Archivum Lithuanicum

Statrašos ramščiai [1890] is a 4-page set of orthographic rules duplicated using a hectograph by Vincas Kudirka (1858–1899) for the Varpininkai publications Varpas (1889–1905) and Ūkininkas (1890–1905). This study addresses two questions: (1) on what sources Statrašos ramščiai (hereinafter – StR) was based, and (2) what influence StR had on the language of Varpas. StR states that, when writing inflectional endings, one should rely on Friedrich Kurschat’s Grammatik der littauischen Sprache (1876; hereinafter – KG) and its shortened version, Erdmann Julius Schiekopp’s Litauiſche Elementar=Grammatik (1879–1881; 21881; hereinafter – ŠG). In addition, StR shares with these grammars the use of the character <l> [l], imperative- mood forms with -gk, -kk of verbs whose root ends in -g- or -k-, certain cases of ogonek usage, and words beginning with e-, ei-. However, numerous discrepancies exist. The study shows that in preparing StR, Kudirka consulted with Petras Kriaučiūnas (1850–1916) (especially when selecting which paragraphs to include in StR) and took into account the work of linguists from Lithuania Major, namely Jonas Juška (1815–1886), Kazimieras Jaunius (1848–1908), and Antanas Baranauskas (1835–1905). StR, reproduced via the relatively fast hectographing process by Kudirka, must have reached the Varpas editorial office in East Prussia and its contributors quickly in 1890. Therefore, to determine its impact on Varpas, the language of the 1889 (i.e., pre-StR) and 1890 issues (post-StR) was analysed.