LITUANUS LITHUANIAN QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES   Volume 33, No.3 - Fall 1987 Editor of this issue: Vilius L. Dundzila ISSN 0024-5089 Copyright © 1987 LITUANUS Foundation, Inc.

WHAT'S "INSTANT COFFEE" IN LATVIAN?

VALDIS J. ZEPS
University of Wisconsin, Madison

The erosion and death of immigrant languages, as well as the decline and disappearance of numerically minor nationalities, is a commonplace occurrence and does not have to be rehearsed here in detail. The circumstances and the consequences of the decline differ from case to case. Thus, the assimilation of Italian speakers to Spanish in Argentina has nothing to do with the viability of Italian as a language fully sufficient for all cultural, scientific, and practical needs of its speakers. Nor is the loss of these speakers a blow to the homeland - the future of Italian is not in danger. And the death of Pochekwan (an imaginery American Indian language) is doubly inevitable for two interrelated reasons— Pochekwan is now spoken by no more than 500, most over 50 years of age; it is not learned by the young, nor can it offer a full range of expression to the young - there is no way to say "late night show host" in Pochekwan; nor can one place a phone call in Pochekwan and expect the operator to help. No amount of government intervention or self-initiative is likely to defer the death of Pochekwan within a generation.

Emigré Latvian is in a situation that bears some similarity to the circumstances just described, but also some differences from them. No, you cannot expect a US telephone operator to speak to you in Latvian, nor is there a Latvian expression for "late night show host." A number of children of Latvian ancestry speak Latvian poorly, or not at all. Still, Latvian is and can continue to be the vehicle for the social, aesthetic, scientific, and practical needs of the emigré population it serves, and the embattled status of Latvian in the homeland makes it doubly important that the emigrés retain an active command of the language.

The perceptions of what ails emigré Latvian and what to do about it vary widely. One predictable reaction is to return to the language of independent Latvia, brushing off all subsequent developments at home and abroad as irrelevant. This attitude has been particularly devastating in the teaching of Latvian literature in Saturday schools. Forty years of emigré Latvian literature - some of it brilliant - never did make its way into the schoolbooks, and thus rests condemned to future obscurity - a condition created by the writers' compatriots, who bought, read and loved their works, but entrusted the young to the classics instead.

Persons of Latvian ancestry in their teens and twenties often do not perceive themselves as Latvian-Americans or Latvian-Canadians, but think of themselves as Latvians outright. They are typically fluent in Latvian in all situations that call for the use of Latvian - at home, school, camp, church, parties, outings, fraternity meetings, political gatherings, etc. It is commonly conceded that they cannot be expected to conduct a conversation in Latvian about personal computers, American football, TV fare, and retirement benefits (nor can their elders). While the domain of emigré Latvian, especially as learned by the young, is circumscribed, it is a domain worth preserving and expanding. A substantial proportion of Latvian emigré society perceives this and is actively engaged in pursuing just these goals.

My own contention over the last decade or two has been that even this circumscribed use of Latvian—though still fully vigorous and worthwhile—is in danger from unsuspected quarters, namely the failure of colloquial Latvian to keep pace with new developments in technology and consumer goods (hard disc, update, self-basting, chicken nuggets), i.e., it is the non-glamorous, everyday vocabulary that is failing us, and not our lack of ability to talk about God and country.

With that in mind, I have conducted several surveys among younger Latvians, to ascertain their level of acquaintance with ordinary household words that may not be high frequency words, but whose knowledge is essential for active use of Latvian at home. My point is roughly the following: one can go for weeks without ever once mentioning fuses; but when the light goes out one has to be able to say "Go, check the fuses." If this won't be said in Latvian, it will be said in English.

My surveys were haphazardly designed and administered as the occasion arose. Here I report on two of them—one with 50 respondents in 1970 in Toronto, and another with 20 respondents in 1982 in Kalamazoo, mostly in their teens and twenties. In spite of the lack of proper experimental design and controls, I would be surprised if the data elicited turned out to be unrepresentative.

For a while, let allow the data tol speak for themselves. Each questionnaire entry is preceded by a stimulus word in English, and followed by the answers elicited. Glosses (where needed), comments and recommendations for future use are mine.

English stimulus: ALUMINUM FOIL. Responses (written): alumīnija papīrs (or similar) 'aluminum paper' by 27 respondents; sudrabpapīrs 'silver paper,' spodrpapīrs & spīdīgais papīrs 'shiny paper' and alumīnja ietinamais 'aluminum wrap' by one respondent each. Even though staniols 'tinfoil' would seem to be the logical choice for the product, there is no point in fighting established usage. We recommend: alumīnija papīrs.

ANTIFREEZE: atsaldētājs (2 x) 'de-freezer,' pretsaldētājs 'counter-freezer,' šņabis 'liquor,' pretsala šķidrums 'anti-frost liquid.' Recommendation: dzeses šķidrums 'coolant.'

APPRECIATE (HELP): būt pateicīgam par (or similar) 'to be grateful for' (21 x), ļoti patikami, ka... 'how nice of you to ...' Recommendation: būt pateicīgam par, pateikties par 'to thank for.'

APPRECIATE (MUSIC): baudīt 'enjoy' (12 x), patikt 'like' (11 x), novertet 'to esteem, value' (4). Recommendation: prast cienit 'to know how to esteem,' prast novērtēt 'to be a good judge of,' labprāt baudīt 'to (gladly) enjoy.'

BABY SITTER: bērnu auklis (or similar) 'child nurse, (b) nanny' (10 x), 6, raudzētājs 'fermenter (undoubtedly a mistake for raudzītājs 'checker'),' b. sēdētājs 'sitter,' b. uzraugs 'monitor' (5 x), b. vācējs 'caretaker' (2 x), b. vāktētajs 'watcher.' Recommendation: bērnu auklis/aukle, as the initial resistance to this word, established as "(permanent) nursery maid, nanny," is fading.

BALL POINT PEN: spalva 'pen' (10 x), tintes zīmulis 'indelible pencil' (4), rakstāmais (4) & rakstīklis (2) 'writing implement,' lodene 'ball (pen),' (2), kūgelis (2); from German Kugelschreiber 'ball point,' bumbiņzīmulis 'ball pencil,' irbulis 'stylus,' boligrafs '?,' and kūli (2), biro, stilo—brand names. Recommended: lodene or simply spalva.

BATHROBE: rīta mētelis (or similar) 'morning (over)coat' (18), rīta kleita 'morning dress' (12), rīta svārki 'morning jacket' (4), peldu mētelis 'beach robe' (7), apmāklis '?,' mājas kleita 'house dress,' ķitelis 'smock, lab coat,' halāts 'dressing gown,' nelietoju 'I don't use one.' ALV has peldmētelis; I leaned toward rīta mētelis. At any rate, peldu mētelis must also be acceptable.

BLEACH: balinātājs (and similar) 'whitener' (27), klors 'chlorine' (2). Apparently the problem does not exist. Recommendation: balinātājs.

CARBON PAPER: kopējamais papīrs (or similar) 'copy paper,' koppapīrs (6), karboną papīrs (5), melnpapīrs 'black paper,' zilais novelkamais papīrs 'blue duplicating paper,' dubultpapīrs 'double paper,' ogļu papīrs 'coal paper.' We recommend (along with the ALV)1 kopējamais papīrs, but also allow koppapīrs.

CARTRIDGE: patroną (or sim.) 'bullet shell' (8), kasete (3), čaula 'shell' (2), munīcija, pildītājs 'filler,' paciņa 'packet.' Here the stimulus word misfired (if you pardon the pun). I was looking for a Latvian counterpart for "stylus cartridge" for record players and "ink cartridge" for a certain kind of pen. Responses kasete, pildītājs & paciņa clearly respond to this meaning, but they are too few to evaluate. The military meaning is not at issue.

CEREAL: pārslas (or similar) 'flakes' (10), graudi (2) & graudiņi (3) 'grain, kernels,' graudu barība 'grain food,' brokastu labība 'breakfast cereal grain,' putra &putriņa 'porridge,' brokastēdiens 'breakfast food,' krikumi (2), čamiņi, krikši, kraukšķi, kraukšķuļi—all nonce creations, roughly: "crunchies." For lack of better, we recommend pārslas. ALV gives graudaugu barība 'cereal food,' but I don't think they have breakfast in mind.

CLASP, CLIP: no usable responses. We recommend *skava in many meanings, such as: skavas dēlītis 'clip board,' and kravates skava 'tie clasp.' At the same time, there are meanings for which skava will not do, among them "clasp on a piece of jewelry" which is sprādze, and "paper clip" which may be saspraude (in my speech: spraudīte).

(BUILT IN) CLOSET: skapis 'wardrobe' (13), sienas skapis 'wal closet' (6), iebūvēts skapis 'built in closet' (8), iebūvēts drēbju skapis 'built in clothes closet,' garderobe 'wardrobe (clothes), check-room.'

Recommendation: skapis, for US and Canada; this, however, leaves a free-standing European- (or army-) style wardrobe without a name.

(AUTO) CLUTCH: sajūgs 'clutch!' (16), sajūga pedālis 'clutch pedal,' gājiens 'drive,' mašīnas grābstekslis 'machine-grabber.' No problem: sajūgs is obviously alive and well in emigration.

TO COMMUTE: braukt 'drive, ride' (5), braukāt 'to drive around' (2), ceļot 'to travel,' komutēņ (2), braukt ar auto 'to drive by car' (2), pārceļot 'to travel across,' publiskus satiksmes līdzekļus lietot 'to use public transportation,' ceļot starp A un B 'to travel between A and B,' braukt katrų dienu uz darbu ar auto 'to drive every day to work,' braukšana 'driving, riding,' braukt uz darbu 'to drive to work,' braukt turp un atpakaļ 'to drive back and forth,' izbraukt 'to leave (by vehicle),' braukt ar vilcienu 'to travel by train,' jābraukā 'have to drive around,' sarunāties 'to converse (mistake for "to communicate"?).'

There is nothing more useful here. AVL offer of regulāri braukāt 'to regularly drive back and forth' is clearly an explanatory translation, and nothing that a Latvian would say. I have no recommendation to make, except a warning that Latvian terms for commuter, and commuter train should fit with the verb.

CONFRONTATION: konfrontācija (10), sadursme 'clash, encounter,' (5), satikšanās 'meeting' (3), saduršanās '(sudden) conflict' (2), sazināties 'to communicate,' uzstāsanās 'making an issue of it,' saskārsme 'contact,' nesaskaņa 'difference of opinion,' izaicināt 'to challenge,' saskaršanās 'contact.' ALV admits konfrontācija only as a legal term; we, nevertheless, recommend it for the whole range of the English term.

CONSUMER: patērētājs 'consumer' (15), tērētājs 'waster,' piercējs 'buyer' (11), pērcējs, lietotājs 'user' (2). No problem exists; patērētājs is the only possible word.

CONTACT LENSES: kontaktą lēcas 'c. lenses' (4), kontakti (3), kontaktą lenzes, lēcas 'lenses' (3), redzes lēcas 'sight lenses,' acu lēcas 'pupils,' acītes (acīte 'black-jack'), liekās acis 'false eyes,' stiklą acis 'glass eyes.' Recommended: kontaktą lēcas, colloq. kontakti.

COUNTER (SALES): lete (22), pārdevēju lete 'salespersons' counter' galds 'table,' pārdevu 'of sales,' skaitītājs 'counter (enumerator).' Recommendation: lete, as well established and known. I have tried to extend the use of this word to cover "kitchen counter, counter-top," without much success, although I see no reason why virtuves lete should be objectionable.

DEFROSTER: atsaldētājs 'de-freezer' (12), (logu) atkausētājs (window) 'un-thawer,' (3), kausētājs 'thawer,' dzesinātājs 'cooler,' atledotājs 'de-icer,', atsarmotājs 'defroster (sarma 'hoarfrost'), logu pūtēs 'window blower,' pūšamais 'blower.' In spite of its popularity, I do not like atsaldētājs since aizsaldēt to me means 'to freeze shut'; atledotājs is better, matching aizledot 'to ice over.' My personal preference atsarmotājs probably has no chance against the majority choice.

DEODORANT: atsmacinis (2), atsmakotājs 'de-smeller,' atsmaržotājs 'de-fragrancer,' smarža 'fragrance,' padusu smarža_j 'armpit fragrance,' padusu smērs 'armpit cream.' ALV has dezodorants. The latter is reminiscent of dezinformācija. All preceding are dismal failures. I recommend the positive approach and a neologism *svaidze, from the adj, svaigs 'fresh.' This would allow for a telpa,s svaidze 'room freshener,' and padusu svaidze 'underarm freshener.' It would even make a good feminine first name: Ms. Svaidze Bergmane.

DEPARTMENT STORE: veikals 'store' (15), lielais veikals 'big store' (5), departmentu veikals (8), pašapkalpošanās veikals 'self-service store,' lielais preču nams 'big merchandise house,' bode 'general store,' universālveikals (4). ALV: universālveikals. In spite of the available alternatives, I suggest that it is still worth while to hang on to universālveikals. I am tempted by a shorter univeikāls, but that may sound too much like "unicycle" and "unisex."

DIAPER LINER: autiņu ieklājs 'diaper inlay, (2), autiņu laineris (2), autiņu mala 'diaper border,' autiņu ievalks 'diaper insert,' (2), autiņu odere 'diaper lining' (2), autiņu pārvalks 'diaper cover,' autiņu aizsargs 'diaper guard,' autiņu pārsedzis 'diaper covering.' Recommendation neologism *ievalks. Ievalks can serve also as ķiveres ievalks 'helmet liner' and in many other capacities.

DISCOUNT STORE: diskontą veikals (8), atlaides veikals (5), žīdu veikals 'Jew store,' lētais veikals 'cheap store,' nolaides veikals 'letdown store,' izpārdošanas veikals 'sale store,' veikals ar pazeminātām cenām 'store with lowered prices,' bode 'general store.' I have no quarrel with the front-runners: diskontą veikals & atlaides veikals.

ESCALATOR: slīdošās trepes 'sliding stairs' (7), s. kāpnes 'id.' (4), braucamās t. 'riding stairs,' elektriskās t. kustošās t. 'moving s.' (2), šļūcošās t. 'crawling s.,' trepes (2), skrejkāpnes 'running s.,' eskalators, lifts, pacēlējs 'lifter,' elevators, uzmudinātors 'encourager.' ALV has eskalators. Recommended: slīdošās kāpnes, conceivably eskalators; skrejkāpnes sounds better, but has no popular base.

EXPRESSWAY: lielceļš 'highway' (13), ātrais ceļš 'fast road (speedway)' (3), ātrceļš (7), šoseja 'paved (blacktop) highway' (8), dižceļš 'grand highway,' autoceļš 'autoway.' ALV has ātrgaitas automagistrāle 'highspeed autothroughway,' probably a technical designation, unusable in conversation. I am not sure that standardization is called for. All attested forms probably work in context.

(MOVIE) FAN: pielūdzējs 'admirer' (5), jūsmotājs 'enthusiast' (3), apmeklētājs 'patron,' cienītājs 'appreciator,' filmu zvaigzne 'movie star,' patrons, entūziasts, mīlotājs 'fancier,' kino zvaigžņu dievinātājs 'movie star worshiper,' apsēstais 'obsessed person,' klausītājs 'member of audience,' filmu prožekotora atdzesinātājs 'projector cooler,' vēsinātājs 'cooler.' Clearly fan is not a simple concept, and the translations reflect this—are you a patron or an enthusiast? do you appreciate stars or worship them? I have no recommendation.

(ROTARY) FAN: vēdinātājs 'ventilator,' gaisa vēdinātājs 'air v.,' ventilators (3), vēsinātājs 'cooler' (5), atvēsinātājs, propellers, propellers, kas pūš vēsu gaisu 'propeller that blows cool air,' vēdeklis 'fan (hand held)' (4), pūtējs 'blower' (4), gaisa šķaidītājs 'air splasher.' Again, this is not a well thought through question, and the answers reflect it. Only pūtējs is appropriate for hair dryers and fans that circulate air inside of a car; an exhaust fan installed in a wall or ceiling is clearly a ventilators. I would opt for vēdinātājs for a ceiling fan, a window fan, and a portable oscillating fan. For the latter, the Anglicism fēns is also widespread.

FREEZER: saldētājs 'freezer' (23), saldētava (3), saldējuma dala 'ice cream compartment' (2), frīzeris, ledusskapis 'refrigerator' (5). The obvious choice is saldētājs. ALV has dzesinātājs 'cooler,' which can't refer to the same appliance.

FRUSTRATED: frustrēts (6), izmisis 'despaired' (2), apjucis 'confused' (2), sēdēt uz naža 'to sit on a knife,' nokrenkējis 'worried sick,' pikts 'irate,' sagribējies 'full of desire,' pievilšanās 'disappointment,' aggrivats. Recommendation: frustrēts.

FUSE: korķis 'cork, stopper, fuse' (18), aizsargs 'protector' (5), drošinātājs 'safety' (2), elektriskais nodrošinātājs, kontakts 'contact' (3), dzirkste 'spark,' deglis '(detonating) fuse,' saliedēt 'to weld.' Even though aizsargs and drošinātājs: are well established as alternatives to korķis, the latter seems to be a survivor. I vote for korķis.

GARBAGE CAN: atkritumu kanna 'garbage can' (9), atkritumu tvertne 'g. container' (8), a. bundža 'g. can (tin)' (4), a. kaste 'g. box' (5), a. muca 'trash barrel' (3), a. kurvis 'trashbasket,' a. kārba '(small) trash box,' a. spainis 'garbage bucket,' a. trauks 'garbage vessel,' a. grozs 'trash basket,' mēslu kaste 'trash box' (3), m. bundža, m. kanna, miskaste (from Germ. Mist 'trash') (3), mizkast bunja, uz garbidžu. We recommend the vague but non-controversial atkritumu tvertne; at the same time, we suspect that atkritumu kanna will be making contact gains in the US and Canada. There are vociferous objectors to kanna, since the latter word is current in rather different senses in Latvian: alus kanna 'beer mug,' tējkanna 'teakettle,' lejkanna 'wateringcan,' and piena kanna 'milk can.'

GASOLINE: bencīns (28), benzīns (15), spēkviela 'fuel?,' gaze (3), gazolīns, petrol. Recommendation: benzīns, to match the standard in Latvia; there is little point, however, to oppose the majority pronunciation.

GAS STATION: bencīna/benzīna stacija (26), benecīna pildītava 'gas filling (station)' (3), b. pirktuve 'gas buying (place),' gāzes stacija (8), gazolīną stacija, spēkvielu stacija 'fuel(?) station,' garāžā, tankštelle (from German), štelle. Recommendation: benzīna/bencīna stacija, with gāzes stacija as a tolerable option. It should be noted, however, that in Latvia a degvielas iepildes stacija 'fuel filling station' is a major distribution center; an operation of the size of a US filling station would more nearly be called a punkts 'point.'

TO HIGHJACK: nolaupīt 'to rob' (6), laupīt (2), pārkomandēt uz 'to command a change of course to,' pārņemt 'to take over,' vadības pārņemšana ar varu 'forcible takeover of control,' aizvest 'to take away,' Kuba Si, gaisa pirātisms 'air piracy,' nozagt 'to steal,' zagšana 'theft' personų zagšana 'theft of persons.' In the press, piratērija and gaisa piratērija are well established, but no verb is handy. Pārkomandēt has possibilities.

HUMIDIFIER: (gaisa) mitrinātājs 'air moistener' (17), mitrumą radītājs 'moisture creator,' smidzinātājs 'fogger.' Obviously no contest—it's mitrinātājs.

INSECTICIDE: kukaiņu inde 'bug poison' (7), kukaiņu "stuffs," k. iznīcinātājs 'bug destoyer,' k. šprice 'bug spray,' k. nāveklis 'bug killer,' insekticīds, mušu inde 'fly poison,' insektu pulvēris 'insect powder,' knišļu p. 'gnat powder,' pretknišļu šprice 'anti-gnat spray,' odu gaiņātājs 'mosquito chaser,' odu atbaidītājs 'm. repellant,' pret odiem 'against mosquitos,' miglotājs 'fogger.' We recommend insekticīds for a precise translation, but kukaiņu inde should do just as well. Miglotājs is a fine name for a fogger; for spray, however, we prefer the existing smidzinātājs 'sprayer, atomizer.'

INSTANT COFFEE: kafija (4), ātrā kaftja 'fast coffee' (9), ašā kafija 'quick c.' (2), fiksā k. 'id.' instantk., pūderk, 'powder c.' (2), pulveŗa kafija/pulveŗkafija 'powder c.' (9), tā sliktā kafija 'lousy coffee,' kafijas pulveris 'coffee powder.' In Latvia: šķīstošā kafija 'dissolving coffee.' There is something wrong with every single one of these designations. Kafija clearly won't do—we haven't come to that point yet. Ātra kafija is at the slow end of the progression: ātrā k. 'fast,' ašā 'quick,' friskā 'jiffy,' and pēkšnā 'sudden,' and there are products (oatmeal) that come in three "speeds"—regular, quick, and instant. Fikss has been dropped from standard Latvian, and could be prompted only if there was strong popular support (which there isn't). And pēkšņš 'sudden' is not only instant, but also unexpected. The difficulty with pūderis and pulveris is that they focus on the substance of the preparation. If we allow powder coffee, then we have to allow flake potatoes, but we should be able to have a word for "instant" to fit all products of the type. And šķīstošā k. won't do on two counts—one already mentioned—we cannot have dissolving potatoes. The other difficulty is that šķīst means not only to dissolve but also to splatter (like in "Here's mud in your eye!" For lack of better, let us stick with ātrā kafija, since it at least can be paralleled by ātrie kartupeļi 'fast (i.e. instant) potatoes.2

We promised you instant coffee and you got fast coffee instead. That's life. Has anything else been learned? Yes. First and foremost, Latvian—like other languages—has enormous adaptive and recuperative powers (like liver). The sheer mass of efforts to rise to the challenge of lexical problems is impressive in its own right. Many of these efforts have been successful, even in the absence of school instruction or media publicity. The successes include acceptable loans (frustrate), translations (freezer, humidifier), blends (aluminum foil), adaptations of old words to new uses (babysitter). Some words were clearly transmitted within the family (bleach, fuses). Others survive without clear transmission lines (clutch, consumer, counter). Neologisms have fared least well, most probably for lack of dissemination. Where English words correspond to many concepts, a one-to-one equivalence between English and Latvian has typically not been achieved (appreciate, fan). A constant difficulty resides in the fact that Latvian does not form verbs from nouns with the sort of facility as English, hence while we can meet the challenge of "hijacking" "to hijack" is another matter.

I am notoriously poor at graceful exists. Let me close by noting that if one wants to advocate solutions to the problems, it is nice to know what the problems are.

1 J. Raškevičs, M. Sosāre & Ļ. Timenčika. Angļu-latviešu vārdnīca. Rīga, 1976.
2 The rest of the questionnaire, recommendations only: interaction—mijiedirbe, jet (plane)—lidmasīna (if necessary: džets or strūklu lidmasīna), key punch-perforators (obsolescent), mop—*slopata, morgage— hipotēka, network—tīkls, pantyhose—zeķes, paperback— brošēta grāmata, to park—novietot, parkot/noparkot, parking ramp—rampa, plastic wrap—*plastpapīrs, play pen—sētiņa, plywood—finieris, saplāksnis, porch-veranda, portable—pārnesams, power tools—spēka rīki, to promote—veicināt, safety belt—drošības josta, screen (movie)—ekrāns, skreen (window)—siets, soft drink— limonāde, vieglais dzēriens, toast—grauzdēta maize, waterproof—ūdensdrošs.