Language on the Stage – Questions of Identity and Ideology

Abstract

Language used on the stage always bears certain connotations to the identity, ideology and morality of characters, theatre makers and audiences. In my article, I am going to analyse how minority languages have been used or represented in Finnish, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian theatre though the lens of theatre history. Following books are investigated using content analysis method: The Dynamic World of Finnish Theatre (2006) by S. E. Wilmer and Pirkko Koski, Estonian Theatre (2003) by Jaak Rahesoo, Theatre in Latvia (2012, ed. by Guna Zeltiņa) and Lithuanian Theatre (2009, ed. by Gintaras Aleknonis and Helmutas Sabasevicius). Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are neighbouring countries that have faced diff erent political history: from rather independent Finland to the post- Soviet Baltic countries. Taking this into the consideration, one can detect the disquisition between bi-lingual (Finland, Latvia) and monolingual approaches (Estonia, Lithuania) to theatre history.