The case of the object in Livonian: A corpus based study

Foreword

This publication is virtually identical to my pro gradu (master's) thesis, which I presented at the University of Helsinki in 2001. Apart from the physical format, only some minor corrections and changes have been made.

I would like to thank the following persons: Andreas Sveen at the University of Oslo for valuable suggestions and comments on my thesis; Seppo Suhonen at the University of Helsinki for guiding me through my first year of Balto-Finnic studies at the Department of
Finno-Ugristics at the University of Helsinki and for suggesting that my thesis be published in the Castrenianumin toimitteita series; Tiit-Rein Viitso at the University of Tartu for teaching me Livonian; Hanne Gram Simonsen at the University of Oslo for encouraging me
to keep studying linguistics; Sturla Berg-Olsen for answering my questions about Latvian; and Jesper Egemar for providing me with the
equipment and help I needed to make the Livonian phonetic font used in this book. I would also like to thank the Finno-Ugrian Society and the Department of Finno-Ugrian Studies at the University of Helsinki for publishing my thesis, and the latter for supporting the preparation of this book financially through a project on Balto-Finnic languages.

Tor Tveite
Oslo, August 2003