kapisse (kappi) = kapi sisse 'into the cabinet'
kapis = kapi sees 'in the cabinet'
kapist = kapi seest 'out of the cabinet'
lauale = laua peale 'onto the table'
laual = laua peal 'onto the table'
laualt = laua pealt 'onto the table'
A native speaker, Myst, points out that the 'long illative' kapisse has fallen out of use in the modern spoken language, in favour of the 'short illative' kappi. That gives me another idea for a future post when I look at cases, the 'short' v. the 'long' illative. Thanks Myst!
Note: The observent student will notice that the case endings -sse, -s, -st, -le, -l, -lt have jumped from the noun to the postposition. For example, peale, peal, and pealt simply mean 'onto the head', 'on the head', and 'off the head' respectively. The Estonian word for head is pea. It is related to the Finnish and Võro words for head pää as in the Southern Estonian town of Otepää (Otõmpää in Võro) which means 'Head of the Bear'.
A native speaker, Kata, adds the following: 'There certainly is a historic connection with the noun 'pea' and the postpositions you named. Today the postposition have only one meaning. For example 'onto the head' would be 'pea peale': Ta elu pöörati pea peale. [Her/His life turned onto the head (lit. Her/His life turned upside-down.]
And one more historical note. I am currently reading a Estonian translation of a novel, published in 1937. "Ta vaatas tema peale" [S/he looked him in the face (lit. onto the head)] is a common way of expression. The case has shifted within the 70 years and now contemporary Estonians would say: "Ta vaatas teda." [S/he looked at her/him]' Thanks for the input Kata!
Here are some examples of the Estonian locative cases and postpositions in action:
Karu tuleb koopa seest [= koopast] välja 'The bear comes out of the cave'.
Ma mõtlen sõbra peale [= sõbrale] 'I am thinking of my friend'.
Räägi kõik südame pealt [= südamelt] ära! 'Tell everything that is on your heart [Get everything off your chest!]'.
Vean kihla kümne dollari peale [= kümnele dollarile] 'I will bet you ten dollars'.
Must valge peal [= valgel] 'Black on white'.
All note the use of käsi 'hand' as a postposition:
Kelle käes [= Kellel] on minu ajaleht? 'Who has my newspaper? [In whose hand is my newspaper?]'
Ma küsin venna käest [= vennalt] 'I will ask (of) my brother'.
Source: Estonian Textbook by Juhan Tuldava, 1994, pg. 100.
Hi! A lovely thing you are doing. As a native speaker, I would like to point out a few things [this is hopefully one of your intents]. The nom. sing. for 'table' is 'laud'. 'Laua' is the gen. sing.
ReplyDeleteThere certainly is a historic connection with the noun 'pea' and the postpositions you named. Today the postposition have only one meaning. For example 'onto the head' would be 'pea peale': Ta elu pöörati pea peale.
And one more historical note. I am currently reading a Estonian translation of a novel, published in 1937. "Ta vaatas tema peale" is a common way of expression. The case has shifted within the 70 years and now contemporary Estonians would say: "Ta vaatas teda."
My notes, of course, are highly subjective, as is always with native speakers.
Suur aitäh for the input! This was exactly my idea in setting up this blog.
ReplyDeleteCan't believe I made a silly mistake like laua v. laud
It was great to get a native speakers view of the analysis of the postpositions. It's interesting to see how they are no longer analysed as noun + case ending. (Though if I thought about it, English prepositions that derive from nouns are also no longer analysed as such).
Hey! I have to say I'm falling in love with this blog already. I also hope to add something every now and again. Comments of the layman, the man on the street.
ReplyDeleteFor this post: maybe "kapp" is not the best word to use as an example because the Illative (sisseütlev) "kapisse" is not used (in the modern language). The short form "kappi" has totally taken over. "Ma panin riided kapisse" would be a weird thing to say.
I guess the short form is slowly taking over for some other words as well, but in the case of "kapp", I think the long form is dead, buried and forgotten. :)
Hey Myst! Thanks for the encouragement! I'll add that to the post.
ReplyDeleteThis blog looks really awesome - i'm attempting to learn Estonian on my own and am a beginner. It's proving rather difficult, without the help of someone. How long have you been speaking Estonian?
ReplyDeleteI have been speaking Estonian since 2008 but learning bits and pieces since 2006. I only made the transition to speaking in 2008 when I was forced to speak it with my Estonian-speaking family in law.
ReplyDeleteI can understand the difficulty. You need to ask yourself about your motivations for learning it and what your goals are. I know that as someone who is curious about languages in general that I would have learned about the language but I only have motivation to actually become proficient in it because I am forced to. I live and work here in Estonia.