Successive translations as source of evidence for linguistic change
Ilse Lehiste · International Journal of the Sociology of Language · 1999
The paper presents a linguistic analysis of six Estonian translations of Friedrich Schiller 's poem An die Freude/' The translations span the years 1813-1959. Particular attention is directed to the choice of Estonian equivalents to German grammatical features that are absent in Estonian: definite and indefinite articles, the rendering of the future tense, and the expression of the passive voice. The successive translations show a gradual decrease of German influence on the language of the translations.