Allemann, L. The sami of the Kola Peninsula : about the life of an ethnic minority in the Soviet Union / Lukas Allemann ; [transl. by Michael Lomax]. - Rovaniemi : University of Lapland Printing Centre, 2013. - 151 p. : ill., map, portr. ; 25 см. - (Senter for samiske studier, Skriftserie ; 19).

Lukas Allemann tion must, however, serve the understanding of truth, a truth that is often not com­ municated by our informants, sometimes consciously, but often unconsciously ow­ ing to their everyday interpretation. Against this everyday interpretation we must oppose our scientific interpreta­ tion. While in the conduct of the interview we follow the rules of communication and interpretation that we have learned to apply since the cradle, when analysing the interviews we need to step back a little and "move for the purposes of scientific in­ terpretation to a critical-reflective distance from the necessities of everyday life. "42 This may sound obvious, but is all the more difficult to implement when one is deal­ ing as a historian with oral, spontaneous, 'un-thought-through' statements instead of dusty files. Placed side-by-side, everyday and scientific interpretation differ in the following respects :43 Everyday interpretation Scientific interpretation minimizes doubt systematizes doubt strives for uniqueness looks for ambiguity covers up contradictions un-covers contradictions the everyday certainties are implicit, they need no justification reasons have to be given for hypotheses and interpretations The more alien to us the culture or the social environment of our informants, the harder it is to understand behavioural patterns and motivations, but the less likely we are to succumb to everyday interpretation. "We want [...] neither to become natives (a word that is already compromised) nor to imitate the natives. [...] Understanding the culture of a people leads to the uncovering of its normality, without short-changing its specialness. [...] Placed into the context of their [that is of the people of another culture, age or social group, L.A.] own everyday-ness, their incomprehensibility disappears. "44 42Gerbel/Sieder 1988, 196. 43 Cf.: Gerbel/Sieder 1988, 194-197. 44Geertz 1995, 20f. Senterfor samiske studier, Skriftserie nr. 19 16