Estonian sound recordings in Berlin: some remarks about the informants and collected materials Jaan Ross Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tallinn Institute of Cultural Research and Fine Arts, University of Tartu 1

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luke Then Jesus said, There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me. So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. Se Ewangelium Sest pöhast Lukassest ülleskirjotetu. Se XV. Pähtük (Andreas ja Adrian Virginiuse tõlge, 1686) 11 Ent temmä üttel: Üttel Innimissel olli katz Poiga. 12 Nink se nohremb neist üttel Essa wasta: Essa / anna mulle seddä Ossa Hähst / mes mulle tulleb. Nink temmä jaggas neile seddä Hähd: 13 Nink ei mitte kawwa perräst seddä Aiga / sis koggus se nohremb Poig kik kokko / nink lätz erra kawwelle Mahle: Nink sähl pillas temmä omma Hähd erra / wallato Kombel ellen. 9

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Juhan Liiv, "Peipsi peal" 11

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Потом они снова замолчали; ни один ни другая не знали, о чем говорить. Кроме того, Арно очень боялся сказать невпопад что нибудь такое, что Тээле не понравится. Наконец он спросил, решив, что в этом ничего плохого не будет: – Ну, а как у тебя дела в школе? – Очень хорошо. Только русский язык трудный. – Русский язык? Разве русский язык такой уж трудный? – По моему, страшно трудный. Оскар Лутс, "Весна (перевод Б. Лийвака) 21 Again they went in silence, neither could think of anything more to say. Arno was in fear lest he should say something that might displease Teele. In the end he decided there was no harm in asking: "How do you like the school?" "Very well, only Russian is pretty hard." "Russian? Russian isn't difficult, is it?" "For me it is very difficult." Oskar Luts, "Spring" (translated by Aino Jõgi and Melanie Rauk)

От Луки Святое Благовествование. Глава 15 (синодальный перевод) 11 Еще сказал: у некоторого человека было два сына; 12 и сказал младший из них отцу: отче! дай мне следующую мне часть имения. И отец разделил им имение. 13 По прошествии немногих дней младший сын, собрав всё, пошел в дальнюю сторону и там расточил имение свое, живя распутно. 14 Когда же он прожил всё, настал великий голод в той стране, и он начал нуждаться; 15 и пошел, пристал к одному из жителей страны той, а тот послал его на поля свои пасти свиней; 16 и он рад был наполнить чрево свое рожками, которые ели свиньи, но никто не давал ему. 17 Придя же в себя, сказал: сколько наемников у отца моего избыточествуют хлебом, а я умираю от голода; luke 15 (new revised standard version) 11 Then Jesus said, There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me. So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, How many of my fathers hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 22

The material recorded from the Estonian informants in the Lautarchiv includes: (1) excerpts from the Bible (Exodus and Gospel of Luke); (2) excerpts from literary works of the Estonian authors (Juhan Liiv); (3) fairy tales (e.g., ATU 921C) and jokes (e.g., AT 1642); (4) folksongs and contemporary popular songs both as sung and as recited without melody (see Ross and Nairis 2008); (5) the so-called minimal word successions focusing on quantity (of both vowels and consonants) and on palatalization in the Estonian language; (6) successions of numerals between 1 and 20 as well as (decimals only) between 30 and 100. Jaan Ross ja Maile Nairis (2008), Esimese maailmasõja aegsetest eesti salvestustest Berliini arhiivides, Keel ja Kirjandus 51 (5),

Thanks to Arvo Krikmann, Karl Pajusalu, Kristiina Ross 24