Peter Dajnko (23 April 1787 – 22 February 1873) was a Slovene priest, author, and

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 ...

, known primarily as the inventor of the Dajnko alphabet ( sl, dajnčica), an innovative proposal for the

Slovene alphabet The Slovene alphabet ( sl, slovenska abeceda, or ''slovenska gajica'' ) is an extension of the Latin script used to write Slovene. The standard language uses a Latin alphabet which is a slight modification of the Croatian Gaj's Latin alphabet, ...

. Dajnko was also a proficient

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

and wrote the first book about beekeeping in Slovene, titled ''Čelarstvo'' (Beekeeping).

Life

Dajnko was born in the village of Črešnjevci near the town of

Gornja Radgona Gornja Radgona (; german: Oberradkersburg, hu, Felsőregede) is a town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Gornja Radgona. Once it was a defensive stronghold for today's regional centre and its twin city, Bad Radkersburg, on the ...

, in what was then the Duchy of Styria in Archduchy of Austria as part of Habsburg monarchy. His parents was Filip Dajnko (Dainko) winegrower and Marija Korošec. After finishing high school in Maribor, he studied theology and philosophy at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

, where he graduated in 1814. He returned to

, where he was a chaplain until 1831, when he moved to Velika Nedelja to be the parish priest. He died in Velika Nedelja.

Work

In 1824 Dajnko wrote a book in German called ''Lehrbuch der windischen Sprache'' ("The Textbook of the Slovene Language"). There, he proposed adoption of a new alphabet for Slovene, which was to replace the traditional

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 ...

, used since the late-16th century. Dajnko wanted to improve the script because of its problems with writing of sibilants. He used his alphabet in all his books published since 1824. In 1825, Franc Serafin Metelko came up with a similar proposal, complicating the issue. The Dajnko alphabet, which was introduced to schools in 1831, was fiercely opposed by and

Anton Martin Slomšek Blessed Anton Martin Slomšek (26 November 1800 – 24 September 1862) was a Slovene Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Lavant from 1846 until his death. He served also as an author and poet as well as a staunch advocate of the n ...

. After 1834 it gradually came out of use with the adoption of a slightly modified version 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 ...

as the new Slovene script, and in 1839 it was officially abolished.

Works

* ''Sazhetek vüzhenja 'Slaven'skega po nedelah'' (Beginning of the Slavic Teaching on Sundays), 1816 * ''Evangeliomi na v'se nedéle ino 'svetke skos leto'' (Gospels for All Sundays and Holidays throughout the Year), 1817 * ''Knishiza poboshnosti sa mlade ino dorashene kristjane'' (Little Book of Devotions for Young and Adult Christians), 1820 * ''Svetega pisma sgodbe is starega ino novega sakona'' (Stories from the Old and New Testament of the Holy Bible), 1821 * ''Lehrbuch der Windischen Sprache'' (Slovene Textbook), 1824 * ''Kmet Izidor s svojimi otroki ino lydmi'' (Isidore the Peasant, His Children and People), 1824 * ''Sto cirkvenih ino drügih poboxnih pesmi med katolȣkimi kristjani slovenskega naroda na Ȣtajerskem'' (A Hundred Church and Other Devotional Hymns of the Catholic Christians of the Slovene Nation in Styria), 1826 * ''Listi ino evaŋgelji'' (Epistles and Gospels), 1826 * ''Svetega Pisma zgodbe iz Starega ino Novega Zakona'' (Stories from the Old and New Testament of the Holy Bible), 1826 * ''Posvetne pesmi med slovenskim narodom na Ȣtajerskem'' (Secular Hymns of the Slovene Nation in Styria), 1827 * ''Molitbe za katolȣke kerȣenike'' (Prayer for Catholic Christians), 1829 * ''Opravilo svete meȣe'' (Ceremony of the Holy Mass), 1829 * ''Sveti krixni pot'' (Stations of the Holy Cross), 1829 * ''Boxja sluxba kerȣanske mladosti'' (Divine Service of the Christian Youth), 1830 * ''Zhelarstvo'' (Beekeeping), 1831 * ''Чelarstvo'' (Beekeeping), 1831 * ''Knixica poboxnosti za mlade ino doraȣene kristjane'' (Small Book of Devotions for Young and Adult Christians), 1833 * ''Abecedna knixica za dexelne ȣole'' (Primer for Provincial Schools), 1833 * ''Abecedna knixica na hitro ino lehko podvuчenje'' (Primer for Fast and Easy Learning), 1833 * ''Veliki katekizem'' (Greater Catechism), 1833

References

External links

* – contains books written by Peter Dajnko. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dajnko Peter 1787 births 1873 deaths Slovenian philologists Slovenian writers Slovenian beekeepers 19th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests University of Graz alumni 19th-century Austrian male writers People from the Municipality of Gornja Radgona 19th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests