Nyelvújítási törekvések az új mordvin bibliafordításokban

The development and problems of literacy among the minor Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia (and intermittently the Soviet Union) are well-known. Mordvins were, and still are in a very difficult situation, for beyond the conditions in Russia (intermittently the Soviet Union), they are faced with the prob...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Keresztes László
Format: Article
Published: 2001
Series:Acta Universitatis Szegediensis : sectio ethnographica et linguistica = néprajz és nyelvtudomány = étnografiâ i azykoznanie = Volkskunde und Sprachwissenschaft 41
Kulcsszavak:Mordvin nyelv, Nyelvújítás, Bibliafordítás
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Online Access:http://acta.bibl.u-szeged.hu/3876
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Summary:The development and problems of literacy among the minor Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia (and intermittently the Soviet Union) are well-known. Mordvins were, and still are in a very difficult situation, for beyond the conditions in Russia (intermittently the Soviet Union), they are faced with the problems of division and strife. Bible translations are also counted as language reformers, too. Bishop Damaskin's Erzya dictionary of 1785 was only published in 1971 in Feoktistov's edition and thus it could have no influence on the development of Mordvin literary language. The translators of the early 19th century Erzya and Moksha gospel-translations and the makers of catechisms were perhaps familiar with Damaskin's manuscript word-lists, but had to rely on themselves mostly. These translations, however, reflect significant efforts at language reform. Translations made in the second wave at the end of the 19th century and in the early 20 century contain fewer neologisms, but more Russian terminology than in their predecessors according to my research findings. Paasonen's dialectal dictionary does generally not contain such data, for in late 19th century they considered their main job to survey heathen traditions. Paasonen was, however, a great authority: he was requested to the revision of the gospel translations. Efforts of literary language training after the October revolution did not point towards a common literary language, but those were strong influences towards marked differentiation, and two Mordvin literary languages were born as a result. Even the new dictionaries (Erzya-Russian 1993 and Moksha-Russian 1998) did not include the terminology of religious life. No wonder that the makers of modern Bible translations were in a very difficult situation. A Russian basic version of the Bible was made (Детская Библия 'Biblical readings' 1983, 1990) which also functioned as an aid to translators of various Finno-Ugric languages with the help of this they made the Eryza (Библиянь ловномат 'Biblical readings' 1993) and the Moksha (Идень Библия 'Children's Bible' 1999) translation. Among those Mordvin children who yet know no Russian in the villages, for they only begin it at school, no religion can be taught with Russian terminology. Therefore, translators tried very hard to create a Mordvin terminology. These new translations contain much fewer elements of Russian origin than those of the early 20th century. The new translations lend themselves to observing the methods of neologism that can be found in the rest of the Finno-Ugric languages and originate in the agglutinative character of the Finno-Ugric family of languages. The most important types are listed in my paper: 1. Mordvin words are used in new senses or with a somewhat modified meaning 2. Word-formation, derivation
Physical Description:129-133
ISSN:0586-3716