New book: _Genesis of the Slovak Literary Language_

[Loren A. Billings]

This is FYI. Apologies for cross-posting. --LAB

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 12.1248, Books: Slavic linguistics, Semitic linguistics
Date: Sat, 5 May 2001 16:14:59 -0000
From: The LINGUIST Network <linguist at linguistlist.org>

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Date:  Fri, 04 May 2001 20:09:55 +0200
From:  LINCOM.EUROPA at t-online.de (LINCOM EUROPA)
Subject:  Slavic linguistics: Genesis of the Slovak Literary Language

Genesis of the Slovak Literary Language

KONSTANTIN VASILIEVICH LIFANOV
Lomonosov State University of Moscow

Contrary to Slovak historical linguistics, the Slovak Literary
Language did not arise in the 18th century as a result of Anton
Bernolak's codification of the West Slovak dialect. It developed
gradually, over a much longer period of time from the Old Czech
Literary Language, which was adopted by the Slovaks as their own
written medium as early as by the end of the 14th century. As a result
of its interaction with mainly the West Slovak dialect, its specific
Slovak version arose in the 15th century. By the 1630s, this written
standard acquired the features of an original literary language,
separate from the literary language based on the Prague standard.

However, since the first decades of the 17th century, a further
development of this written standard was complicated by the
Counter-Reformation. The use of the literary language followed
different paths among the Lutherans and among the Catholics. The Old
Slovak Literary Language attained a high degree of development among
the Catholics. Rich and varied spiritual literature was written in
this language, including a translation of the Bible in 1750,
high-quality secular baroque poetry, etc. In the 1780s, this standard
was codified by Bernolak.  Diglossia emerged among the Lutherans. They
used both the Czech Literary Language and the Old Slovak Literary
Language. However, they did not perceive the latter one as a literary
norm and considered it acceptable only in the "low" kinds of
literature -- e.g., in popular poetry -- and in administrative and
legal documents. This diglossia was not abolished until the 1820s,
which opened the way for Ludovit Stur's codification of the Modern
Slovak Literary Language based on the Central Slovak folklore koine.

Contents:

Introduction.
Chapter 1. The main thesis of the general theory of literary language.
Chapter 2. The formation of specific idiom functioning in Catholic
           spiritual literature of the XVIth - XVIIIth centuries and
           Bernolak's codification.
Chapter 3. Interrelation of Catholic "high" poetry language of
           the XVIIth - XVIIIth centuries and the language of spiritual
           literature.
Chapter 4. The character of territorial differentiation and the evolution
           of the language of Slovak administrative-legal documents.
Chapter 5. Central Slovak koine and the language of poetry from the end
           of XVIIIth to the beginning of the XIXth centuries.
Chapter 6. A new concept of the genesis of the Slovak Literary language.
Conclusion. [written in Russian]

ISBN 3 89586 442 0.
LINCOM Studies in Slavic Linguistics 21.
Ca. 220pp. USD 70 / DM 128 / £ 44.

New: A Students' and course discount of 40% is offered to the above
     title.

Free copies of LINCOM's newsflashes 24 and 25 are now
available from LINCOM.EUROPA at t-online.de.

LINCOM EUROPA, Freibadstr. 3, D-81543 Muenchen, Germany;
FAX +49 89 62269404;
http://www.lincom-europa.com
LINCOM.EUROPA at t-online.de.

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