The language situation in the Slovene lands from the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries in the sociocultural context of the era

Abstract

From the end of the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries, Slovenes lived not only on their own, but also in the German, Italian, and Hungarian cultural spaces. The dominant role in state and society was played by the German language, with Slovenian considered the language of the common people. This article examines the peculiarities of the language situation in Carniola, Lower Styria, and Southern Carinthia - regions with predominantly Slovene populations that nevertheless remained under German political and cultural influence - and analyses the evolution of Slovenian against the sociocultural background of the age. The maturation of Slovene literary language began in the second half of the eighteenth century, during the period known as the national revival. At that time, language was both a means of communication and a social marker; only from the middle of the nineteenth century did it acquire its function as a distinctive ethnic feature and the basis for political nation-building projects. By the beginning of the twentieth century, it was fully formed and had its own scientific and professional terminology. The evolution of the language situation in the Slovenian lands was decisively influenced by two factors: the language policy of the Austrian state, aimed at the systematization and classification of non-German languages; and the activities of Slovenian patriots, aimed at developing their language and culture, and strengthening their position within the Empire.