Credit: Tallinn University
The role of English has become ever more prominent, not only in Estonia, but globally. Considering the socio-linguistic situation in Estonia, it is important to study the impact of English on Estonian. Although multilingual communication on the Internet has been studied using different approaches, studies concerning online language contact are rare. Helin Kask, a doctoral candidate at Tallinn University focuses on language changes taking place due to current online language contact and analyses the online language use of young Estonians.
Intense contact with English has raised alarms throughout society regarding the longevity of the Estonian language. The doctoral thesis showed that younger generations borrow (copy) English vocabulary with high frequency and intensity. However, core vocabulary is never borrowed (words such as mother or bread), instead words with specific meanings find their way into vocabularies (such as highlighter and giveaway). There
Credit: Madis Põdra
The disappearance of the species from their natural habitat is a growing problem, which unfortunately means the need to intensive management, including ex situ conservation and translocations, is also growing. For the translocation to be successful, risk factors must be removed from the area. In the course of reestablishment, it is important to assess the adaptation of captive-bred animals into the wild in order to improve release strategies and methods.
The doctoral thesis of Madis Põdra focused on the translocation of captive-bred European mink. The efficiency of adaptation as well as the influence of American minks, the main threat, were evaluated. This was achieved by analysing the spread of the invasive species in Spain. The translocation of the European mink was assessed in two regions - the Salburua wetland in Northern Spain and Hiiumaa in Estonia. In Salburua, the abundance of the American mink was reduced before releasing the European mink; in Hiiuma