Liturgical text as a source of research into the dialect specifics of the Karelian language

The article provides an overview of the Karelian-language translations of the Gospel texts and prayers published in 1907 and 1908 in the unofficial section of Olonets Diocesan Gazette, which so far have not come to the attention of linguists, with a view to introduce them into scientific circulation. The publication of the translations was influenced by several reasons: the low level of the Russian language among the members of the Karelian parishes; the revitalization of the Lutheran propaganda and missionary work; and the recognition of the Karelian language as a “missionary language”. In a little more than a year, 14 original translations were published on the pages of the journal (one of the texts was published twice). Each of them records Karelian dialect speech of the early XX century. Most of the texts are written in the Livvi dialect of the Karelian language, common in the vicinity of Olonets town. The first of these translations titled Easter Gospel in the Karelian Language, published in the sixth issue of the journal in 1907, stands out from all the other. Phonetic and morphological analysis enables to attribute it to the southern variants of the Karelian dialect, namely to the southern Paatene dialects or to the adjacent northern Mätyselkä or eastern Porajärvi dialects. In addition, the Karelian-language texts presented on the pages of Olonets Diocesan Gazette can be used for studying the process of the Karelian written language formation.