On the Name(s) of the Prostaja Mova in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
On the Name(s) of the Prostaja Mova in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Author(s): Andrii DanylenkoSubject(s): Theoretical Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Comparative Linguistics, Comparative Study of Literature, Eastern Slavic Languages, Theory of Literature
Published by: Akadémiai Kiadó
Keywords: the history of Ukrainian; Belarusian; Lithuanian; Ruthenian; prostaja mova; rusьkij jazykъ; slavenskij jazykъ; lingua rustica; die Gemeine Sprache; mowa prosta; język prosty; the Polish Kingdom;
Summary/Abstract: A variety of names are traditionally used to refer to the literary language as cultivated by the Belarusians and Ukrainians in the late Middle Ages. It is maintained that the emergence of the term prostaja mova/prostyj jazykъ was brought about by the (German) Reformation in the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Based on a comparative analysis of the names of the prostaja mova attested in Ruthenian, Polish, and Lithuanian writings, the author surmises that the coinage and the use of the corresponding terms was primarily determined by the revival of the indigenous “linguistic democratism” dating back to the time of Constantine and Methodius.
Journal: Studia Slavica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
- Issue Year: 51/2006
- Issue No: 1-2
- Page Range: 97-121
- Page Count: 25
- Language: English
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