Episode description
Hi there, I’m Jack and I’m Gintarė and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud where we offer the world the Lithuanian language.
According to the Wikipedia page Knygnešiai, between 1866 and 1904 Russian authorities instituted a Lithuanian press ban in Lithuania. The Russians attempted to replace the Lithuanian alphabet with the Russian or cyrillic alphabet.
The Lithuanian people responded with knygnešiai a combination of the word knyga – book and the verb nešti – to carry.
Knygnešiai – were people who smuggled printed materials from Lithuania minor and the United States into Lithuanian speaking areas of Imperial Russia. The knygnešiai, or singular: knygnešys, became a symbol of the resistance of the Lithuanians against Russification.
When caught, knygnešiai were punished by fines, banishment, and exile, including deportation to Siberia. Some were shot while crossing the border into Lithuania.
Knygnešiai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knygne%C5%A1iai
In previous episodes we learned how to use pronouns to express possession such as;
my
mano
your
tavo
his
jo
her
jos
our
mūsų
your
jūsų
their
jų
prašom pakartoti, please repeat…
my ancestor
mano prosenelis
your dog
tavo šuo
their friends
jų draugai
our nationality
mūsų tautybė
into the list of pronouns we have to add “savo”
savo is a bit unusual
you use savo to express possession according to the subject of the sentence
back in episode 23 we learned how to say, “I really love my wife” – “aš labai myliu savo žmoną.”
žmona is vardininkas for a wife or the wife
why don’t we say, aš myliu mano žmoną?
right, that would be wrong
I love my wife
myliu savo žmoną – is correct
myliu mano žmoną – is incorrect – why?
let’s create a simple sentence - I see my wife
my wife can be translated as, mano žmona
I see, is translated as, aš matau
So, in order to say, I see my wife, you might be tempted to say, aš matau mano žmoną. That’s perfectly logical – but it’s wrong. The reason is that in Lithuanian, when we talk about possession, such as, my wife, his wife, your wife, etcetera, we have to be aware of the subject of the sentence.
I see my wife.
In this sentence, my wife, is the object which receives the action of the verb – to see.
My wife is being seen.
The subject is I.
I am the subject and my wife is the object, who is being seen.
I see my wife.
In this sentence “I” and “my” have a lot in common. Both words refer to me. In English, I see my wife sounds fine but in Lithuanian this is unnecessary repetiton.
Since we started the sentence with, I see – aš matau, we don’t need to say, “mano žmoną.”
Here we use the word savo in place of mano and the meaning is clear.
I see my wife
aš matau savo žmoną
We don’t want to repeat a reference to the subject of the sentence which in this case is “I.”
Here are some more examples but first some new words:
a key
raktas
a hat
skrybėlė
to love
mylėti
I see my book
aš matau savo knygą
I see my books
aš matau savo knygas
I see my dog
aš matau savo šunį
I see my dogs
aš matau savo šunis
I see my house
aš matau savo namą
I see my houses
aš matau savo namus
I love my son
aš myliu savo sūnų
I love my sons
aš myliu savo sūnus
I love my job
aš myliu savo darbą
I love my jobs
aš myliu savo darbus
I have my key
aš turiu savo raktą
I have my keys
aš turiu savo raktus
I have my hat
aš turiu savo skrybėlę
I have my hats
aš turiu savo skrybėles
I have my shoe
aš turiu savo batą
I have my shoes
aš turiu savo batus
so, for example, let's say, “we love our country”
here we’re talking about “we love - mylime” - “our country – savo šalį”
both the subject – we, and the object – our country, agree
we love our country – mylime savo šalį
we would not say, “mylime mūsų šalį”
this would be unnecessary repetiton
we love our country – mylime savo šalį
here are some examples of sentences where the subject and the object of the sentence agree, but first, some new words:
vocabulary
žodynas
a camera
fotoaparatas
a coat
paltas
a ticket
bilietas
to visit
aplankyti
do you have your key?
ar turite savo raktą?
do you have your camera?
ar turite savo fotoaparatą?
Algis with his family live here
Algis su savo šeima gyvena čia
Valdemaras with his dog live here
Valdemaras su savo šuniu gyvena čia
Neringa lives in her flat
Neringa gyvena savo bute
Justina lives in her house
Justina gyvena savo name
we love our country
mylime savo šalį
we love our language
mylime savo kalbą
Diana and Natalija visit their mother
Diana ir Natalija aplanko savo motiną
Agnė and Edita visit their family
Agnė ir Edita aplanko savo šeimą
she has her coat
ji turi savo paltą
she has her ticket
ji turi savo bilietą
Now here are some examples where the subject and the object don’t agree. In these examples we wouldn’t use savo. First, some vocabulary…
a magazine
žurnalas
a party
vakarėlis
I have your book
aš turiu tavo knygą
I have her book
aš turiu jos knygą
you have my book
tu turi mano knygą
you have our book
tu turi mūsų knygą
Agnė hugs my daughter
Agnė apkabina mano dukrą
Andrius is calling your brother
Andrius skambina tavo broliui
Andrius is calling her brother
Andrius skambina jos broliui
are you reading his magazine?
ar skaitote jo žurnalą?
are you reading my magazine?
ar skaitote mano žurnalą?
I am going to your party
važiuoju į tavo vakarėlį
I am going to their party
važiuoju į jų vakarėlį
now let’s mix them up
I’m living my life
aš gyvenu savo gyvenimą
I’m drinking his beer
aš geriu jo alų
she is living her own life
ji gyvena savo gyvenimą
she is eating his pizza
ji valgo jo picą
he is living his own life
jis gyvena savo gyvenimą
he is eating her sandwich
jis valgo jos sumuštinį
we are living in our flat
gyvename savo bute
we are living in their flat
gyvename jų bute
Šaunuoliai!! Great! You made it to the end of another episode! Puiku! Excellent!