Nature of the Phenomenon
The Erzya word "mel'" is not simply a desire or aspiration, a thought — "mel'" is a feeling, an opinion, an emotion, a dream, a longing.
Recordings in the widely used .mp3 format can be downloaded from the radio's website.
Author's Notes
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On the days of the great Erzya holiday — Erzyan' Kelen' Chi (Erzya Language Day) — every Erzya person wholeheartedly tries to contribute to the development and promotion of their Erzya language, telling those around them about it. Some gather with their families, read the "Erzya Bible" — the great and incomparable epic "Mastorava" — and remember their ancestors, giving heartfelt thanks for the opportunity to speak their native language. Some gather with friends in Erzya and Finno-Ugric community organizations, talk about their people and culture… they read the resonant poetry of Chislav Zhuravlyov, recall the Erzya Inazor Purgaz from Kuzma Abramov's novel of the same name, "Purgaz," some leaf through the colorful album of works by Erzya sculptor Stepan Erzya, and at the end of the gathering watch the film "Rasken' Ozks" and invite everyone to Erzyan Mastor this coming July…
I too had long dreamed of contributing to the development of my Erzya culture and language by creating my own radio program. I thought about it for a long time, consulted with specialists, listened to opinions and suggestions… At the end of March, having visited Erzyan Mastor, I brought back more than 10 hours of recorded interviews — spent several days meticulously testing my new recording equipment and began to "work my magic"… And it was born! It happened! Enormous thanks to my friend Nikita Dorogavtsev for the jingles, to Eryushon' Vezhay for proofreading and support, to Inazor Pirguzhu and the Erzya Language Salvation Fund (Saransk) for their advice and help in organizing interviews! Thank you all! The topic of the first program is not merely symbolic but conceptual — "Erzyan' Kelen' Chi," that is, it is dedicated to Erzya Language Day. The running time came out to 10 minutes 40 seconds — I practically kept to the 10 minutes I had planned! I hope the programs will be released twice a week. So I look forward to your suggestions and topics for future programs. Not even a tenth of the segments I had planned made it into the first program. |
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Program Schedule
Radio program "Erzyan' mel'" dated 05.05.2007. Program topic — the Erzya epic "Mastorava" ("Mastorava" erzyan' morokerks). Running time: 13 min. 10 sec. Author and host: Petryan' Andyu. File size: 11.73 MB
The Erzya Epic "Mastorava" ("Mastorava" erzyan' morokerks)
First radio program "Erzyan' mel'" dated 05.05.2007. Program topic — the Erzya epic "Mastorava" ("Mastorava" erzyan' morokerks). Running time: 13 min. 10 sec. Author and host: Petryan' Andyu. File size: 11.73 MB
Erzyan' Kelen' Chi (Erzya Language Day)
Radio program "Erzyan' mel'" ("Erzya Self-Awareness" — note from the author: the Erzya word "mel'" means feeling, opinion, emotion, dream, longing). Program topic — Erzya Language Day (Erzyan' Kelen' Chi). Author and host: Petryan' Andyu, Saint Petersburg. Running time: 10 min. 40 sec. File size: 9.77 MB