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The present paper analyses self-reflexive opinions of 33 Estonians about small talk; it is based on interviews carried out in 2020–2022. The main topics covered in the paper are what participants consider small talk situations, how they feel in such situations, and what kind of topics they bring up or avoid. While silent Finns and silent Scandinavians appear in the literature almost as terms, research on Estonians and their behaviour has been scarce. The paper reveals that although Estonians might see themselves as silent, they often feel the need to break the silence. As it appears, it might result in a failed attempt, but the attempts are there. The article discusses various decisive factors in engaging in or refraining from small talk mentioned by the participants. It also sheds light on changes in time, which mainly seem to indicate that Estonians are opening up. Although small talk is not primarily connected with the notion of politeness in the interviewees' views, it nevertheless belongs to what is considered appropriate behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Linguistics Olympiad was inaugurated in 2003. The corresponding Estonian national olympiad was established in the same year thanks to the efforts of Renate Pajusalu who became its chief organiser. The present article looks back on the role played by Professor Pajusalu in the history of the Estonian linguistics olympiad through the eyes of colleagues who have been part of the process. The text recalls the different stages of the contest, as well as various tasks preparing the olympiad such as linguistics retreats, school visits to introduce it, and linguistics seminars. It is clear that the 20 years of the olympiad and events associated with it have served its overall purpose well: thousands of school students have become aware of the diversity of the world's languages and of the science of linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses strategies for forming polar questions and their historical sources in the two main varieties of Livonian – Courland Livonian and Salaca Livonian. The results reveal that the main means for marking polar questions in both varieties are sentence-initial particles. Their usage is compared to the means found in other varieties spoken in the Central Baltic area. This micro-areal comparison offers an in-depth analysis of the main patterns in the area, including their developmental paths. It appears that on several occasions, Livonian, Latvian, Latgalian, and Leivu South Estonian (spoken in Latvia) pattern together as opposed to the Estonian and South Estonian varieties (spoken in Estonia) and Lutsi and Kraasna South Estonian (spoken, respectively, in southeastern Latvia and the southern Pskov region in Russia). The data originate from various sources and different times, and were obtained by using both manual and automated methods; the analyses are qualitative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a comparative analysis of several morphosyntactic and phonological features in the South Estonian language islands: Leivu, Lutsi, and Kraasna. The objective is to give an overview of the distribution of selected features, their (in)stability over time, and discuss their form and use in a broader areal context. To achieve this goal, comparative information was also included from the closest cognate varieties (Estonian and the South Estonian varieties, Courland Livonian and Salaca Livonian) and the main contact varieties (Latgalian, Latvian, and Russian). The data analysed in this study originated from various sources: text collections, dictionaries, and language corpora. The results reveal a multitude of linguistic patterns and distribution patterns, which means that the studied varieties are similar to / different from one another in various ways and points to multifaceted contact situations and outcomes in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supine inessive form in Salaca Livonian appears in a copular construction or as a sole predicate, and is usually associated with progressive and futurate readings. The linguistic data analysed in this study consist of example sentences in Salaca Livonian that are provided with Latvian, German, and/or Swedish translations. The data originate from the 19th century when Livonian was still spoken by Livonian-Latvian bilingual speakers in the northern part of Latvia. The present paper aims to study the functions and possible development of the supine inessive construction in detail, including the possibility of contact-induced change. The study takes a functional-typological and usage-based approach. We suggest that the usages of the supine inessive form reveal both language-internal development as well as instances of contact-induced development, more precisely reanalysis of Latvian forms with a similar function and/or form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article studies the usage of the Estonian verb jääda and Livonian īedõ in various grammatical constructions. Although in both languages they can be attested to convey REMAIN and CHANGE, there are differences in their use depending on the construction. Apart from Estonian, the Livonian īedõ is shown to function as a general change-of-state predicate. Whereas previously the Estonian jääda has been associated with negative change and continuation, this study demonstrates that, in more general terms, one could speak about unexpectedness or difference from the majority, and remaining in an activity or state for some time. The linguistic data originates from various corpora, in the case of Livonian also from collections of texts. In order to investigate the historical development, the Old Written Estonian data was also included in the study. We propose that originally the verb expressed 'remain, stay behind'. The corresponding meaning is present in most of the constructions expressing location; in Old Written Estonian such instances constituted 3/4 of all examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to present the main findings of research into Livonian syntax. As is typical of the Finnic languages other than Estonian and Finnish, in the past, syntax-related issues have received little attention. For instance, the only scientific grammar of Livonian, which was written in German and published in the 19th century, remains the most comprehensive overview of Livonian syntax. In recent times, however, interest in syntax-related issues has grown and there are several separate studies on specific issues of Livonian syntax. Furthermore, a contemporary Livonian reference grammar will be published in a few years and it will also contain a chapter on syntax. The present article is meant to give a research overview of the main topics discussed previously and point out the main challenges for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]