%0 Journal Article
%A Tinits, Peeter
%+ Department of Human Behavior Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
%T Andmepõhine vaade tärkavale eesti kirjakogukonnale 1800–1940: Rahvusbibliograafia, andmete rikastamine ja rahvakoolid = A data-intensive view on the emerging Estonian written language community, 1800-1940: National bibliography, data enrichment, and public schools  : 
%G est
%U https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0011-6E13-D
%R 10.54013/kk809a2
%7 2025-05-15
%D 2025
%* Review method: peer-reviewed
%X The Estonian National Bibliography aims to provide a comprehensive overview of all printed works published in Estonia, by Estonians, or about Estonians. Bibliographic data science has suggested that national bibliographies can be used to study cultural history using the tools of digital humanities. In this article, I explore the historical details surrounding the emergence of the Estonian written language community, with a focus on the mid-to late 19th century. I introduce the Estonian National Bibliography as a data source and trace the emergence of the Estonian written language community within its records. Specifi-cally, I look at changes in the status of the Estonian language within its language area, the backgrounds of the contributors to book publishing, and the possible influence of public schools. I enrich these analyses by incorporating other biographical, demo-graphic, geographic, and historical datasets. Over time, books published in the Estonian language area began to rely more on Estonian, building on an earlier German-language tradition. Despite the early importance of multilingual contributors, the main contributors soon began working mostly in Estonian. From the early 19th century through the National Awakening, the average age of new contributors decreased by around 10 years, reflecting the steady influx of younger educated people. The analysis of the contributors’ birth backgrounds reveals that dialectal diversity among community members gradually increased, with some local variation. For a few decades around the time of the National Awakening, being born in the Gover-norate of Livonia doubled one’s chances of joining the written language community. This can be partly explained by differences in educational policy that led the Gover-norate of Estonia to fall behind in expanding its public school network. This article demonstrates how national bibliographic data can be used to study cultural history. Combining it with other data sources enables researchers to address questions from different disciplines – for example, assessing the impact of historical education policies or investigating shifts in dialectal diversity within a language community.
%K national bibliography, data-intensive humanities, Estonian national
awakening, written language, book history
%J Keel ja Kirjandus
%V 68
%N 5
%& 394
%P 394 - 416
%@ 0131144123466014