This article was downloaded by: [Stockholm University Library]On: 08 April 2014, At: 04:35Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

Journal of Baltic StudiesPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rbal20

Locative in the earliest LatvianwritingsPēteris Vanags a

a University of LatviaPublished online: 28 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: Pēteris Vanags (1992) Locative in the earliest Latvian writings,Journal of Baltic Studies, 23:4, 387-394, DOI: 10.1080/01629779200000161

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01629779200000161

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is

expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014

LOCATIVE IN THE EARLIEST LATVIAN WRITINGS

P#teris Vanags, University of Latvia

The locative is a case that was the last to be acknowledged in Latvian grammars (see e.g. Fennell, 1977). Likewise its usage was limited in the texts of the 16th and the start of the 17th century. Latvian linguist A. Augstkalns wrote: "~is locijums pirmos rakstos (un ari turpm~k tik ilgi, kam~r latvie~i pa~i nay noteic~ji sav~ rakstniec~fi) nedabfi to lomu, kas viqam patie~h-n mfisu valod,~ ir" (This case in the first writings (and henceforth until the time when Latvians themselves start dominating in their literature) does not possess the role it actually has in our language) (Augstkalns; 1933: 47). Until now, this widely accepted view has been supported by separate examples only. For this article we compiled material from the whole of the earliest Latvian writings (end of the 16th--start of the 17th century; see sources) and tried to evaluate it.

Out of all the locative forms used in the modern language, in the period discussed, most often the locative plural appears, e.g. czelyos E 44 'on the knees', Riithas vnde wackeras IP 295 'in the mornings and evenings', Kad mhes mayas broudtczam UP 30 'as we drive home' (see also Augstkalns, 1933: 47-8). There is not a plenty of these forms (ca. 30) and not always is spelling of the final vowel consistent enough, nevertheless, their identity with the accepted locative forms is beyond doubt.

Singular locatives with a long ending vowel are not safely found in the oldest texts. There are only a number of rather obscure or adverbial instances: El@ret'tcz Vilne Pille IP 243 "printed in Vilnius", .kade Nawe tam muerth by Ev 86 'what death he was to die', Tad by' tam ndTt £ouwe kru;te muggurd Elg 78 'then he had to bear his cross on his back', ta thope pool'ta Ev 61 'it falls into ruins', yuul'e Nammam buus pooPta atPtatam tapt Ev 22 'your house is being left to you desolate'. The first safe example is in the flax-weavers' statutes of 1625: Thos paddohmes., nebus., il'tehret, beth wairack labbibah und karyerykohs pirckt LAR 57 'one shall not waste this property but spend on grain and weapons'.

JBS, Vol. XXIII, No. 4 (Winter 1992) 387

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014

388 P~teris Vanags

Instead of the locative, very often constructions with the preposition iek~(k)an "in" are used e.g. exan ~ouwe loulate Jigo/chen IP 268 'in one's matrimonial life', .eckfchkan debbeITis Has 'in heaven', exkan to Helle UP 15 'in the hell'. Spreading of such constructions is considered to have originated under the influence of German (Endzelins, 1971: 395; Augstkalns, 1933: 47-8), although it is not alien to the Latvian dialects (Endzelins, 1951: 656).

Most peculiar, and inherent only in the earliest Latvian texts, still are the so-called illative forms with the ending -n. They are used exclusively in the singular, e.g. Littourre Semmen Ip 243 'in Lithuanian land', tan tre/'/chan denan Ev 164 'on the third day', mufzan gallan UP 30 'in our end', newede munis lawnan Padoman Gr 'do not lead us into temptation'. The usage of such "illatives" requires a deeper analysis (see also Zubat~, 1896: 278-282).

The so-called illatives (with an -n) have been used in four main grammatical meanings: 1. direction, or the illative proper, e.g. Bal'niczan negays E 11 'didn't go to church', tad by tam/ouwe krujte niift paPzan mdku kalnan Elg 71 'then he had to bear his cross unto the very hill of tortures', und tam ammatte kungam rohkan eedohtz LAR 37 'it is handed to the artisan';

2. condition or manner, e.g. Cziwo exkan Mere vnd wenan pratan UP 21 'live in peace and unanimity', Tew bues touwe Thewe vnde mate cenan turret IP 257 'honour thy father and thy mother', doudtcze loudes wenan kopan by Ev 49 'there was a lot of people together';

3. place, e.g. WuePPes, kattre Czetaman gir 'everybody who is in prison' Up 26, thaw buus tad ar koune ['emmoyan wetan /'eedhet Ev 183 'you will be ashamed and at a low place', Darzan tas kliu notwerts Elg 71 'in the garden he was caught';

4. time, e.g. tan nactin Gez 143a 'in that night', thas tan Jounan denan auxkam czell'zes UP 62 'he will rise from his grave on that new day', yuuf'a Bheckfchenne nhe noteke Seman jeb Sweedenan Ev 201 "your fleeing does not take place in winter or on a Sunday'.

Outside the four groups, we have a number of constructions with prepositions ieid(k)an "in, into', Fs~ IFdz 'until as far as', e.g. exkan tan Droudziban Ps 2a 'in friendship', Tick tale ka tas AuBrums ys wackkaran Ps 77a 'as far as the East from the West', lydz pa/~taran denan Elg 185 'until Doomsday', as well as several other instances.

Comparing the four main "illative" meanings of the oldest Latvian writings with the functions o f the illative in Lithuanian dialects, we get the following sight:

1. Lithuanian dialect forms correspond to the Latvian illative of direction, e.g. Nesikigk didelit~ kalbon 'don't interfere with the conversation of the grown- ups', Pasprausus burnel¢, igeik dvarelin 'after washing your face, go to the palace'. In standard Lithuanian, a prepositional construction with the preposition j 'to, into' is used, e.g. Lipk i medj 'climb the aee'.

2. Lithuanian dialectal illative (although rare) corresponds to the Latvian illative of condition or manner, e.g. Varl~s vienan balsan kurkia 'the frogs croak in one voice'. Occasionally, the locative is used in standard Lithuanian for this

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014

Locative in the Earliest Latvian Writings 389

function, e.g. Tai mano pati, su kuria., jau tre~ig deffimtmeg vienybd/e ir meil~/e gyvenu 'this is my wife with whom I have been living for three decades in unity and love'.

3. In the dialects of Lithuanian (those possessing the illative) the locative (i.e. the inessive) corresponds to the "illative" of place of the oldest Latvian writings, e.g. Juodo/~emd i balta duona auga 'in black soil white bread grows'. Standard Lithuanian also uses the locative in this meaning.

4. In Lithuanian dialects mostly the accusative or instrumental of time corresponds to the Latvian illative of time, but one can find the illative, too, e.g. Keturiolika telig pardav~ gegtadienin 'fourteen calves were sold on Saturday', and the locative of time, e.g. Mes sugri~ome vakare 'we returned in the evening' (LKG I 206-209; Jablonskis, 1957: 638-640, 653-654).

In Latvian, starting with G. Mancelius until the present day, as well as in the dialects, mainly the locative corresponds to the so-called illative of the earliest writings:

1. in the meaning of direction, e.g. Mar?s meta akmenticus fidenf 'Mares was casting little stones into water'. Besides, with a difference of meaning, a prepositional construction with uz 'to' can be used, e.g. let uz skolu 'goes to school';

2. in the meaning of condition or manner, e.g. vi~ng man parada "he owes me', esam Dieva vara 'we are in the power of God';

3. in the meaning of place, e.g. zivis dzfvo adenf 'fish live in the water'; 4. in the meaning of time, e.g. ziema dienas ir rsas "in winter days are

short' (MLLVG 1 405-407; EndzeFlns, 1951: 586-587). Summarizing the material discussed into a table, we get the following:

I Latvian ] Lithuanian II 16th century writings

"illative" of direction

"illative" of condition or manner

dialects, standard Latvian

a) locative b) uz+acc., gen.

locative

dialects, writings with iUative

illative

a) illative b) locative

standard Lithuanian

~+ accusative

locative

"illative" of locative locative locative place

"inative" of locative a) illative (rare) locative time b) locative (rare) (rare)

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014

390 P~teris Vanags

As we find the so-called illative of the oldest Latvian writings in the singular only, and the locative in the plural, we are obliged to compare the usage of these forms:

1. the plural locative corresponds to the singular illative of direction, e.g. etam mayas UP 63 'we go home', vsbroucis debbefces IP 251 'ascended into heaven', natcet ka~s Ev 189 'come to the wedding';

2. the plural locative corresponds to the singular illative of place, e.g. Layde mums debbegfls dallibe buth UP 6 'allow us onto heaven place', Mans kalps gulle mr mayas Ev 38 'my servant is sleeping there at home', The, kattre femmehs jeb wene pul'z juhds no pils ziwo LAR 45 'those living in the country or half a mile from the town';

3. the plural locative corresponds to the singular illative of time, e.g. Th6s Ryth~s Dews mhes teitczam thi~w, ThOs wackar6s mhes peluudczam thaw UP 37 'in the mornings we praise thee Lord, in the evenings we worship thee', Sweetiis dentis Dewe warde walki~th Ps 64 'on holy days to use the name of God', Vnd ma~ige ma~igos laykos Elg 123 'and forever and ever'.

No plural locative forms of condition or manner have been traced in the earliest writings.

As a result of all this comparison one can see that the so-called illatives match with the functioning of the locative in modern Latvian, as well as with the locative plural in the 16th century texts quoted. As compared with Lithuanian materials, one can see that the two Latvian cases mentioned embrace the functions of the Lithuanian locative (i.e. inessive) and illative. Thus, from the systemic point of view, there is no ground for talking about any singular illatives and plural locatives of the 16th century Latvian texts whatsoever, as both the cases have one and the same basic grammatical meaning. One should prefer speaking about a local case that has a singular ending -n, and a plural ending -s.

A question arises immediately--did this system really exist? Quite a vast supply of texts, as well as the many concrete (more than 200) instances of the so-called illative allow us to assert that the pattern of the local case with the endings -n for the singular and -s for the plural was used in a certain Latvian dialect of the 16th century. If in this dialect the singular locative with a long vowel ending had been used as regular paradigmatic case (like in the present day Latvian), it would have to appear clearly in the texts. Yet, as stated above, this ending, with the exception of some obscure instances, has not been traced in the oldest Latvian texts. In addition, forms with the ending -n have been used with the meaning of today's locative.

As a complete parallel to this Latvian local case of the earliest texts, we could mention the forms inherent in the Lithuanian South-Auggtaitian dialects. Forms of illative origin are used both with the meaning of the locative and the illative, in the singular, e.g. buvaa migstan 'I was in the town' (Standard Lith. buvau mieste) and aina mi~'stan'I go to the town' (Standard Lith. einu i miesta). In the plural, however, there are forms of locative (inessive) origin only, e.g. va]iuoju Marcikon#sa 'I ride to Marcikonys' (Standard Lith. va~iuoju

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014

Locative in the Earliest Latvian Writings 391

Marcikonis) and gyvena Marcikon~sa 'I live in Marcikonys' (Standard Lith. gyvenu Marcikonyse) (Zinkevi~ius, 1966: 201; 1978:46).

To understand why and how is such morphological blending of two separate cases possible, one should remember that both the illative and the inessive (as well as adessive and allative in Lithuanian dialects) forms are relatively new formations that have originated during the Baltic (or even East-Baltic) epoch by adding certain postpositions to the forms of case or adverb. It is necessary to stress that originally they in no way were paradigmatic forms, but adverbial formations derived from separate lexemes (Kazlauskas, 1968: 150-162; Ma~iulis, 1970: 127-160). It was later that the paradigmatic cases formed, out of different local adverbs, i.e. the inessive in all the East-Baltic dialects, more narrowly the illative, and the allative, and the adessive. The usage of the last three has been wider before, as it is demonstrated in the Old Lithuanian texts (Zinkevi~ius, 1980: 253-263). Nevertheless, we have no right to doubt the theses of J. Kazlauskas that, e.g., ~.emaitian dialect has never possessed the illative as a case (Kazlauskas, 1968: 165). So, two processes have been simultaneous: formation of new forms and specification of the grammatical meaning, on the one hand, and vanishing of forms, neutralization and generalization of the grammatical meaning, on the other hand. As a result of these processes, Lithuanian dialects now have different patterns of the local cases' system.

Likewise, in Latvian although more local cases have not been recorded anywhere, as in Lithuanian, the diversity of the locative endings makes us think about late paradigmizing of the forms. The different long vowels and diphthongs of obscure origin in the dialects could be mentioned here.

The so-called illatives with the ending -n have not been preserved until today as case forms, this is why, in Latvian dialects, we cannot trace any parallels to the 16th century locative system in writings. The grammars of the 17th century recognize such forms. In Adolphius' grammar (1685), in the paradigm of (i)o-stems, he has mentioned all the variety of local endings, e.g. T~ Wihrd, Tat Wihr~i, Tan Wihran 'in that man', also Ta mePch~, tat MeI'ch~i, ta..._n.n MeFchan "in that forest' Ad 19. For the other stems, we do not find any forms with the ending -n with Adolphius.

One ending of this type has been recorded in Rehehusen's grammar (1644), too: Schin dehnan Reh 29 'on that day'.

We find a number of the singular locative forms in -n besides the most common forms with a long vowel in the works of G. Mancelius, the most distinguished 17th century author, whose language is not so directly connected with the earliest Latvian tradition, e.g. ~aw~t Ghramat~ tan J'~irta=padef'zmittan weetan MP 1461 'in his book, in the 16th place' and ohtrd=de~zmitd Weetd MP I 432 'in the 20th place'. Thus, in the 17th century Latvian, in the function of today's singular locative, not only the forms with a vowel or diphthong, but also ones with -n in the ending have been used. They had no difference in meaning. Gradually one of the forms became generalized (see also Rosinas, 1987).

The Latvian texts of the 16th century represent the dialect generalizing -n in the locative singular. Which dialect is it, the trace of which we are unable to

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014

392 P#teris Vanags

detect today? A number of scholars have attempted to prove that the first Lutheran books were translated in Riga (Blese, 1925: 192-195; Straubergs, 1935: 151-162). We have no safe evidence, although it is very possible, that texts of the first Catholic books (Catechism of I585 and Psalm-book of 1621 compiled by G. Elger) were based on the dialect of Riga, too. E. Blese has pointed to the origins of the tradition of Latvian spelling in the most earlier recordings of Latvian names and surnames in Riga, as well as in the 16th century Latvian fragmentary texts in the books of the handicraftsmen's fraternities (Blese, 1929: 27). Obviously, the forming pattern of the local case, discussed in the present article, reflects the traits of the 16th century dialect of Riga. It could be evidenced by the recording in the book of the beer-porters (1561) in which we find a sentence: Tan laykan gir Pche brale ]'tw epirkul~he.. (Arbuzovs, 1920: 46), in which tan laikan matches with the instances found in the earliest books of 1585, 1586, 1587, 1615, both as to the form and the meaning, e.g. Tas fzaloufis tts Ktninges tan laikan ]'zouwes dul~bes UP 31 'he beat the kings at a time of his anger', thas yums paauxtena £zouwan laykan Ev 144 'He exalts you at the proper time', Vnde jus fatczi#eth tan pattan laikan Ps 33a 'and you will say at the same time'. There are a number of the "illatives" of time in the statutes of Riga flax-weavers (1625), too: tan tre#chan denan LAR 33 'on the third day', tan 18. februarj.. LAR 57 'on the 18th of February'.

To sum it up, we can assert that there is no ground for contrasting the illative and the locative of the oldest Latvian writings. Latvian books of the 16th and the start of the 17th century reflect the system that existed at least in Riga and had typical endings: -n for the singular, and -s for the plural. A system like this is not found in later Latvian - either in the literary language or in the dialects - but parallels can be found in Lithuanian dialects.

SOURCES

a) end of the 16th century--start of the 17th century

E - Enchiridion. Der kleine Catechismus.. ins vndeudsche gebracht.. KOnigsperg, 1586. Reprinted: Enchiridions. Marti~a Lutera Mazais Kat~isms no vacu valodas tulkots, l~ensberg~ 1586. Jauns iespiedums no Rigas pils~tas bibliot~kas eksempldra. Rig~, 1924.

Elg - Heistliche Catholische Gesiinge von Guthertzigen Christen aufl d~ Lateinischen, Teutschen vnd Polnischen Psaimen vnd Kirchges?ingen in Vnteutsche sprach gebracht. Jetzt aber mit vielen schtnen Liedern vermehret vnd in Druck verfertiget. Durch Georgium Elger. Braunl3berg, 1621.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014

Locative in the Earliest Latvian Writings 393

Ev - Euangelia vnd Episteln aus dem deudschen in vndeudsche Sprache gebracht.. Mit der Historien des Leidens vnd Aufferstehung vnsers Herrn Jesu Christi. K0nigsperg, 1587.

Gez - Psalms and Proverbs translated by A. Gezel (Getzel) in 1628. Manuscript in the Library of the of the Latvian Academy of Sciences.

Gr - Latvian Pater noster in Simon Grunau's Preussische Chronik. Quoted from: K. Dmvi0~, "Latvie~u 16.gs. rakstu pieminek]i att~los," Archfvs 11I 2, 1972, 147-175.

Has - So-called J. Hasenttter's Pater noster in S. MOnster, Cosmographei oder beschreibung aller lander. Basel, 1550. Quoted from: K. DravioS, "Latvie~u 16.g.s. rakstu pieminek]i att~los," ArcMvs 11I 2 , 1972, 147-175.

IP - Catechismvs Catholicorum Iscige pammacischen no thems Papreksche Galwe gabblems Christites macibes. Ehsprestcz Vilne Pille, 1585. Reprinted by A. G0nther, Altlettische Sprachdenkmaler, Bd. 1. (Heidelberg: Carl Winters Universit,atsbuchhandlung, 1929), 243-312.

LAR - Statutes of Riga flax-weavers. Published by L. Arbusow, "Zwei lettische Handschriften aus dem 16. und 17. Jahrhundert (1532 ff. 1625). Mit 3 Beilagen," Latvijas Augstskolas Raksti 1922, II, 19-57.

Ps - Psalmen vnd geistliche Lieder oder Gesenge. Riga, 1615. UP - Vndeudsche Psalmen vnd geistliche Lieder oder Gesenge. Ktnigsperg,

1587. Reprinted: Undeudsche Psalmen.. 1587.. neu herausgegeben von Prof Dr. A. Bezzenberger.. und Dr. A. Bielenstein. Mitau-Hamburg 1886.

b ) o t h e r s o u r c e s

Ad - H. Adolphi, Erster Versuch Einer kurtz-verfasseten Anleitung Zur Lettischen Sprache. Mitau, 1685. Reprinted by H. Haarmann (Hamburg: Helmut Buske, 1978).

MP I - G. Mancelius, Lang=gewiinschte Lettische Postill. Erster Theil. Riga, 1654.

Reh - J. G. Rehehusen, Manvdvctio Ad Lingvam Lettonicam facilis et certa. Riga, 1644. Reprinted by T. G. Fennell, The First Latvian Grammar (Melbourne: Latvian Tertiary Committee, 1982).

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014

394 P~teris Vanags

REFERENCES

Arbuzovs, 1920 - L. Arbuzovs, "Piez-lmes par 16. gadu simte~a veca.kajiem latvie~u literatfiras pieminekliem. Visagrakie rokraksti latvie~u valoda kop~ 1558.g.," lzgh'ttTbas ministrijas minegraksts 1920, I, 34-48.

Augstkalns, 1933 - A. Augstkalns, "M0su vecie raksti," Filologijas materiali (Riga: Ramave, 1933) 41- 58.

Blese, 1925 - E. Blese, "MQsu rakstniec~as pirmo piemineklu valoda," lzglfttTbas ministrijas m~negraksts 1925, VIII, 183-194.

Blese, 1929 - E. Blese, Latviegu personu vardu un uzvdrdu studijas. L Vecdkie personu vardi un uzvardi (XIII - XVI g.s.) (Riga: A. Gulbis, 1929).

Endzelins, 1951 - J. Endzelins, Latviegu valodas gramatika (Riga: Latvijas valsts izdevniec~a, 1951).

Endzelins, 1971 - J. Endzelins, Darbu izlase, I (Riga: Zin~itne, 1971). Fennell, 1977 - T.G. Fennell, "The emergence of a Latvian grammatical tradition:

noun morphology," Journal of Baltic Studies VIII/I, 1977, 51-62. Jablonskis, 1957 - J. Jablonskis, Rinktiniai ragtai, I (Vilnius: Valstybin~ politin~s

ir mokslin~s literatQros leidykla, 1957). Kazlauskas, 1968 - J. Kazlauskas, Lietuvil~ kalbos istorind gramatika (Vilnius:

Mintis, 1968). LKG I-Lietuvil~ kalbos gramatika, I (Vilnius: Mintis, 1965). Ma,~iulis, 1970 - V. Ma~.iulis, Balttt ir kittt indoeuropie?itt kalbtt santykiai:

Deklinacija (Vilnius: Mintis, 1970). MLLVG I - Masdienu latviegu literaras valodas gramatika, I (Riga: Latvijas

PSR Zinatou akad~mijas izdevniec~a, 1959). Rosinas, 1987 - A. Rosinas, "Latvia! kalbos lokatyvo evoliucija ir jos vidin~

motyvacija," Baltistica XXIII (2), 1987, 152-155. Straubergs, 1935 - J. Straubergs, "1586.g. latvie~u kat~dsma avoti un tulko~anas

laiks," lzglfttT~as ministrijas m#negraksts 1935, IX, 151-162. Zinkevi~ius, 1966 - Z. Zinkevi~ius, Lietuvitt dialektologija: Lyginamoji tarmitt

fonetika ir morfologija (Vilnius: Mintis, 1966). Zinkevi~ius, 1978 - Z. Zinkevi~ius, Lietuvitt kalbos dialektologija (Vilnius:

Mokslas, 1978). Zinkevi~ius, 1980 - Z. Zinkevi~ius, Lietuvitt kalbos istorind gramatika, I (Vilnius:

Mokslas, 1980). Zuba~, 1896 - J. Zubat3~, "Baltische Miszellen," lndogermanische Forschungen

VI, 1896, 269-288.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Stoc

khol

m U

nive

rsity

Lib

rary

] at

04:

35 0

8 A

pril

2014