Baltist & Orientalist, Ethnologist
Cell. ph. +370 67746906, e-mail: palmaitis@yahoo.co.uk
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1. Introduction
2. Positions and grants
3. Research work: Orientalistics, Indoeuropean and General linguistics,
Indoeuropean and Baltic linguistics, PRUSSOLOGY
4. Life programme: N.-Baltic boundary, Toponyms, Rurik, Neo-Prussian,
Documented novel about Ingermanland
5. Support
PRUSSOLOGY
Prussology belongs to Baltistics. Nevertheless it should be specially distinguished here because Dr. L. Palmaitis followed his teacher V. Maziulis even in this field, and it became central in all his subsequent research.
Prussologic activities of Dr. L. Palmaitis may be divided in 2 parts, i.e.
Part A: Linguistic research of the attested material and linguistic reconstructions;
Part B: Experiment of the revival of Prussian and Prussian ethnics as a hobby.
Linguistic research
Already in his monograph Development of the Grammatical System of the Baltic Languages Dr. L. Palmaitis has set forth a number of solutions for mostly discorded items of the linguistic research of Prussian. First and foremost this concerns the problem of "articles" in Samlandian Catechisms. The analysis shows that the "articles" cannot be simlply explained as a slavish literal transposition from the German original text, because the Prussian Samlandian text becomes either ambiguos, or grammatically unclear without them. The single conclusion may be that they were burdened with the syntactical function of indicating the case. The system of the nominal case inflections was destroyed in many instances due to phonetical reasons, while it was still preserved in pronouns because of the different stems used in different cases. These are namely pronouns which look like "articles" in Samlandian texts. Dr. L. Palmaitis also revealed alternations of the circumflex origin of the type -a/ -ai, -e/ -ei, generalised in ultima. This helped to solve some obscurities in understanding verbal forms. Recently Dr. L. Palmaitis has started to develop the idea that the difference between Pomezanian of the Elbing Vocabulary (the 13th / 14th c.) and Samlandian of the Catechisms was equal to difference between 2 languages (Prussian and Yatvingian, or strongly Yatvingised Prussian), but it was not a chronologically dialectal difference. Therefore Pomezanian remained the same as in the 13th c. (the Elbing Vocabulary), but it strongly differed from that of "Yatvingian" Samlandian in the 16th c., because the grammatical system of the latter was incompatible due to phonetical processes caused by differences in phonology.
The hobby
First attempts to revive Prussian were holiday greeting in private correspondence with Vladimir Toporov, Moscow. Then together with him the idea was born and a memorandum published From the reconstruction of Old Prussian toward the recreation of Neo-Prussian (1983). The practical basis for such work is a vivid interest to Baltic Prussians, their language and culture among some former inhabitants of pre-war East-/ West-Prussia, in Lithuania and Latvia, as well as among modern inhabitants of this territory, in Poland and in the region of Kaliningrad, not to say about various political projects for the latter. This was a good stimulus to create first a Club PRUSA in Lithuania in 1988, then – filias of this Club in neighbouring countries, uniting these filias into non-formal Brotherhood in 1990. First attempts of restored and modernized Prussian Vocabulary and Grammar on the basis of Samlandian have been successfully carried out. An International Commission of scholars must be set up to verify the creation of the Vocabulary and texts. Now the single danger to New Prussian are spontaneous attempts of many different persons, usually dilettantes, to create their own Prussian, mostly in Lithuania and in Poland.
Publications:
Monographs
1. [Under Prussian name] Mikelis Klusis (M.Klosse), The Prussian Language I: Grammar of New Prussian [in Lithuanian]. Vilnius: Prusa 1989; II: Dictionary 98/99, Vilnius: European Institute for Dispersed Ethnic Minorities 1999.
2. [Together with Bonifacas Stundzia] CATECHISMUS IN PREUßNISCHER SPRACH, UND DAGEGEN DAS DEUDSCHE. First published: 1545. 6th reprint: Vilnius 1995. Introduction, text, philological comments, reconstruction. / In: Bibliotheca Baltica. Vilnius: Pradai 1995.
3. PRUSSIAN RECONSTRUCTIONS. Including Five languages' dictionary of Old Prussian. Visit: http://donelaitis.vdu.lt/prussian
4. Lecicon Borussicum Vetus: Concordantia et lexicon inversum. / Bibliotheca Clossiana, Lingua Borussica vetus, I. Domus Editoria Universitatis Vytauti Magni. Kaunas 2007.
5. Old Prussian Written Monuments: Texts with facsimile and transliteration, reconstruction and comments. / Bibliotheca Clossiana, Lingua Borussica vetus, II. Lithuanians' World Center for Advancement of Culture. Science and Education. Kaunas 2007.
6. Prusiska Chrestomatija: Old and Experimental Prussian. / Bibliotheca Clossiana, Lingua Borussica nova, I. Lithuanians' World Center for Advancement of Culture. Science and Education. Kaunas 2007.
7. Dictionary of Revived Prussian: Experimental dictionary, 2nd ed., ca. 7000 words. / Bibliotheca Clossiana, Lingua Borussica nova,
IIa: Prussian - Lithuanian - Prussian.
IIb: Prussian - Latvian - Prussian.
IIc: Prusian - German - Prussian.
IId: Prussian - Polish - Prussian.
IIe: Prussian - English - Prussian.
IIf: Prussian - Russian - Prussian.
Lithuanians' World Center for Advancement of Culture. Science and Education. Kaunas 2007.
At the same web-site a newest version of a New Prussian Dictionary was available in six languages in a pdf format. However the Dictionary is currently removed for the sake of its published version, which may be ordered from Publishers. Visitors may use electronic version of this six-languages Dictionary.
Articles
1. The origin of forms of the Prussian personal pronouns [in Lithuanian] / Bl 12, 1976, 2, 156 - 165.
2. One detail: BPT penega as a non-lengthened partitive form [in Lithuanian] / Bl 14, 1978, 1, 55.
3. [Together with Vladimir Toporov] From the reconstruction of Old Prussian toward the recreation of Neo-Prussian [in Russian]. / In: Balto-Slavic Researches. Institute for Slavic and Balkan Studies [Moscow], 1983, p. 36 - 63.
4. Optativ und Personalendungen im Prussischen. / Bl 21, 1985, 2, 159 - 169.
5. Borussica: 1. Stai Gennai - ein Nomen Collectivum? 2. astits, billits - das prußische Modus Relativus? / Bl 25, 1989, 2, 126 - 133.
6. Review: G.Kraft Skalwynas, Grammatika prusiskas billas. Dieburg: Tolkemita 1982. / Bl 25, 1989, 2, 179 - 187.
7. Borussica: 3. Über die Herkunft der Form kaulins in der prußischen Katechismen-sprache; 4. Akzent im Elbinger Vokabular. / Bl 26, 1990, 1, 20 - 22; 26, 1990, 2, 111 - 113.
8. German experience of the revival of Prussian and the New Prussian language. / Interlinguistica Tartuensis [University Tartu] 7, 1990.
9. Probleme der Rekonstruktion der altprussischen Sprache. / In: The 6th International Congress of Baltists. The University Vilnius, 1991, p. 67 - 68.
10. Towards the consequential reconstruction of the First O.Prussian Catechism. / In: Vanished and Vanishing Baltic Peoples. Recreation Problems. Eds. L.Palmaitis & N.Kirsanov, St.-Peterbourg, "Prusa"-"The Ingermanland Union", 1994, p. 29 - 30.
11. Fate of the personal inflections and the alternations ai/a, ei/e in Old Prussian. / In: VII International Congress of the Baltists 13-15 June 1995. Baltistica VII. Theses. Riga: Institute of the Latvian Language, 1995, p. 84-86.
12. [Under Prussian name] Sequential reconstruction of the First Prussian Catechism. / Ponto-Baltica 6, 1995, 53-69.
13. Borussica: 5. Root vocalism in Prussian infinitives. / Bl 30, 1996, 1, 101 - 104.
14. Rekreation als Überprüfung der Rekonstruktion. / Bl 33, 1998, 1, 43 - 46.
15. Über strukturelle Besonderheiten des altprußischen Verbs. / Bl 34, 1999, 2, 187 - 191.
16. Towards identification of language of the Old Prussian Catechisms (In Lithuanian). / In: Vakaru baltu kalbos ir kulturos reliktai. Klaipeda, Center for Baltic Studies of the University of Klaipeda, 2000, Bd. 3, p. 15 - 19.
17. Polish version of 15 / In: Komunikaty Mazursko-Warminskie, 2000, Bd. 3, p. 501 - 507.
18. Old Prussian share in creating the first Russian State: Break of the Millenium Comments to the Norman Theory. / In: Munera linguistica et philologica Michaeli Hasiuk dedicata. Poznan, University, 2001, p. 141 - 153.
19. Grammatical Incompatibility of 2 Main Prussian "Dialects" as Implication of Different Phonological Systems (in print in Colloquium Pruthenicum 2001, 63-77).
20. Review: Gr.Blaziene, Die baltischen Ortsnamen in Samland. Hydronymia Europaea, Sonderband II, 2000. / Beitrage zur Namenforschung, Bd 40, Hf.2, 2005, 251-261.