CONCEPT OF CRANE IN LATGALIAN CULTURAL SPACE

As modern science is increasingly seeking to look across the boundaries of one branch and become interdisciplinary, linguacultural approach, comprising more than one scientific discipline, makes research more widespread and more practical, and with the increase of the role of technologies in human life, the way of life changes and the need for anthropological research arises that directly or indirectly enables modern man to maintain the system of values and to create an orderly environment, understanding the regularities of its formation. Exploring the cultural landscape, the human connection with the environment is studied, and such approach is both anthropocentric and interdisciplinary, and today it has gained a broad perspective. The article is based on the understanding of linguacultural concept, and bird is viewed as a concept of cultural identity of Latgale, analysed in its semantic and symbolic manifestations in the context of the cultural landscape of Latgale. Although the study has been carried out on several species of birds (crane, mallard, stork, raven and hawk), this article will focus on the concept of crane. To discover the concept of crane in its diversity, it is seen at three levels, according to the perception of the lexeme crane in folklore, Latgalian literature and the modern social sphere, mainly in place names or names of organizations. In the sources of folklore crane was identified 35 times. Of these, 18 times it was mentioned in folk songs, it was present only in two fairy tales (in one fairy tale the word crane may be repeated many times), as well as in 3 parables, which include one belief and two proverbs. In folk songs, to describe crane, the external characteristics of the bird are emphasized, the physical field of verbs dominates, characteristic features – the long beak and legs. In folk songs the beauty of crane is often used as a comparison to describe an externally handsome young woman or man who lives a life that does not match the morality of the time: if they do not want to marry; if they do not live with honour; or if they live unwisely, etc. This exclusion of a person is described in comparison with the frequent location of cranes (most often young women, less often young men) – a swamp, a marshland. In other folk songs, the long legs of the crane are praised, which help it to wade through the bog. It should be noted that in folklore crane very rarely (only in two units) is referred to as a bird of passage. In folk tales (lexeme crane found in 2 folk tales) the meaning of this lexeme changes: the bird teaches the fox a lesson; also a motif appears in which a boy makes a wooden crane that serves as a vehicle. In general, in folk songs, the meaning of this bird is much more extensive in comparison to other genres, not only the lexical meaning appears but also the meaning transfer, therefore it is possible to acknowledge the formation of the concept of crane. In the sources of Latgalian literature, lexeme crane was identified in 24 word uses in eight sources of literature, suggesting that in literature this is a relatively commonly used image or artistic language means. In the excerpted material, the word crane appears 17 times in the semantic function of the subject, four times in the function of the object and three times in the semantic function of a sign. It is possible to find that in the contemporary Latgalian literature the perception of crane has lost its exactness, at the same time there is a vast emphasis on the meaning of the semantics of the bird of passage in the image of crane, which has not been emphasized in folklore, also there is an obvious association with exiles returning to Latvia after the restoration of independence. This image in action semantically has kept the same fields – the physical and the social, which are also evident in folklore, however, by analysing it in more detail, there are changes of the abovementioned meanings at the symbolic and allegorical level. The signs also indicate that perception of the image of crane in contemporary Latgalian literature, which was found in folklore, has basically been lost. The name of crane is quite often used in the names of companies and place names. It is not evident that in this sphere crane has any symbolic meaning, as the main reason for its use is crane’s habitat, but the variety of its names indicates that the image of crane is lively and changeable.

FRAZEOLOGY IN DANSKOVĪTE’S PLAYS

Frequently used phrases in Danskovīte’ plays help to create a typical cultural landscape of Latgale, at the same time a wide range of stylistically expressive vocabulary, most often verbal phrases, and the predominance of poetic comparisons outline the individual writing style of this author. Dramatic work of Danskovīte, which is chosen as the source of phraseology of the research in question, is an area that has not been explored until now. The source of the research consists of 15 plays, 10 of which are available to the readers, “Ontans i Anne” (5 parts), “Sīvasmuotes senču laiki” (3 parts), “Tāva meitas” and “Duorgīs pierkums” (Danskovīte 2008) and five manuscripts of plays: “Lauku kūrorts pilsātnīkim”, “Ontans i rodne”, “Ontans i sābri”, “Ontans i Zīmassvātki” and “Prece ai zatanu”. The aim of the research is to analyse the language of Danskovīte”s plays (phraseology, comparisons, stylistically expressive lexis), revealing the dominant features of the comic. In order to analyse the language of the comic and the features of language as a cultural phenomenon, the linguacultural approach was selected and studies in phraseology were applied. In its turn, the method of receptive aesthetics was used for questionnaires in order to find out the attitude of the respondents towards the plays of Danskovīte, their popularity, as well as to highlight the most characteristic elements of the comic, since, in accordance with the basic principles of receptive aesthetics, text does not have a single meaning – the meaning is formed in the process of interaction between the text and the reader, and a literary work exists as a literary work only in the process of reading and perception and helps to understand that the text is rooted in the communication system and depends on the functioning of the society. For this study, phraseological equivalents in the Latgalian language were searched in “Kalupes izloksnes vārdnīca” (Dictionary of Kalupe vernacular, 1998), in the materials of the Congress of Latgalistics and in the “Latgolys lingvoteritorialo vuordineica” (Latgale lingvoterritorial dictionary, 2012). In the Latvian literary language, however, phraseological equivalents are sought in the Kārlis Mīlenbahs’ and Jānis Endzelīns’ “Latviešu valodas vārdnīcā” (Dictionary of the Latvian language) (1923–1932) and “Latviešu valodas frazeoloģijas vārdnīca” (Dictionary of Latvian phraseology, 2000). In the plays of Danskovīte, about 250 phraseological expressions are excerpted, of which 40% are constructions made by author’s lexical modifications, 31% –traditionally used phraseological units, 23.3% – author’s idioms, 2.4% – author’s semantic modifications, 3.3% – author’s grammatical modifications. It should be noted that 42% of all excerpted units are constructions that include comparisons, where the most part includes a component that identifies a feature from the world of animals, often ascribing animal conduct and properties to a person. Authors’ idioms are used occasionally, functioning only in literary works of the given writer, and they do not have equivalents in the phraseology of the Latvian or other languages. The study of modifications of phraseological units is important in view of the fact that such idioms in the plays of Danskovīte make up about 70% of the total number of all types of set phrases in general; only 30 phraseological units exist in a standardized form, thus most of the existing set phrases in Danskovīte’s plays form the transformations of prescriptive phraseology of all kinds – grammatical, lexical and semantical. The number of modifications includes author’s own phraseology – idioms, which determine the formation of the phraseological expression and specific style of writing. Conceptually, prescriptive phraseological units are understood in terms of stable and traditionally established word combinations, the common meaning of which is different from the meaning of individual components of the phrase. The main methods of creating comic effect in terms of prescriptive phraseology are mostly comparisons, for example, kuo cītumnīks (like a prisoner), kuo bomzs (like a beggar), kuo iz pasyutiejuma (by order), kuo diele (like a leech), kuo myusa (like a fly), kuo troks (like mad). There are also other methods at the basis of the phraseology of Danskovīte’s plays, but it is difficult to find a common characteristics, since their differences are nuanced and context specific. Viewing the lexical modifications by keyword, it is obvious that combinations with the components of tongue, head and eye are represented most often. The second type of transformations consists of phraseological units, which change the grammatical features in author’s language. As already mentioned, they are fewer in number. One of the characteristics of the grammatical modifications is the addition of prefixes that deny the activity specific to the object or subject, or, on the contrary, reinforce such activity, for example, like in the phraseological unit borrowed from Russian: наступить на хвост > iz astes (na)izkuopt. Semantic variations change the meaning of phraseological units, although any modification more or less strongly promotes the departure of the idiom from its main meaning registered in dictionaries, however, this modification is more pronounced in terms of the change of meaning. Analysed in this study are the semantic modifications of phraseological units: kuo syvāns (like a piglet) and kuo bārns (like a child). Danskovīte applies several ways of creating comic effect: misapprehension and comic action and behaviour revealed in a grotesque manner; exaggeration and comic language, peculiarities of pronunciation, associations, epitomized language and misunderstandings.

LATGALIAN PLACE NAMES AND PERSONAL NAMES IN THE CONTEXT OF LIVONIA IN THE 1599 POLISH CENSUS

The 1599 Inflanty census materials published in 1915 by Polish historians Jan Jakubowski and Józef Kordzikowski are abundant and in some ways a unique source of place names and personal names of the 16th century that reveal Latgalian personal names and place names of that time within the context of Livonia. The document relates to 13 castle areas, covering a large part of the present territory of Latgale, Vidzeme and Estonia. It is based on a uniform methodology and at one time, therefore, it is possible to compare the castle areas with each other, and, taking into account the succeeding historical events, to judge about the further development of the place names and personal names (eventually – family names) in Vidzeme and Latgale. The purpose of the research: 1) to compare the onomastic material of the 1599 census with the contemporary map, to attempt to restore the geography of the mentioned castle areas, to identify the earliest possible place names and family names preserved to the present day; 2) with the help of other 16th and 17th century sources, to attempt to formulate the different regularities of the formation of a place names and family names in Vidzeme and Latgale, especially viewing Latgale against the background of Livonia. This mainly refers to differences in the structure of the population (farmsteads in Vidzeme and villages in Latgale), as well as the different development of family names (there was no such campaign of awarding surnames in Latgale as there was in Vidzeme after the abolition of serfdom in the 19th century, because in Latgale family names already existed at that time). Consequently, the 1599 document may help to find out whether these differences have appeared later as a result of living in different (Polish, Swedish) cultural spaces, or maybe they have some older roots related to the time before the division of Livonia. The analysis of the material was carried out with the help of Excel software (data structuring, selection, collection and processing of statistical data). The cartographic method is applied to seek correlation between the proper names mentioned in the 1599 census and modern place names in Latgale and Vidzeme; for comparison a brief overview into the descriptions of Estonian castle areas is given. It is concluded that the descriptions of the castle areas of the Latvian part of Livonia – Latgale and Vidzeme – are similar in some respects, but differ greatly from the descriptions of the Estonian castle areas: in the Latvian part villages are mentioned occasionally, but in Estonia the territory is mostly structured in villages, and the names of these villages are still recognizable on a contemporary map. Unlike the names of farmsteads in Vidzeme, many village names in modern Latgale have apparently appeared in later centuries, but the structure of population in Latgale and Vidzeme in the 16th century was similar: a number of small scattered groups of homes, which later grew into villages as the number of inhabitants increased in Latgale. There are surprisingly many family/ place names in both Latgale and Vidzeme, for example, Beitāni/ Beitēni, Beiti, Brici, Breidaki/ Brīdaki, Dauguļi, Panķāni, Prikņi, which may be evidence of some common “space” in which these names were formed. On the contemporary map of Vidzeme one can find even more “footprints” of the proper names mentioned in 1599 than in Latgale. Perhaps this can be explained by documentation and mapping of homes in the 17th century Swedish censuses. In Latgale, an intensive formation of single name populated areas took place in the 18th century, in addition, the first large scale mapping was carried out one century later than in Vidzeme – in 1784. The beginnings of family names appear to have been alike throughout Livonia. In 1599 the Polish and in 1601 the Swedes still continue the habit started in Livonia to write alongside the christened name some qualifying name that could be shared by a larger group of people such as the family. After the division of Livonia in the Polish Inflanty, they continued to develop in the same way as in Poland and Lithuania, while in the Swedish Vidzeme apparently more attention was paid to place names while a large part of the population remained without family names.

IN SEARCH OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF LATGALIANS: CONCEPT “HEART” IN LATGALIAN FOLK-TALES

Emotional intelligence, according to the theory of emotional intelligence developed by American researchers Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, is a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action. When attributed to different social groups (age, profession, gender, ethnicity, etc.), emotional intelligence theory helps to identify specific mental peculiarities that are characteristic to a group, assess the group's communicative competence and predict reactions. The aim of the paper is to identify the dominant emotional intelligence patterns of Latgalians reflected in Latgalian folk-tales through the usage of a lexeme “heart”. As the source of the research the author has chosen 949 Latgalian folk-tales included in P. Schmit's (P. Šmits) collection “Latviešu tautas pasakas un teikas” (Latvian folk-tales and legends). From the selected folk-tales, a Latgalian folk-tale corpus was created, which for the purpose of acquiring of statistical data was processed in MonoConc Pro software. From the Latgalian folk-tale corpus 124 folk-tales were retrieved, where the usage of the word “heart” was identified 211 times. The research is based on the theory of cognitive linguistics regarding research methods of national concepts, based on the semantic cognitive approach, where the concept of analysis is divided into three main stages: the definition of the nominal field of the concept, the semantic-cognitive interpretation of the linguistic means and verification of the acquired cognitive characteristics. According to the theory of Z. Popova and J. Sternin, cognitive interpretation is a process of modelling of a concept as a unit of cognitive mental consciousness that is based on the acquired linguistic data. The classification of emotions in the paper is based on the theory of American psychologist R. Plutchik regarding eight main emotions: anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust and joy, all of which perform the function of adaptation. The summary of nominal field units on the concept “heart” gives ground to conclude that the most commonly mentioned emotion in Latgalian folk-tales is anger, which indicates mechanisms of defence while shaping the image of the enemy. Another most extensively represented emotion in Latgalian folk-tales is joy, which includes 33 heart-related positive emotions: sincerity, mercy, goodness, happiness, simplicity, etc. This emotion refers to individuals who have gained sympathy of the nation and are identified as those who belong to the community. According to the theory of R. Plutchik, joy is a psychological defence mechanism that turns a self-unacceptable behaviour, thought or feeling into a complete opposite. Emotion of joy is an affirmation of altruism, puritanism, conscientiousness, morality and acknowledgment of showing good behaviour. The third largest group among major emotions refers to the expression of sadness and sorrow (11 cases), which represents such psychological characteristics as shyness, passivity, apathy, conformity, obedience, and wish to go over painful past events. From the point of view of emotional intelligence, the concept of “heart” in Latgalian folk-tales is revealed as a repository of emotions, which, according to the theory of P. Salovey and J. Mayer, allows to interpret the degree of assessment and manifestation of one’s group emotions, the ability to assess and recognize other groups’ emotions, regulation of one’s own emotions and, finally, their application to improve one’s performance. Folk-tales show that in the context of the concept “heart” assessment of emotions of other groups is prevalent, basically emphasizing the negative qualities of social opponents, which result in variously described extensive emotions of anger. In the characterization of emotions of one’s own group, a more varied, but at the same time less described gamut of emotions dominates, where an ambivalent range of feelings predominantly of joy and sorrow are reflected. If there is no compromise in the revelation of the emotions of anger (angry characters, as anticipated by the righteous standards of a folk-tale, get the punishment they deserve), then the emotion of joy sometimes undergoes some fluctuations or even doubts about the true motivation and understanding of this emotion of joy. The story-line of a folk-tale does not reveal any significant activity regarding the regulation of the emotions of one's group. A folk-tale, mainly based on the polarities of one’s own and foreign, good and evil, shows how one-of-their-own (usually a low-stratum hero) is earning a satisfaction he has deserved.

CRIMINALITY IN LATGALE IN THE REFLECTION OF THE NEWSPAPER “LATGOLAS WÒRDS” (1919–1921)

After the end of the Latvian War of Liberation (1918–1920) and the liberation of Latgale from the Bolsheviks, everyday life started to improve gradually, however, due to various objective circumstances (the geographical position – the border with the Soviet Russia, the presence of various criminal elements, relocation of refugees and several socio-economic factors such as unemployment, poverty, etc.), the region was still highly criminal. Processes and events including criminal offenses occurring in the territory of Latvia were reflected in various state and regional newspapers. The largest regional newspaper was “Latgolas Wòrds”, published by the Latgalian Christian Farmers’ Union, which eventually became an independent source of information for a large part of the population of Latgale. The aim of the study is to identify the main trends of criminality in the territory of Latgale as reflected in the newspaper “Latgolas Wòrds” (1921–1921). The content of publications under analysis indicates that there were various crimes committed (including murder, robbery, theft, etc.); the selected publications also reveal the overall socio-economic situation in the region during this period. The rapid spread of crime in the rural areas testifies to the socio-economic problems experienced by the population of Latgale (unemployment, devastated farms, the overall food deficit, etc.). Similarly, the publications outline the social portrait of criminals: among them there were socially disadvantaged people (rural population, etc.) and servicemen of different armies. Active or passive participation of certain social groups (soldiers, police officers, etc.) in committing crimes indicates not only certain problems in the activities of the Latgalian security institutions, but also in the general trends typical of the Latvian state on the whole. It should be noted that the news displayed in the newspaper can hardly be perceived as an opinion of the general public, but rather as an interpretation of events by a certain group or its representatives.

IMAGES OF VILIS DZĒRVINĪKS’ POETRY

Vilis Dzērvinīks (1959–2007) is a bright Latgalian poet of the 1990s and the verge of centuries. V. Dzērvinīks has published five collections of poetry: „Sidrabainas asaru lāsītes” (Silver tear drops, 1992), „Laimeigu īsadūmōt” (To imagine being happy, 2001), „Voi moz lidmašīnu kreit” (Are there not many planes falling, 2003), „Upers” (Sacrifice, 2006), and posthumously– „Storp pērstim blusa trynās” (A flea is rubbing between fingers, 2008). V. Dzērvinīks wrote in vers libre, following the 1990s quest for modernity, at the same time the elements of rhythm, concentration of expression and word are preserved to reveal different principles of modernity. V. Dzērvinīks displays rich and cultivated Latgalian, in which he discloses ironically his experiences to the reader, who may be fluent not only in the Latgalian language. The aim of the particular research is to reveal the role of the image of the eye, day or life in the poetry of V. Dzērvinīks’ from both literary and linguistic point of view. The sources of the research are so far not analysed V. Dzērvinīks’ collections of poetry: „Sidrabainas asaru lāsītes” (1992) and „Storp pērstim blusa trynās” (2008). The author of this research has determined six most concentrated images in V. Dzērvinīks’ poetry collections – „Laimeigu īsadūmōt” (2001), „Voi moz lidmašinu kreit” (2003), „Upers” (2006). They are the following: eye, day, life, time, heart and word. The most commonly used images in Dzērvinīks’ poetry collections were also identified with the help of AntConc program; no significant differences were observed in dominating images, only conceptual and semantic distinctions, which enable us to judge about the basic values of V. Dzērvinīks’ poetry and the relationship of the lyrical person towards the world and himself. The semantic and symbolic meaning of images is revealed and the syntagmatic attitudes and semantic roles of images are studied. The research is based on the method of structural semiotics (Jurij Lotman, Jurij Tinanov and Ruta Veidemane). Although the author uses various compositional structures in collections of poetry „Sidrabainas asaru lāsītes” (1992) and „Storp pērstim blusa trynās” (2008), they share several themes of experience: politics and social problems, love poetry and philosophy of life. The distinction is marked by the change of the epoch and is reflected in the mood of poems; in the first collection of poems, the author in a separate chapter retrieves memories about his childhood, country house and here is also a chapter that can be called poet's confession. One of the central meanings of the image of the eye is the symbol of the spiritual vision or blindness, an indicator of feelings and emotions; therefore, the image of the eye is revealed directly in philosophical and love poetry, where not reason is necessary but soul; in politics there is no room for emotions and feelings, therefore the use of the eye image in socio-political poems is minimal. In spite of the great time difference between collections of poetry „Sidrabainas asaru lāsītes” (1992) and „Storp pērstim blusa trynās” (2008), the image of the day is most significant in the chapters of poetry about life philosophy; the lyrical person perceives it as an endless routine, a time loop that never changes. Almost all chapters in both collections are interwoven by such mood except the chapter of love poetry in the first collection. The image of life in all parts of the collections are revealed in a rather uniform way – the life of the lyrical person is full of pain and disappointment, there is no consolation even in love; the means by which lyrical person describes life are stylistically diverse, creative and artistically bright and nuanced. Evaluation of the collection of poems not only in terms of content but also the form reveals that in „Sidrabainas asaru lāsītes” (1992) the author applies various forms – traditional forms and vers libre, as well as more varied syntactic and stylistic figures, also found in syntagmatic analysis. The poems written in Latvian are more varied in form, because those written in Latgalian are on soul-related topics, where continuity and unambiguousness of thought are important, and thus there are fewer attempts to search for new meanings or use of unexpected tropes. In the collection „Storp pērstim blusa trynās” (2008), the author has almost abandoned stylistic figures and vers libre, focusing on irony and imaginative language as the main means of expression. Poetry is only in Latgalian and it is dominated by the search for the meaning of life and the growing disillusionment of the lyrical person with his time, life and love.

SEMANTICS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE IN NOVEL “PĪTERS VYLĀNS” BY ČENČU JEZUPS

Physical violence is a social phenomenon, which is mostly connected with human psychology. There are two main instincts typical of human beings: instinct of life and instinct of death. Violence is one of death instincts. Čenču Jezups (real name Jezups Kindzuļs, 1888–1941?) was a Latgalian public figure, agronomist, publicist and writer. His novel “Pīters Vylāns” is written about 1905 Russian Revolution, which also occurred in the territory of Latvia and Latgale and was one of the most forcible periods in the history of Latvia during the 20th century. Bearing in mind that language is always linked with thinking and language usage reflects author’s view of the world, the aim of this research is to analyse semantics of lexis connected with physical violence. The author of this research has selected the methods of semantic field theory, linguacultural approach, and analysis of semantic components. There is much discussion about meaning in linguistics and semantics, which shows that semantic analysis is often a subjective process depending on researcher’s interpretation. To obtain reliable results, this research is based on the theory about semantic roles and how they display physical violence. Major or core semantic roles are Aggressor, Victim and Cause. The author of this research is interested in interpersonal physical violence, which appears in novel “Pīters Vylāns” as Subjects or Objects of physical violence. There are several functional levels of physical violence lexis: 1) it is actualized in context with 1905 Russian Revolution; 2) it is a way, how to give a masculine voice in novel; 3) subjects and objects of psychical violence are interacting; 4) it demonstrates some features of patriarchal thinking. A number of verbs are used to describe violence, which means that violence is very active and it includes lot of persons as aggressors or victims, or both. In some cases subjects of physical violence are anonymous. Usage of pronouns is also important, because they help to describe violence. For example, “I” as storyteller , “you” in dialogue function, “he” or “she” as the third person or somebody and “we” as group of aggressors or victims. Domestic violence is directed to husband or wife and mostly it is described as men’s power over women, but in some cases also women are aggressors.

SYMMETRY OF CHRACTERS IN INGA ĀBELE’S NOVEL “KLŪGU MŪKS”

The prototype of the central character in Inga Ābele’s (1972) award winning novel “Klūgu mūks” (Wicker Monk, 2014) is Francis Trasuns (1864–1926), a well-known Latgalian patriot, catholic priest, politician, cultural and social figure and writer. The novel is set at the end of 19th century and early 20th century, during the time of the National Awakening. F. Trasuns was one of the most significant personalities in the history of the first Latgalian awakening in St Petersburg. He contributed greatly to the creation and promotion of Latgalian self-confidence, spiritual and cultural development and political growth. He was the first Latgalian ever to be elected to the national parliament – State Duma of the Russian Empire. The private life of F. Trasuns was dramatic, difficult and marked by conflicts. On September 20, 1925, he was officially excommunicated – banished from the Catholic Church. He was accused of arrogance, defiance of his religious authorities, wearing civilian clothes and concubinage. The myth about F. Trasuns enjoying undivided social support in the last years of his life emerged soon after his death, when he became a symbol of struggle against ignorance and blind devotion to clerical dogmas. The educational and literary heritage of F. Trasuns (sketches, literary portraits, poems, a play, translations and feuilletons) should be understood as commentaries to his views, convictions and activities. The cultural philosophy of Richard Rorty and Euclid’s five geometrical axioms were used in the analysis of the novel to prove the symmetry of relationship between men and women characters. The symmetry of characters is revealed through the metaphor of wicker weaving (for example, a basket) that expresses many meanings including a parallel, cross, circle etc. Wicker weaving in the novel symbolises the product of a natural material and human work – interaction of nature and culture – the main condition for the existence of a small nation.

CONCEPT OF LATGALE IN LYRICS OF LATGALIAN SCHLAGER MUSIC BANDS

The visibility and success of Latgalian schlager groups in Latvia are of interest not only due to music composed by these groups, but even more regarding lyrics created by these musical associations, and especially concerning their relation to Latgale. The aim of the research is to describe the manifestations of the concept of Latgale in the lyrics of Latgalian schlager groups. The object of the research is the concept of Latgale, the subject of the study consists of the texts of Latgalian schlager groups (“Patrioti.lg”, “Galaktika”, “Ginc un Es”, etc.). The source of the study is 12 albums that have come out over the period of ten years (2008–2017). Both Latgalian (the Latvian language of Latgale) and Latvian texts are discussed. Latgalian groups sing about the same themes that are covered around the world – love, everyday life, reflection, quest for the sense of life, etc. The concept of Latgale is among them too. Taking into account that the term concept is often used in different linguistic and cultural spheres and its limits of understanding are quite extensive, in this study it is used in the linguacultural sense, i.e., concept is a unit of collective consciousness guiding towards higher spiritual values, which is linguistically expressive and which possesses ethno cultural features (Аngelova 2004). The first discoverer of the concept of Latgale is language. In this research it is the Latgalian language consistently used by some groups, for example, “Patrioti.lg”; also the last album of duet Inga and Normunds (2015) is completely in Latgalian, while other artists (“Galaktika”, “Ginc un Es”) use Latgalian lyrics only in separate songs written either by musicians themselves or by poets. In any case, at least some songs in Latgalian included in an album are positive examples of the liveliness and functionality of language. Geographical names are rather widely represented in the lyrics and serve as a confirmation of the territorial identity of Latgale. Several titles directly include an indication to Latgale, for example, the titles of the following albums – “Munai Latgolai”, “Latgaleite”, or the names of songs – “Latgale”, “Munai Latgolai”, etc. Latgale’s most famous geographical objects associated with our region in the rest of Latvia are mentioned in schlager songs. For example, Latgale’s largest lakes Rāzna and Lubāns, the river Daugava, the hills – Liepukalns, Mākoņkalns. The naming of geographic objects is inextricably linked with the sense of homeland. The lyrics of these songs acknowledge patriotism and pride about our land or region, partly attributable to the mentioned geographical objects; however, the manifestation of the concept of Latgale is often expressed in descriptive terms. Several authors successfully use the symbols of Latgale, thus influencing the listener’s awareness even more, for example, Latgale as the land of blue lakes – a traditional and positive stereotype of the region. Latgale is closely associated with Latgalians’ belief in God due to the strong Catholic traditions. Authors of lyrics include religious motifs truly believing in their hearts or emphasizing religious themes on purpose in order to particularly impress people of middle and older generation who make up one of the main parts of target audience. The song lyrics written by poets (Ineta Atpile-Jugane, Leontīne Apšeniece, etc.) stand out for their artistic and ideological qualities in contrast to texts created by musicians themselves. In their poetry too there is a call to stay, live and work in Latgale. It should be considered a positive trait that Latgale is not shown as a wictim, but it is a place that symbolizes hope and patriotism. As the main function of schlager music is entertaining the listeners, a number of texts depict cheerful social and party situations where beer belongs as one of the unwritten symbols of Latgale and Latvia. Also a significant part of Latgale is song, which gives strength and unites people. The portrayal of Latgale in lyrics mostly invokes nostalgic and positive emotions, confirming Latgalian values and objects that are known to common listeners.

CONTRIBUTION OF LATGALE LAWYERS TO FOUNDATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE UNTIL 1940

Society, the state, and the law – these are the three interrelated interacting institutions. From the society comes the initiative for the foundation of the state. The society may be strongly motivated in this process or it may follow the dream of independence intuitively. The state then creates the legal system for organization of the society and the existence of the state. Active representatives of the society who participate in the foundation, formation and strengthening of the state make an integral part of this process. These are representatives of different occupations – clergymen, writers, cultural figures, lawyers, etc. The aim of this research is to study the contribution of the lawyers of Latgale to the foundation of the Republic of Latvia and its development until 1940. Literature that covers three fields has been used in the research. First of all, this is the literature on the most important historical facts of Latvia and Latgale about the period of the First Free Republic of Latvia, finding the most active people who participated in these events. Secondly, literature about the 1917 Latgale Congress is analysed in the study, considering its significance in the foundation of the State and summarising its participants. Thirdly, literature about lives of these participants was studied, analysing their origin, relation to legal education and assessing the contribution of the representatives of Latgale justice system to the foundation and development of the State until 1940. The following research methods are used in the study: analytical, historical and systemic methods. The National Awakening of Latgale is traditionally associated with the period from 1904 until 1917, that is, from the lifting of the printing ban until Latgale Congress in Rēzekne on May 9 and 10, 1917. However, the supported opinion that the Awakening of Latgale has been already initiated between the 60s and the 80s of the 19th century is expressed more and more convincingly. In this period considerable activities of the Latgalian spirit are felt that led to freedom from the status of the Inflanty of the Vitebsk Governorate and to acquiring the name of Latgale. Thus, two representatives of the Latgale system of justice are to be mentioned in this period – Gustavs Manteifelis and Pīters Miglinīks. The lawyers of Latgale made a significant contribution to the foundation and formation of the Republic of Latvia. At the 1917 Latgale Congress, the Provisional Land Council of Latgale was formed that together with the Provisional Land Councils of Vidzeme and Courland worked in the Latvian Provisional National Council, promoting the foundation of the Republic of Latvia. The lawyers of Latgale also participated in this congress and were elected to the Provisional Land Council of Latgale (for example, Jānis Grišāns, Antons Laizāns, Pāvils Laizāns, Juris Pabērzs), as well as worked in the government of the Republic of Latvia – holding high official positions (for example, J. Pabērzs (Minister of Justice, Minister of Social Welfare), Pauls Mincs (Minister of Labour), Antons Rancāns (Minister of Transportation)), and achieving notable success in their professional activities (for example, A. Laizāns, J. Grišāns, Broņislavs Trubiņš, etc.), thus strengthening the Republic of Latvia. Despite the limited financial, social and other opportunities of the people of Latgale at the time, a relatively large number (12 people) of legal representatives made a significant contribution to the foundation of the State. The lawyers of Latgale generally came from farmers’ families; this fact only testifies to their fighting spirit. Access to legal education was relatively difficult because the nearest educational institutions that offered it were the University of Saint Petersburg, the University of Moscow and the University of Tartu. And only at the end of the period under study, such education was offered at the University of Latvia. Still, the representatives of Latgale obtained academic legal education, even at the Master’s degree level. In one exceptional case, legal skills were self-taught (P. Miglinīks), besides, to an excellent level. This is confirmed by the achievements of this lawyer of Latgale in practical activity and the contribution to the formation of the State. The origins of Latgale lawyers of the period under study covered practically the whole of Latgale, because their places of birth were in the districts of Rēzekne, Daugavpils, and Ludza. Even though some of them left for work in Rīga, some of them stayed in Latgale; still, regardless of the place of residence, the connection with Latgale was not lost, but contribution to the formation of the state was made. The activity of the lawyers of Latgale in the period under study was diverse in its content, wide in its range, and directed at a common aim. Firstly, through their professional activity they provided legal services, being, for example, lawyers, notaries, legal advisors; as well as provided legal aid to society, for instance, translating the Russian law into the Latgalian language, representing in court pro bono. Secondly, the lawyers of Latgale held high official positions, for example, there were three ministers among them, as well as members of parliament, state controllers, and judges. Thirdly, they also actively performed public activity, for example, joining societies (including professional societies), participating in publication of newspapers and other printed matter, being writers, poets, and songwriters. The activity of the lawyers of Latgale covered not only the national scale of Latvia, but high achievements were made at the international level both in social (G. Manteifelis) and professional (P. Mincs) activity. Furthermore, they worked as jurists, for example, P. Mincs, whose work was published again in the modern times. The work of all lawyers of Latgale was directed at a common aim – state under the rule of law – by promoting its foundation and strengthening the newly formed State. The significant contribution of the lawyers of Latgale to the interest of the State is also confirmed by the high awards received. Firstly, for the contribution to the benefit of the Republic of Latvia, national awards were received, such as the Order of the Three Stars, The Cross of Recognition, Lāčplēsis Military Order, and the Cross of Merit of Aizsargi. Secondly, for achievements on the international level, high awards of other states were received such as the Hungarian Order of Merit, the Russian Cross of Saint George, the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, an honorary diploma of the Leipzig museum, thus with honour representing the name of Latvia abroad. The contribution of the lawyers of Latgale is significant – in the implementation of the National Awakening of Latgale, in the foundation of the Republic of Latvia, in the development and strengthening of the Republic of Latvia. These historical events significant to the Republic of Latvia occurred with active involvement of the lawyers of Latgale and their important contribution.