Pregledni rad
From the Other Side of the Ocean: Canada’s Božidar Vidov and the Molise Croats of Italy
Stan Granic
; neovisni istraživač, Ottawa, Kanada
Sažetak
Following an overview of the history of the Molise Croats, their distinctive language, Italian laws protecting their linguistic rights, and recent publications dedicated to helping to preserve their endangered idiom, the author provides a brief biography of Božidar Vidov (1913–2000) before exploring Vidov’s publication efforts related to this community. Vidov, who first visited the region in the 1940s and then later in the 1960s, joined members of the Molise Croatian community in 1967 to launch the periodical Naš jezik / La nostra lingua. He served on the editorial board of this periodical and from 1968 to 1981 he published eleven books and booklets specifically for, or about, the community. These publications included language manuals, poetry collections, almanacs, a brief history and music collections. Vidov drew material for his publications from the pages of Naš jezik, his own research findings while visiting the community, and from sources collected and documented by members of the Molise Croatian community and others. Through his self-financed publishing initiatives, Vidov sought to imbue members of the community with a sense of pride in their language and cultural heritage, and attempted to fill the void after Naš jezik ceased publication. These eleven publications foreshadowed later more substantial and successful efforts in the 1990s, and especially in the new millennium, to produce important linguistic manuals, various literary collections, and other publications dedicated to the Molise Croatian community and the preservation of their endangered language.
Ključne riječi
Božidar Vidov; Molise Croats; Molise Croatian; Naš jezik / La nostra lingua periodical; endangered language; language preservation
Hrčak ID:
44071
URI
Datum izdavanja:
30.9.2009.
Posjeta: 2.689 *