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Papers by Alessandra Dezi
De Gruyter eBooks, Jul 8, 2024
Yearbook of Finno-Ugric Studies
Multilingual practices inevitably lead to language contact phenomena. This phenomenon occurs in E... more Multilingual practices inevitably lead to language contact phenomena. This phenomenon occurs in Estonia, where the Russian speaking minority, often defined as a Russian diaspora, differs from the socially and linguistically dominant Estonian group with respect to their language and language practices. We suggest that the analysis of one of the languages in contact, in this case Russian, allows for a deeper understanding of the role of the other, i.e. Estonian, in the multilingual practices of the Estonian population as a whole. In this paper, we will focus on “spatial indicators” (i.e. toponyms, ergonyms, linguistic landscape objects, etc.) in the discourse on space provided by participants from the Russian-speaking population living in Estonia. These sociolinguistic foci have been partially described in several existing works which underscore the influence of Estonian on the speech of the local Russian speakers. Previous research gives insights into the peculiarities that the influ...
Yearbook of Finno-Ugric Studies, 2021
Multilingual practices inevitably lead to language contact phenomena. This phenomenon occurs in E... more Multilingual practices inevitably lead to language contact phenomena. This phenomenon occurs in Estonia, where the Russian speaking minority, often defined as a Russian diaspora, differs from the socially and linguistically dominant Estonian group with respect to their language and language practices. We suggest that the analysis of one of the languages in contact, in this case, Russian, allows for a deeper understanding of the role of the other, i.e. Estonian, in the multilingual practices of the Estonian population as a whole. In this paper, we will focus on “spatial indicators” (i.e. toponyms, ergonyms, linguistic landscape objects, etc.) in the discourse on space provided by participants from the Russian-speaking population living in Estonia. These sociolinguistic foci have been partially described in several existing works which underscore the influence of Estonian on the speech of the local Russian speakers. Previous research gives insights into the peculiarities that the influence of Estonian generates: in the use of toponyms, in the naming of different language landscape objects, in the everyday language practices, and in the description and evaluation of the surrounding space (i.e. in the “spatial awareness”) of the local Russian speaking population. However, little attention has been paid to the fact that the aforementioned phenomena represent a whole that reflects the development of the speakers’ apprehension of the surrounding physical, sociocultural and sociolinguistic space. This process is put into focus in this paper and is shown to be characterized by the (re)definition of space(s) as “ours” vs “theirs”. Such processes will be revealed here by giving an overview of the “spatial components” in the speech of the Russian speaking population of Estonia in several spheres of communication (newspapers, TV shows, advertisements, web forums, etc.) and by analysing interviews involving three Estonian residents, each with a different sociolinguistic background. We attempt to demonstrate how these “spatial components” reflect the interaction of Russian and Estonian speakers, with an emphasis on their affinities across certain language practices. In the analysis of the interviews, we focus in particular on the participants’ (re)definitions of “us” vs “them” in their discourse on space. Special attention is also given to the use of Estonian insertions as a tool for evaluation and the creation of the opposition between “us” and “them” in the internet communication of Russian speakers living in Estonia.
Yearbook of Finno-Ugric Studies, Jun 25, 2019
Еще Платон описывал мышление как «тихую беседу души с самим собой» [2, с. 5]. Для него главная ха... more Еще Платон описывал мышление как «тихую беседу души с самим собой» [2, с. 5]. Для него главная характеристика мышления -диалогичность, ибо, размышляя, человек постоянно вовлекает себя в вымышленные ситуации и разговоры. В диалоге собственные слова постоянно чередуется c чужими, которые создают необходимый фон, куда вписывается голос автора вместе с его точкой зрения [3, с. 273-274]. Одним из видов проявления чужого слова является переход с одного языка на другой посредством включения иноязычных вкраплений, открытых и скрытых цитаций, заимствований, отсылающих к другому опыту и определенному культурно-историческому контексту [1, с. 37-38].
In this article, I analyse the presence of Italian culturemes in the internet discourse of Russia... more In this article, I analyse the presence of Italian culturemes in the internet discourse of Russian speakers living in Italy. I divided culturemes in two groups: behaviouremes and phraseological culturemes. Behaviouremes are considered cultural units related to the etiquette, to the spatial, temporal and paralinguistic experience of the communicants, which can find expression in language. Phraseological culturemes are cultural units based on complex associative and metaphorical knowledge. Both groups of Italian culturemes are discussed by Russian speakers living in Italy in their internet communication, thus I named them “metaculturemes”. Further, I discuss how the presence of Italian behaviouremes influences the etiquette of the communicats, as well as their temporal, spatial and emotional perceiving. Phraseological culturems, on the other hand, are involved in complex speech play, which results in the formation of new shades of meaning and humorous discursive strategies.
The Estonian influence on the discourse of the Russian speaking population of Estonia has drawn t... more The Estonian influence on the discourse of the Russian speaking population of Estonia has drawn the attention of many researchers. The insertion of elements of Estonian in the discourse of Russian speakers is analysed and systematised from different points of view. Research has been conducted on formal aspects of code-switching and on more pragmatic language aspects on the basis of different material (e.g. spoken language,
jargons, and dialects, advertisements, journalistic texts). However, the influence of the Estonian language in the
discourse of Russian speaking groups of Estonia has not been fully studied, especially with internet sources,
which can give an idea of the currently relevant processes of spoken language. This paper is part of a larger
research project in which we plan to compare the functions of foreign language items in the internet discourse
of the Russian speaking population of Italy and Estonia. In this paper, however, the main focus is on the lexical
content of Estonian insertions in the internet discourse of the Russian speaking population of Estonia and on
two of its main functions. Namely, the identifying reference function and the figurative speech function. Data
was collected from different forums and Facebook groups. The analysis of the collected material shows that the
insertion of Estonian items occurs very frequently when the communicants discuss bureaucratic-administrative
spheres, space, and time. Those Estonian insertions are very often used in order to clearly identify the object of
their conversation. Longer insertions are often used within the figurative speech function, which conveys the
characteristics of the speech, of the speaker and the evaluative characteristics. The study of the influence of the
Estonian language on the internet discourse of the Russian speaking population of Estonia in the future will allow a deeper understanding of formal and functional aspects of the Estonian language, such as the morphological and syntactic features of the language and the semantic and pragmatic meaning of certain Estonian words
and particles. Furthermore, this research will contribute to the study of the problems connected with language
contacts.
Keywords: language contacts, internet language, code-switching, Estonian language insertions.
De Gruyter eBooks, Jul 8, 2024
Yearbook of Finno-Ugric Studies
Multilingual practices inevitably lead to language contact phenomena. This phenomenon occurs in E... more Multilingual practices inevitably lead to language contact phenomena. This phenomenon occurs in Estonia, where the Russian speaking minority, often defined as a Russian diaspora, differs from the socially and linguistically dominant Estonian group with respect to their language and language practices. We suggest that the analysis of one of the languages in contact, in this case Russian, allows for a deeper understanding of the role of the other, i.e. Estonian, in the multilingual practices of the Estonian population as a whole. In this paper, we will focus on “spatial indicators” (i.e. toponyms, ergonyms, linguistic landscape objects, etc.) in the discourse on space provided by participants from the Russian-speaking population living in Estonia. These sociolinguistic foci have been partially described in several existing works which underscore the influence of Estonian on the speech of the local Russian speakers. Previous research gives insights into the peculiarities that the influ...
Yearbook of Finno-Ugric Studies, 2021
Multilingual practices inevitably lead to language contact phenomena. This phenomenon occurs in E... more Multilingual practices inevitably lead to language contact phenomena. This phenomenon occurs in Estonia, where the Russian speaking minority, often defined as a Russian diaspora, differs from the socially and linguistically dominant Estonian group with respect to their language and language practices. We suggest that the analysis of one of the languages in contact, in this case, Russian, allows for a deeper understanding of the role of the other, i.e. Estonian, in the multilingual practices of the Estonian population as a whole. In this paper, we will focus on “spatial indicators” (i.e. toponyms, ergonyms, linguistic landscape objects, etc.) in the discourse on space provided by participants from the Russian-speaking population living in Estonia. These sociolinguistic foci have been partially described in several existing works which underscore the influence of Estonian on the speech of the local Russian speakers. Previous research gives insights into the peculiarities that the influence of Estonian generates: in the use of toponyms, in the naming of different language landscape objects, in the everyday language practices, and in the description and evaluation of the surrounding space (i.e. in the “spatial awareness”) of the local Russian speaking population. However, little attention has been paid to the fact that the aforementioned phenomena represent a whole that reflects the development of the speakers’ apprehension of the surrounding physical, sociocultural and sociolinguistic space. This process is put into focus in this paper and is shown to be characterized by the (re)definition of space(s) as “ours” vs “theirs”. Such processes will be revealed here by giving an overview of the “spatial components” in the speech of the Russian speaking population of Estonia in several spheres of communication (newspapers, TV shows, advertisements, web forums, etc.) and by analysing interviews involving three Estonian residents, each with a different sociolinguistic background. We attempt to demonstrate how these “spatial components” reflect the interaction of Russian and Estonian speakers, with an emphasis on their affinities across certain language practices. In the analysis of the interviews, we focus in particular on the participants’ (re)definitions of “us” vs “them” in their discourse on space. Special attention is also given to the use of Estonian insertions as a tool for evaluation and the creation of the opposition between “us” and “them” in the internet communication of Russian speakers living in Estonia.
Yearbook of Finno-Ugric Studies, Jun 25, 2019
Еще Платон описывал мышление как «тихую беседу души с самим собой» [2, с. 5]. Для него главная ха... more Еще Платон описывал мышление как «тихую беседу души с самим собой» [2, с. 5]. Для него главная характеристика мышления -диалогичность, ибо, размышляя, человек постоянно вовлекает себя в вымышленные ситуации и разговоры. В диалоге собственные слова постоянно чередуется c чужими, которые создают необходимый фон, куда вписывается голос автора вместе с его точкой зрения [3, с. 273-274]. Одним из видов проявления чужого слова является переход с одного языка на другой посредством включения иноязычных вкраплений, открытых и скрытых цитаций, заимствований, отсылающих к другому опыту и определенному культурно-историческому контексту [1, с. 37-38].
In this article, I analyse the presence of Italian culturemes in the internet discourse of Russia... more In this article, I analyse the presence of Italian culturemes in the internet discourse of Russian speakers living in Italy. I divided culturemes in two groups: behaviouremes and phraseological culturemes. Behaviouremes are considered cultural units related to the etiquette, to the spatial, temporal and paralinguistic experience of the communicants, which can find expression in language. Phraseological culturemes are cultural units based on complex associative and metaphorical knowledge. Both groups of Italian culturemes are discussed by Russian speakers living in Italy in their internet communication, thus I named them “metaculturemes”. Further, I discuss how the presence of Italian behaviouremes influences the etiquette of the communicats, as well as their temporal, spatial and emotional perceiving. Phraseological culturems, on the other hand, are involved in complex speech play, which results in the formation of new shades of meaning and humorous discursive strategies.
The Estonian influence on the discourse of the Russian speaking population of Estonia has drawn t... more The Estonian influence on the discourse of the Russian speaking population of Estonia has drawn the attention of many researchers. The insertion of elements of Estonian in the discourse of Russian speakers is analysed and systematised from different points of view. Research has been conducted on formal aspects of code-switching and on more pragmatic language aspects on the basis of different material (e.g. spoken language,
jargons, and dialects, advertisements, journalistic texts). However, the influence of the Estonian language in the
discourse of Russian speaking groups of Estonia has not been fully studied, especially with internet sources,
which can give an idea of the currently relevant processes of spoken language. This paper is part of a larger
research project in which we plan to compare the functions of foreign language items in the internet discourse
of the Russian speaking population of Italy and Estonia. In this paper, however, the main focus is on the lexical
content of Estonian insertions in the internet discourse of the Russian speaking population of Estonia and on
two of its main functions. Namely, the identifying reference function and the figurative speech function. Data
was collected from different forums and Facebook groups. The analysis of the collected material shows that the
insertion of Estonian items occurs very frequently when the communicants discuss bureaucratic-administrative
spheres, space, and time. Those Estonian insertions are very often used in order to clearly identify the object of
their conversation. Longer insertions are often used within the figurative speech function, which conveys the
characteristics of the speech, of the speaker and the evaluative characteristics. The study of the influence of the
Estonian language on the internet discourse of the Russian speaking population of Estonia in the future will allow a deeper understanding of formal and functional aspects of the Estonian language, such as the morphological and syntactic features of the language and the semantic and pragmatic meaning of certain Estonian words
and particles. Furthermore, this research will contribute to the study of the problems connected with language
contacts.
Keywords: language contacts, internet language, code-switching, Estonian language insertions.