), intended to help children learn Lithuanian. In autumn 1908, a monthly journal for Catholic priests, Vadovas⁵, began publication, featuring sermons and language advice in correct Lithuanian. Its founder was also J. Laukaitis. In addition, he wrote several hymns and a catechism, The Little Catechism for Children. According to Pranas Skardžius, J. Laukaitis “is one of our few clergymen who throughout his life took great care to improve written Lithuanian, above all the language of the Church. He was not

³ J. Laukaitis had been a professor at the Sejny Priest Seminary since 1902 (after the death of Bishop Antanas Baranauskas).

⁴ A curious coincidence—J. Laukaitis signed using the name of Kazimieras Prapuolenis (1858–1933), a canon, public figure, and press worker then living. The canon helped obtain a permit to publish the newspaper Šaltinio and, as stated in the book In the Maelstrom of the Struggle for Lithuanian Identity: The Vilnius and Sejny Regions in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries, “for a time he wrote as its editor.” He also contributed to the publication of Vadovo. He used various pseudonyms (Kairiūkštytė, Gudonytė 2009: 223).

⁵ Vadovas was published until 1914. J. Laukaitis edited it through issue twelve; afterward, it was edited by Justinas Staugaitis.

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not a learned specialist linguist, but only an amateur practitioner, having encountered the need to address the usage of the language of Lithuanian writings quite early on” (Skardžius 1997: 420). Monsignor Alfonsas Svarinskas also mentions J. Laukaitis as someone who was especially fond of the Lithuanian language: “It turns out that during other priests’ sermons he would sit by the altar with a notepad in his hands and write down language errors. Then he would correct them...” (Svarinskas 1996: 13).

He was an active public figure. In 1912, J. Laukaitis was elected from Suwałki Governorate to the Fourth State Duma of Russia, where he worked until the autumn of 1917. While living in St. Petersburg, he did not forget Lithuania. During the First World War, he chaired the St. Petersburg branch of the Lithuanian Society for Relief to War Victims and founded the Lithuanian National Catholic Union. He returned to Lithuania in 1918, and in 1936 was elected to the Fourth Seimas of Lithuania. In 1946, the Soviet authorities arrested J. Laukaitis and sentenced him to seven years in prison. He died in Vladimir Prison.

Having discussed J. Laukaitis’s active linguistic and public work, the main aim of this article remains: to examine the religious terminology and its changes across the three editions (1904, 1907, 1914) of his Mažojo katekizmo vaikeliams; to establish the principles and standardization criteria he followed in standardizing religious terms; and, most importantly, to assess the corrections to the religious terminology in catechisms published nearly a century ago in light of standard Lithuanian. J. Laukaitis himself wrote that “how necessary uniformity in Catholic prayers is, priests best appreciate when teaching children the catechism, reciting prayers from the pulpit in church every Sunday, making their annual pastoral visits, and accepting marriage banns from those intending to marry” (Laukaitis 1907: 417). Thus, the article will go on to examine whether the texts of the catechisms he published exhibit the uniformity mentioned.

RELIGIOUS TERMINOLOGY IN THE CATECHISMS

Three editions of J. Laukaitis’s catechism were published: in 1904, Mažasis katekizmas vaikeliams, prisiruošiantiems į pirmą išpažintį ir šventą Komuniją (dated 1905 on the cover, Vilnius); and in 1907 and 1914, Mažasis katekizmas vaikeliams, prisiruošiantiems į pirmąją išpažintį ir šventąją Komuniją (Seinai). All the catechisms were approved. The author, compiler, or translator of the catechism is not identified, but it is believed to have been written by J. Laukaitis (Kairiūkštytė, Gudonytė 2009: 167). The catechisms differ in length. The first edition is somewhat shorter—105 pages, while

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the second and third are 115 pages each. The first edition does not include the texts of morning and evening prayers.

More than 1,800 religious terms, synonyms, and variants were collected from the three editions of the catechism. Since the texts of the editions differ very little, each contains about 600 distinct single-word (almost one third) and compound religious terms, synonyms, and variants. A review of the three editions of J. Laukaitis’s Mažojo katekizmo vaikeliams reveals a certain evolution in religious terminology, as well as distinctive stages and principles of standardization. It is therefore possible to speak of three stages in the standardization of religious terminology: the use of foreignisms, their replacement with Lithuanian equivalents, and a transitional stage in which foreignisms and Lithuanian terms are used interchangeably.

In this article, religious terms⁶ are understood as words and word combinations denoting the fundamental truths of the Christian faith; religious figures; supernatural beings; religious books and texts; actions and phenomena associated with faith; sacraments, sins, vices, virtues, religious rites, church furnishings (clothing, its parts, liturgical vessels, etc.); Church and religious feasts, days of celebration, and other concepts of time related to religion; various religious places and buildings; as well as administrative divisions, among other things. Terms include not only proper terms specific to religion, for example, altorius, angelas, apaštalas, Dievo Avinėlis, išpažintis, krikštas, kunigas, nuodėmė, ostija, Paskutinis Teismas, pragaras, rojus, sakramentas, Sūnus (Dievo sūnus), Švenčiausioji Trejybė, Velykos, and so on; nomenclatural names, for example, Katalikų bažnyčia, Šventoji Romos bažnyčia, and so on; but also ordinary-language words (also used in other fields) that have acquired a specialized meaning, for example, avis, avėlė, dangus, duona, lazda, pasaulis, sodas, taurė, žaltys, žemė, žmogus, and the like. The meaning of specialized words differs from that of ordinary words: for example, in religious texts the term avis is used to mean a believer; in religion, duona is a symbol of spiritual nourishment and the Body of Christ, and thus of his redemptive sacrifice; Didysis ketvirtadienis is the day of the Last Supper; Didysis penktadienis is the day of Christ’s Passion and death; sekmadienis is not only the seventh day of the week but also a holy day set aside for worshipping God and resting. The word sodas, as a religious term, is a symbol of chastity and purity, as well as of the earthly and heavenly paradise.

⁶ Apie religijos termino sampratą dar žr. Rimkutė 2009: 172–177.

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Foreign elements

J. Laukaitis wrote in the journal Draugijos in 1907: “Žyvatas, griešnas, griekas” are of the same value as “abliubenyčia, tajemnyčia, apibrozyti, bliuznierstva, loska. Such equivalent rubbish must be thrown out, because it grates horribly on the Lithuanian ear” (Laukaitis 1907: 418). In catechisms only griešnas, griekas and tajemnyčia are found, since Lithuanian equivalents predominate. The editions of Mažojo katekizmo vaikeliams discussed here retain the following foreignisms, which have not entered the standard language (single-word terms also used as components of compound terms) and have no Lithuanian equivalents⁷:

x almužna⁸ MKV₁ 44, MKV₂ 36, MKV₃ 36 (“alms,” Polish jałmużna);

x aniolas MKV₁ 17, MKV₂ 6, MKV₃ 6 (“angel,” Polish anioł): Guardian Angel MKV₃ 6, Angel of God MKV₃ 106, good angel MKV₃ 6, holy Guardian Angel MKV₃ 102, holy angel MKV₃ 45;

x Arkaniolas MKV₁ 54, MKV₂ 47, MKV₃ 47 (“archangel,” Polish archanioł): Archangel Gabriel’s Annunciation MKV₃ 48;

x čyščius MKV₁ 24, MKV₂ 13, MKV₃ 13 (“purgatory,” Polish czyściec): the sufferings of purgatory MKV₃ 88;

x čystata MKV₁ 10, MKV₂ XI, MKV₃ XI (“purity, cleanliness,” Polish czystota, cf. Polish czystość);

x dūšia MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ 7, MKV₃ 62 (“soul,” Polish dusza): a soul suffering in purgatory MKV₃ 46, the soul of a little child MKV₃ 65, the human soul MKV₃ IX;

x grabas MKV₁ 35, MKV₂ 26, MKV₃ 25 (“coffin,” Belarusian гроб, Polish grób);⁹

x griešnas MKV₁ 5, MKV₂ VI, MKV₃ VI (“sinful,” Belarusian грешный, Polish grzeszny, cf. also Russian грешный);

x karunka MKV₁ 54, MKV₂ 47, MKV₃ 47 (“a certain prayer,” Polish korunka);

x nečystata MKV₁ 79, MKV₂ 76, MKV₃ VIII (“impurity, fornication,” Polish neczystota);

x pakūta MKV₁ 30, MKV₂ 20, MKV₃ 20 (“penance,” Polish pokuta): great penance MKV₃ 84, fulfilment of penance MKV₃ 82, Sacrament of Penance MKV₃ 70;

⁷ To determine the origin (and meaning) of the terms, the study by A. Sabaliauskas Lietuvių kalbos leksika (1990), D. Urbas’s Martyno Mažvydo raštų žodynas (1998), J. Palionis’s XVI–XVII a. lietuviškų raštų atrankinis žodynas (2004), the Lietuvių kalbos žodynas, as well as A. Brückner’s Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (1974) and W. Smoczyński’s Słownik etymologiczny języka litewskiego (2007) are consulted. The terms are presented alphabetically, in the original spelling and in the singular nominative form.

⁸ Words not used in contemporary standard language are marked with “x”.

⁹ Coffin is also a borrowing; cf. Belarusian корста.

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x šliubas MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ 61, MKV₃ VIII (“church wedding ceremony,” Polish ślub);

x veselija MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ 61, MKV₃ 61 (“wedding,” Belarusian вяселле, Polish wesele; the Lithuanian term vestuvės is also used in MKV₃ VIII), etc.

Synonyms and variants

Also worth mentioning are foreignisms that occur as components (primary or secondary) of compound terms and are not used separately in the catechism as one-word religious terms, for example:

x asaba (“person,” Polish osoba, Russian особа): Dievo Asaba arba Ypata MKV₁ 15, MKV₂ 4, Dievo Ypata arba Asaba MKV₃ 4 (asaba is used synonymously with the neologism ypata);

x četvergas (“Thursday,” Belarusian четве́рг, Polish czwartek): Great Thursday MKV₁ 71, MKV₂ 66, great četvergas MKV₃ 23;

x kielikas (“chalice,” Polish kielich, German Kelch): cup of wine MKV₁ 100, MKV₂ 99, MKV₃ 99, elevation of the chalice MKV₁ 99, MKV₂ 98, MKV₃ 98;

x pėtnyčia (“Friday,” Belarusian пятніца, Polish piątek): Great Friday MKV₁ 34, MKV₂ 24, MKV₃ 24;

x Traicė (“Trinity,” Polish Trójca, cf. also Latin Trinitas): Most Holy Trinity MKV₁ 13, Most Holy Trinity MKV₂ 1, MKV₃ 1;

x želabnas (“mournful,” cf. Polish żałoba): funeral Masses (želabnos) MKV₁ 100, funeral Masses (želabnos) MKV₂ 100, MKV₃ 100;

x žyvatas (“womb,” Polish żywot): fruit of the womb MKV₁ 5, MKV₂ VI, MKV₃ VI, etc.

The foreignisms listed in the prayers published by the Prayers Commission are absent (except for aniolą and dušią). It is unclear why J. Laukaitis uses these non-Lithuanian terms even in the last edition of the catechism. Perhaps his opinion differed from the proposal made by linguists.

In the journal Vadovas, J. Laukaitis wrote quite a lot about language. In the section Kalbos dalykų, he sought “to consider the value of the most necessary theological and philosophical terms used in our writings and to point out the errors most commonly encountered” (Laukaitis 1914: 201). J. Laukaitis was not afraid to admit that he had been mistaken; for example, at first he wrote that aniolo could not be replaced with angelu “for one reason: all Lithuanian Catholics throughout Lithuania have prayed to the aniolą from childhood; and second, if aniolą were replaced by angelu, people would be terribly offended, saying that it was an imitation of Lithuanian Lutherans and Calvinists, who …

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... angelas. Finally, if one takes angelos, angelus as the original source, the Lithuanian forms would be angelius, -iaus, like stilius or a name used by people: Teopilius. Therefore, angelas was most likely borrowed from Russian” (Laukaitis 1908₍b₎: 413). In issue 7 of Vadovas, J. Laukaitis urged that aniolas be retained, since this word of foreign origin was supposedly as old as popiežius, vyskupas, klebonas, prabaščius¹⁰, parapija, etc., and that there was nevertheless no need to force angelą in its place (Laukaitis 1909₍a₎: 300). However, in the next issue he wrote that the word angelas ought to be used (Laukaitis 1909₍c₎: 102). Unfortunately, he himself did not follow this recommendation—in Mažajame katekizme vaikeliams the term angelas does not occur.

Foreignisms: apiera (“offering,” cf. Polish ofiara), birmavonė (“the Sacrament of Confirmation,” Polish bierzmowanie), griekas (“sin,” Polish grzech, cf. Russian грех), kora (“punishment,” Polish kara), mylista (“grace,” Belarusian мілацӯ, Polish miłość), nodeja (“hope,” Belarusian надзея, Polish nadzieja), pekla (“hell,” Polish piekło), smertis (“death,” Belarusian смерть, Polish śmierć), spaviednis (“confession,” Polish spowiedź), sūdas (“judgment,” Belarusian суд, Polish sąd), sumenija (“conscience,” Belarusian суменне, Polish sumenie), svietas (“world,” Belarusian свет, Polish świat), tajemnyčia (“secret,” Polish tajemnica), and some others occur in all editions of the catechism. The examples show that attempts were made to eliminate them, but inconsistently, since they can be found both on their own and as synonyms for Lithuanian terms (most often written in parentheses or after the conjunction or).

In most cases, J. Laukaitis preferred Lithuanian terms, for example:

apiera MKV₁ 73, cf. auka arba apiera MKV₂ 69, MKV₃ 69: Mišių apiera MKV₁ 74, Mišių auka arba apiera MKV₂ 69, MKV₃ 69, šventų Mišių apiera MKV₁ 44;

išpažintis (spaviednis) MKV₁ 81, MKV₂ 78, MKV₃ 78, also cf. šventa išpažintis MKV₁ 66, MKV₂ 78, šventa išpažintis (spaviednis) MKV₁ 74, MKV₂ 70 – šventoji išpažintis MKV₃ 61, šventoji išpažintis (spaviednis) MKV₃ 83, velykinė išpažintis (spaviednis) MKV₃ 60;

griešnas MKV₁ 5, MKV₂ VI, MKV₃ VI, cf. nusidėjėlis MKV₁ 84, MKV₂ 81, MKV₃ 81;

grace MKV₂ 9, MKV₃ 9 – love MKV₁ 5, MKV₂ V, MKV₃ V, God’s grace MKV₁ 67, MKV₂ 9, MKV₃ 62 – God’s love MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ VIII, MKV₃ VIII, God’s grace (love) MKV₂ 61, MKV₃ 61, God’s grace or love MKV₁ 68

¹⁰ Prabaščius (Polish proboszcz < German Probst, Czech probošt < Latin propositus), praboščius (Belarusian probašč) – the administrator of a Catholic parish, a parish priest (LKŽₑ). This is an obsolete and inadmissible foreignism for a parish priest, derived from Latin (for further discussion, see Klimavičius 1998: 10).

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and God’s grace or favor MKV₁ 67, the grace of the holy sacraments MKV₁ 23 – the grace of the holy sacraments MKV₂ 12, MKV₃ 12, absolution¹¹ grace MKV₁ 84, MKV₂ 81, MKV₃ 81;

death (smertis) MKV₁ 19, MKV₂ 9, MKV₃ 9, see also death MKV₁ 19, MKV₂ 8, MKV₃ 8, hour of smertis MKV₁ 5, MKV₂ VI and hour of death MKV₃ VI;

superstition (zabobonai) MKV₁ 58 – superstitions (zabobonai) MKV₂ 51, MKV₃ 51;

sin (nuodėmė, griekas) MKV₁ 88, MKV₂ 86, MKV₃ 86; in compound terms, sin (most often) or sin: carnal sin MKV₁ 91, MKV₂ 89, MKV₃ 89, original sin MKV₁ 20, MKV₂ 64, MKV₃ 86, original sin or sin MKV₁ 19, MKV₂ 86, MKV₃ 86, the sin of the first parents MKV₁ 20, MKV₂ 9, MKV₃ 9, grave sin MKV₁ 67, MKV₂ 62, MKV₃ 81, hardness in sin MKV₁ 9, MKV₂ X, MKV₃ X, but – forgiveness of sins MKV₁ 6, MKV₂ 36, MKV₃ VI and forgiveness of sins MKV₁ 45, MKV₂ 76, MKV₃ 76;

world MKV₂ 29, MKV₃ 29 – svietas MKV₁ 12, MKV₂ 39, MKV₃ 39, end of the world MKV₁ 42, MKV₂ 34, MKV₃ 38 – end of svietas MKV₁ 46;

mystery (tajemnyčia) MKV₁ 55, MKV₂ 48, MKV₃ 48, cf. mystery of Redemption MKV₁ 13, MKV₃ 1, mystery of the Most Holy Trinity MKV₁ 13, MKV₂ 1, MKV₃ 1;

hell or pekla MKV₁ 24, cf. pekla or hell MKV₁ 9, MKV₂ X, MKV₃ X, see also hell MKV₁ 24, MKV₂ 13, MKV₃ 13 – pekla MKV₁ 8, MKV₂ 13, MKV₃ 13, gates of hell MKV₂ 33, MKV₃ 33 – gates of pekla MKV₁ 41, captivity in hell MKV₁ 22, MKV₂ 11, MKV₃ 11, earning hell MKV₁ 81, earning hell MKV₂ 78, MKV₃ 78;

conscience (sumenija) MKV₁ 75, MKV₂ 71, MKV₃ 71, cf. conscience MKV₁ 70, MKV₂ 65, MKV₃ 65, Number of Conscience (Rokunda sumenijos) MKV₁ 77, MKV₂ 73, MKV₃ 73; the foreign word rokunda (Polish rachunek) is used only in compound terms;

judgment (sūdas) MKV₂ 38, MKV₃ 38; the 1904 catechism has only sūdas MKV₁ 46; the word judgment does not yet occur, cf. God’s judgment (sūdas) MKV₂ 13, MKV₃ 13 – God’s sūdas MKV₁ 23, Last Judgment MKV₂ 38, MKV₃ 38 – Last Sūdas MKV₁ 23 – Last Judgment (Sūdas) MKV₂ 13, MKV₃ 13, universal judgment MKV₂ 39, MKV₃ 39, Universal Last Judgment (Sūdas) MKV₂ 38, MKV₃ 38 – Universal Last Sūdas MKV₁ 46;

hope (nodieja) MKV₁ 48, MKV₂ 41, MKV₃ 41, hope MKV₁ 58, MKV₂ 52, MKV₃ 103, etc.

Although J. Laukaitis replaced the neologism nietikystė MKV₁ 58 used in the 1904 catechism with the word prietarai MKV₂ 51, MKV₃ 51, he nevertheless left in parentheses

¹¹ Absolution “forgiveness (of sins)” is a calque from Polish; cf. Polish rozgrzeszenie (Palionis 2004: 157), see also išrišti – Polish rozwiązać.

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Polishness zabobonai. One Lithuanian term has a synonym that should be regarded as a hybrid¹², e.g., paaukojimas (apieravojimas) MKV₂ 49, MKV₃ 49 (“offering,” Polish ofierować, ofiarowanie). The first edition has only apieravojimas MKV₁ 56; cf. also Viešpaties Jezaus apieravojimas MKV₁ 55 and Viešpaties Jezaus paaukojimas (apieravojimas) MKV₂ 48, MKV₃ 48. More hybrid terms not used in standard language were also found, e.g., nepakūtojimas MKV₁ 9, MKV₂ X (“lack of repentance,” cf. Polish pokutować), and others.

In the Little Catechism for Children there are cases in which a foreign word or an unacceptable hybrid term is given first, followed only afterward by a Lithuanian equivalent (sometimes a compound term), for example: Birmavonė arba padrūtinimas¹³ in the holy faith MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ VIII, MKV₃ VIII, Birmavonė arba Padrūtinimas tikėjime MKV₁ 67, MKV₂ 62 (Birmavonė arba Patvirtinimas tikėjime MKV₃ 62); the one-word term Birmavonė is also used in all editions MKV₁ 70, MKV₂ 65, MKV₃ 65; nedėldienis arba sekmadienis MKV₂ 53, MKV₃ 53. The word sekma dienis is absent from the first edition, which has only the hybrid nedėldienis MKV₁ 59 (“Sunday,” cf. Belarusian нядзеля). The compound term Velykų nedėldienis is used in all editions MKV₁ 36, MKV₂ 27, MKV₃ 26.

Comparing the religious terms in the editions of Mažojo Katekizmo vaikeliams, one can observe that J. Laukaitis tried to adhere to the principle of replacing foreign words with native ones, apparently formulated in the established tradition of language purification, which was especially promoted and discussed in the press of the time. The examples discussed show that some of the foreign words used in the 1904 Mažojo katekizmo vaikeliams no longer occur in the 1907 and 1914 editions, or are used synonymously with Lithuanian equivalents, generally giving preference to native words. Synonymy in J. Laukaitis’s catechisms shows that religious terminology had not yet become established and that the most suitable term for naming a concept was being sought. In many cases, synonymy between religious terms of different origins—that is, Lithuanian and non-Lithuanian—can be regarded as justified, since the aim was to purify the language or eliminate terms of foreign origin and use Lithuanian ones.

Although svietas and pasaulis are used synonymously in the catechisms, it is worth mentioning the short article Kalbos dalykai, published in issue 8 of Vadovo in 1909, in which J. Laukaitis explained that “[p]asaulis was used incorrectly pasaulis

¹² In the article, hybrids are considered to be words composed of elements of native origin and borrowed words (Keinys 1984: 115; Gaivenis, Keinys 1990).

¹³ Padrūtinimas means “confirmation” (cf. Polish potwierdzenie). The 1914 edition uses the term patvirtinimas.

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instead of svietas, because pasaulis, according to etymology and people’s understanding, means only a place or an object beneath the sun, that is, our earth (cf. pakriausis, pakaušis, pakinkis, pastogė, padangė, pakalnė, pažandė, panosė, etc.). People say: many people from all over the world gather at the Holy Father’s; <...>. As for the Lithuanian character of the word svietas, it seems to me there can be no doubt: it is of the same common origin as sniegas, sėmens, stiklas, sėdėti, sietas, sakalas, sábalas, saldus, etc.” (Laukaitis 1909_b: 403). As can be seen, this explanation is misguided. Among the examples listed, stiklas, sakalas ir sabalas are of Slavic origin. These are old borrowings, whereas svietas is a barbarism that Lithuanian can do without. The other words are considered Indo-European or common to the Balts and Slavs. J. Laukaitis wrote the following about the term pekla: “Mr. Būga scientifically proved that there had been no Poklius or Peklius and that the word ‘pekla’ had in fact been taken from Polish” (ibid., 406). In Vadove (1908), J. Laukaitis argued that dušios could be replaced neither by vėlė nor by siela, because “vėlė or velė, from which came velinas (in Daukša) and velnias, as can still be ascertained from living speech, means the same as Latin manes, Polish cienie zmarłych,” while “siela, as can be seen from ancient writings and living speech, means the same as Latin animus, mens, <...> therefore we may use sielą only in those cases where the Poles use ‘dusza’ in a metaphorical sense, as in: dusza narodu, towarzystwa..., and also where the Latin animus, mens mean the human spirit” (Laukaitis 1908_b: 413–414). Later, however (1925), “for him siela already had the same meaning as Latin anima and seemed to be of common origin with German Seele, just as Sohn – sūnus, Tochter – duktė and so on. But in fact these words have nothing in common” (Skardžius 1997: 424). These few explanations clearly show how J. Laukaitis judged the usage and meaning of the words he recommended by analogy with familiar examples and according to his own understanding, drawing on linguists’ works. Clearly, he did not always succeed in providing a linguistically sound explanation (svietas is a Slavicism), but his efforts deserve attention. P. Skardžius wrote that although Prelate J. Laukaitis was only an amateur linguist, “lacking a broader and deeper understanding of standard-language usage, and often also lacking historical and etymological knowledge, and generally relying on just one or another familiar example,” he nevertheless did much good for the culture of ecclesiastical language: he was among the first to concern himself with that language and the first to succeed in arousing great interest and a desire to improve it (Skardžius 1997: 425).

The 1904 Mažojo katekizmo vaikeliams used the calque mielaširdystė MKV₁ 11 (cf. Polish miłosierdzie, Latin misericordia); in later editions of the catechism it was replaced by the term gailestingumas MKV₂, 13, MKV₃

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XIII, cf. also God’s mercy MKV₁ 9 – God’s mercy (mielaširdystė) MKV₂ X, MKV₃ X.

The term ražančius¹⁴ should also be mentioned MKV₁ 54, MKV₂ 47, MKV₃ 47 (Polish róžaniec), which is avoided in standard language¹⁵ (although škaplieriai is used, cf. Polish szkaplerz), and replaced with rožinis. Interestingly, in 1940 J. Laukaitis proposed using the neologism rožynys instead of rožančius, while A. Salys proposed rožinis¹⁶.

In addition to everything discussed, Mažajame katekizme vaikeliams uses Lithuanian one-word religious terms that have one-word Lithuanian synonyms, for example: apžadas (ižadas) MKV₁ 59, MKV₂ 53, MKV₃ 53, apžadas (prižadas, ižadas) MKV₁ 59, MKV₂ 52, MKV₃ 52, nusiturėjimas (užsilaikymas) MKV₁ 10, cf. susiturėjimas (užsilaikymas) MKV₂ XI, MKV₃ XI. As the examples show, nusiturėjimas MKV₁ 10 was replaced by susiturėjimas MKV₂ XI, while the synonymous word užsilaikymas was retained. The term dievogarbumas used in the first edition MKV₁ 10 was replaced with the morphologically preferable term dievotumas MKV₂ 93, MKV₃ 93. Apparently, the word pagundymas MKV₁ 5 was also deemed problematic; in the same edition of the catechism it is used synonymously with pagunda MKV₁ 14, MKV₂ 2, MKV₃ 2 (pagundymo does not occur in the second or third editions).

Derivatives formed with the suffixes -ity and -ness used in catechism editions can be considered synonyms, e.g., divinity MKV₁ 35 – godhood MKV₂ 26, MKV₃ 51, sacrilege MKV₁ 73 – blasphemy MKV₂ 68, MKV₃ 68. As can be seen, J. Laukaitis almost everywhere consistently replaced derivatives with the suffix -ity, which generally denote certain personal qualities or states of being, with derivatives using the suffix -ness, denoting qualities or a particular condition or situation. The term with the suffix -ness used in the 1904 catechism – graciousness MKV₁ 23 – was replaced in other editions by a term with the suffix -ness – graciousness MKV₂ 13, MKV₃ 13. In the journal Vadovas, J. Laukaitis wrote that people had begun to “drive out the long-established ending -ity from our literature¹⁷ and force -ness into its place. This is supposedly done because a similarity has been observed between the Lithuanian -ity and the Slavic -stwo (brolystė – braterstwo, dievystė – bóstwo, etc.), <...>. In the living language, the ending -ness means something quite different from -ity, and one absolutely cannot be substituted for the other” (Laukaitis 1908_a: 202).

¹⁴ The usual form is rožančius.

¹⁵ Plačiau žr. Rimkutė 2005: 54.

¹⁶ Plačiau žr. Klimavičius 2002: 109.

¹⁷ Emphasized by J. Laukaitis (it should be a suffix, not an ending. – A. R.).

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In addition, the secondary components of compound terms, expressed by simple and pronominal adjective forms, vary most often in the catechisms. Pronominal forms are not characteristic of the terms in the 1904 catechism; only a few instances were found, e.g. Dvasia šventoji MKV₁ 30, šventoji Bažnyčia MKV₁ 64; however, these too occur alongside simple forms, e.g. Dvasia Šventa MKV₁ 6, šventa Bažnyčia MKV₁ 6. The simple adjective forms used in the first edition of the catechism are already expressed as pronominal forms in the 1907 and 1914 catechisms, e.g. amžina prapultis MKV₁ 21 – amžinoji prapultis MKV₂ 11, MKV₃ 105, amžina ugnis MKV₁ 46 – amžinoji ugnis MKV₂ 38, MKV₃ 38, amžinas gyvenimas MKV₁ 21 – amžinasis gyvenimas MKV₂ 11, MKV₃ 102, amžinas išganymas¹⁸ MKV₁ 49 – amžinasis išganymas MKV₂ 41, MKV₃ 41, dvasiška Švento Tėvo valdžia MKV₁ 40–41 – dvasiškoji Šventojo Tėvo valdžia MKV₂ 32, MKV₃ 32, geras Aniolas MKV₁ 17 – gerasis Aniolas MKV₂ 6, MKV₃ 6, krikščioniškas mokslas MKV₁ 94 – krikščioniškasis mokslas MKV₂ 93, MKV₃ 93, paskutinė šventa išpažintis MKV₁ 76 – paskutinė šventoji išpažintis MKV₂ 72, MKV₃ 72, paskutinė Vakarienė MKV₁ 33 – paskutinioji Vakarienė MKV₂ 23, MKV₃ 23, Švenčiausia Ostija MKV₁ 99 – Švenčiausioji Ostija MKV₂ 98, MKV₃ 98, Švenčiausia Traicė MKV₁ 13 – Švenčiausioji Traicė MKV₁ 16, MKV₂ 1, MKV₃ 1, Švenčiausias Sakramentas MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ VIII – Švenčiausiasis Sakramentas MKV₂ 66, MKV₃ 66, šventa Komunija MKV₁ 71 – šventoji Komunija MKV₂ 66, MKV₃ 66, šventas Tėvas MKV₁ 42 – šventasis Tėvas MKV₂ 34, MKV₃ 32, šventos Mišios MKV₁ 73 – šventosios Mišios MKV₂ 69, MKV₃ 69, etc. Simple adjective forms are rare in the second and third catechism editions and alternate with pronominal forms, e.g. Dvasia Šventa MKV₂ VI, MKV₃ VI – Dvasia šventoji MKV₂ 21, MKV₃ 21, pikta dvasia MKV₂ 2, MKV₃ 2 – piktoji dvasia MKV₂ 7, MKV₃ 7, šventa Bažnyčia MKV₂ 32, MKV₃ 32 – šventoji Bažnyčia MKV₂ 12, MKV₃ 12. Although simple and pronominal adjective forms do not mean the same thing, the terms cited denoted the same religious concepts, and the difference was only grammatical. These variants may be considered pseudo-variants. The attempt to use pronominal adjective forms (even if interspersed with simple forms) in contexts where they are now customary, when referring to a kind or distinguishing characteristic, indicates J. Laukaitis’s desire to improve the language of the catechism.

Mention should also be made separately of terms used in catechisms that, formally speaking, could not be considered terms: adjectives and participles functioning as nouns. Two terms occur most often in the texts:

¹⁸ Išganymas “salvation” is a calque, cf. Polish zbawienie.

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living MKV₁ 6, MKV₂ VI and numeres MKV₁ 6, MKV₂ VI; the term sinful should also be mentioned. Definite forms of these terms are also used (usually as components of compound terms), e.g.: Sacraments of the living MKV₁ 67, MKV₂ 62, Sacraments of the dead MKV₁ 67, MKV₂ 62, resurrection of the dead MKV₂ 23.

The catechisms contain numerous syntactic variants of compound (mostly two-word) terms that differ in the order of their components, e.g.: Church holy MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ VIII, MKV₃ VIII – holy Church MKV₁ 6, MKV₂ 32, MKV₃ 32, Virtue Divine MKV₁ 93, MKV₂ 91, MKV₃ 91 – divine virtue MKV₁ 48, MKV₂ 41, MKV₃ 41, Mass holy MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ VII, MKV₃ VII – holy Mass MKV₁ 73, sinning foreign MKV₁ 92, MKV₂ 90, MKV₃ 90 – foreign sinning MKV₁ 92, MKV₂ 90, MKV₃ 90, and so on. As can be seen, almost all the variants cited compete within the same catechism. There are considerably fewer compound religious terms whose component order is atypical of Lithuanian. Thus, the component order in most compound terms is correct.

Cases were found in which multiple spelling variants of a term (or its synonym) are used, for example, variants with short and long vowels: near MKV₁ 7– close MKV₂ VII, MKV₃ VII; variants in capitalization: Gluttony MKV₁ 8, MKV₂ VIII – gluttony MKV₁ 10, MKV₂ 76 – gluttony MKV₃ XI, Heaven MKV₁ 9, MKV₂ 93, MKV₃ 93 – heaven MKV₁ 5, MKV₂ 36, MKV₃ 36, Glutton MKV₁ 8, MKV₂ VIII, MKV₃ VIII – glutton MKV₂ 88, MKV₃ 88, Love MKV₁ 9, MKV₂ X, MKV₃ X – love MKV₁ 56, MKV₂ 49, MKV₃ 49, Faith MKV₁ 9, MKV₂ X, MKV₃ X – faith MKV₁ 14, MKV₂ 2, MKV₃ 2, and so on. The capitalization of many of the terms cited is a matter of style: what is especially sacred and important to believers, and worthy of the utmost reverence, is written with a capital letter.

Lithuanian Terms and Old Loanwords

The variation, lack of stabilization, and synonymy among all the religious terms discussed in The Little Catechism for Children can be explained by the fact that Lithuanian religious terminology was still being standardized at the time. Although alongside such Lithuanian¹⁹ religious terms as indulgences MKV₁ 44, MKV₂ 36, MKV₃ 36, redemption MKV₁ 22, MKV₂ 12, MKV₃ 12, little lamb ‘Christ’ MKV₁ 33, MKV₂ 23,

¹⁹ Old loanwords are discussed in this article alongside native vocabulary, since synchronically the foreign origin of many of them is generally no longer recognizable (there are also loanwords whose foreign origin may not be predictable). They constitute a very important part of the lexicon and are considered standard.

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MKV₃ 23, God MKV₁ 8, MKV₂ IX, MKV₃ IX, spirit MKV₁ 14, MKV₂ 3, MKV₃ 3, desires MKV₁ 64, MKV₂ 58, MKV₃ 58, sinner MKV₁ 84, MKV₂ 81, MKV₃ 81, elevation MKV₁ 99, MKV₂ 98, MKV₃ 98, blessing MKV₁ 37, MKV₂ 28, MKV₃ 28, making the sign of the cross MKV₁ 5, MKV₂ 2, MKV₃ 2, water MKV₁ 32, MKV₂ 22, MKV₃ 22, devil MKV₁ 12, MKV₂ 6, MKV₃ 6, and so on; and alongside old loanwords, for example: apostle MKV₁ 37, MKV₂ 28, MKV₃ 28 (Polish apostol), Church MKV₁ 29, MKV₂ 18, MKV₃ 18 (Belarusian бажніца, Polish bożnica), Lent MKV₁ 79, MKV₂ 75, MKV₃ 75 (Belarusian гавенне), Christian MKV₁ 39, MKV₂ 30, MKV₃ 30 (Polish chrześcijanin), Baptism MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ 37, MKV₃ VIII (Old Russian кръсть, compare also Polish chrzest), cross MKV₁ 13, MKV₂ 1, MKV₃ 1 (Belarusian крыж, Polish krzyż), priest MKV₁ 33, MKV₂ 24, MKV₃ 24 (Old High German kunig), Mass MKV₁ 64, MKV₂ 59, MKV₃ 59 (Polish msza), parish MKV₁ 7, MKV₂ VIII, MKV₃ VIII (Belarusian напафія, Polish parafia), Pope MKV₁ 39, MKV₂ 31, MKV₃ 35 (Polish papież), prayers MKV₁ 53, MKV₂ 46, MKV₃ 46 (Polish pacierz), Paradise MKV₁ 19, MKV₂ 8, MKV₃ 8 (Belarusian рай, Polish raj), Satan MKV₂ 6, MKV₃ 6 (Polish szatan), Easter MKV₁ 73, MKV₂ 68, MKV₃ 68 (Belarusian вялік (азень)), wine MKV₁ 32, MKV₂ 22, MKV₃ 22 (Belarusian віно, Polish wino), bishop MKV₁ 33, MKV₂ 24, MKV₃ 30 (Polish biskup, wiskup), and so forth; foreign words are used in all editions of J. Laukaitis’s catechism, although in many cases attempts are made to replace them.

International Words

It should be noted that international terms, for example: altar MKV₁ 95, MKV₂ 94, MKV₃ 94 (Latin altus, compare Polish ołtarz), deacon²⁰ MKV₁ 39, MKV₂ 30, MKV₃ 30 (Greek diakonos), Epistle MKV₁ 98, MKV₂ 97, MKV₃ 97 (Latin epistola < Greek epistolē), Gospel MKV₁ 32, MKV₂ 22, MKV₃ 22 (Polish ewangelia < Greek euangelion), Catholic MKV₁ 13, MKV₂ 1, MKV₃ 1 (Latin catholicus < Greek kathолikos, compare Polish katolik), Catechism MKV₁ 24, MKV₂ 14, MKV₃ 14 (Latin catechismus < Greek katēchismos), Communion MKV₁ 66, MKV₂ 60, MKV₃ 60 (Latin communio, compare Polish komunia), Host MKV₁ 99, MKV₂ 98, MKV₃ 98 (Latin hostia), Psalm MKV₁ 100, MKV₂ 100, MKV₃ 100 (Greek psalmos, compare Polish psalm), Sacraments MKV₁ 25, MKV₂ 14, MKV₃ 14 (Latin sacramentum), and so on, are not changed. One example was found in which a relatively rare international word, ministrantura (Latin ministrans, genitive ministrantis), was explained in simple-

²⁰ Nowadays – deacon.

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with a compound term more readily understood by readers of the catechism: Altar serving or Serving at Holy Mass MKV₁ 95 – Altar serving or Serving at the Holy Mass MKV₂ 94, MKV₃ 94. Thus, J. Laukaitis was not an advocate of extreme purism. Perhaps he adhered to J. Jablonskis’s principles of standardization: only unequivocal loanwords should be standardized, or replaced, while established, widespread words of foreign origin that do not violate the language system, as well as international words, need not be replaced (Jablonskis 1935: 307–308; Palionis 1959: 19–25; Piročkinas 1977: 102–105). International words are needed in religious vocabulary when there are no native equivalents and the concepts are named on the basis of ecclesiastical Latin.

Although loanwords were removed inconsistently from The Little Catechism for Children, the general principles for standardizing religious terminology (especially those of purity, living speech, and correctness) are nevertheless quite clearly discernible. Father J. Laukaitis, though not a professional linguist, assessed the use of borrowings quite professionally.

CONCLUSIONS

Juozas Laukaitis was one of the most important and active proponents and cultivators of ecclesiastical Lithuanian in the early 20th century, and a creator and standardizer of standard Lithuanian, including religious terminology; he was the first to address the reform and Lithuanianization of prayers. He prepared and published three editions of The Little Catechism for Children. These yielded about 600 distinct one-word (nearly one third) and compound religious terms, along with their synonyms and variants.

All editions of the catechism use purely Lithuanian religious terms: God, spirit, devil, etc., as well as loanwords for which no equivalents had been found at the time, or whose foreign origin may not have been recognized: almužna, aniolas, arkan(i)olas, čyščius, čystata, dušia, grabas, griešnas, karunka, pakūta, šliūbas, etc. Many terms are used synonymously: offering – apiera, confession – spaviednis, sinning or sin – griekas, punishment – kora, grace – mylista, death – smertis, mystery – tajemnyčia, hell – pekla, etc., generally giving preference to the Lithuanian religious term. The purification of religious terminology undertaken by J. Laukaitis may be regarded as the broadest direction of terminology standardization in this catechism.

The editions of The Little Catechism for Children contain many spelling and syntactic variants. Their presence, like synonymy, indicates that religious terminology was still being systematized.

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The creation of Lithuanian religious terminology, refinement of terms, and search for the word best suited to a concept is a long and painstaking task, which Father J. Laukaitis carried out with considerable success. This was not only the standardization of religious terminology, but also of the emerging standard Lithuanian language.

ŠALTINIAI

MKV₁ – Mažasis katekizmas vaikeliams, prisiruošiantiems į pirmą išpažintį ir šventą Komuniją. Išdavė kun. J. Laukaitis. Vilnius: Juozapo Zavadzkio spaustuvė, 1905 (antraštiniame lape 1904). – 105 p.

MKV₂ – Mažasis katekizmas vaikeliams, prisiruošiantiems į pirmąją išpažintį ir šventąją Komuniją. Išleido kun. J. Laukaitis. Antrasai išleidimas. Seinai: Laukaičio ir B-vės spaustuvėje, 1907. – 115 p.

MKV₃ – Mažasis katekizmas vaikeliams, prisiruošiantiems į pirmąją išpažintį ir šventąją Komuniją. Išleido kun. J. Laukaitis. Trečiasai išleidimas. Seinai: Laukaičio ir B-vės spaustuvėje, 1914. – 115 p.

LITERATŪRA

Brückner A. 1974: Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego, Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna.

Gaivenis K. 2002: Lietuvių terminologija: teorijos ir tvarkybos metmenys, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas.

Gaivenis K., Keinys St. 1990: Kalbotyros terminų žodynas, Kaunas: Šviesa.

Jablonskis J. 1935: Raštai 4, Kaunas.

Kairiūkštytė N., Gudonytė A. 2009: Lietuvybės kovų verpetuose: Vilniaus ir Seinų kraštai XIX a. pabaigoje – XX a. pradžioje, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas.

Keinys St. 1984: Lietuvių kalbos hibridai (sąvoka, rūšys ir normiškumas). – Lietuvos TSR Mokslų Akademijos darbai. A serija, t. 3 (88), Vilnius, 113–125.

Klimavičius J. 1998: Kas ta Vytauto fara? – Gimtoji kalba 8, 8–10.

Klimavičius J. 2002: Katekizmo kalba – kalbos katekizmas. – Kalbos kultūra 75, 105–119.

Klimavičius J. 2005: Leksikologijos ir terminologijos darbai: norma ir istorija, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas.

Laukaitis J. 1905: Mūsų bažnytinė kalba. – Vilniaus žinios 178, 4.

Laukaitis J. 1907: Apie poterių vienodumą. – Draugija 4, 417–420.

Laukaitis J. 1908_a: Kalbos dalykai. – Vadovas 2, 202–205.

Laukaitis J. 1908_b: Kalbos dalykai. – Vadovas 4, 413–414.

Laukaitis J. 1909_a: Kalbos dalykai. – Vadovas 7, 296–301.

Laukaitis J. 1909_b: Kalbos dalykai. – Vadovas 8, 402–406.

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Laukaitis J. 1909_c: Kalbos dalykai. – Vadovas 9, 102.

Laukaitis J. 1909_d: Dr. Jonui Totoračiui (Dėl poterių taisymo). – Vadovas 12, 413–415.

Laukaitis J. 1914: Kalbos dalykai. – Vadovas 76, 201.

LKŽ_e 2005: Lietuvių kalbos žodynas 1–20 (1941–2002): elektroninis variantas, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. – Prieiga per internetą: www.lkz.lt

Palionis J. 1959: J. Jablonskio kalbiniai taisymai. – Jonas. Jablonskis. Rinktiniai raštai 2, Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 5–54.

Palionis J. 2004: XVI–XVII a. lietuviškų raštų atrankinis žodynas, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas.

Piročkinas A. 1977: Prie bendrinės kalbos ištakų, Vilnius: Mokslas.

Rimkutė A. 2005: Nelietuviški XIX a. galo–XX a. pradžios katalikų katekizmų religijos terminai. – Terminologija 12, 42–66.

Rimkutė A. 2009: 1883–1916 m. katekizmai ir jų religijos terminų reikšminės grupės. – Terminologija 15, 156–179.

Sabaliauskas A. 1990: Lietuvių kalbos leksika, Vilnius: Mokslas.

Skardžius P. 1997: Prel. J. Laukaitis kalbininkas. – Rinktiniai raštai 2, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas, 420–428.

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STANDARDISING RELIGIOUS TERMS IN PASTOR JUOZAS LAUKAITIS’S CATECHISM MINOR FOR CHILDREN

S u m m a r y

At the beginning of the 20^th century Juozas Laukaitis (1873–1952) was among those outstanding figures who cherished the Lithuanian church language and who was very much concerned about standardising Lithuanian religious terms. He was chair of the so-called Prayer Commission and one of the first to take care of the language of prayers and to promote their Lithuanian version.

The paper aims at discussing the terms and their evolution in the three editions (1904, 1907 and 1914) of J. Laukaitis’s Catechism Minor for Children (Mažasis katekizmas vaikeliams). The paper also aims at identifying principles and criteria of standardising religious terms, evaluating amendments made in catechisms published almost one hundred years ago in reference to standard Lithuanian.

From the three editions of the Catechism there were about 600 different one-stem (almost one third of all terms) and compound religious terms, their synonyms and variants collected. All editions contained some Lithuanian religious terms, e.g. Dievas (‘God’), duona (‘bread’), dvasia (‘spirit’), Kraujas (‘blood’), Kūnas (‘body’), našlė (‘widow’), Sūnus (‘son’), vanduo (‘water’), velnias (‘devil’), žaltys (‘grass-snake’) etc., some borrowed terms which had no equivalents at the time or their foreign origin might have been overlooked, e.g. almužna (‘alms’), aniolas (‘angel’), arkaniolas (‘archangel’), čyščius (‘purgatory’), čystata (‘chastity’), dušia (‘soul’), grabas (‘coffin’), griešnas (‘sinful’), karunka (‘canticle’), pakūta (‘repentance’), šliūbas (‘wedding’), veselija (‘marriage’) etc. Most terms were used synonymously, e.g. auka – apiera (‘offering’), išpažintis – spaviednis (‘confession’), nusidėjimas or nuodėmė – griekas (‘sin’), bausmė – kora (‘punishment’), malonė – mylista (‘mercy’), mirtis – smertis (‘death’), paslaptis – tajemnyčia (‘secret’), pragaras – pekla (‘hell’), pasaulis – svietas (‘world’), teismas – sūdas (‘trial’), viltis – nodieja (‘hope’) etc. (preference was usually given to the Lithuanian term).

The standardisation of religious terms by J. Laukaitis could be treated as the most general approach to standardising the terms of the field. Spelling and syntactic varieties of the terms as well as their synonyms found in the three editions of the Catechism Minor for Children suggest that religious terms were still rather inconsistent.

AUŠRA RIMKUTĖ

Lietuvių kalbos institutas

P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius

[email protected]

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