91桃色

El墨za Paula Graudi艈a, a Master鈥檚 student in Intermedial Studies of Literature at 91桃色, speaks fluent Lithuanian 鈥� a language she admits she never expected would become such an important part of her life. "While choosing my studies, I didn鈥檛 even think about Lithuanian; at first, I didn鈥檛 like how it sounded. In fact, I actually planned to study Latvian language and culture," recalled El墨za.

However, her plans changed after a fateful meeting with Edmunds Trumpa, Head of the Centre for Lithuanian Studies at the University of Latvia, and a summer language course in Lithuania. Now, El墨za is pursuing her studies in Vilnius and starting to work on her Master鈥檚 thesis on the adaptation of the comic book 鈥楽ibiro haiku鈥� (鈥楽iberian Haiku鈥�) by Jurga Vil臈 and Lina Itagaki for Lithuanian and Latvian theatre.
Starting studies at the University of Latvia

El墨za Paula Graudi艈a started learning Lithuanian during her Bachelor studies in Baltic Philology at the University of Latvia. "During the first year, Lithuanian language seminars are compulsory for all students, but later, you can choose whether to continue. That is when I decided to deepen my knowledge of Lithuanian further," said the student.

To improve her skills, El墨za attended a Lithuanian language summer course organised by Vytautas Magnus University, yet studying remotely became a real challenge. "It wasn鈥檛 easy spending the entire summer studying on the computer, but it helped me stay in touch with the Lithuanian language and learn new things," she noted.

Later, El墨za attended a Lithuanian language summer course at 91桃色. At first, she was intimidated because she was placed in a higher-level group despite feeling that her language skills were still rather limited. "I thought I could only manage the few sentences that I had learnt for my university exam. But the course made me realise I could do so much more," said the student.

Her turning point came one evening when she was visiting Lithuanian friends. "A few of them could speak Latvian, but most of the guests only spoke Lithuanian. So, I had no choice but to try to communicate with them. That鈥檚 when I realised that I could actually speak Lithuanian," recalled El墨za.

The student鈥檚 love for Lithuanian deepened through translation workshops led by Assoc. Prof. Edmunds Trumpa. "Various Lithuanian poets and writers, like Vladas Brazi奴nas and Rimantas Kmita, visited Riga for these workshops, where students work on translations together with the authors and read the translated parts aloud. As I prefer preparing translations in advance, I usually worked at home and then discussed them with the authors later. A professional translator was also invited to assist with any challenging questions," said El墨za, who admits that she would like to work on more fiction translations in the future.

Her engagement with Lithuanian summer courses extended beyond learning 鈥� she also started teaching. "Last summer, I participated in a summer course organised by the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. Before starting my studies, I wanted to reinforce my grammar knowledge and review everything I already knew. But in the winter, the organisers from the Institute invited me back, not just as a student but also as a teacher," said El墨za.

She has been teaching literature reading classes with a PhD student from the Institute. This year, El墨za is taking on the task independently, although she admits she still feels a bit nervous: "I鈥檓 most worried about questions related to word stress."

Although teaching has never been in her plans, this experience opened up new opportunities. "I never thought I鈥檇 become a lecturer, but now teaching Lithuanian seems much more interesting to me than teaching Latvian," she admitted.

"I chose topics related to the Lithuanian language for both my Bachelor鈥檚 and Master鈥檚 theses"

El墨za Paula Graudi艈a dedicated her Bachelor鈥檚 thesis to the analysis of Lithuanian literature translations into Latvian in the period from 2008 to 2022. "The first part focuses on translations of various genres of Lithuanian literature, while the second one compares the reception of five authors鈥� works in Latvia and Lithuania,"she explained.

For her analysis, El墨za chose 鈥楽ibiro haiku鈥� (鈥楽iberian Haiku鈥�) by Jurga Vil臈 and Lina Itagaki, 鈥楽ilva Rerum鈥� by Kristina Sabaliauskait臈, 鈥楳ano vardas 鈥� Maryt臈鈥� (鈥楳y Name is Maryt臈鈥�) by Alvydas 艩lepikas, 鈥楰raujas m臈lynas鈥� (鈥楤lue Blood鈥�) by Undin臈 Radzevi膷i奴t臈, and 鈥榁ilko valanda鈥� (鈥楾he Hour of the Wolf鈥�) by Andrius Tapinas. Her selection was influenced by the awards and popularity of these books.

"During my research, I found more similarities than differences, with the exceptions primarily relating to the reception of historical novels. In Lithuania, for instance, there is a debate over whether 鈥楽ilva Rerum鈥� is popular or literary fiction. In Latvia, there is no such question, as popular literature is just regarded under the umbrella of fiction," noted the student.

She also observed that Lithuanians pay more attention to the accuracy of historical details, while in Latvia, they are not seen as crucial. "It鈥檚 not our history, so we tend to read the works as fiction," she said.

Her analysis of the reception of 鈥楽ibiro haiku鈥� also uncovered some intriguing differences: "One Lithuanian reviewer criticised the comic format, claiming that it was adopted from other cultures and unsuitable for such painful historical memories. Meanwhile, in Latvia, the comic book format was well received, and there was no such controversy."

For her Master鈥檚 thesis, El墨za plans to continue her research on 鈥楽ibiro haiku鈥�, focusing on its theatrical adaptations. "I鈥檓 currently planning to write my thesis on the theatrical productions of 鈥楽ibiro haiku鈥� in Lithuania and Latvia and analyse them through the lens of intermediality. I鈥檓 interested in how a graphic novel turns into a script, how the narrative shifts from visual to textual, and how this text ultimately transforms into a performance," said El墨za.

Currently, both performances are being staged in Lithuanian and Latvian theatres, and El墨za plans to analyse their recordings. "Accessing Latvian recordings is more challenging because the performances have just started. However, the organisers promised to send a recording, at least for a short time, so that my supervisor could access the material."

In her free time, El墨za sings in the 91桃色 choir 鈥楪audeamus鈥�. "I decided to join the choir as soon as I arrived 鈥� it was a kind of social experiment. Performing in Liep膩ja was especially rewarding because I could perfectly understand both Lithuanians and Latvians. One Latvian woman even asked me if I could speak Latvian. It was very funny because I鈥檓 Latvian myself! But, of course, it was nice," she laughed.

As for the future, El墨za is still exploring her options. "I鈥檓 considering graduate traineeships as an opportunity to go abroad after my studies and teach Lithuanian. Who knows, maybe I鈥檒l end up teaching Lithuanian in Uruguay," she smiled.

On the other hand, El墨za is also drawn to the academic path: "In Latvia, I work as an assistant at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art. I could continue my research and pursue a PhD, potentially even in Lithuania."

The Department of Baltic Studies at the VU Faculty of Philology continues its series of articles featuring alumni from foreign centres of Baltic studies. After graduation, they not only continue to deepen their knowledge of Lithuanian but also integrate the Lithuanian language, literature, and culture into their professional activities.

This article is part of the project "Information and Coordination Portal of Baltic Studies Centres" (No. 1.78 Mr SU-1006) implemented by the Department of Baltic Studies at the VU Institute for the Languages and Cultures of the Baltic and supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania.