VIOLETA ČERNĖ

Institute of the Lithuanian Language

THE DILIGENT DICTIONARY MAKER KLEMENTINA VOSYLYTĖ

In 2008, Doctor of Humanities and lexicographer Klementina Vosyly tė celebrated her 70th birthday. Composers can invite their admirers to anniversary concerts, painters to anniversary exhibitions; the lexicographer gathered people for the launch of the first volume of Kupiškėnai Dictionary—let us call it a celebratory volume.

There are few lexicographers in Lithuania who follow in the professional footsteps of their relatives. Klementina Vosyl y tė continues a family professional dynasty, for her aunt and godmother was the well-known lexicographer Bronė Vosyl y tė.

Klementina Vosyl y tė was born in the Kupiškis region, which, in the words of Bronė Vosyl y tė, lies by Lithuania’s most beautiful river, the Pyvesa, in the loveliest corner of the earth, Bakšėnai. The future linguist completed secondary school in Kupiškis and higher education at Vilnius University, where she chose to study Lithuanian language and literature. Her language courses were taught by Professors Juozas Balčikonis, Zigmas Zinkevičius, Vytautas Mažiulis, Jonas Palionis, Juozas Pikčilingis, Vincas Urbutis, and Jonas Kabelka. Lithuanian literature was taught by Jurgis Lebedys, Meilė Lukšienė, Vanda Zaborskaitė, and Irena Kostkevičiūtė. In her free time, Vos ylytė went skiing with some of them and to football matches with others.

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After graduating, Vosyl yte immediately began working at the Institute of Lithuanian Language and Literature, in the Department of Language History and Dialectology (then a section). Incidentally, the institute remained her only place of employment.

Drauge su kitais kolegomis sudarė Lietuvos TSR upių ir ežerų vardyną (1963) ir gana greitai pradėjo dirbti Žodynų skyriuje. Per neįtikėtinai trumpą laiką parašė disertaciją apie lietuvių kalbos lyginamuosius frazeologizmus. 1973 m. ją apgynusi, kalbininkė pasinėrė į didįjį Lietuvių kalbos žodyną ir rašė, jos žodžiais tariant, „tiek, kiek krovė“. Sklaidant žodyną, Vosylytės rašyti tekstai išnyra jau nuo IX tomo, redaguoti– nuo XII. O juk nei rašyti, nei redaguoti nebuvo lengva, tekstų būta sunkių ir įnoringų. Vosyl yte taip pat rinko duomenis Lietuvių kalbos atlasui (1–3 t., 1977–1991).

Another important area of the lexicographer’s work is collecting words on field expeditions. She began gathering words early. Vosyl yte “brought together” the Kupiškėnai dialect and the wealth of folk words, then set out to write a four-volume dictionary of the living language. Compiling the index alone took ten years, and the text took just as long. The first volume runs to about 90 author’s sheets; the others will presumably be similar in size. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the dictionary’s cover is honey-colored, like a beehive buzzing with Kupiškėnai speech. The dictionary manuscript is complete, but proofreading remains, and it must be read not just once or twice. On the other hand, it would be wrong—even a sin—not to quote from this work: Mono proseneliai kariuomenį vazdavo mūšin, o proproanukis paskui karvių vuodagas sekoja, matai, kep nuzgivanau; Kai driskiai valdžių pojema, tai visi nudrisko; Vienas vaikas tai tas pac kas vieni marškiniai; Būkit jūs mokintos, būkit jūs turtingos, vis tiek susanasta; Čėsas ne upėlis, neažtvinksi žabeliais...

The dictionary is alive, like some living creature that, like its author, cannot be mistaken for anything else. It is a true delight to wander through that ocean of words, so I disagree with the author, who once said publicly that nobody reads a dictionary as they would a novel: you read a dictionary as a book of wisdom, threaded with the language of our forebears, from which radiate their reverent and affectionate dealings with nature, the rural person’s keen powers of observation, and an ability to take pleasure, joke, and play. Here it is worth recalling the words of literary scholar Viktorija Daujotytė: words vanish into the earth and bloom in dictionaries, brought to life by people who remember their blossoms and their vitality.

Vosyl yte, who knows the rules of the lexicographic art exceptionally well, is still invited to share her experience. Here is a whole series of dictionaries on which Vosyl yte has worked, or is working, as a text writer and editor. These include Zanavýkų šnektos žodynas (vols. 1–3, 2003–2006), Kazlų Rūdos šnektos žodynas, Bendrinės lietu-

V. ČERNĖ. Darbščioji žodynininkė Klementina Vosylytė

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Lithuanian language dictionary. The phraseologist is weaving a thought to expand the Dictionary of Lithuanian Comparisons, published in 1985, into which many words simply could not be included at the time.

Practical matters concerning the Lithuanian language also occupy an important place in Vosyl ytė’s biography. She has published articles in various language-related—and not only language-related—publications on comparative phraseologisms, the language of sports, and other topics. Her collaboration with the publication Kalbos kultūros began with its third issue: from one issue to the next, clusters of comparative phraseologisms run through its pages.

The linguist does not confine herself to the academic sphere; her words often appear in one or another publication issued by people from her native region. The scholar has close ties with schools and libraries in Kupiškis District (Salamiestis, Alizava, and the town of Kupiškis), which Vosyl ytė generously nourishes, in the Kupiškis dialect, with spiritual sustenance—books.

It is not easy to list all the scholar’s works; by no means is everything included here, so please forgive the omissions...

Once, Vosyl ytė remarked: I am no different from others; I am hardworking and conscientious. But that is not all. Vosyl ytė is a colorful, multifaceted, nonconformist personality who boldly speaks the truth to people’s faces. Boredom and other dark clouds do not cling to her; more often, she is accompanied by table tennis and volleyball, jokes, and “beggars’ feasts.”

The Kupiškis-region poet Uršulia Tamošiūnaitė, who composed verses in dialect, wrote: “Whoever cannot properly charm themselves soon ceases to be cherished by others.” So, now to the awards. In 1996, lexicographer Klementina Vosyl ytė (together with other colleagues) was awarded the Science Prize of the Republic of Lithuania for her work on the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language; in 1998, she received the King Mindaugas Medal for her work on the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language and for collecting dialect material. By a decision of the Kupiškis District Municipal Council dated April 24, 2008, the scholar was granted the title of Honorary Citizen of the Kupiškis Region.

The lexicographers of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language warmly congratulate dear Klementina Vosyl ytė and wish her a joyful harvest of ripe words!

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