Jernej Kopitar
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Jernej Kopitar, also known as Bartholomeus Kopitar (21 August 1780 – 11 August 1844), was a Slovene
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
working in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. He also worked as the Imperial censor for
Slovene literature Slovene literature is the literature written in Slovene. It spans across all literary genres with historically the Slovene historical fiction as the most widespread Slovene fiction genre. The Romantic 19th-century epic poetry written by the le ...
in Vienna. He is perhaps best known for his role in the Serbian language reform started by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, where he played a vital role in supporting the reform by using his reputation and influence as a Slavic philologist.


Early life

Kopitar was born in the small
Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...
n village of Repnje near
Vodice Vodice may refer to: Croatia *Vodice, Croatia, a town and municipality in Šibenik-Knin County *Vodice, Cres, a village on Cres Czech Republic *Vodice (Tábor District), a municipality and village in the South Bohemian Region *Vodice, a village an ...
, in what was then the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
and is now in
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
. After graduating from the
lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...
in
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
, he became a private teacher in the house of baron
Sigmund Zois Sigmund Zois Freiherr von Edelstein, usually referred as Sigmund Zois ( sl, Žiga Zois, formerly Slovenized as ''Cojs'' or ''Cojz''; ) (23 November 1747 – 10 November 1819) was a Carniolan nobleman, natural scientist and patron of the arts. He ...
, a renowned entrepreneur, scientist and patron of arts. Kopitar later became Zois' personal secretary and librarian. During this period, he became acquainted with the circle of Enlightenment intellectuals that gathered in Zois' mansion, such as the playwright and historian
Anton Tomaž Linhart Anton Tomaž Linhart (December 11, 1756 – July 14, 1795) was a Carniolan playwright and historian, best known as the author of the first comedy and theatrical play in general in Slovene, ''Županova Micka'' (Micka, the Mayor's Daughter). He ...
, the poet and editor
Valentin Vodnik Valentin Vodnik (3 February 1758 – 8 January 1819) was a Carniolan priest, journalist and poet of Slovene descent. He was active in the late Enlightenment period. He is well known for his contributions in writing materials that lifted the p ...
, and philologist
Jurij Japelj Jurij Japelj, also known in German as Georg Japel, (11 April 1744 – 11 October 1807) was a Slovene Jesuit priest, translator, and philologist. He was part of the Zois circle, a group of Carniolan scholars and intellectuals that were instrumenta ...
.


Career as a censor and linguist

In 1808, he moved to Vienna, where he studied law. At the same time, he developed an interest in the comparative analysis of the
Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...
, to which he would devote all his later life. He became employed as a librarian and later an administrator at the Vienna Court Library. He later become the chief censor for books written in Slavic languages and
Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...
. Among European linguists, he was considered a valued scientist and thinker. Particularly important is his correspondence with the Bohemian philologist
Josef Dobrovský Josef Dobrovský (17 August 1753 – 6 January 1829) was a Czech philologist and historian, one of the most important figures of the Czech National Revival along with Josef Jungmann. Life and work Dobrovský was born at Balassagyarmat, Nógr ...
, his spiritual father, and later with the Serbian philologist
Vuk Karadžić Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the moder ...
. In 1808, he wrote in German and published the first scientific Slovene grammar, titled ''Grammatik der Slavischen Sprache in Krain, Kärnten und Steyermark'' (Grammar of the Slavic language in
Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...
,
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
, and
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
). In his work ''Glagolita Clozianus'' (1836), he published the first critically revised, translated, and annotated version of the
Freising Manuscripts The Freising manuscriptsAlso ''Freising folia'', ''Freising fragments'', or ''Freising monuments''; german: Freisinger Denkmäler, la, Monumenta Frisingensia, sl, Brižinski spomeniki or are the first Latin-script continuous text in a Slavic ...
, the oldest known work in Slovene and the first work in any Slavic language written in the
Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...
. In the same work, he advanced the Pannonian Theory of the origin of Common Slavic, which is a theory that is no longer accepted by other scientists. Under the influence of the efforts of a group of contemporary
Carinthian Slovene Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians ( sl, Koroški Slovenci; german: Kärntner Slowenen) are the indigenous minority of Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of ...
philologists, especially
Urban Jarnik Urban Jarnik (11 May 1784 – 11 June 1844) was a Carinthian Slovene priest, historian, poet, linguist, author and ethnographer. He was born in the lower Gail Valley in the Duchy of Carinthia. He served as a parish priest in several villages and ...
and
Matija Ahacel Matija Ahacel, also known in German as ''Matthias Achazel'' (24 February 1779 – 23 September 1845), born Matija Kobentar, was a Carinthian Slovene philologist, publicist, and collector of folk songs. Ahacel was born in a peasant family in the ...
, Kopitar sought to educate a new generation of linguists who would develop grammars and textbooks, advocate orthographic reform, and collect folk literature. Due to these efforts, he was given a chair in Slovene at the
Ljubljana Lyceum Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
in 1817.


Language reforms

In the early 1830s, Kopitar became involved in the Slovene Alphabet War (Slovene: ''Abecedna vojna'', or ''Črkarska pravda''), a debate over orthographic reform. He supported radical reforms of the old
Bohorič alphabet The Bohorič alphabet ( sl, bohoričica) was an orthography used for Slovene between the 16th and 19th centuries. Origins Its name is derived from Adam Bohorič, who codified the alphabet in his book ''Articae Horulae Succisivae''. It was print ...
, advanced first by
Peter Dajnko Peter Dajnko (23 April 1787 – 22 February 1873) was a Slovene priest, author, and linguist, known primarily as the inventor of the Dajnko alphabet ( sl, dajnčica), an innovative proposal for the Slovene alphabet. Dajnko was also a proficie ...
and then by
Franc Serafin Metelko Franc Serafin Metelko, also known as Fran Metelko (14 July 1789 – 27 December 1860) was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, author, and philologist, best known for his proposal of a new script for the Slovene called the Metelko alphabet, which ...
. Kopitar's main opponent in the conflict was the philologist
Matija Čop Matija Čop (; 26 January 1797 – 6 July 1835), also known in German as Matthias Tschop, was a Slovene linguist, polyglot, literary historian and critic. Biography Čop was born in the small northern Carniolan town of Žirovnica, in what ...
. Čop convinced the renowned
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
scholar
František Čelakovský František Ladislav Čelakovský (7 March 1799 Strakonice - 5 August 1852 Prague) was a Czech poet, translator, linguist, and literary critic. He was a major figure in the Czech " national revival". His most notable works are ''Ohlas písní rus ...
to publish a devastating critique on the proposed alphabet reforms, which undermined Kopitar's authority. The issue was resolved with the compromise adoption of
Gaj's Latin alphabet Gaj's Latin alphabet ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Gajeva latinica, separator=" / ", Гајева латиница}, ), also known as ( sh-Cyrl, абецеда, ) or ( sh-Cyrl, гајица, link=no, ), is the form of the Latin script used for writing Serb ...
. Čop and Kopitar also disagreed on the issue of whether the Slovenes should develop their own national culture. Kopitar favored gradual evolution towards a common literary language for all
South Slavic peoples South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...
, with
Slovene dialects In a purely dialectological sense, Slovene dialects ( sl, slovenska narečja , ) are the regionally diverse varieties that evolved from old Slovene, a South Slavic language of which the standardized modern version is Standard Slovene. This also ...
remaining the colloquial language of the peasantry. Čop, on the other hand, insisted on the creation of a
high culture High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society cons ...
in Slovene that would follow contemporary literary trends. One of the main supporters of Čop's project, the poet
France Prešeren France Prešeren () (2 or 3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.
, sharply criticized Kopitar's views, which led to frequent confrontations between the two. Politically, Kopitar was a supporter of
Austroslavism Austro-Slavism or Austrian Slavism was a political concept and program aimed to solve problems of Slavic peoples in the Austrian Empire. It was most influential among Czech liberals around the middle of the 19th century. First proposed by Karel ...
, a doctrine aimed at the unity of
Slavic peoples Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic language, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout ...
within the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
. He was also a staunch
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
, and supporter of the
Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...
regime, with a paternalistic approach to the peasant culture. On the other side, Čop and Prešeren emphasized on the cultivation of Slovene as the means for the emergence of a lay Slovene intelligentsia that would foster and develop a specific Slovene identity within the framework of Slavic solidarity. After the Alphabet War in the 1830s, Kopitar's political and cultural influence in his native
Slovene Lands The Slovene lands or Slovenian lands ( sl, Slovenske dežele or in short ) is the historical denomination for the territories in Central and Southern Europe where people primarily spoke Slovene. The Slovene lands were part of the Illyrian provinc ...
diminished significantly. At the same time, however, he gained influence among other South Slavic
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
, especially the Serbian one. He influenced Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in forming a new standard for the Serbian literary language based on common use.


Death and heritage

Kopitar died in Vienna on 11 August 1844, reportedly with Karadžić standing at his deathbed. He was buried in
St. Marx Cemetery St. Marx Cemetery (Sankt Marxer Friedhof) is a cemetery in the Landstraße district of Vienna, used from 1784 until 1874. It contains the unmarked grave of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. History The cemetery was named after a nearb ...
in Vienna, and the theologian Michal Josef Fessl had a gravestone for Kopitar erected there in October 1845. Kopitar's remains and gravestone were moved to
St. Christopher's Cemetery Navje Memorial Park ( sl, Spominski park Navje), the redesigned part of the former St. Christopher's Cemetery (), is a memorial park in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad district, just behind the Ljubljana railwa ...
in
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
in 1897. In 1955, Kopitar's remains were transferred to
Navje Memorial Park Navje Memorial Park ( sl, Spominski park Navje), the redesigned part of the former St. Christopher's Cemetery (), is a memorial park in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad district, just behind the Ljubljana railwa ...
, where his gravestone is also now displayed, at the edge of the former St. Christopher's Cemetery. A neighbourhood in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, the capital of
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, called
Kopitareva Gradina Kopitareva Gradina ( sr-cyr, Копитарева градина) is a square and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. Location Kopitareva Gradina is located in th ...
, is named after him.


Notes


References

* Lencek, Rado. ''To Honor Jernej Kopitar 1780–1980.'' Papers in Slavic Philology, no. 2.
Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
: University of Michigan, 1982. * Merchiers, Ingrid. ''Cultural nationalism in the South Slav Habsburg lands in the early nineteenth century: the scholarly network of Jernej Kopitar (1780–1844)''. Munich: Sagner, 2007. Mario Grčević. Jernej Kopitar as a strategist of Karadžić’s reform of the literary language/Jernej Kopitar kao strateg Karadžićeve književnojezične reform

Filologija 53, 2009.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kopitar, Jernej 1780 births 1844 deaths People from the Municipality of Vodice Carniolan philologists Carniolan linguists Slavists Paleolinguists Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)