Kielės pavadinimai lietuvių kalbos tarmėse

LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI XXXVIII (1997) Vita PRANSKŪNAITĖ NAMES FOR THE WAGTAIL IN LITHUANIAN DIALECTS The most widespread name for the small bird with a long, constantly moving tail (Motacilla) in Lithuanian dialects is kielė1. Direct equivalents of kielė are found in other Baltic languages, cf. Latvian ciėlava, Old Prussian kylo. Etymologists link this word to verbs derived from the Indo-European root *kēi-, meaning movement (Fraenkel 1962: 251; Karulis 1992: 170–171; Sabaliauskas 1990: 149; Toporov 1980: 361–365). Names for this bird in other Indo-European languages that directly correspond to Lithuanian kielė are apparently unknown. However, semantically, Lithuanian kielė can be associated with compound names in other languages, cf. Russian трясогузка, трясохво́стка, Polish trzęsio-gonek, German Bachstelze, French hochequeue, English wagtail, and others, one component of which denotes movement and the other, the tail. Among Lithuanian dialects, a wagtail name of this type of formation has been recorded at only one location: šytrauodėgė (Musninkai, Širvintos District). Comparing Baltic kielė with names in other Indo-European languages, V. Toporov considers it possible that a compound word with a second component meaning “tail” also existed in the Baltic languages, although no reliable data for reconstructing such a structure are provided (Toporov 1980: 364). The name Kielės appears in the first edition of K. Sirvydas’s dictionary (around 1620), in the seventeenth-century manuscript German–Lithuanian dictionary “Lexicon Lithuanicum,” in P. Ruigys’s dictionary (1747), and in other lexicographical works and publications of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (the dictionaries of K. Milkus, F. Kuršaitis, and A. Juška, and the writings of S. Daukantas). In almost all present-day Lithuanian dialects, the name form with fixed stress is widespread: kielė (1), but in many places the word also has the mobile-stress paradigm (3): kielė. In many areas both forms are used interchangeably, although one is usually dominant. For example, in the southern Aukštaitian area and the eastern Kauniškiai subdialects, the form is kielė, while elsewhere it is kielė. The latter form alone has mostly been recorded in the zone of general stress retraction (e.g. in the northern Pane ¹ The names for the wagtail, their distribution and use in Lithuanian dialects are reviewed mainly on the basis of data recorded using A. Salys’s 1941 questionnaire “Apklausas 1,” designed for studying the geography of words. These data were collected from many locations in Lithuania in 1942–1943 and have continued to be supplemented since 1972. The comprehensive “Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language” (LKŽ), its card index, and other sources were also consulted. 185 vėžiškiai area, part of the Samogitian dialect area), and on the western edge of the Kauniškiai area. Only in peripheral Samogitian subdialects (Kelmė, Kuršėnai, Pagramantis, Tauragė District, Raseiniai) does a form with mobile stress also occur. For the distribution of the forms kielė and kielė, see also Fig. 1, as well as LKŽ V 748; kielė DrŽ 151; LzŽ 117. In individual locations in the eastern Aukštaitian area (Eriškiai, Panevėžys, Smilgiai), the form kiela is used (LKŽ V 748). The dialects have a considerable number of diminutive derivatives from the root kiel-: kielàitis, kieliù-kas, kiel(i)ùkė, kielùtis, kielùtis (LKŽ V 748–749), kieláikė (DrŽ 151), kieláitė (LzŽ 117). The “Apklauso 1” data are even richer: ten diminutive forms of kielės were recorded. The most commonly used are: kielėlė (found across almost the entire Lithuanian-speaking area), kielikė (east of Šaukėnai, Užventis, and Šilalė, i.e. across almost the entire Raseiniai subdialect area, in the western corner of the Klaipėda Region, and also around Jonava and Kaunas), kielùkė (in the southern Dzūkian subdialects), kieláitė (in the southeast of the Lithuanian-speaking area), and kielýtė (in the eastern Aukštaitian area around Rokiškis, Zarasai, and Molėtai). Less common diminutive derivatives of kielės, occurring in all dialects, are kielùtė, kieliūtė, kieliūtė, kieliùkas. The root of the bird name kielė is reflected in the place names and personal names of areas where this word is used: Kieliai (a village in Širvintos District), Kielionys, Kieliškas (villages in Prienai District), Kieliškės (a village in Kaišiadorys District), Kieliškiai (a village in Biržai District), Kieliūgala (a village in Panevėžys District); Kieliškas (a lake in Prienai District) (Lietuvos 1963: 74; Vanagas 1970: 172); Kiela, Kielà, Kėlė, Kieláitis, Kieliaũskas, Kiẽlius (Lietuvių 1985: 988–989). Mainly in the Samogitian dialect and adjacent western Aukštaitian Šiauliai subdialects (Ariogala, Raseiniai District; Dimšiai and Lieporiai, Šiauliai District; Stupurai, Joniškis District), and less often in other subdialects (e.g. Zapyškis, Kaunas District), ledspira is also used alongside the name ledspira. In the Telšiai and Šiauliai subdialect areas, the form lėdspira predominates (stress pattern 1), while in most of the Raseiniai subdialect area (Kelmė, Raseiniai, Varniai, Telšiai District) it is ledspirà (stress pattern 3ᵇ); see Fig. 1 and also Vitkauskas 1976: 171. Only a few isolated instances of forms with an ē-stem are known: lėdspyre (1; Meškuičiai, Šiauliai District), ledspyre (3ᵇ; Kražiai, Kelmė District). A. Juška recorded a form with this stem, cf.: “the bird that first arrives in spring to kick the ice with its foot is called ledspire” (LKŽ VII 227). In many places, alongside the main form—lėdspira / ledspirà—a diminutive (affectionate) form ledspirikė has also been recorded, and in the vicinity of Kuršėnai, ledspyriùkas (Vitkauskas 1976: 171). In dialects characterized by the name lėdspira (ledspirà), the bird’s first name, kielė, is usually also known. Some respondents to the “Apklausa 1” questionnaire state that ledspira is a type of kielė. The origin of the name ledspira is often explained by the people themselves: the wagtail, on returning in spring, kicks the ice away with its tail; in the past it was therefore called ledspira (Kaltinėnai, Šilalė District (LKŽ card index)). T. Ivanauskas writes about this bird: “in spring, the first wagtails appear together with the stork, often on the ice, along the edges of rivers and lakes. Thus the Samogitians rightly called the wagtail ledspira, because when it returns, the ice melts— 186 kutinis ledas“ (Ivanauskas 1964: 209). Adomynėje (Kupiškio raj.) užrašyta: mėlynoji kiela atskridus ledą išspiria, žalioji kiela žolę atneša (LKŽ kartoteka). Because it returns in spring together with the stork (also called garnius in the dialects), the wagtail has acquired a “reputation” as the stork’s companion. In some places (Klampučiai, Vilkaviškis district) it is even called the heron’s companion. People say of the wagtail that the heron brings it back from the south beneath its wing in spring (Daukšiai, Marijampolė district (LKŽ index cards)), the one brought by the stork (Dotnuva, Kėdainiai district); the wagtail flies back with the stork: they say the stork carries it back on its tail (Eržvilkas, Jurbarkas district (LKŽ V 748)); soon the stork will fly back, carrying the ice-sparrow on its tail (LKŽ index cards). In Paževonys (Vilkaviškis district), a kind of wagtail was recorded as heron-wagtail, and in Jieznas (Prienai district) as white or stork-wagtail. This comparison with a stork or heron may have arisen not only from their companionship but also from their color. Besides the names mentioned above, names with other roots have also been recorded here and there: shepherdess (Šlapaberžė, Kėdainiai district), little shepherd (Antalieptė, Zarasai district), little shepherdess (Alovė, Alytus district), young shepherdess (Joniškis, Molėtai district; Krosna, Lazdijai district; Plutiškės, Marijampolė district), little duckling (Dubi Čiai, Varėna district). In a few places tit, little tit has been recorded, but these birds were probably confused, although tit-wagtail was recorded in Lukošaičiai (Šiauliai district). In Butrimonys (Šalčininkai district), Kamojys (Belarus), Pliupai (Kėdainiai district), Rodūnia (Belarus), and Siesikai (Ukmergė district), a name of Slavic origin was recorded: pliška, pliška (cf. Belarusian пліска, Polish pliszka²). Lithuanian surnames borrowed from the same root include Pliskà, Plyskáitis, Pliskáuskas, Pliskévičius, Pliskus, Pliškà, Pliškáitis, Pliškáuskas (Lietuvių 1985: 477–478), cf. Belarusian Плиска, Плиско, Плискевич, Polish Pliska, Pliszka. T. Ivanauskas writes that only two kinds of wagtails are found in Lithuania: the white or grey wagtail, also called the ice-sparrow (Motacilla alba), and the yellow wagtail or banded wagtail (Motacilla flava). However, if we were to believe the data in questionnaire “Apklausas 1,” gathered from Lithuanian dialects, we would count more than twenty kinds. They are “classified” according to a variety of criteria. By habitat or nesting site, the following kinds of wagtails are distinguished: mountain, roof, marsh, water, meadow, and ploughland wagtails. In Vilkabaliai (Vilkaviškis district) and Kalvarija (Marijampolė district), the following was recorded: it hops about the ploughed fields, so people say that it is ploughed up. By color, they are distinguished as white or stork-wagtail (little white one), yellow (little yellow one), grey (little grey one), blue (blue one, little blue one, little bluish one), greyish (little grey one, grey one, little grey one), striped, silver, dun, grey-brown, black. In some cases, the name of a kind indicates the color of a particular part of the body or its patterning: yellow-billed, red-bellied, yellow-breasted, white-throated, white-browed, white-rumped, yellow-backed, blue-backed, mottled. Some names suggest that wagtails like the company of cattle and hang around herds 2 For the etymology of this word in the Slavic languages, see Фасмер М. Этимологический словарь русского языка 3, Москва: 1971, 283. 187 around herds: cow-wagtail, herd’s wagtail, band-wagtail, mare-wagtail. It is difficult to discuss the distribution of wagtail kinds across dialects, since the kinds mentioned above were recorded in various parts of the Lithuanian-language area. An exception is herd’s wagtail or band-wagtail, known only among the northern Samogitians. The less frequent kinds were recorded in the following places: grey-brown in Aukštadvaris (Panevėžys district) and Šilai (Panevėžys district); dun in Sintautai (Šakiai district); and silver in Vilkaviškis. The fewest names for kinds were recorded in Samogitia. In some places, wagtails are further divided into domestic and wild: wild means grey, and domestic means yellow (Virškupėnai, Papilys, Biržai district). Not all respondents to the questionnaire distinguish between kinds of wagtail. Seeing the wagtail constantly fluttering about near one’s home, barns, and cattle, and observing its behavior, people often compare themselves to it: why are you hopping around like a wagtail (you won’t leave anyone in peace) (LKŽ V 748); fidgeting like a wagtail before rain (LKŽ index cards); you can’t keep your tail still, like a wagtail (Kazlų Rūda). Given the wagtail’s small size and slender build, a small, thin person is described as that really is a very wagtail-like man, if he can’t even carry a pūras of oats (LKŽ V 748); a person with thin legs is called wagtail-legged, wagtail-shinned (LKŽ V 748); a thin girl is called wagtail-arsed (LKŽ index cards), and in Pilviškiai (Vilkaviškis district) people even curse: damn him to the wagtails (LKŽ V 748)! A folk belief recorded in Vadokliai holds that a misfortune can be foretold from a wagtail’s behavior: If you meet a wagtail somewhere, you should say, “the wagtail will hop, the little fire will smoke.” It will turn its tail toward one side; expect misfortune from there (LKŽ index cards). Comparing the responses from 1942–43 with newer ones recorded after 1972, and summarizing the data presented here, we can draw several conclusions. The most widespread names across the Lithuanian-language area are kielė and ledspira. Respondents to “Apklauso 1” from many places did not indicate whether ledspira is used as a name for the wagtail as a bird or only for a particular kind. Because of certain gaps in the questionnaires filled in since 1972, it is difficult to trace the development of these two synonymously used names within the same dialect area (in many places there are no responses at all). Even these rather fragmentary data, however, show that the standard-language name kielė, used throughout the dialect area, is pushing ledspira out of use. Ledspira was recorded after 1972 at only six survey points: on the eastern and southeastern margins of the Telšiai dialect area (Vegeriai, Raudėnai, Luokė), and at one point in the neighboring Varniai dialect area (Gintėnai). However, as noted, the newer data are not comprehensive. Among the less common names are variants with the root piemen-, used in southern Lithuania, but they too have been almost entirely displaced by kielė. In recent years, piemenukė has been recorded at just one survey point—in Alovė, Alytus district. LITERATURE AND SOURCES DrŽ: Naktinienė G., Paulauskienė A., Vitkauskas V. Druskininkų tarmės žodynas, Vilnius: Mokslas, 1988. Fraenkel E. 1962: Litauisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg-Göttingen: Carl Winter. Universitätsverlag. 188 Fig. 1. Names for the wagtail Ivanauskas T. 1964: Lietuvos paukščiai 3, Vilnius: Mintis. Karulis K. 1992: Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca 1, Rīga: Avots. Lietuvių 1985: Vanagas A., Maciejauskienė V., Razmukaitė M. Lietuvių pavardžių žodynas, Vilnius: Mokslas. Lietuvos 1963: Lietuvos TSR upių ir ežerų vardynas, Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla. Lietuvos 1976: Lietuvos TSR administracinio-teritorinio suskirstymo žinynas 2, Vilnius: Mintis. LKŽ V, VII: Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language 5, Vilnius: State Publishing House for Political and Scientific Literature, 1959; 7: Mintis, 1966. LžŽ: Petrauskas J., Vidugiris A. Lazūnų tarmės žodynas, Vilnius: Mokslas, 1985. Sabaliauskas A. 1990: Lietuvių kalbos leksika, Vilnius: Mokslas. Toporov 1980: Топоров В. Н. Прусский язык. Словарь. И–К, Москва: Издательство „Наука“. Vanagas A. 1970: Lietuvos TSR hidronimų daryba, Vilnius: Mintis. Vitkauskas V. 1976: Šiaurės rytų dünininkų šnektų žodynas, Vilnius: Mokslas. THE NAME FOR THE WAGTAIL (LITH. KIELĖ) IN LITHUANIAN DIALECTS Summary The name kielė is most widespread in Lithuanian dialects for the little bird kiele (wagtail), with its long, mobile tail. In most of the Lithuanian-speaking area, this word has fixed stress—Lith. kiélė (1). However, in many localities, especially in southeastern Lithuania, the word has shifting stress within its paradigm; cf. kielė. In the Žemaitian dialects and neighboring dialects in the Šiauliai area, alongside Lith. kielė, the names Lith. lėdspira/lėdspirā are also used. Besides these names, there are also derivatives from other roots: derivatives of Lith. piemen-, as well as names of Slavic origin: pliška, plīška. In the dialects, many names are used for the kielė species, based on the color or variegation of its plumage, the place where the bird lives, or the place where it builds its nest. A comparison of the responses collected by Antanas Salys in 1942–43 to the questions in the questionnaire “Apkla usas 1” / “Survey 1” with the more recent responses recorded in 1972 shows that throughout the dialect area, the word kielė, used in the standard language, is displacing all the other names for this bird. 189