Irenai Ermanytei – 75-eri

V. Cherny. Irena ermanytė – 75 years old 239 VIOLETA ČERNĖ Institute of Lithuanian Language Irena erMAnYTeI – 75-erI nugarai village, seven kilometers from Kuršnai, in the family of Povilas Zenonas ermanis and Kristina Petraityte in 1937, during the lime blossom, on July 3, daughter Irena was born. There were eight residents in her native village before the war. There are now only two remaining houses. Two single villages, the single villages of the brothers Erman, became forested areas. Once upon a time, the whole village would come to the Ermanų farm to listen to news, because the house had a great Philips radio. People from Sodyba used to come here to take pictures on various holidays or to take pictures for documents – Irena’s father, whom the whole family called Žaniu, had an ancient tripod camera. On the farm he built a windmill that produced electricity, and his mother’s garden with numerous fruit trees and shrubs, as well as 28 beehives, was flourishing. And the future linguist has had to climb honey, catch swarms. Irena remembers a story from her childhood about Jewish girls who were taken in by their family during the Second World War. For their salvation and care, the parents were awarded medals and diplomas of the Righteous Posthumously. From the very beginning, children (Irena’s sister grew up in a family without her) were instilled with what Irena called the religion of work. Irena, six years old 240 Language Culture | 85 learned to read independently. From books, newspapers, magazines, of which they had a wealth in their home. At the Smurgių village primary school, she was immediately transferred from the first class to the third. The future linguist completed her secondary education in Kuršėnai. The teacher of Lithuanian language and literature was the poet Stasys Anglickis. Irena loved to read. At school, friends had given it the name of a walking encyclopedia, half seriously, half jokingly. In 1961, after graduating from the Vilnius Pedagogical Institute, Irena Ermanytė started working at the Institute of Lithuanian Language and Literature (since 1990 – Lithuanian Language Institute). Irena recalls that for a young employee, the Institute was like a sanctuary in the days of director Kostas Korsakas (she remained loyal to him all her life), and older colleagues were looked upon with great respect. After working in the Department of Dialectology (then in the sector), she later moved to the Department of Dictionary. Work that requires iron patience – that’s what Irena will say about her work as a dictionary editor many years from now. and the beginning was with test texts. You don't become a dictionary writer by graduating. The lexicographer remembers checking every line, every word. Irena considers the linguist and dictionary writer Jonas Paulauskas her teacher, from whom she learned to work patiently and concentrate. The name of Irena ermanytė as the author of the dictionary text appears in volume IX (1973) of LKŽ, and since volume XVII (1996) the linguist also edits the dictionary. In the end, Irena was drawn to antonyms. Antony has called it the love of her life. Why an antonym? Irena jokingly says that the law of unity and struggle of opposites is to blame for this, because she drew this question during the philosophy exam. Good and evil, darkness and light, black and white, heavy and light, strong and weak, affirming and denying… A chain of contradictions formed and gave rise to the first dictionary of this kind in Lithuania – the Lithuanian language antonyms dictionary, prepared by her, appeared in 1985. In 1993 Irena ermanytė defended her dissertation on Lithuanian language antonyms and antonyms. Antonyms have captured all Irena’s thoughts: she immediately sees the antonym pairs of words when she reads the text, she hears them when she listens to the radio. The material accumulates, it increases. In 2002, she prepared a School Dictionary of Lithuanian Antonyms, and in 2003 – a solid Dictionary of Antonyms, containing 5259 antonym slots. The material is collected from twenty volumes of Lithuanian language dictionary, fiction, folklore, periodicals. Irena once again turns from lexicographic practice to theory. In 2008, her monograph Antonimia and Antonyms was published. V. Cherny. Irena ermanytė – 75 years old 241 Irena talks about her more than 50 word collection expeditions as a gift of fate. The first one is the most impressive. In 1958, as a fourth-year student, she went to Varna. the expedition is led by Professor Vladas Grinaveckis. Later, when I was working in the Institute, I had the opportunity to talk to Pelesojè, a farmer from Dzūkija, sitting among the cows, another time in Rodūnė, Gervčiai, to talk to people from Kùpiškis region, to talk to people from Marcinkonys, to listen to Dzūkijos melodies. and what a miracle, when the old ladies opened the chests of bridesmaids, spread threes, fours, sixs. Irena recalls Kazimieras Pakalkas, who always carried an ancient tape recorder in a wooden case, huge, heavy, weighing about ten kilograms. Irena ermanytė has worked extensively on other dictionaries – together with others she prepared a dictionary of rivers and lakes of the Lithuanian SSR (1963), a dictionary of phraseology (2001), a school dictionary of international words (four editions – 1995, 1998, 2000, 2010). He has published articles on lexicography and lexicology, toponymy, language culture in the journals Kalbos kultūra, Lietuvos kalbotyros klausimai (Acta Linguistica Lithuanica), Gimtoji kalba, in other publications. For a long time, the linguist was a member of the evaluation committee of the Young Philologists’ competitions. She is also an editor of many books, a translator from Latvian (she translated the Encyclopedia of Mythology with others), a reviewer of dictionaries, textbooks, and a compiler of various publications. When the photographs of the Institute are being shared, an elegant blonde lady catches the eye. Warmth, calmness, a modest smile on his face. I have heard people say: “infinitely sincere, sensitive, decent”. Or: “She’s the only person I haven’t even got mad with.” Irena ermanytė has been awarded the Lithuanian Science Prize twice – in 1996 for her work on the Lithuanian language dictionary, in 2002 for her work on the Phraseology dictionary. Plurimos annos, dear Irena! Received 05/11/2012