Search results for: Lětopis in All Content

From Schorbus to the Centre of Berlin. The Sorbian priest Oskar Pank and his letters to his father

Von Schorbus in die Mitte Berlins. Der sorbische Pfarrer Oskar Pank und die Briefe

Author(s): Hans-Jürgen Sievers / Language(s): German / Issue: 1/2011

Keywords: Oskar; Pank; protestant; theologian; Otto; von Bismark; priest; superintendent; Berlin

A hundred years ago the Protestant theologian, Oskar Pank (1838–1928), was one of the most well known personalities of Sorbian origin. He grew up in a Sorbian parsonage and worked initially in a Sorbian-speaking parish, but in 1869 he was suddenly appointed to a post in Berlin. There he found swift recognition as a talented preacher whose collections of sermons achieved high publication figures. The family of the Imperial Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, selected him as their personal priest. He moved later to Leipzig and worked there successfully for 30 years as a parish priest and superintendent. This article focusses on Pank’s work in Berlin. Letters to his father from this period, which have only recently been discovered, provide an insight into the work of a city parish priest and describe the first elections to the Church Councils, as well contacts with the revivalist movement in England. For the whole of his life Oskar Pank remained close to his homeland and always fought for the replacement of parish priests by clergymen who spoke the language of their congregations.

Learning to hate One's Native Language: Observations on Martin Walde's Deconstruction of Sorbian Identity

Wie man seine Sprache hassen lernt? Überlegungen zu Martin Waldes Dekonstruktion des Sorbischseins

Author(s): Marija Jurić Pahor / Language(s): German / Issue: 1/2011

Keywords: Martin; Walde; Sorbian; Sorbs; Identity; Native; Language;

Under the Sign of German-Polish Reconciliation. The Life and Work of the Sorb from Wittichenau, Günter Särchen

Im Zeichen der deutsch-polnischen Versöhnung. Leben und Wirken des Wittichenauer Sorben Günter Särchen

Author(s): Rudolf Urban / Language(s): German / Issue: 1/2008

Keywords: german; polish; reconciliation; sorbs; särchen; wittichenau; kulow

The Polish-German author describes in his biographical study the life and work of Günter Särchen from Wittichenau/Kulow (1927–2004), who throughout his life was conscious of his Sorbian origins. As a long-term worker in the Episcopal office in Magdeburg, Särchen was from the 1950s onwards considered to be one of the pioneers of civil reconciliation with the Polish people, wo had in 1939 become the first victims of aggression by Hitler’s Germany. Through acts of solidarity, pilgrimages and publications about Poland, Särchen attempted to put the relationship of the East Germans with the Poles on a new footing. At times as a result of his initiatives, he came into conflict not only with state authorities but also with members of the Church hierarchy who wanted to avoid any kind involvement in GDR politics. Nevertheless he can be seen as preparing the way for the opposition in the 1980s.

The Beginning of Sorbian Romanticism. A New Perspective on Sources and Inspirations

Zrodźenje serbskeje romantiki. Nowe pohlady na žórła a inspiracije

Author(s): Franc Šěn / Language(s): Sorbian languages / Issue: 1/2008

Keywords: sorbian; romanticism; sources; inspirations;zejler; literature

The poet Handrij Zejler (1804–1872) had already produced a mature body of literary work when he was a student in Leipzig, which was to become a milestone in literary history and turned its author into the founder of a Sorbian national literature. The author investigates the question of how Zejler gained access to the poetry of Romanticism and how he discovered folk poetry for himself. In the academic literature up to now the predominant view has been that he already began to record songs as a schoolboy, encouraged by his patron Handrij Lubjenski, and in 1826 collected folk songs in Lower Lusatia together with the Pole Andrzej Kucharski. In reality Lubjenski’s view of folk poetry was similar to that of Josef Dobrovský. Zejler’s interest in folk poetry began with the discovery of a 50-year-old Lower Sorbian manuscript of the folk song collection of Count von Bünau, which was in Lubjenski’s possession. Zejler linked his early work at first to the poetic tradition he had discovered. In the early summer of 1827, inspired by his contacts with A. Kucharski, F. Palacký, F. L. Čelakovský and S. Milutinović, Zejler developed his romantic style by playing poetically with models produced by his fellow students in Leipzig and by free translations of folk songs into Upper Sorbian. In the process he produced texts which have become some of the most well known in Sorbian literature: the “Nationale Ode” (National Ode), “Rjana Lužica” (Beautiful Lusatia) and the love song “Lubka lilija” (Darling Lily).

Jan Buck and modernism. To the Sorbian painter on his 90th birthday

Jan Buck und die Moderne. Dem sorbischen Maler zum 90. Geburtstag

Author(s): Maria Mirtschin / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2012

Keywords: Buck; Jan; classical modernism; art; painter; Sorbian; Maler; sorbisch; Moderne; Bildende Kunst

Jan Buck came into contact with classical modernism as a student in Poland shortly after the Second World War. Up to the first half of the 20th Century Sorbian art had been influenced by the artistic styles of 1900, as well as by folk and regional art. After a trip to Central Asia in 1973 Buck’s painting experienced an impressionist revival. As a result of engaging with the work of Cézanne he progressed from simple nature impressions to analysing the structure of a painting. Landscape and still life paintings soon became for him an intellectual experimental area, which led him to come close to Giorgio Morandi’s arrangements of surfaces. Buck found his way towards non-representational art via Kandisky’s expressive coloration, fauvist and cubist elements in the creation of figures and in the reduction to a geometric language of form based on the strict rules of colour, line and surface found in the works of Piet Mondrian. Linking with Cézanne’s realization that “art is a state of harmony which runs parallel to nature”, Buck has developed his very own modern language of form in the six decades of his artistic work, which he subjected to ever new tests. With Buck’s works Sorbian art connected with modern developments in art.

Milceni, Luzici and Glomaci-Daleminci. Controversies concerning the early History of the Sorbs

Milzener, Lusizer und Glomaci-Daleminzer Kontroversen zur frühen Geschichte der Sorben

Author(s): Edmund Pech / Language(s): / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: Milzener; Lusizer; Glomaci-Daleminzer; Besiedlung; Sorben; Elbslawen; Germanen; Mediävistik; Burgwall; Burganlagen; Archäologie; settlement; Sorbs; Salvs; historical research; castle buildings; archaeology;

In 631 the Sorbian tribes were mentioned for the first time in written form in the chronicle of Fredegar. Their Prince Dervan, according to the chronicler, deserted the Frankish King Dagobert I and with his followers joined Samo’s Empire, which had come into being in Bohemia and Moravia. As evidence of this early presence of the Sorbs in the Elbe-Saale area archaeologists found a number of early Slav settlements, which were dated to the 6th or 7th Century. This dating of the Slav migration is, however, disputed by recent research evidence. Archaeological remains can be dated more exactly than previously by using dendrochronology. Archaeologists have examined a large amount of wooden building material in the last two decades, which could be assigned to the 8th Century. On the other hand, evidence from the 6th and 7th Century is completely missing. The researchers conclude from this that no comprehensive Slav settlement east of the Elbe and Saale occurred before the year 700. Further controversies concerning the early history of the Sorbs are considered together with the question of migration.

Alteuropa, Iller, Alster, Elster and aleti

Alteuropa, Iller, Alster, Elster und aleti

Author(s): Jürgen Udolph / Language(s): German / Issue: 62-63/2011

Keywords: river names; Indo-European studies; laryngeal theory; Old European hydronymy;

The theory of an Old European layer of hydronyms in Europe with a significant center in the Baltic countries was constructed by Hans Krahe and modified by Wolfgang P. Schmid. Time after time, it has been criticized, to some extent even intensely. Lately, it has also been approached by scholars from the Indo-European field. The reconstructions of hydronyms have been declared archaic, especially from the point of view of the laryngeal theory. This article takes up the criticism and discusses it.

Cultural Security among Ethnic Minorities: Tibet and Québec

Kulturelle Sicherheit ethnischer Minderheiten: Tibet und Québec

Author(s): A. Tom Grunfeld / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2017

Keywords: Minderheiten; Sicherheit; ethnisch; minorities; security; ethnical; Tibet; Québec

The term „cultural security“ covers a range of social, cultural and political meanings. My interest here is how minorities (ethnic, religious, cultural, linguistic, etc.) within a nation state ensure that their cultures are sustained to a satisfactory degree. Ruling elites aspire universally to social stability and minority populations that are equal stake- holders in, and loyal citizens of, the nation state. This is especially true in China where the ruling elites fear disorder and the breakup of the country to an inordinate degree, giving the issue of minority loyalty particular prominence. Tibet was incorporated into the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1950 and for the past 67 years the central government has struggled with how to best achieve these goals of stability and inclu- sion. Since the 1990s the central government’s policy has been to win the loyalty of Tibetans primarily through economic means. To that end tens of billions of Yuan have been poured into the region, physically transforming it while a prosperous nascent Ti- betan middle class has emerged. Yet, Tibetan loyalty, and stability, is still very much in doubt. Indeed, tension between Tibetans and ethnic Chinese (Han), if anything, is in- creasing due to official intervention in cultural matters, particularly in language instruc- tion and the Tibetan Buddhist religion. This paper examines the situation in Tibet em- phasizing the lack of cultural security. As a contrast I also look at the province of Quebec in Canada where reassurances and concrete policies guaranteeing local culture have successively led to stability and loyalty to the state.

Active Offer as a Norm for Public Services Delivery.

Aktives Angebot als Norm öffentlicher Dienstleistungen

Author(s): Martin Normand / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2017

Keywords: Angebot; öffentlich; Dienstleistungen; Inklusion; Sicherheit; frankophon; Minderheiten; Kanada; offer; public; services delivery; french-language; minority; Canada

In the 2000s, active offer gained attention from governments and scholars in Canada as a way to better answer official language minority communities’ needs regarding public service delivery. This principle has been included in laws, policy statements and regula- tions at the federal level and in several provinces. Active offer has also been subject to particular scrutiny from language ombudsmen and from civil society organizations. Active offer can thus be comprehended as a state-driven principle developed as a way to respect linguistic obligations set forth in the language regime. But, can it also be com- prehended as a community-driven principle to foster inclusion and security for French- language minority communities in Canada? We believe that the norms which support active offer can make way for a wider participation by civil society and citizens in ser- vice delivery and in determining which services should be actively offered in an official minority language by the State.

Locally Governed Nature Reserves as a Strategy for Revitalisation of Indigenous political Cultures – the Case of Masko Cimakanic Aski

Lokal verwaltete Naturschutzgebiete als Strategie zur Revitalisierung indigener politischer Kulturen in Kanada

Author(s): Laurie Camirand Lemyre,Nicolas Houde / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2017

Keywords: Naturschutzgebiet; Revitalisierung; indigen; Kulturen; Kansda; nature reserves; revitalisation; indigenous; cultures; Canada; Masko Cimakanic Aski

Conservation parks and other protected areas have long been part of a colonial arsenal that have dispossessed Indigenous peoples of their lands and imposed visions of natural resource management often incompatible with local cosmovisions. This article proposes that protected areas can also, in a reversal of perspective, be used as a tool for decoloni- sation, to secure land in order to (1) protect the land from extractive industries and (2) allow for a revitalisation of traditional political cultures and resource management prac- tices. Some Canadian First Nations are indeed attempting to put into practice an Indige- nous territoriality with the help of protected areas. There exists, therefore, a dialogue be- tween an approach of radical rejection of colonial structures, such as protected areas, and a pragmatic one mobilising these tools of the colonial society to meet further goals, such as redefining and revitalizing Indigenous political systems. This paper explores the case of the Wemotaci Iriniwok (Québec, Canada), for whom the creation of a protected area allows for a refocusing of the connection to the land towards an endogenous value system, in order to stimulate political innovation. Specifically, the Wemotaci Iriniwok capacity to experiment with political institutions through the management of a protected area is examined.

Cultural Insecurity, Social Change and Territorial Institutionalisa- tion Using the Example of the French Basque Country

Kulturelle Unsicherheit, gesellschaftlicher Wandel und territoriale Institutionalisierung am Beispiel des französischen Baskenlandes

Author(s): Xabier Itçaina / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2017

Keywords: Kultur; Unsicherheit; Wandel; Institutionalisierung; französisches Baskenland; culture; insecurity; social change; institutionalisation; french basque country

The French state is deemed to be reluctant to grant any official recognition and protec- tion of minority and regional languages, in the name of a certain Republican ethos. However, this lack of institutional support from above has been partly compensated for by some local institutional arrangements, which created new conditions for a certain recognition of regional languages. The French Basque Country illustrates well this para- doxical situation. Since the early 1990s, new institutions were set up at the territorial level for Basque language and culture. In 2005, the process of institutionalisation took a step forward with the distinction between cultural and linguistic policy and the foun- dation of the Public Office for the Basque language. These institutions resulted from compromises between the state, local elected officials and linguistic movements. A key factor here was the cross-border influence of the Spanish Basque language policy model that was used repeatedly by French Basque language activists in their negotiation with the state and with local policy-makers. This emerging linguistic policy had some mea- surable effects on language revitalisation, with a slight increase in language proficiency among the youngest generations after 2006. However, the social use of the Basque lan- guage (in the family sphere, in public services, at work) kept on declining. This paper will concentrate on the political and normative debate raised around the social use of the Basque language in France. Special attention will be paid to the use of Euskera in the economy, and to articulating the debate between the linguistic controversy and the com- peting local development models.

Memory, Group Identity and Political Participation. The Slovenes of Carinthia between Cultural Insecurity and Security

Erinnerung, Großgruppenidentität und politische Partizipation

Author(s): Daniel Wutti / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2017

Keywords: Erinnerung; Großgruppenidentität; Partizipation; Kärtner Slowenen; kulturell; Unsicherheit; Sicherheit; memory; group identity; praticipation; Slovenes of Carinthia; cultural; insecurity; security

The indigenous Slovenian minority in Carinthia/Koroška, a federal state in the south of Austria, suffered decades of cultural insecurity, including discrimination, assimilation and political exclusion. The Carinthian Slovenes responded by continuing to foster their cultural heritage within the confines of their ethnic group and at the same time closed themselves off from the world outside their ethnic group (Volkan). In the meantime, more than 70 years after the end of National Socialism and more than 40 years after the violent anti-Slovenian events, such as the attacks on bilingual place names (“Orts- tafelsturm“), the ethnic minority is confronted with the challenge of achieving a new, given the right circumstances, more inclusive form of cultural security. It seems that young people will have to play an important role in this process. This text presents four forms of cultural insecurity for the Carinthian Slovenes. The first chapter goes back into the past, specifically to the emergence of different „communities of shared memory“ in Carinthia. Following this in the next chapter, psychotraumatological attempts to explain the complex relationship, even today, are presented, between the „minority“ and the „dominant social group“. A (sobering) analysis of the current possibilities for Carin- thian Slovenes to participate politically in Austria follows in the third chapter. The text concludes with reflections on the dynamic identity of young, present-day members of the minority in the fourth chapter.

The Agency of Mothers and Fathers.

Agency von Müttern und Vätern

Author(s): Inge Sichra / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2017

Keywords: Sprachenpolitik; Sprachplanung; indigen; Familien; Lateinamerika; language politics; language planning; indigenous; families; Latin America

It can generally be maintained in relation to cultural and linguistic security that it as- sumes a symbolic character and has no actual effect on language retention, language diffusion, the extension of language functions and revitalisation of the indigenous lan- guages. Despite declarations of their official status, all indigenous languages in Latin America have minority character and continue to lead a minority existence, with corre- spondingly progressive language decline. In the context of timid, contradictory and rhetorical language policy in general, bottom-up movements are starting to see language policy from the perspective of agency, recognising that language security is at most a matter for those affected, and certainly not a matter for the state. Indigenous academ- ics have seized the initiative in the realm of the family, traditionally „neglected“ by language policy, and are bringing up their children in their mother tongue. The first reactions, successful experiences and regressions, but above all the resonance of the behaviour of these „improper“ mothers and fathers in their families and surroundings, are presented in this article.

Cultural Security in a Reclaimed Mining Landscape Using the Example of the Sorbs in Central Lusatia

Kulturelle Sicherheit in der Bergbaufolgelandschaft am Beispiel der Sorben in der mittleren Lausitz

Author(s): Fabian Jacobs / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2017

Keywords: kulturell; Sicherheit; Bergbaufolgelandschaft; Sorben; mittlere Lausitz; cultural; security; reclaimed mining landscape; Sorbs; central Lusatia

What role does culture play in reclaimed mining landscapes? How is this handled in the Lusatian lignite mining area, which overlaps to a large extent with the settlement area of the Sorbian ethnic minority? Resettlements as a result of mining, above all when they involve the destruction of whole villages, have a severe effect on the feeling of cultural security of the affected inhabitants. They not only represent an invasion of socio- cultural structures but also of organic settlement structures of the cultural landscapes. The result is a loss of a sense of security, which is bound to a culturally and collectively acquired territory in the sense of a homeland. Such an extreme crisis situation, which arises as a result of loss of homeland and the structural change of living space, can be demonstrated and analysed by using the example of Schleife, a village community in Central Lusatia. The role that Sorbian culture plays in the lignite plan of the Nochten mine, which has produced coal since 1973, is shown on the one hand. On the other hand the extent of possibilities for regaining cultural security in a reclaimed mining landscape are assessed. The starting point is a serious approach to the concept of cultural land- scape, in which the bi- and multi-cultural nature of the region is taken into account and in which the ethnic minority has the opportunity of following paths of active involve- ment in planning processes.

Biblical characters in comparison in Belarus and Ukrainian language (against the background of other languages)

Персонажи Книги книг в сравнениях белорусов и украинцев (на фоне других языков)

Author(s): Irina Vladimirovna Kuznetsova / Language(s): Russian / Issue: 2/2016

Keywords: biblical phraseology; phraseography; Belarusian; Ukrainian; similes; biblical characters;

The paper studies the presentation of Belarusian and Ukrainian biblical similes in dictionaries as well as their use by native speakers. Some of the examples are supplied with etymological commentaries.

The language game in the biblical phraseology of different languages

Языковая игра в библейской фразеологии разных языков

Author(s): Irina Vladimirovna Kuznetsova / Language(s): Russian / Issue: 2/2014

Keywords: phraseology; phraseological unit; language game; biblical characters; antonym;

This paper analyzes the phenomenon of language game in phraseological units of biblical origin and the types of set phrases with antonymic components.

Influences of the discourse on language endangerment and multilingualism on young members of European language minorities

Influences of the discourse on language endangerment and multilingualism on young members of European language minorities

Author(s): Nicole Dołowy-Rybińska / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/2018

Keywords: minority languages; language activists; young people; language endangerment discourse; collective identity; multilingualism; Europe

This article provides an analysis of the discourse on language endangerment used by the young members of European language minorities. The narratives come from a 100 interviews with young people who are engaged in activities on behalf of minority languages such as Kashubian in Poland, Upper Sorbian in Germany, Breton in France and Welsh in the UK. The way they formulate ideas on language endangerment and arguments they choose to encourage others to use these languages bears a strong resemblance to the discourse produced by international organizations, researchers and publicists. The analysis concerns three aspects of the discourse of young minority activists: appropriation of the dominant discourse of language endangerment and its role; constructing a collective identity as a part of a language movement through the discourse of responsibility for the future of the languages; discursive strategies of presenting the advantages of multilingualism and, in so doing, of learning and using a minority language.

The Sorbs’ Attitude towards the Referendum of 30th June 1946

Serbołużyczanie wobec referendum z 30 czerwca 1946 roku

Author(s): Piotr Pałys / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: Domowina; Upper Lusatia; people’s referendum; Sorbs; Saxony; Socialist Unity Party of Germany; Domowina; Volksentscheid; Sachsen; 1946; SED; Oberlausitz; Sorben; Kriegsverbrecher; Naziverbrecher

At the beginning of the year of 1946 the leadership of the Communist Party of Germany decided to conduct a referendum in Saxony. The subject put to the vote was the expropriation of industrial plants owned by war and Nazi criminals. The plants in question were to become state property. At the time, in accordance with the Soviet Occupation Forces’ suggestion, the Domowina started to seek compromises with the Communists. In view of such cooperation, the issue of the character and the degree of involvement of the Sorbs in a voting campaign in Upper Lusatia was discussed. The rules of cooperation with the SED (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands – Socialist Unity Party of Germany) during the campaign were established on 10th June. Back then the Domowina was fighting for recognition as a fully-fledged organization in the East German socio-political system and it was the first time it acted as an ally to the SED. The Soviet Occupation Forces and the Communists saw this act as a visible sign that the Sorbian issue had become Germany’s internal affair. On the other hand, never before had such an abundance of leaflets and posters written in the Upper Sorbian language been visible in a public space than at that time. It is worth noticing that representatives of the Lusatian National Committee were also active participants in the campaign. It was one of the last joint initiatives of both wings of the Lusatian national movement. As a result of the cooperation with the Domowina, the referendum turnout in bilingual Upper Lusatia was 93,7 per cent, of whom 77,6 per cent voted “yes”.

Podomk: The Poetic Household of the Late Kito Lorenc

Podomk: Der poetische Hausstand des späten Kito Lorenc

Author(s): Christian Prunitsch / Language(s): German / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: Kito Lorenc; Sorbian poetry; bicultural poetics; island motif; sorbische Lyrik; zweisprachig; Inselmotiv

Kito Lorenc’s late poetry in „Podomk“ (2010) and „Zymny kut“ (2016) underlines lexically as well as prosodically the vitality and creativity of current Sorbian poetry. Imbued with both melancholy and irony, Lorenc’s Sorbian poems in these two collections largely lack corresponding versions in German, thus demonstrating a tendency to expose the lyrical self and his rather metonymically coined belongings in a poetical universe as clearly defined as richly differentiated. Lorenc’s two last Sorbian-language books masterfully show the autonomy of Sorbian poetry and can be seen as a building block of a project of a bicultural poetics on equal rights with German. Lorenc pursues this goal for instance by exploring the semantical fields of water, river or ocean, allowing him to elaborate on the recurrent motif of the island which is deeply entangled in Sorbian literary history. These symbols and motifs are consequently crafted in strong reliance on rhyme.

The role of etymology in reconstructing the linguistic worldview

Rola etymologii w kształtowaniu językowego obrazu świata

Author(s): Hanna Popowska-Taborska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 24/2012

Keywords: etymology; linguistic worldview; semantic motivation; cultural context; Slavic languages

The paper draws on abundant exemplifying material and deals with various areas of investigation of the modern etymologist who inquires into the nature of the linguistic worldview. The following conclusions are reached.Etymological research is of diachronic nature. Etymological reconstruction pertains to the earliest possible point in time and the uncovered (or alleged) semantic motivation is usually limited to one feature associated with the object being named. A reconstruction of the linguistic worldview is best carried out on the synchronic plane (through questionnaires, analysis of current texts, as well as by considering the researcher’s knowledge of his or her own language). While reconstructing facts relating to the past, the researcher should have mastered the craft of the etymologist and that of the language historian, which means that the origin and history of a word should be investigated against the context in which the need for its emergence arose.These two distinct, though also related disciplines, should contribute to each other’s findings and thus facilitate an emergence of a new quality in linguistic inquiry.