Oct 31, 2007
According to Wikipedia, in the ancient Lithuanian religion,
Perkūnas is the Lithuanian God of thunder, the God of the sky, the
Lord of rain, mountains, oak trees and storms. Quite a
powerful god indeed.
In songs about a “heavenly wedding" Saulė (the Sun) cheats on
Perkūnas with Mėnulis (the Moon); Perkūnas splits Mėnulis in half
with a sword.
According to another, more popular, version, Mėnulis cheats on the
Sun with Aušrinė (the morning star) just after the wedding, and
Perkūnas punishes it. However, Mėnulis does not learn and repeats
the adultery and is punished again every month. Other explanations
say it is why the Sun shines during the day and the Moon at night.
Though divorced, both want to see their daughter Žemyna (the
Earth).
In other songs Perkūnas, on the way to the wedding of Aušra (dawn;
the daughter of the Sun), strikes a golden oak, most likely in
order to expel evil spirits, Velnias or snakes, that usually hide
below the roots of an oak. The oak is a tree of the thunder god in
the Lithuanian tradition.
Don’t you just love Lithuanian culture?
This week we’re doing a lesson we hadn’t planned to do, but since
we have so many listeners from unexpected places, we’ll customize
this lesson for our students who’re listening in Australia, Egypt,
The Netherlands, Ireland, Botswana and Brazil.
Now, we’ve already learned how to say, for example, I’m Lithuanian
or I’m English. Let’s do our new nationalities…
First, let’s go over the vardininkas or nominative declension of the country’s names in Lithuanian.
prašom pakartoti
Egiptas
Egypt
Australija
Australia
Nyderlandai
Netherlands
Airija
Ireland
Botsvana
Botswana
Brazilija
Brazil
Now, to say, “I’m from…", we use the genitive or kilmininkas. Prašom pakartoti…
I’m from
Egypt
Aš iš Egipto
I’m from
Australia
Aš iš Australijos
I’m from The Netherlands
Aš iš Nyderlandų
I’m from
Ireland
Aš iš Airijos
I’m from
Botswana
Aš iš Botsvanos
I’m from
Brazil
Aš iš Brazilijos
Great, now let’s say “I’m Australian" or “I’m Brazilian" from a man and a woman’s perspective…
I’m
Egyptian
Aš Egiptietis
I’m
Egyptian
Aš Egiptietė
I’m
Australian
Aš Australas
I’m
Australian
Aš Australė
I’m a
Dutchman
Aš Olandas
I’m a
Dutchwoman
Aš Olandė
I’m
Irish
Aš Airis
I’m
Irish
Aš Airė
I’m
Botswanan
Aš Botsvanietis
I’m
Botswanan
Aš Botsvanietė
I’m
Brazilian
Aš Brazilas
I’m
Brazilian
Aš Brazilė
Fantastic, now keep in mind, that later on, it might be easier if, just for fun, you “Lithuanianize" your name. For example, I use Džiakas when I’m in Lithuania because it’s easier. If you’re not sure how to make your name into something that makes sense in Lithuanian, just contact us and we can help.
Saulė
the Sun
Perkūnas
God of thunder
Mėnulis
the Moon
Aušrinė
the Morning Star
Žemyna
the Earth
Aušra
Dawn; the daughter of the Sun
Velnias
God of evil