Linguistic Analysis of Latvian Death and Burial Folk Songs.

Abstract

This dissertation is a descriptive analysis of Latvian folk song text-building strategies in general, and those of Latvian death and burial folk songs in particular. The chapter begins with an overall review of the creation, performance, themes, collection, and recording of Latvian folk poetry, and of prior studies of the structural characteristics of Latvian folk song texts. Existing research is reviewed, and some original approaches are suggested. Next, a general introduction of the themes and semantic characteristics of Latvian death and burial folk songs is given, including opinions expressed in previous publications. The death and burial song texts are discussed in relation to burial practices and traditions--as evidenced by archaeological excavations and /or recorded in chronicles, church records, and descriptive articles of previous centuries. The difficulties for dating the texts are enumerated. The main body of the dissertatiioon consists of prosodic, syntactic, semantic, and stylistic analysis of the individual Latvian death and burial folk songs. Prosodic rules, deviations from the rules, and secondary organizing factors are discussed, along with word expansion and reduction devices, and synonymic forms. A number of syntactic structures are analyzed in detail, specifically, the first line configurations, questions and answers, and direct addresses. Adjectival modification is discussed, and the most commonly used adjectives are enumerated and illustrated. The word order of equally-ranked nouns, adjectives, or verbs is analyzed from semantic and phonetic perspectives, and rules for ordering are presented. The role of the poetic 'I' in the death and burial songs is discussed and illustrated. The formulaic aspect of Latvian folk songs is described, and an analysis of a number of formulas in the death and burial songs is given. The themes and motifs of the death and burial songs are enumerated, and the stylistic devices--metaphors, personifications, similes, analogies--are discussed and illustrated. Finally, an in-depth analysis of a single death and burial song is presented, illustrating text-building rules, characteristics, and constraints--enumerated and discussed in preceding chapters--in a specific text.