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Retsensiooni Alus Linguistica Uralica XLVIII Reviews 2013 1 MONUMENTAL WORKS CROWN A LIFELONG SCHOLARLY CAREER TIIT-REIN VIITSO 75 degree for his comparative study of the phonology of Finnic languages. This study was re-published with additions in his book ”Liivi keel ja läänemeresoome keele - maastikud ” (2008; The Livonian language and Finnic linguistic landscapes ). The more than 300 publications by Tiit-Rein Viitso include also articles on several other Uralic languages , such as Nenets (1970), Khanty (1980), and Sami (1985). He has been interested in princi - ples of classifying languages, as well relations between the Uralic, Indo-Euro - pean, and other language families of the Old World. Since his school days Viitso has been interested in Native American languages. Later, as an experienced linguist, he published some studies of Penutian languages (1971) and the clas - sification of Athabaskan languages (1976). Viitso has been a valuable contributor to various Estonian encyclopedias; he has prepared surveys of the world’s languages Tiit-Rein Viitso’s scholarly career began in and language groups, provided linguistic the early 1960s when modern trends in maps of different continents with his linguistics reached Estonia . Viitso started own improvements, etc. to explore the possibilities for providing Tiit-Rein Viitso’s first job was at more accurate descriptions of the minor the computing centre of the University Finnic languages. Phonological systems of Tartu where he worked in 1965— became his favourite research area. Viit- 1973. One of his favourite activites has so’s first article described phonology of been to suggest and to apply formal the Luutsa-Liivtšülä subdialect of Votic linguistic models for accurate presenta - (ESA VII); it was published already in tion of phonological and morphological 1961 when he graduated from university. structures. Apart from phonology, he In fact, the phonology of Finnic languages has played a significant role in working became his lifelong research interest. In out the description of the morphological 1966 he defended his candidate thesis on structure of Estonian and other Finnic the expression plane of northern Veps, languages. In 19 76 Viitso published an where the glossematic approach was used. article on the system of Estonian inflec - In 1983 Viitso was awarded a doctoral tional classes (in KK). The Viitso’s model 73 Linguistica Uralica XLVIII Reviews 2013 1 of classifactory morphology was used by the many-faceted meaning and signifi - his students to prepare morphological cance that a linguist may have for a descriptions of other Finnic languages. For small people. Apart from scholarly study example, Aime Kährik use d it in her of the Livonian language, Tiit-Rein Viit- thesis dealing with Veps inflectional so has been active in the development morphology (1980) and Jaan Õispuu in his of standard Livonian; he has edited thesis on Karelian inflectional morphology Livonian-language books and taught the (1985). Livonian language to the young gener - In addition to in-depth studies of the ation of Livonians. structure of the Finnic languages, Viitso Viitso has been actively involved has for a long time been interested in the in the management of research and earliest history of the Finnic languages. language matters as chairman of the He has studied early contacts of Finnic Mother Tongue Society of Estonia in the languages (1983), the oldest Finnic loan - 1990s and his decades-long work as words (1982), traces of the ancient Amber editor of Linguistica Uralica . On the Road in the contemporary languages occasion of Paul Ariste’s centenary in (1994 ; for an extensive overview of 2005 the Estonian Academy of Sciences Viitso’s work see Paul Alvre in ESA 44— valued Tiit-Rein Viitso’s contribution to 45 (2000)). Proceeding from the Finnic the study of the Finno-Ugric languages background, Viitso wrote the hitherto by awarding him the first Paul Ariste most detailed description of the devel - medal . Similarly to Paul Ariste, Tiit-Rein opment of the Estonian language (see Viitso can be characterized by openness Estonian Language (Linguistica Uralica. to what is extraordinary in language, Supplementary Series / Volume 1 2003)). the wish to highlight unique linguistic Tiit-Rein Viitso’s own roots are in Vi- features. In 2011 Viitso was awarded rumaa . Votes used to be the eastern neigh - the Wiedemann Prize, which is the bours of this large northern Estonian most prestigious linguistic award in the county. Viitso’s graduation thesis, which Republic of Estonia. he defended at the University of Tartu in In recent years Tiit-Rein Viitso’s 1961 , focused on nautical vocabulary in research activities have been crowned the Votic language . In fact, Viitso has with remarkable monumental works. ascribed great importance to the living The year 2008 witnessed the book of the environment of Finnic peoples inhabiting Livonian language and Finnic linguistic the coasts of the Gulf of Finland and the landscapes, which brings together Viit- Gulf of Livonia as manifested in their so’s research papers and also includes a language. bibliography of his scholarly work . The Viitso has also studied the language year 2012 saw the publication of the of his home region. His article about the most comprehensive Livonian dictio - languages of Virumaa (1996) provides a nary ever published (T.-R. Viits o, vivid picture of dialect diversity of this V. Ernštreit s, Līvõkīel-ēstikīel- region. Recently, he suggested a new leţkīel sõnārōntõz ), which shows intimate insight into the linguistic development familiarity with highly different facets of Virumaa (see LU XLVIII 2012). of Livonian lifestyle and the Livonian However, his main focus has been language. Viitso has been instrumental in on Livonians as a coastal people. The the project of Finno-Ugric prosody; the year 1973 witnessed the beginning of book ”Livonian Prosody” (MSFOu 255 his lifework in the documentation and 2008) has come out in the framework of study of the Livonian language, which this project . Also, Viitso prepared about has continued to this day. Apparently, fifty distribution maps with comments for among Viitso’s many other languages the linguistic atlas of the Finnic languages Livonian is the language that he has ”Atlas Linguarum Fennicarum” (ALFE studied from the most varied perspec - I—III 2004— 2010). These examples show tives, from speech sounds to vocabulary. his comprehensive in-depth knowledge of His field work with Livonians highlights the Finnic languages and the traditional 74 Linguistica Uralica XLVIII Reviews 2013 1 lifestyle of Finnic peoples. Tiit-Rein Viitso 285— 286) , etc . Comparative presentation also acted as the editor of the second part of multiple phonological developments of ALFE . highlights more general tendencies in In the linguistic atlas of the Finnic Finnic languages, such as secondary languages, the linguistic maps prepared emergence of h, on the one hand, and its by Tiit-Rein Viitso and his explanations loss, on the other, secondary consonantal stand out by richness of historical phono - palatalization with concurrent depalatal - logical and morphological information. ization, which gave rise even to prosodic For example, the distribution maps for changes, as well as various secondary the word family lähde ; allikas ’source, developments in stops, sibilants, and wellspring’ are provided with a full affricates, where occasionally one can find phonological reconstruction of the forms similar tendencies in different peripheral in different languages that stemmed from areas of the Finnic languages, for example, the base form *läktek (see ALFE I 402— in Livonian and South Estonian , and Kare - 403); it highlights primacy of South lian and Veps. Estonian sound changes . Viitso presented In addition to the study of phono - also several other synonymous words logical and morphological developments, with a restricted distribution, such as Tiit-Rein Viitso has also been interested eläke in northern Finnish dialects, hete in in meanings and their shades. Since his Finnish and Karelian, uhring , urting in student papers he has been interested in Veps, ovaat in Courland Livonian (its the sea, coastal lifestyle, and fishing. The Salaca Livonian equivalent is avat ; cf. comprehensive Livonian dictionary lists the Latvian avots ’source, wellspring ’ < hundreds of words related to the sea and *avantas ). fishing, which Viitso has been able to Also, Tiit-Rein Viitso presented in record from coastal Livonians . Their ALFE a comprehensive survey of how Estonian equivalents show interesting comitative suffixes emerged from adpo - parallels that Viitso has found in the sitions in several Finnic languages. The dialects of Virumaa, his home region. respective case endings developed in the Finnic peoples have always lived close to southern group of the Finnic languages waterbodies, be they large bays and lakes from different adverbialized case forms or small rivers. For a linguist , observation of the *kansa- stem and in the eastern of flowing water and coastal dwellers has Finnic languages from various forms of always implied understanding language the *kerta- stem (see ALFE I 439— 443). change and the wish to document what Suffixed forms of these stems show is passing by and to explain it to other different shades of meaning; however, people. Tiit-Rein Viitso has achieved the Finnic languages reveal a notewor - success in his endeavour in several ways, thy general tendency of grammatization including the training of young researchers of comitative and
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