Abstracts
Sirkka Saarinen
100 Jahre Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen
The first issue of Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen (FUF), founded by E. N. Setälä and Kaarle Krohn, was published on March 14th, 1901. The aim was to create an international journal for scholarly discussion between Indo-Europeanists and Finno-Ugrists; the journal would cover all areas of Finno-Ugrian studies, from phonetics and language contacts to the prehistory, religion, folklore, ethnography, archaeology, anthropology and history of the peoples. From the very beginning, the journal was funded by the Finno-Ugrian Society but edited by a separate, independent board.
The first issue began impressively with a "proposal for a Finno-Ugrian transcription system", one that is still in use today. However, the first 14 years of FUF were rather dominated by Setälä's views on Lautgeschichte which he considered the most important field of linguistic studies, as well as by his gradation theory. Because of this, few lasting results remain from the period preceding World War I. In the 1920 as FUF began appearing again after a lengthy break, the focus of research shifted to etymology, and other linguistic subdisciplines also began to emerge.As researchers gathered linguistic data and documented their results and conclusions, more and more papers on Finno-Ugrian morphology and syntax began to appear. The rise of Paavo Ravila and, later, Erkki Itkonen to pre-eminence as Finno-Ugrian linguists had a lasting impact: a gradual paradigm shift,leading to the birth of modern Finnish Finno-Ugristics.
The Anzeiger section in FUF contained bibliographies of all literature on Finno-Ugristics, including the Eastern Finno-Ugrian languages for the years 1900 1912 and all Finno-Ugristic literature printed in Finland before 1900 In earlier years, the Anzeiger section also included information on the lectures given at the world ’s various centres of Finno-Ugrian instruction and research. Nowadays, FUF contains a very extensive section devoted to book reviews.
The framework of Finno-Ugristics has changed little since the 1950s although our knowledge of the Uralic languages and their development has, naturally, been expanding all the time.A structuralist approach has been evident in much linguistic research carried out since the 1960s but in Finno-Ugristics this has not led to a neglect of historical linguistics. Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in morphology and syntax, and Finno-Ugristics has widened to include Uralistics, with Samoyedologic research now featuring on the pages of FUF.
FUF continues to fulfil the objectives set for it by publishing high-quality Finno-Ugristics research conducted by Finns and non-Finns alike. The journal is well equipped for this task:it has an illustrious history and high standards,it is international and interdisciplinary, and it is independent of any individual paradigm.
Juha Janhunen
On the paradigms of Uralic comparative studies
The paper discusses recent developments in Uralic comparative studies with the focus on linguistic taxonomy and prehistory. It is shown that during the 20th century Uralic studies underwent a drift from a traditional understanding of diachronic linguistics to an increasingly radical reinterpretation of the basic linguistic and extralinguistic facts.The perspectives opened by the new lines of thinking are in many ways fruitful and tantalizing, but in the long run a return to the conventional framework appears inevitable.
Jorma Koivulehto
Etymologie und Lehnwortforschung: ein Überblick um 2000
The aim of this article is to provide a current short survey of etymological and loanword research in Finno-Ugrian studies, research mainly concentrating on Finnic.The article is divided in to two parts. Part one is a survey of the main layers of ancient loans from Indo-European languages: Germanic, Baltic, Indo-Iranian, Old North-West Indo-European, and the oldest (Proto-)Indo-European loans. The "Indo-Uralic Question" is also discussed.Part two offers a critical discussion and evaluation of some new approaches to etymological research in Finland.
Lars-Gunnar Larsson
Lappische Sprachforschung an der Schwelle zum 21. Jahrhundert
For centuries missionaries and researchers in various disciplines have investigated the Saami language.Starting around the middle of the 19th century the linguistic studies into Saami have been very intense, rendering i.a. text editions, descriptions of grammar and dictionaries. Due to their close connection to the development of standard orthographies the large dictionaries, covering almost every variety, constitute a most important result of Saami linguistics. In Saami research another important change that has taken place gradually is the development of the Saami from investigated object to investigating subject. The establishing of new research institutes within or close to the Saami core areas, that has stimulated, e.g., sociolinguistic investigations of the state and usage of Saami in modern society,has supported this change. Among the important tasks of future Saami research one could mention an etymological dictionary of Saami, onomastic research and the edition of historical documents of Saami history and culture. To obtain this, it is vital that Saami research is maintained both at the new institutes in the northern parts of the countries in question and at the old universities in the southern parts.
Alho Alhoniemi
Über die alten und neuen Lokalkasussuffixe im Tscheremissischen
Based on the belief that the local cases in Proto-Mari were very similar to those in other Finno-Volgaic languages, this paper compares the reconstructible Proto-Mari local case system and the local case system in Modern Mari. In particular, the change of the Uralic separative suffix t to ch is examined closely. The author asks whether the change has been triggered by an i preceding or following the t and whether the Chuvash language has played a role in the change. The author also uses the example of Mari to show why the Finno-Permic case suffixes based on the consonant l are used in particular to express external locality orpossession. In Mari, the derivational suffix l etymologically connected with the l in case suffixes, is attached to those adverbs and postpositions whose stem expresses an external location.The semantic feature of external locality has obviously been per-ceived as belonging to the derivational suffix as well,and it has been retained even as the suffix has become part of a case ending.However, further research is needed on the similarities in the use of l suffixes in the Volgaic languages and Chuvash.
László Honti
Die ungarische Uralistik an der Jahrtausendwende (ein kritischer Rückblick)
The author presents a critical overview of Uralistic studies by Hungarian scholars in recent decades (starting with Hajdú 1966 a milestone in Uralistics). The following themes are surveyed:historical phonology; etymology and publishing etymological dictionaries; the interdependent questions of reconstruction, proto-languages, Stammbaum and Urheimat morphological and syntactic studies; language contacts; the collecting, editing and publishing of materials; coursebooks;some achievements of Hungarian linguistics; history of Uralistics.The author regards Péter Hajdú as an innovator of Hungarian and international Uralistics in the post-war period; Hajdú has presented many new questions and attempted to answer them – although his answers are not necessarily beyond debate.Besides the traditional Uralistic disciplines (etymology, historical phonology),Hungarian linguists at universities and research centres in Hungary and abroad have been very active and successful in, for example, questions of language contacts,typology and areal linguistics and problems of Stammbaum theory etc. In the author's view, the greatest, still unsolved problem is that the recent achievements in Uralistic studies are hardly known outside the field: in other linguistic disciplines one can still encounter incorrect and outdated information about the Uralic languages.
Ulla-Maija Kulonen:
Zum n-Element der zweiten Personen besonders im Obugrischen
One special characteristic of Uralic basic grammar is that pronouns and affixes (possessive suffixes, person markers added to verb stems)denoting the second person have two phonologically different reflexes. Good examples of this are the Ob-Ugric and Permiclanguages,where instead of the "usual " elements containing t in the second person, elements with n appear in some or all cases.This article argues that the second person n originated in verb inflection, from where it has spread to possessive suffixes and second person pronouns especially in the Ob-Ugric languages.This shows that personal pronouns as lexical items may be relatively recent innovations.In the Ob-Ugric languages, the personal pronouns originating from possessive suffixes have obviously replaced the original pronouns.The author emphasises that personal affixes are not necessarily a product of pronoun stem agglutination: the actual course of development may even have proceeded in the opposite direction.
Eugene Helimski
Samoyedic studies: a state-of-the-art report
The review summarises the main achievements of Samoyedology, paying special attention to the research directions and trends of the last 20–25 years. The individual sections provide glimpses of the main results and publications, and of the still unaccomplished tasks. The subject areas covered are the comparative and historical domain, the study of contacts, research on six Samoyedic languages and peoples (linguistics, folklore, ethnology), and field and archival research. Although contempo-rary Samoyedology no longer suffers from the lack of available data or from methodo-logical backwardness, the endangered position of the still remaining Samoyedic languages and cultures gives a sense of urgency to the need to continue and intensify the research. The bibliography at the end of the review contains about 250 titles.
Anna-Leena Siikala
Die Herausforderungen der Mythenforschung an die Finnougristik
As myths frequently deal with essential questions of human existence, they are of considerable importance in studying the history of Europeanness and the cultural identity of small nations. Following the great political changes in Russia, research on the mythologies of small Finno-Ugrian peoples has been revived, with an increase in fieldwork and international research projects.
We may ask how myths reflect the historical and cultural processes of the peoples in question and the changes in their ecological environment. What do they tell us about the ways of thinking and feeling and of experiencing things in ancient times, and about how these processes are applied in new social contexts?
The earliest mythological concepts reflected the requirements of a nature-centred way of life, and were connected with observations about the cyclical processes of nature and the celestial bodies.They included ancient and geographically widespread, homogeneous models of thought pertaining to the structure of the universe, the transcendental world, the nature of man and his relationship to nature, as well as shamanistic practices and ceremonies connected with the animal world.
A significant change in human thought took place early on,along with the arrival of agriculture. However, this transition was so gradual, leaving space for the ancient foraging ways of life, that mythologies preserved some of their age-old concepts. Thus, the respect for the relationship with nature and the symbolic value of certain animals like the bear and the elk have retained their position, even within new cultural contexts.
Today, myths occupy a central role in the revival of Finno-Ugrian cultures. Those practising indigenous culture and intellectuals and artists use the world of mythology as a source for their creative work. Investigating the recontextualisation of myths, a kind of meta-tradition, as part of the processes concerned with identity, will become increasingly important in myth research in the future.
Ildikó Lehtinen
Von der Erforschung der Überlieferung zur Kulturwissenschaft
Ethnographic research in Finland in recent times has focused on the explication of central concepts.The content and subject matter of cultural history, Volkskunde, ethnography,ethnology and cultural anthropology, and the mutual relationships between them, have been scrutinised during the 1990s in various published works and dissertations. In Finland, ethnography has always formed part of international research. The contribution of historical research to ethnography includes the application of micro-historical viewpoints and the history of prevailing attitudes within society. The influence of the Annalists has ensured that the detailed study of everyday life is a central theme in ethnographic research.Culture-analytic methods, in turn, have encouraged researchers to re-evaluate their own role and their relationship to the object of study.
In Europe, the historical framework has greatly changed during the last decade. New nation-states have come into being, and immigration waves have decisively changed the population structure in many European countries, including Finland.The importance of national culture and identity and the meeting of different cultures are now among the central themes dealt with in ethnographic publications.
Within this theoretical framework and due to the influence of culture-analytic methodology,research on material culture has received less attention. People's relationships with the objects around them has changed, however, as levels of consumption have increased. Consequently, ethnographic research is now also turning its attention to consumption and related phenomena, such as shopping and tourism.
Christian Carpelan
Zur zeitgenössischen archäologischen Forschung in Finnland
The aim of archaeological research is to shed light on prehistoric human activity on the basis of the evidence left on the ground,in the earth and under water. Archaeology is a global discipline with no time restrictions. Although the questions it attempts to answer concern the humanities, the source material and the methods used in their analysis are connected with the natural sciences as well. Archaeological research includes fieldwork, conservation and museological activities, handling archaeological material, preparing scientific reports and protecting prehistoric monuments. According to Finnish legislation on historic monuments, specified types of archaeological activity require permission from the authorities. This paper provides a survey of the archaeological research conducted by Finnish archaeologists both in Finland and elsewhere, particularly in the last ten years. The survey is confined to 'conventional' prehistoric archaeology,with only a few references to more recent investigations. The research is described in terms of chronological, functional and areal themes. Methodological questions are largely dealt with in accordance with the practice in mainstream Finnish archaeology. This paper does not deal with purely theoretical matters, which have typically been concerned with isolated issues narrow in scope.