S aipsniai / A icles 41
ALDONAS PUPKIS
Ins i u e o Li huanian Language
Resea ch a eas: his o y o linguis ics,
no minamoji kalbo y a, dialek ologija, leksikog a ija.
This Decision shall en e in o o ce on he day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
This Decision shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
The San ee
Abou he ela ionship be ween Juozas
Balčikonis and Jan O ębski
This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal.
The a icle discusses he scien i ic collabo a ion o wo well-known Li huanian speake s,
Juozo Balčikonio and Jano O embski. Based on documen a y sou ces, e o s a e being
made o es ablish he beginning and con inua ion o his coope a ion. I explains how he
wo linguis s alued each o he 's wo ks, how much hese ela ions in luenced he science
and p ac ice o he Li huanian language, and also acili a es he wide disclosu e o some
o hei linguis ic p o isions.
The ollowing wo ds a e included in he lis : Balčikonis, O embskis (O ębski),
lexicog aphy, g amma , common language.
This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal.
The a icle discusses he scien i ic coope a ion o wo p ominen linguis s o he
Li huanian language, Juozas Balčikonis and Jan O ębski. Based on documen a y sou ces, i
a emp s o ace he beginning o hei coope a ion and hei u he communica ion. I
becomes clea how he wo linguis s e alua ed each o he 's wo ks; how much in luence hei
ela ionship had on he science and p ac ice o he Li huanian language; he a icle also
c ea es condi ions o e eal ce ain linguis ic posi ions ollowed by hem in a b oade way.
KEYWORDS: Balchicon, O ębski, lexicog aphy, g amma , s anda d language. This is he i s ime ha he e m has been used in his way.
ALDONAS PUPKIS
42 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
One o he issues in he his o y o science is he coope a ion o scien is s in he
same ield. In each case, i is speci ic: he eache collabo a es di e en ly wi h
he s uden , he s uden wi h he eache , he specialis s in he same ield. Bu in
each case, he ela ionship be ween scien is s, iendship o cama ade ie, is
unique, allowing a b oade iew o he his o y o science in he ield, e ealing
unexpec ed momen s, cla i ying some o he heo e ical iews o pe sonali y
ai s o he people who collabo a ed.
When eading Juoz Balčikon's w i ings and his co espondence, i can be seen ha
he p o esso 's scien i ic in e es s will be mainly wi h he Russian linguis
Michael Pe e son (1885-1962) and he Polish linguis Jan O ębski (1889-1971). The
younge one was highly app ecia ed by his colleague O embsky Balchikonis,
some imes e en oo much us ed by he hones , in his opinion, he Polish
ansla o decided o ansla e he […]Li huanian language g amma […] in o
Li huanian. I has no ye been de e mined when Balchikon became acquain ed
wi h O embski. I can be assumed ha he i s , unexpec ed acquain ance
odničiū ę). Kaip žinoma, Samaniū ė baigdama Vilniaus uni e si e ą ašė di-
began h ough Elena Samaniu ė (Hoplominė wo k on he speech o Kons an in
Si ydo's w i ings. The wo k was led by P o esso O embsky, who success ully
de ended i in 1934. Balčikoniu Samaniū ė was p obably in ol ed in he p epa a ion
o he g ea Li huanian dic iona y. Ma Balčikonis, who ook o e as edi o o he
dic iona y, began o ake ca e o illing he a chi es le by Kazimie z Bugos wi h
da a om he dic iona ies and Bugos' unpublished books and manusc ip s. He also
ook ca e o he a chi es o Vilnius Uni e si y and he Li huanian Science Socie y
o he hen Polish-occupied egion. I is known ha be o e he wa Balchikon
himsel has epea edly a eled o Vilnius on business, whe e he could ha e me
Samanyu and pe haps O embski, bu no documen s con i ming his ac ha e
been ound.
I may be ha O embski encou aged Samaniū ė no o s op he s udy o Si ydos
w i ing, so she decided o alk abou i wi h Balčikon, whom she al eady knew. He
co espondence wi h Balchikon, pe haps because o Si ydo, began no la e han
1938. On Ma ch 28 o ha yea , Balchikon w o e o he in a le e ha Kaune did no
in end o allow Si ydo's dic iona y. Bu i she we e o allow i (in he own
s eng h), i would ha e o ake in o accoun he pu pose o ha pe mission: o be
gi en o science o p ac ice. "I Tams a had e e been in Kaunas, i would ha e been
possible o alk mo e abou he pu pose and wo k o he pe mi " (Balčikonis 1982:
274). This was a opic ha was discussed ex ensi ely in he Samaniu ė p ess
con e ence in Kaunas a he end o 1938 o he beginning o 1939. On Ma ch 15, 1938, in
a le e o he , Balchikonis w o e: "Please don' be a aid o ask: on he con a y, I
would be e y pleased i I could se e you. Due o he conce ns o P o . O ębski
A icles o he T ea y
Apie Juozo Balčikonio i Jano O embskio san ykius
278). Those wo ds con i m ha Samaniū ė was ce ainly an in e media y
be ween he wo speake s, aking ca e o Balčikonį and O embski's a ai s. The
wo linguis s p obably me in Vilnius when he Li huanian Language Ins i u e
mo ed om Kaunas o Vilnius in Oc obe 1940. In he au umn o 1942, O embskis,
as a ep esen a i e o Vilnius Uni e si y, was in i ed o he Li huanian Language
Dic iona y Suppo Commission es ablished by he Li huanian Language Ins i u e
(see Pupkis 2013: 172).
o he wo ds "mind", "gi e bi h", " emembe ", I add an exce p o he sky ium
(Balčikonis 1982: I may be wo h b ie ly ecalling ha in 1939 he ounde s o he
Ins i u e o Li huanian S udies and he edi o ial boa d o he Li huanian Language
Dic iona y, a e including i in he composi ion o he ins i u e, he younge
speake s An anas Salys and especially P anas Ska džius ied o ake o e his
a ai s. Balčikon, accus omed o wo king independen ly wi hou any ou side
supe ision, wan ed o main ain he independence o he ocabula y p epa a ion
and opposed he in ol emen o he kišimuisi in his wo k. Balčikon was pa icula ly
annoyed by he cons an alk abou spelling changes, which was mainly sugges ed
by Ska džius. Unable o be o he wise in luenced by he edi o o he dic iona y, in
pa eikalau a keis i jo ašybą, Balčikonis ka ego iškai s ojo p ieš. Iš a chy inių
he au umn o 1942 he ins i u e was o med by he Teaching Suppo Commission,
which was supposed o p o ide ad ice o he dic iona y edi o s. Balchikon did no
oppose he subjec 's ad ice, bu when he ex o he second olume o he
dic iona y had al eady been p in ed, i was known ha he membe o he
commission O embskis ied o econcile he wo sides, wi h his peace ul
in en ions, he wen o nego ia e wi h Sali and Ska dji, bu due o he oo g ea
ambi ions o bo h sides, he could no do so. Balčikon e y much us ed O embski,
his opinion was no ques ioned. Thus, i is known ha he edi o o he dic iona y,
on he ad ice o O embski, was de e mined om olume II no o ma k he
ocabula y o he loans wi h he abb e ia ion sl., ge m., bu o include he o eign
wo d om which he s angeness a ose (Lybe is 2009: 272). In his way, he ollowed
O embski's ad ice on mo e han one occasion. One o he dic iona y's edi o ial
s a , Kos as Vosylius, la e admi ed ha he dic iona y's has e was "mos ly
he aul o he acquain ance o P o . B[alčikonio] and O [embskio]" (Lybe is 2009:
381). Due o disag eemen s wi h he edi o ial boa d o Moksline, Balčikonis
wi hd ew om he dic iona y and wen o his a he 's house. When he Russians
eoccupied Vilnius, Rudniop e u ned om his homeland and Balchikon. He e only
O embsky was ound among he known speake s, he o he s had mo ed o he
Wes . Balčikoni had o o ganize his s udies a Vilnius Uni e si y, aking ca e o
e i e he ocabula y wo k a he Li huanian Language Ins i u e. The Ins i u e, as
he documen s show, included a numbe o O embski's ideas in he wo k plans. Fo
example, in he 1944-1945 scien i ic wo k plan Balčikonis eco ded he publica ion o he second pa o O embski's desc ip ion o he T e ečia language […] he dic iona y and ex s. In addi ion, he e ymological dic iona y o he Li huanian language and Mikalojaus Daukšos […]Pos ilės[…] language esea ch a e men ioned as common wo ks o bo h speake s. Un o una ely, hose wo ks we e no published, because O embskis planned o e u n o Poland a e a yea . The e is no doub ha Balčikonis ied o dissuade his iend om ha s ep. This is om Balconia in 1945.
ALDONAS PUPKIS
The Ac a Linguis ica Li uaniana (LXXII, No embe 12 h) s a es ha O embski was
no allowed o emain in Li huania. Balchikonis w o e: "The e a e acul ies, ciga s,
papy us and o he delicacies wai ing o you. I'm sending a li le one on a ip o
Vilnius. To e u n wi h happiness (VUB RS, . 124[…]365). In ha le e he e is also
an a achmen by Juozas Senkaus abou he g amma o Jan Endzelyn ecei ed
by O embski, as well as he wo ds: I am wai ing o you. I would like o consul he
opic "Di isi e Li huanian pe sonal names" (VUB RS, . 124[…]365), abou which
Senkus hough o w i e a disse a ion. Un o una ely, pe suading O embsky
o s ay in Vilnius was no success ul. F om he communica ion o he wo
speake s, many manusc ip s and documen s published in he p ess ha e su i ed.
One o he unpublished ex s is an a icle w i en by O embski on Ma ch 18, 1945
(which also shows his excellen command o Li huanian) on he 60 h anni e sa y o
Balchikon's bi h (BNA). I is known om la e yea s ha Balčikonis did no like his
cousins' memo ies, he s ongly opposed hem. Thus, O embski's ex aises a
numbe o ques ions: Why did Balchikon ag ee, o was O embski pe suaded?
Finally, did ha e en eally happen? The e is no doub abou he la e ques ion,
he e is clea e idence o i . Re e ing o Balchikon's ansla ion wo k, Dominik
U bas (1966) w i es ha e y nicely abou his men ion o he u ning poin o six
decades o Balchikon is said by P o . O embskis. U bas quo es (no ecoun s)
he place o he O embski ex in ques ion (p. 23) abou he Balčikon's
ansla ions. I was ha dly physically possible o w i e down his long quo e in he
e y men ion, so i emains o be guessed ha i may ha e been w i en om a
manusc ip in Balchikon's home. O maybe he e was some pho og aphed ex ,
which was ha dly possible in hose days. As i was he e, his ex (see
handw i en acsimile, Figu e 1), which al eady unc ioned in pa in he scien i ic
communi y, is impo an o he enligh enmen o he in e ac ion o he wo
languages, and in gene al o he his o y o Li huanian linguis ics, so i needs o
be discussed mo e widely.
The ex begins wi h he wo ds: The commemo a ion o his day is also a
celeb a ion o he Li huanian language. This men ion can only be unde s ood by
hose who p ope ly unde s and he meaning o he Li huanian language. I has
signi icance abo e all o he Li huanian na ion[…] (p. 1). O embskis u he
w i es ha Daukša, he a he o Li huanian w i ing and common language, spoke
in elligen ly and beau i ully abou his meaning a ew cen u ies ago. In addi ion,
he Li huanians, due o geog aphical and his o ical condi ions, "kep hei
language in i s ancien o m". Because o he o es ed e i o y, he language
has long been di ided in o dialec s, and has managed o main ain he di e si y o
hose dialec s. This is he g ea signi icance o he Li huanian language o he
speake . I is he sounds, declension and wo d o ma ion o he Li huanian
language ha in many places help schola s o es o e he Indo-Eu opean dialec
and be e unde s and he appea ance o Indo-Eu opean his o ical languages. Tha an iqui y and meaning equi e ha he language be in elligen ly nu u ed and s udied. To in es iga e and o in es iga e a e wo di e en asks. Only a pe son who knows he language well can cul i a e i wisely
A icles o he T ea y A icle 45
Apie Juozo Balčikonio i Jano O embskio san ykius

ALDONAS PUPKIS
46 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXII
1 PAV. O he Welcome o he i s and ou h pages o he ex o he speech by Jan O embski.
A icles o he T ea y A icles 47 and
Apie Juozo Balčikonio i Jano O embskio san ykius
I can unde s and ha . Balchikon is jus such a pe son who ea ned ha language
by bo h esea ching and cul i a ing i .
The ac ha Balchikon was bo n and aised in Sochi is a g ea p io i y, a
p e oga i e o his u he li e and wo k. F om a young age, Balčikonis mas e ed
his na i e language, and lea ning he language is bene icial o anyone who la e uses
he w i en language. Jus as he so-called spi i o a pa icula language and a
he same ime he spi i o a na ion is e lec ed in he language; A ãshomōji
language is always, mo e o less, cosmopoli an, i is mo e dis an om i s main ype.
You b ie ly men ion whe e Balčikonis s udied, how he s a ed his pedagogical
ac i i ies. He w i es ha a la ge g oup o Li huanian language eache s le he
Balchikon Pedagogical School. They lea ned om he eache he example o he
Li huanian language, i s lo e. "Th ough his lec u es, Balchikonis was able o u he
sp ead he ideal o his Li huanian language" (ibid.). O embskis also poin s o
Balčikonio's inclina ion owa ds li e a y wo k. The e is no such li e a o who would
no pay a en ion o his ool, language, and would no wan o imp o e i (same). This
a en ion was bes shown in he ansla ions o Balčik's s o ies. They show how he
lo ed no only he language o he people, bu also hei li e, hei spi i and ideals.
The e o e, he is able o unde s and he people o o he peoples, hei spi i and
li e a u e: […]juk bemaž e e ywhe e he people a e he same[…]. Balchikon eels
ha he ai y ales o o he peoples will be liked by his people and his may "b eak
he soul". The ansla ion o he popula B o he s G imm ai y ales is a ue
mas e piece in e ms o s yle and language (ibid., p. 3). E e y Li huanian, Li huanian
o om any o he coun y, who wan s o lea n he Li huanian language, always
a bloga, be ik a, liaudiška, lie u iška“ ( en pa ).
e u ns o he ansla ion o he ai y ales o he G ims, because he Bal sy
language is a s ylized people's language, such as i has been o cen u ies: is i good,
as O embskis emembe s he pa h o Jon Jablonski " o es o e w i ing by making
he mos o he ichness o he spoken language". Balčikonis wan ed o con ibu e
o his wo k and became a collec o o Li huanian wo ds: a collec o o old wo ds,
no a new one. "As a c ea o o new wo ds, Balchikonis should no ha e he
sligh es place in he Li huanian hea : he abundance o new wo ds, inno a ions
only dis o s he ue Li huanian language" (ibid., p. 3). Fa e decided ha Balčikonis
inhe i ed he Li huanian-language dic iona y edi o ial o ice. "The new edi o
b ough o he edi o ial o ice all he knowledge and lo e o his people's language"
(ibid., p. 4). Acco ding o his idea, he dic iona y was o be p ima ily a collec ion o li ing language, al hough he edi o was no un amilia wi h he old Li huanian w i ings ( his is also indica ed by his p epa ed and published "Ka echism" by Me kel Pe ke ičius).
Al hough only he i s olume o he Li huanian language dic iona y was published
a ha ime, acco ding o O embski, i also con ains a weal h o Li huanian wo ds
wi h all hei gende s and meanings. Wo ds a e gi en in sen ences and his shows
hei i ali y and meaning. This p inciple o wo d o ma ion is qui e co ec and
unques ionable. "In gene al, he Wo d is he esul o g ea e o and an example o me iculousness".
ALDONAS PUPKIS
48 Ac o Linguis ic Li huanian LXXII
(same) O embskis emphasizes ha he dic iona y is he easu e o he en i e
Li huanian na ion, one ha he na ion can boas o . O e ime, his p ide will g ow
and he Li huanian language will occupy mo e and mo e space in he science o
Indo-Eu opean languages, mo e han any o he li ing Indo-Eu opean language. "In
any case, Balchikonis p o ided a solid ounda ion o he p ese a ion o
Li huanian language monumen s" (ibid.). He de o ed all his ene gy o he Li huanian
language. In his way, he o e e linked his name wi h he cul u al his o y o he
Li huanian na ion (ibid.). O embski w i es ha Balčikonis, ha ing published i e
olumes o Jablonski's w i ings, also became he execu o o Jablonski's will. He e,
o cou se, we ha e in mind he ac i i ies o he Balčikon language p ac ice. I is no
discussed a leng h in he s o y, bu he desc ip ions o ha ac i i y ha we e
in ended o Jablonski i he bill. In he manusc ip o he lib a y o Vilnius
Uni e si y in he O embski Founda ion (VUB RS, . 124[…]80) he e is an a icle by
O embski […]Jonas Jablonskis […] no ma o o he common Li huanian language[…]
(yea no indica ed) ansla ed by Samaniū ė in o Li huanian. In i , he au ho
w i es ha "li e a y language is an imp o ed medium" (ibid., p. 1), "one o he i s
and mos impo an links ha keeps a na ion as a comple e uni " (ibid., p. 7). "I is
and always will be he s onges link in socie y" (ibid., p. 7). In i s c ea ion, he whole
na ion pa icipa es, ep esen ing he people who c ea e uni e sal cul u al alues (ibid., p. 1).
Acco ding o O embskis, he de elopmen o he Li huanian w i en language
lacks consis ency, i was c ea ed di e en ly om he common languages o
o he peoples. Due o he ci cums ances, he o ma ion o he Li huanian
common language had o be e y as , wha o he na ions had been doing o
obula i labai išbaig a, jos kū imas ebesi ęsia iki šiol.
cen u ies had o be done in Li huania a once. The e o e, i is no he au ho 's
s o y and his own opinion abou Jablonski's wo ks. Jablonski's legacy is no
heo e ical subjec s o science, which explain and examine he o igin o he
ac s o he Li huanian language. Jablonski's p edic ions a e o a no ma i e
na u e" (ibid., p. 8). Jablonski's wo ks on syn ax a e o g ea scien i ic alue.
O embskis belie es ha i is no app op ia e o call Jablonsky he "c ea o o
he Li huanian li e a y language", because " he whole cul u al socie y
pa icipa ed in he c ea ion o he language, and he ac ions o John o Rygisk
we e con olled: hey accep ed wha was in line wi h he language om he
public's poin o iew, co ec ed o ejec ed wha was no en i ely ue" (ibid.,
p. 11). Jablonski's me i is ha he poin ed ou he di ec ion o he de elopmen
o he common language […] […]nea sipalaiduo i om he people's language[…]
(ibid.). Thus, O embski showed only he common poin s o c ea ion and de elopmen o he common language o Jablonski and Balčikonio, bu did no de ail hem, did no examine he di e en con ibu ion o he wo speake s o he de elopmen o he common language.
Wha conclusions can we d aw om hese wo w i ings o O embski?
O embski's idea is impo an o he s udy o he o ic, dialec ology, and
lexicog aphy, ha he o iginal, he ue o m o he exis ence o language is he
A icles o he T ea y
Apie Juozo Balčikonio i Jano O embskio san ykius
language: in i e e y hing is na u al, inna e. In O embski's iew, he ac was a
sel -e iden alue. The schola Ta mes conside s i an ideal o c ea e and
imp o e common languages as well: bo h Jablonski and Balčikoni dese e o be
encou aged no o s ay om common languages in he de elopmen o common
language. He e he does no men ion ha in he sen ences he e a e all so s o
elemen s ha a e no he e, bu his was p obably ob ious o him. In his w i ings,
Balchikon has men ioned his ac se e al imes. O embskis poin s ou ha
Jablonskis con ibu ed o he c ea ion o he common language no by copying
dialec s, bu by ying o use he dialec 's weal h as much as possible. I was ...
he only igh way (ibid., p. 3). Howe e , he ac s o he Li huanian language
(bend inė) in gene al a e no mo e impo an han he li e a u e and
Indo-Eu opean s udies, bu a he he meaning o he wo ds. The mo he ongue
is cosmopoli an (maybe i has in e na ional wo ds in i s head, a ious o he
bo owings), wi h many inno a ions ha , in O embski's opinion, only dis o he
common language. The e o e, he Li huanian language's ocabula y suppo o he language o li e is no only jus i ied, bu also ully suppo ed.
In he Jubilee a icle, in he lec u e, as he calls i a he end, Balchikon's
dic iona y wo k is conside ed scien i ic, and his is he mos impo an hing
ha Balchikon will emain in he his o y o Li huanian cul u e. In his espec ,
O embskis di e ed g ea ly om Ska djo (see Pupkis 2012: 126), who did no
conside Balčikonio (and Jablonskio) a scien is , bu only a p ac i ione . The iew
o he Polish scien is also di e s om he opinion o cu en science
unc iona ies ha he wo k o he dic iona y is only an applied ac i i y. The
ijos da bo speci iką, ypač okių leidinių kaip akademinio Lie u ių kalbos žodyno
Polish linguis unde s ood he meaning and impo ance o lexicon p epa a ion
much be e , and he undoub edly de o ed i o he wo k o science. In he
Jubilee lec u e, a g ea espec o Balčikon is exp essed in e e y wo d.
Fu he mo e, he ela ionship be ween he wo speake s indica es ha he
wo ds w i en in 1945 we e no me ely ges u es o espec . Th oughou he
ac i i ies o he wo speake s, he espec o each o he no only did no
dec ease, bu inc eased e e y yea . A e O embski mo ed o Poland, he wo
linguis s co esponded egula ly and me se e al imes. O hese
co espondence, mos a e O embski's su i ing le e s and pos ca ds (BNA).
They in i ed each o he o con e ences, hey scheduled mee ings, bu no
e e y hing wo ked ou . O embskis in o med Balčikonė abou he linguis ic li e
o Poland, was conce ned abou he ac s o he Li huanian language (ci cling,
use o o ms, e c.), and w o e abou he g amma ical ansla ion o he
Li huanian language (some imes w i en by Elena O embskienė). On Decembe
18, 1956, O embskienė in i ed Balčikonij o come o Poznan, epo ed o he
news, ejoiced ha you had begun o we e abou o begin ansla ing he hi d
olume o he g amma : "You ansla e ha olume, and I will hen ansla e i ". In a le e da ed Augus 5, 1959, O embskis w o e: "We a e e en mo e pleased ha you ha e al eady comple ed he ansla ion o G ama ik III. The e can ne e be a be e ansla ion han you s".