Naujienos

Akira Takaki has spent nine years studying the Lithuanian language at the University of Helsinki. ‘I embarked on my Lithuanian language studies back in 2015, and three years ago, I graduated with a Master’s degree in General Linguistics; my thesis focused on Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian onomatopoeia. This summer, I earned my second Master’s degree in Slavic and Baltic Studies, so now I am a double Master,’ he smiled

When asked how he discovered the Lithuanian language, Akira explains that his passion was ignited by Eurovision, adding that he has been listening to Lithuanian music daily for a decade now.

‘I wanted to understand the lyrics’

Akira’s interest in Eurovision was sparked by Finland’s victory in 2006 with ‘Lordi’: ‘I started following national selections in different countries and participating in discussion forums. There was an international forum that used to host various song competitions. Every month, in the ‘New Releases Game’, each participant had to submit a song from one country released within the past month, while others could vote for their favourite, and the song that scored the most points would win. I chose Lithuania and uploaded a song by a musician who had once competed in Eurovision selections. That marked the start of my regular involvement in such contests.’

Akira Takaki in Vilnius. Photo from personal archive

Akira discovered a little-known Lithuanian artist named ‘GeraiGerai’: ‘This music fuelled my interest in the Lithuanian language, as I wanted to understand what the songs were about,’ he noted. He feels strongly that Lithuania should exclusively send Lithuanian songs to Eurovision, and even better – Samogitian or Prussian ones: ‘All countries should perform songs in their mother tongue. I believe that it’s ridiculous to sing in a language that is not your native one.’

When asked about his favourite Lithuanian Eurovision song, Akira mentioned Aistė Smilgevičiūtė’s ‘Strazdas’ (1999) as his long-time favourite. However, he believes that Silvester Belt’s ‘Luktelk’ from this year was the best entry in Lithuania’s Eurovision history.

Having been listening to Lithuanian bands and artists for already a decade, Akira likes different songs and is particularly drawn to folk or electronic and psychedelic folk music.

‘Perhaps my favourite Lithuanian artists are the avant-garde band ‘Driezhas’, blending elements of ethno, electro, ambient, darkwave, and synthpop music. The style of ‘Drumbacilos’ is also remarkable – dreamy and melancholic melodies combined with frenetic rhythms. I would like to mention the singer ‘Monikaze’, too – I love her inventive style of experimental pop music. I also listen to lesser-known bands and artists, such as ‘Romowe Rikoito’, a neofolk music group singing in Prussian. Other bands, such as ‘Golden Parazyth’, perform alternative pop music, while ‘Vėjopatis’ combines contemporary electronic music with Lithuanian folklore elements,’ explained Akira.

He went on to list other Lithuanian artists that he is familiar with who make music in a variety of genres: ‘Saulius Petreikis is a well-known folk musician and multi-instrumentalist, and ‘Solo ansamblis’ is an experimental post-punk band worth mentioning. The electronic ethno-dub project known as ‘Girių dvasios’ plays Lithuanian polyphonic songs, while you can hear the electronic and ambient music influences in the songs of ‘Kamanių šilelis’. ‘Vilniaus energija’ is a psychedelic rap band, while ‘Fume’ represents a combination of electronic ambient and classical music.’ Akira also listed other groups that piqued his interest: ‘Palmės žiedas’ plays alternative electronic music. There’s even a Latin American pop-funk band, ‘Planeta Polar’, which sings in Spanish. Rūta MUR performs retro synthwave with deep vocals. Vitalijus Špokaitis plays electronic music with satirical-intellectual elements.’

Among Akira’s top picks is ‘Fanera’, a band that creates open and humorous dance music. Another favourite is Gabrielė Vilkickytė, who performs atmospheric indie music with touching and multi-layered lyrics. In his opinion, ‘Garbanotas’ is Lithuania’s best psychedelic rock band. Alina Orlova is one of the best-known alternative folk musicians in the country. When asked about the most important aspect of a song, Akira believes that the melody is key.

Lithuanian language studies

When he was still at gymnasium, Akira was not sure which university to choose: ‘A friend of mine suggested General Linguistics at the University of Helsinki, as I already spoke several languages at that time. I studied Latin in high school and, later, at my gymnasium. Our high school class was the only one in Finland where you could advance your knowledge of Latin. Naturally, I was raised in a bilingual family: my mum speaks Finnish, and my dad speaks Japanese. I am also fluent in English and Swedish, as learning the latter is mandatory in Finnish schools. I studied Russian at gymnasium and later at university; I also have some basic skills in Hungarian, Georgian, Estonian, and Bulgarian. Moreover, I took a course in Sumerian at university and can speak Okinawan. While living in Hokkaido, I studied Ainu – an isolated language that used to be spoken in Japan, but I don’t think there are any native speakers left anymore.’

Akira learnt Lithuanian at the University of Helsinki. After spending a year in Japan, he continued his Lithuanian studies remotely at Vilnius University (VU) and once attended a summer course in Kaunas.

‘Kaunas is such a beautiful, clean, and compact city – I could live there,’ remarked Akira. ‘I’ve also attended camps near Panevėžys and in Samogitia. In 2016, after a year of studying Lithuanian, I tried to speak with locals in Vilnius, but it didn’t go too well. I was slightly disappointed because I felt confident in my skills, but I couldn’t understand what others were saying.’

Today, Akira confidently speaks Lithuanian and has no difficulties keeping up a fluent conversation.

The Department of Baltic Studies at the VU Faculty of Philology continues its series of articles featuring alumni from foreign centres of Baltic studies. After graduation, they not only continue to deepen their knowledge of Lithuanian but also integrate the Lithuanian language, literature, and culture into their professional activities.

Baltic Studies at the University of Helsinki were introduced upon the restoration of Lithuanian and Latvian independence. Currently, the University of Helsinki offers a Bachelor’s degree programme in the Lithuanian and Latvian languages and a Master’s degree programme in Baltic Philology. The Baltic Studies Centre teaches the Lithuanian and Latvian languages, literature, and cultural studies, as well as offers introductory Baltic studies and various special courses. For more information on the Baltic studies available at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Helsinki, please visit the Baltnexus website.

This article is part of the project ‘Information and Coordination Portal of Baltic Studies Centres’ (No. 1.78 Mr SU-1006) implemented by the Department of Baltic Studies at the VU Institute for the Languages and Cultures of the Baltic and supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania.

Prepared by Assoc. Prof. Dr Veslava Sidaravičienė, Research Assistant at the Department of Baltic Studies at the VU Institute for the Languages and Cultures of the Baltic.