Multi-topics

As the founding director of the National Heritage Language Resource Center and the Heritage Language Journal, Olga Kagan has been a core figure in the development of the field of heritage language studies. By promoting both the creation of a foundational research base and specialized pedagogical training, she has played a seminal role in establishing effective methodologies that address the specific needs of heritage language learners.

The present volume seeks to pay homage to her work by bringing together heritage language specialists who work in various domains and with various languages. Following the model of her work, the editors aim to create bridges between pedagogical and linguistic research, and between researchers and practitioners.

This book is not about “things you always wanted to know about Polish but were afraid to ask,” but rather about “things about Polish you never imagined could be so interesting until Professor Rothstein began to talk about them.”

 - Oscar E. Swan

The present volume is a continuation to Rothstein’s first collection, Two Words to the Wise.  This edited collection of seventy-five of his columns deals with topics ranging from pierogi to pączki, from butterflies to ladybugs (and why the ladybug rejected a marriage proposal from a beetle), from the origins of the polka to the role of pineapples in Polish literature, from why death is portrayed as a woman in Polish folklore and poetry to why Polish folk wisdom claims that there are more doctors than anything else in the world. You don’t have to be Polish – or even know Polish – to enjoy the essays collected here.

Since July 2004 the author has been writing about Polish language, literature, and folklore for the Boston-based biweekly Biały Orzeł/White Eagle. Inspired by the calendar, by items in the Polish press, by his experience learning and teaching the Polish language, by new acquisitions for his home library, by questions from readers, and by serendipity, he has explored, among other things, the origins of words and expressions, the grammatical peculiarities of the language, and the reflections of everyday (and not so everyday) life in Polish proverbs and folksongs and in the works of great Polish writers.

Robert A. Rothstein is professor of Slavic and Judaic Studies and of Comparative Literature, and adjunct professor of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he also holds the Amesbury Professorship in Polish Language, Literature, and Culture and regularly teaches the Polish language. After studying mathematics and linguistics at MIT, he earned the Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard. He has published widely in the areas of Slavic linguistics, folklore, cultural history, and music. His contributions to Polish studies include the chapter on the Polish language for the Routledge handbook The Slavonic Languages and articles on the publicistic works of the great Polish linguist Jan Baudouin de Courtenay, on aspects of Polish syntax, on issues of sex and gender in the Polish language, as well as studies of mutual cultural and linguistic influences between Polish and Yiddish, and articles making use of Polish folkloric material. In 2013 he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Polish Republic by President Bronisław Komorowski in recognition of his work of more than four decades in supporting and promoting Polish culture.

Since July 2004 Robert Rothstein has been writing about Polish language, literature and folklore for the Boston-based biweekly Biały Orzeł/White Eagle. Inspired by the calender, by items in the Polish press, by his experience learning and teaching the Polish language, by new acquisitions for his home library, by questions from readers and by serendipity, he has explored, among other things, the origins of words and expressions, the grammatical peculiarities of the language and the reflections of everyday (and not so everyday) life in Polish proverbs and folksongs and in the works of great Polish writers. The present edited collection of seventy of his columns deals with topics ranging from why there is no country called Italia on Polish maps to why the word to the wise is not always sufficient; from names for the devil to what Polish turkeys have to do with India; from the language of flowers to the signs of the zodiac; from urban folksongs to why Polish is so difficult. You don't have to be Polish-or even know Polish- to enjoy the essays collected here.

Robert A. Rothstein is professor of Slavic and Judaic Studies and of Comparative Literature, and adjunct professor of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he also holds the Amesbury Professorship in Polish Language, Literature, and Culture and regularly teaches the Polish language. After studying mathematics and linguistics at MIT, he earned the Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard. He has published widely in the areas of Slavic linguistics, folklore, cultural history, and music. His contributions to Polish studies include the chapter on the Polish language for the Routledge handbook The Slavonic Languages and articles on the publicistic works of the great Polish linguist Jan Baudouin de Courtenay, on aspects of Polish syntax, on issues of sex and gender in the Polish language, as well as studies of mutual cultural and linguistic influences between Polish and Yiddish, and articles making use of Polish folkloric material. In 2013 he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Polish Republic by President Bronisław Komorowski in recognition of his work of more than four decades in supporting and promoting Polish culture.

The 2013 volume of American contributions to the quintennial series of international congresses bringing together the world's Slavists provides a representative sampling of current trends in Slavic literature, linguistics, and philology as practiced in the United States.

Here is the story of Vasily’s Island, the largest of the islands that make up St. Petersburg. While small in size, it has played a substantial role in several aspects of the city’s life since its founding in 1703, becoming above all its intellectual and educational center. Although little more than a glorified sandbar in the early eighteenth century, Vasily’s Island is where Peter the Great decided to locate his newly created Imperial Academy of Sciences. It also became home to the university, the naval academy, and a multitude of colleges, institutes, libraries, and museums. The Academy of Arts fostered a bohemian atmosphere that attracted Russia’s leading writers and composers as well as artists, forming a stark contrast to the island’s staid German community. As the arts blossomed on the east side, industry bloomed along the periphery, producing giants in shipbuilding, armaments, electronics, tobacco processing, and piano making. Spiritual life flowered as well. Along with numerous churches, the cluster of shrines and graveyards in the middle of the island have made it the spiritual heart of Peter’s town; St. Ksenia’s chapel, one of the holiest spots in Russian Orthodoxy, still draws pilgrims from afar. But despite its prominence, Vasily’s Island is also a place where ordinary people live. The quiet neighborhoods of its residential west side reflect the struggles and accomplishments typical of urban Russia as a whole. The pearl that lies in the shell of St. Petersburg resembles a self-sufficient miniature country, especially when the drawbridges go up at night to let the big ships through, and may be viewed as a microcosm of the nation to which it belongs.