Vjekoslav (Alojzije) Babukić (16 July 1812 – 20 December 1875) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n revivalist and a

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 ...

. He was born in Požega. He received a degree in law in 1832 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. He was a prominent follower of the

Illyrian movement The Illyrian movement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Ilirski pokret, Илирски покрет; sl, Ilirsko gibanje) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian inte ...

, supporting the programme of cultural unification of

South Slavs 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, Hu ...

under Illyrian name. As secretary of the Reading Room (''Čitaonica'') and ''

Matica ilirska A Matica or Matice or Matitsa is a Slavic concept of a foundation which promotes national culture and gained prominence during the 19th-century romantic nationalism. In this context, the word ''matica'' is translated as queen bee or queen ant. ...

'' he was connected with prominent individuals in Croatia and other Slavic countries, distributed books and magazines, edited printed editions of older writers (

Ivan Gundulić Dživo Franov Gundulić ( it, Gianfrancesco Gondola; 8 January 1589 – 8 December 1638), better known today as Ivan Gundulić, was the most prominent Baroque poet from the Republic of Ragusa (now in Croatia). He is regarded as the Croatian nati ...

Andrija Kačić Miošić Andrija Kačić Miošić (; 17 April 1704 – 14 December 1760) was a Croatian poet and Franciscan friar, descendant of one of the oldest and most influential Croatian noble families - Kačić. Biography Born in Brist near Makarska, he became ...

Pavao Ritter Vitezović Pavao Ritter Vitezović (; 7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a Habsburg-Croatian polymath, variously described as a historian, linguist, publisher, poet, political theorist, diplomat, printmaker, draughtsman, cartographer, writer and print ...

Junije Palmotić Junije (Džono) Palmotić, (also ''Giunio'' in Italian or ''Junius Palmotta'' in Latin) (1606 - 1657) was a Croatian baroque writer, poet and dramatist from the Republic of Ragusa. He was a member of the Palmotić noble family. Early life Pal ...

Ignjat Đurđević Ignjat Đurđević (also Ignazio Giorgi; February 1675 – 21 January 1737) was a baroque poet and translator from the Republic of Ragusa, best known for his long poem ''Uzdasi Mandaljene pokornice'' ("''Sighs of Repentant Magdalene''"). He wr ...

Jerolim Kavanjin Jerolim Kavanjin (Italian: Girolamo Cavagnini) (4 February 1641 – 29 November 1714) was a Croatian language poet from Split then in Republic of Venice, today in Croatia. He was born into a wealthy and noble family of Split, as a descendant of C ...

) and worked on the establishment of many cultural and scientific institutions. In 1846 he was appointed as the first professor of Croatian at the Zagreb Royal Academy. Following a reorganization of the educational system he taught in a gymnasium since 1850 until his death. He published several treatises on the Illyrian alphabet and orthography, one poem, and minor contributions and translations in ''

Danica ilirska Danica ilirska was the first Croatian literary magazine launched on 10 January 1835 as a weekly supplement to ''Novine horvatske'' newspaper in Zagreb, the Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Kingdom of Croatia. It was initially published under the tit ...

'' which he also edited and redacted. In 1836 he published in ''Danica ilirska'' his ''Osnova slovnice slavjanske narěčja ilirskoga'' ("The basics of the Slavic grammar of the Illyrian dialect"), the first Illyrian grammar which served as a linguistic norm for 50 years, and the first Croatian attempt to write a scientific grammar of a language. His second grammar was written in German (''Grundzüge der illirischen Sprachlehre''), was translated to Italian (''Fondamenti della grammatica illirica'') and published alongside his ''Ilirsko-němačko-talianski mali rěčnik'' ("Illyrian-German-Italian small dictionary") written by Josip Drobnič. This dictionary Babukić also significantly amended up until the letter ''O'', together with

Antun Mažuranić Antun Mažuranić (Novi Vinodolski, 13 June 1805 – 18 December 1888, Zagreb) was Croatian writer and linguist, brother of Croatian Ban Ivan Mažuranić and writer Matija Mažuranić. He was an active participant of the Illyrian movement and one ...

. The language standardized in Babukić's grammar has a Neoštokavian dialect basis, but also with elements from

Čakavian Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , sh-Latn, čakavski proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmat ...

and

Kajkavian Kajkavian (Kajkavian noun: ''kajkavščina''; Shtokavian adjective: ''kajkavski'' , noun: ''kajkavica'' or ''kajkavština'' ) is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia, Gorski Kotar and nort ...

dialects. He advocated the use of etymological (morphophonological) orthography, as opposed to phonological orthography advocated by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and his followers. Babukić abundantly exploited the existing literary traditions in various dialect for the Illyrian cause. As the first grammarian to realize Illyrian language conceptions, critics such as

Vatroslav Jagić Vatroslav Jagić (; July 6, 1838 – August 5, 1923) was a Croatian scholar of Slavic studies in the second half of the 19th century. Life Jagić was born in Varaždin (then known by its German name of ''Warasdin''), where he attended the elem ...

have called Babukić "The first grammarian of the Illyrian dialect". He died in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babukic, Vjekoslav 1812 births 1875 deaths Linguists from Croatia