Märkmeid semiootika ajaloost Eestis: semiootika 20. sajandi alguse eestikeelses trükisõnas
Notes on the history of semiotics in Estonia: Semiotics in printed publications in Estonian at the beginning of the 20th-century print medium

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the study was to find out when and in which context ‘semiotics’ or ‘semiology’ were introduced into Estonian in print. The term 'semiotics' was first used in medicine in the 17th century, and at least from the beginning of the 19th century, it was taught at the University of Tartu. Yet, the working language of the university was German until 1919. Still, we might suspect that medicine was the context where ‘semiotics’ first appeared in Estonian. Alternatively, we might consider linguistics as the context where the word was introduced into Estonian since the structural linguistics that emerged at the beginning of 20th century were one of the starting points for contemporary semiotics. However, the study revealed that neither of those contexts was where semiotics was first introduced into Estonian. In the print media at the beginning of 20th century, ‘semiotics’ can be found in two somewhat unsuspected contexts: philosophy (and psychology) and film art (and theatre). The paper gives an overview of when and how semiotics appeared in those four contexts. However, the results of the study should be taken as preliminary since it was based on the digitised materials available in the databases and digital repositories of the Estonian National Library, the University of Tartu, and Tallinn University. Since Estonian printed publications from the period under consideration have only been partially digitised, a more inclusive and systematic study could lead to new findings. In terms of studying when semiotics first appeared in the Estonian language, one should also consider the study of manuscripts stored in various archives. Furthermore, this current study can be regarded as preliminary work that has identified the main contexts where semiotics appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and from where to look for further findings in the future.

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