Tähenduslood

Tähenduslood is a term used in Estonian linguistics and folklore to describe short narratives that explain, reinterpret, or negotiate the meaning of words, signs, or social phenomena. In practice, tähenduslood function as a cultural resource for how communities understand and communicate about meaning. They appear in oral tradition, folklore collections, educational materials, and contemporary media, and they often carry normative or explanatory aims rather than strict historical accounts.

These stories commonly take the form of folk etymologies, metaphorical origin tales, or allegories that link a term to a core attribute, function, or social role. They help transmit vocabulary and concepts to new speakers, articulate shared beliefs about language use, and reveal cultural expectations about knowledge and authority. Through their imagery, they also illustrate semantic shifts, polysemy, and metaphor in everyday speech.

Scholars study tähenduslood with narrative analysis, discourse analysis, and sociolinguistic interviews. They examine how meanings are constructed, contested, and renegotiated across different regions, ages, and social groups. Analyzing them alongside proverbs, myths, and children's literature provides insight into how language and culture reinforce one another.

While they may reference word origins, tähenduslood are not intended as accurate etymology but as culturally meaningful explanations that reflect local theories of language. They illuminate how communities symbolically encode knowledge of the world and shape communicative practice.