Baturin ... pray ... request ... please ...

at school did a research
about Nikolai Baturin
who is still one
of my favourite Estonian poets.

He has even a homepage
even partly in English,
but no translations of poems.

Some examples of his poems in Estonian
can be found by link 'Luulekogud'
(collections (kogud) of poetry (luule))
on http://www.baturin.pri.ee/
(the first one in a really old version of Estonian language
that is quite difficult to understand
for young Estonians too).

One example (nicely translatable):
Kui oskaks (if one could) palvetada (to pray)
nagu (like) valetada (to lie),
paneks (would put) käed (hands) kokku (together),
paluks (would request) mäed (mountains) kokku (together).

ok - the last 'kokku (together)'
is quite untranslatable.
it's not like
'would ask the mountains to come together'
but more like
'would ask huge mountains of everything i'd ever want to be mine'.

similarity of the words 'palvetada' (to pray)
and 'paluda' (to ask/request
(in the poem the form 'paluks'
with the -ks ending as 'would')).

the first form of the word 'paluma'
is 'palun' (direct translation 'I ask/request')
that means also the English word 'please'
and is one of the two most important words
to teach to polite children
- the other on is of course
'tänan/aitähh' (thanks).

The word 'palun' is used mostly in 2 kinds of situations -
when one wants something ('please give me')
and when one gives something to someone
(like 'palun anna (give me) ...'
- 'palun' (when giving the thing asked)
- 'tänan' (when taking the thing given).

I'm not sure
whether in English
'please' is used when giving sth
or then rather more 'here you go/are' or sth like that.

and also I don't know
what are the old roots
of the English word 'please'
but in Estonian
it is obviously connected with the
in-English-differently-sounding words
'palvetama' ('to pray' like 'God please give me...')
and 'paluma' ('to ask/request' like 'anyone, please give me...').

and 'paluma' (to ask/request) is often used
instead of 'palvetama' (to pray)
- some people say 'palvetama' (to pray)
some people say 'jumalat paluma' (to ask/request the God).

but we don't say 'palvetama' (to pray)
in situations
not connected with God
and we don't say 'jumalat palvetama',
but we sometimes say 'palvetama Jumala poole'
(to pray towards the God).

well, I'm really amazed
that English people have invented
3 absolutely different words (to pray, to request, please)
for the concepts
so closely connected
in Estonian :)

and I think you are very right
that in Estonia
singing/lyrics/poetry/literature
has been a way
of showing
identity
and independence.

could never put it
in words
so simply
myself :)

___
poem by Nikolai Baturin

translations ... explanations ... contemplations ... by Katrin
photo by Ian in Wales 2010