Yearbook of Balkan and Baltic Studies (Jul 2024)
Alien Trees and Shrubs with the Complements Saksamaa (Germany) and Saksa (German) in Early Written Language and Folklore
Abstract
The study of alien species has become more and more relevant today. In particular, the influence of alien species on the local nature is studied, but more and more studies have also begun to appear on how alien species affect the local language and culture. In this article, we took a look at non-native trees and shrubs that have been called “Saksamaa” and “Saksa” [German]. Germany was synonymous with foreign countries in early literature. We investigated the motives behind the names given to these species, how long they were in circulation and how these names were later replaced. For this purpose, we studied lexicons, archival texts and historical literature. „German“ complemented plant names are most common in Estonian and Finnish – with fir, beech, larch, elder, Persian walnut tree, poplar, Swedish whitebeam and false spiraea coinciding. The prevalence of plant names can be divided into three: a) names found only in the early written word, which are absent in the oral tradition; b) vernacular plant names with the suffix “German” which were entered into dictionaries and supported by official terminology; c) individual fop names with the suffix “German” collected from the people. Alien species that were planted as fruit trees, ornamental trees, medicinal plants and forest trees were called by these names, but imported pharmaceutical drugs, fruits and wood were also called “German”. Mainly, non-ntive species were named after a local tree, to which “German” was added in front of the name. Later, those names were either replaced by adaptations of German plant names or new Estonian plant names were created. Several trees could be called by one name. For example, larches, firs and alien spruce species, which differed from the local spruce by the silvery colour of their needles, have been called the “German spruce”. In the 17th and 18th centuries, all foreign trees that were frost-resistant could be called “German trees.” Back in the 20th century, people spontaneously called foreign trees that were different from domestic trees by the names of “German”.
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