Two types of slovakization of Czech texts in the Middle Ages and Modern Age

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to examine the nature of the Slovakization of Czech texts that were created in Slovakia in the Middle Ages and in modern times. A comparison of texts created by authors belonging to different confessions made it possible to single out the main, most common type, typical of texts, primarily among Catholics, and another type, represented in the texts of Lutheran authors. The first, Catholic, type of Slovakization originates in the texts of the XVI century and is evolving. Its final stage is the codification of the Slovak literary language by the Catholic priest A. Bernolk (17871790). It originates initially in southwestern Slovakia, and then spreads throughout the entire territory of Slovakia. In this regard, the Slovak elements presented in it are of Western Slovak and common Slovak origin. The second type, emerging in the XVII century, had a rather limited functioning and did not become the leading one even among the Lutherans. It should be noted that in Slovak literature the prevailing point of view is that Slovak Lutherans used the Czech language in spiritual literature without any changes, but this is not entirely true, which is proved by the reviewed work of D. Pribi. At the same time, the Lutheran type of Slovakization had differences from the Catholic one, including of a genetic nature, since the Slovakisms represented in it characterized primarily the northern dialects of the Middle Slovak dialect. At the same time, the common Slovak elements presented in it did not coincide in everything with the common Slovak elements that characterized the language of Catholics. Moreover, the use of this type of Slovakization in spiritual literature at the beginning of the XVIII century was officially banned by the Lutheran superintendent D. Krman. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that it was the Middle Slovak dialect that was chosen as the basis of the new literary language proposed in 1844 by the Lutheran Ľ. tr.