Filologija, No. 82, 2024.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.21857/ygjwrc25vy
Slovenian Perceptions of Croatian-Slovenian Linguistic Relations in the 19th Century
Igor Ivašković
; Ekonomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Ljubljani
Abstract
The article analyzes the perception of the Croatian language in the eyes of relevant Slovenian political and cultural figures in the 19th century. In this context, the paper examins whether, in the eyes of Slovenians during that period, there was a distinction between the Croatian and Serbian languages, and whether there was a tendency to merge the Slovenian language with Croatian. The author concludes that the Slovenian attitude towards Croats and the Croatian language was ambivalent. On the one hand, linguistic unity was advocated, while on the other hand, the Prešeren Circle strongly distanced itself from such views. Generally speaking, Slovenians were not willing to completely abandon their linguistic distinctiveness. Instead, the acceptance of the Croatian or 'Croatian-Serbian' language was seen as a kind of complement to the Slovenian language, and in return, Slovenians would gain a stronger geopolitical support in the Croatian or Croatian and Serbian territories. In line with that, occurrences that seemingly aimed at renouncing Slovenian linguistic distinctiveness in favor of the Croatian or 'Serbo-Croatian' language served the purpose of forming a unified South Slavic language for the defense of the Slovenian identity. It was a tactical move to defend Slovenes against the cultural-political spread of Germans and Italians. While striving to preserve Slovenian culture and to achieve political distinctiveness, Slovenian poli-
ticians and linguists at that time poorly differentiated between the Croatian and Serbian languages. This was particularly true for those who promoted the Kopitar-Miklošič linguistic theory, while the other part was too preoccupied with their own problems in the context of the struggle for Slovenian linguistic and political-legal emancipation to delve deeper into the analysis of Croatian-Serbian language relations.
Keywords
Croatian language, Slovenians, 19th century, Karantanian-Pannonian theory
Hrčak ID:
320220
URI
Publication date:
23.8.2024.
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