Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31820/f.31.2.5
Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Forewords in Czech and Croatian Monolingual Dictionaries
Tena Šinjori
orcid.org/0000-0002-5424-7442
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Abstract
This paper
takes a critical approach to understanding a dictionary as a neutral source of
knowledge. A dictionary is studied as a collection of traces left in it by its
authors and the society in which the dictionary is created.
The main aim
of this study is to discover how the monolingual explanatory Czech and Croatian
dictionaries reflect differences in social organisation of the two former
socialist republics: Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. A sociolinguistic
comparative analysis of the forewords of Czech and Croatian dictionaries
published during the socialist period was carried out. Special attention was
paid to the parts of the text referring to the social reality and circumstances
related to the creation of each dictionary. The main hypothesis was that in
Czech dictionaries more attention had been dedicated to socialism and its
relations to lexicography, whereas in Croatian dictionaries the topic of language
as an index of national identity had prevailed.
The analysis
reveals differences in the status of lexicography in the two societies and
describes extralinguistic (economic, ideological, political) impacts on
lexicography.
The results
confirm the hypothesis that the topic of socialism is prevalent in Czech
dictionaries, as opposed to the subject of nation being more present in
Croatian dictionaries.
Keywords
Czech Lexicography; Croatian Lexicography; Ideology; Socialism; Nation
Hrčak ID:
230840
URI
Publication date:
24.12.2019.
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