LTLeidinio pirmajame skyriuje Petro Būtėno gyvenimo pėdsakais aptariamas istorinių lūžių nulemtas sudėtingas kalbininko Petro Būtėno gyvenimas Lietuvoje ir užsienyje, mozaikiškai sudėliotas iš paskirų fragmentų – dokumentų, jo paties ir bendraamžių prisiminimų, kitų artefaktų. Antrasis knygos skyrius Petro Būtėno tarmėtyra: tyrimai ir tyrėjai skirtas tarminei Šiaurės Lietuvos rytų aukštaičių pašnekčių medžiagai ir jos rinkėjams. Remiamasi Būtėno sudaryta anketa ir 1926 m. gautais anketos atsakymais, supažindinama ir su pačia anketa, ir, kiek leido galimybės, su anketos platintojais bei medžiagos rinkėjais. Trečiasis studijos skyrius Geolingvistinės Petro Būtėno įžvalgos teikia įdomios medžiagos istoriniams pasvarstymams apie Būtėno nustatytas rytinių šiaurės aukštaičių patarmių ribas ir, galima sakyti, papildomų žinių apie lietuvių tarmių formavimąsi. Šio skyriaus objektas ir tiriamoji medžiaga – pats seminarinis Būtėno darbas „Žiemių Lietuvos rytiečių aukštaičių pošnekčių sienos“ (Būtėnas 1924). [Leidėjo anotacija]
ENPetras Būtėnas (1896–1980) belongs to the generation of linguists who grew up and matured in interwar Lithuania before being forced to flee to the West during the Second World War. The discovery of previously unpublished documents in several libraries and archives has prompted a renewed interest in both Būtėnas’ biography and his research. This also provides an opportunity to analyse the materials collected by Būtėnas a century ago and interpret them using the latest methods. This book includes a copy of Būtėnas’ first major piece of dialectological research. Previously unpublished, the case study titled The Borders of Eastern Aukštaitian Sub-dialects in North Lithuania (Būtėnas, 1924) is currently kept in the library of the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore (LLTI ). It is very likely that Būtėnas’ paper was inspired by his professor Kazimieras Būga (1879–1924) who published an article titled Aestian Past in Light of Local Names in January of the same year (Būga, 1924; 1961: 728–742). Būga’s materials and the maps from two different periods showing the possible territories populated by the Aestian tribes (Aestiorum gentes) could have prompted Būtėnas to not only research the boundaries of his own dialect but demonstrate in practical terms the application of the historical-comparative method. The study of Būtėnas’ dialectological legacy opens with Introduction which outlines the goals and tasks of this research as well as overviewing the primary sources and methods used to analyse them. The authors of this publication aim to present and analyse as thoroughly as possible a little-known part of Būtėnas’ academic legacy which nonetheless brings significant contribution to the history of the Lithuanian language and dialectology.The research is focused on the following tasks: 1) to present certain unknown or little-known facts from Būtėnas’ personal life which influenced his academic biography; 2) referring to previously unpublished data, to discuss the questionnaire-based methodology used by Būtėnas to collect dialectal materials; 3) to identify and introduce the people who may have assisted Būtėnas in his 1926 data collecting activities; 4) applying contemporary geospatial methods, to verify the accuracy of Būtėnas’ findings presented in the manuscript of his case study dated 1924. This joint study was conducted using both traditional (historiographic, descriptive) and latest (geolinguistic analysis) research methods, particularly effective in determining the boundaries of the sub-dialects pronouncing o instead of ą (Lithuanian okuoti), as identified by Būtėnas. During the research, the dialectal boundaries of North East Aukštaitian variants were reconstructed for the first time in the history of Lithuanian dialectology. Based on Būga’s maps (Būga, 1924a) and the diagrams Būtėnas used in his case study (see Chapter III and Appendix I), the reconstruction confirms the relevance of the early 20th century data to current research. Furthermore, comparison between these early findings and later dialectal materials highlights the accuracy of the geolinguistic insights by the founding scholars of Lithuanian dialectology. [...]. [From the publication]