Before the 16th century the Slovene language was used only in spoken liturgy. In social and religious historical circumstances Primož Trubar made the Slovene language a standard language and spread it among his adherents; diachronically he also influenced his opponents. He was the first who defined the standard language from central Slovenia, based on the Carniolan language, which was improved by his Protestant successors (Krelj, Dalmatin, Bohorič). Despite changes after the translation of the Bible, the standard language became the basis for many authors who wrote in Slovene until the early or even mid-19th century. He explained his choice of the language in the preface of The Gospel according to St. Matthew in 1555, emphasising the communicative role of the Carniolan language. His linguistic decision was a far-reaching one; he was defeated in the religious context, but victorious in the cultural and linguistic field. He brought the language into being and proved its polyfunctional competence and utility. The article presents the language of Carniolan texts in Slovene (glosses, the law called "Vinogorski zakon", the translation of Stapleton's gospels into Slovene), by different authors from the 16th and early 17th century (Trubar, Krelj, Juriči}, Radlič, Dalmatin, Tulščak, Znojilšek, Trost, Savinec, Hren and Čandek) in terms of similarities to and differences from Trubar's scheme.
|
