ACTA LINGUISTICA LITHUANICA

XLIV (2001), 259–260

IN MEMORIAM

Jonas Zemvaldas Balkevičius

1923 04 20 – 2000 12 08

The most honest lose their way just so—feel the words and search for a connection between them, or feel the connection and search for words to express it? (Donaldas Kajokas)

These two sensibilities—that of the word and that of connection—and the searches associated with them, which often determine a person's professional choice, were also the companions of the distinguished Lithuanian syntactician and lexicographer Jonas Balkevičius. The artistic and aristocratic nature of their possessor concealed from outsiders the existence of possible personal problems, while his sensitivity and respect for others, and his ability to communicate, spoke of a sensibility and an articulated connection not only between words.

Jonas Balkevičius wrote two books on syntax—The Syntax of Modern Lithuanian (1963) and The Syntax of Predicative Constructions in Lithuanian (1998)—which framed the course of his theoretical inquiries; he published articles on the syntax of Lithuanian and Latvian and on questions of Lithuanian language usage, and prepared teaching materials for secondary schools. Anyone wishing to knock on the gates of the kingdom of Lithuanian and Latvian lexicography had to become familiar with his work: he was one of the authors of the Latvian–Lithuanian Dictionary (Vilnius, 1977), special editor of the Lithuanian–Latvian Dictionary (Riga, 1964), compiled by Apolonija Bojatė and Valteris Subatniekas, and compiler, together with Laimute Balode, Apolonija Bojate, Valteris Subatnieks, and Alberts Sarkans, of Lietuviešu–latviešu vārdnīca / Lietuvių–latvių kalbų žodyno (Riga, 1995). For the latter two dictionaries he also wrote a Brief Grammar of the Lithuanian Language; he published the outline The Latvian Language (Gimtasis žodis, 1993, Nos. 1–11), intended for self-study. He was a translator of Latvian fiction and an official interpreter for state delegations of the Republic of Lithuania.

Having taught from an early age and served in teaching and leadership roles, he taught in Nereta in 1942/43, in Alizava in 1943/44, and at Kaunas Secondary School No. 9 in 1944–49; in 1949–56 he was deputy director of the Kaunas Teacher Training School; from 1960 to 1994 he worked at Vilnius University: in 1963 he defended his dis-

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IN MEMORIAM

sertation; from 1966 he was an associate professor; from 1964 to 1968 he was vice-dean of the Faculty of History and Philology, from 1968 to 1975 vice-dean of the Faculty of Philology, and from 1979 to 1984 dean (becoming well known as an inventive organizer of celebrations and events). Such would be the outline of his work and pedagogical activity, testifying to his fields of work, diligence, and abilities.

Memory recalls Jonas Balkevičius as having been an excellent orator—those attending his courses (“The Syntax of Modern Lithuanian,” “Features of Phrase Structure,” “Lithuanian Punctuation,” “Fundamentals of Rhetoric”) also received lessons in good diction and the art of rhetoric. His actor's nature and pedagogical talent—the methodical presentation of material, logical thinking, and ability to engage and command an audience—went hand in hand with an approachable manner in one-to-one interaction. The guiding principle of his collegial relations was sincerity and respectful distance. Having cultivated the image of a charming Professor, Jonas Balkevičius never had to endure malicious student gossip. Perhaps because he himself did not indulge in side remarks. His style of communication was not to silence people, but to draw them out. His democratic spirit did not disappear when correcting written work—as a supervisor of term papers and theses, he had no inclination to play the role of writer, editor, or stubborn critic; this encouraged students to discover, prove, or make mistakes on their own.

Death is a painful acquisition, bound up with the fear that you will no longer say what you could have said—you had only felt a connection and searched for words to express it, but had not found them in time or dared to speak. Too late… Bereaved of those dear to us, we console ourselves that we are rich in remembering them. As long as we remember, we feel that we ourselves are alive. Time seems to us not an all-powerful thief—it can carry away, hide, and cover with dust what matters to everyday life. Having lost our teachers, we can touch only the watercolor of memory, for we no longer have the power to make an exact portrait; in the past we paid too little attention to various details. “School” dreams (when you are no longer a pupil, but the problems of the present borrow the face of some teacher or lecturer and a frightening school situation) will unfortunately not improve Jonas Balkevičius's portrait on the tablet of my memory—there is no fear of poisoned needles: a Teacher you were not afraid of has almost no chance of appearing in a dream.

Jūratė Pajėdienė