Terminologie des Töpferhandwerks aus dem Übermurgebiet/Prekmurje

Abstract

Abstract: The Terminology of Pottery in Prekmurje, Slovenia This article presents the terminology employed in the pottery of Prekmurje. The terms presented are related to the most important pottery activities: getting (digging) clay, shaping objects on a potter's wheel, firing them in the kiln, preparing the glaze, drying the products and selling them. These are all professionnal dialectal terms dating back centuries ago, the proof of which is provided by archeological finds and local geographical names. The development of pottery in Prekmurje – the flat agricultural region which lies along the Mura River in the extreme northeast of Slovenia, bordering on Austria and Hungary – was possible because of the rich quantities of suitable clay and the high demand for earthenware. In addition to weaving, pottery was among the most important trades in Prekmurje and in some villages the majority of the population was involved in it. Owing to the changed social circumstances, the technical revolution (new cooking technology), the changed way of life and work in the countryside, pottery in Prekmurje has almost died out today. With the gradual disappearance of this old trade we are also witnessing the disappearance of the related terminology. It is the purpose of this inventory of pottery terminology to prevent its falling into oblivion and at the same time provide a comparison of the terms used in different Slovene dialectal areas. In this way we can define the location of individual lexemes used as well as their semantic fields. The terms collected, which are primarily of Slovene origin, although some have also been borrowed in different time periods from Hungarian and from/through German as contact languages, are mostly known only by the oldest generation of speakers.