Anton Janežič, also known in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

as Anton Janeschitz (19 December 1828 – 18 September 1869) was a

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, literary historian and critic.

Life

Janežič was born in a peasant family in the village of

Lessach Lessach is a municipality in the district of Tamsweg in the state of Salzburg in Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It ...

( sl, Leše) near St. Jakob im Rosental ( sl, Št. Jakob v Rožu) in

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 ...

. He attended the grammar school in

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

. In 1848, when Slovene was introduced in school, Janežič was employed as professor of Slovene at the Klagenfurt

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 1851 he began to study linguistics and Slavic philology at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

under the supervision of

Franz Miklosich Franz Miklosich (german: Franz Ritter von Miklosich, also known in Slovene as ; 20 November 1813 – 7 March 1891) was a Slovene philologist. Early life Miklosich was born in the small village of Radomerščak near the Lower Styrian town of Lju ...

. In 1854 he returned to Klagenfurt, where he continued to teach Slovene, German, and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

at the lyceum until 1866 when he resigned because of illness. He died three years later in Klagenfurt, where he was also buried. In the 1870s, he was reburied in his local parish of St. Jakob.

Work

Janežič entered the public life after the

Spring of Nations The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, when he became a close collaborator of the fellow Carinthian countryman

Matija Majar Matija Majar, also spelled Majer (7 February 1809 – 31 July 1892), pseudonym Ziljski, was a Carinthian Slovene Roman Catholic priest and political activist, best known as the creator of the idea of a United Slovenia. Biography Majar was born i ...

, the author of the program of

United Slovenia United Slovenia ( sl, Zedinjena Slovenija or ) is the name originally given to an unrealized political programme of the Slovenes, Slovene national movement, formulated during the Spring of Nations in 1848. The programme demanded (a) unification o ...

. In 1851 he started compiling a German-Slovene dictionary, based on the work of Ožbalt Gutsman,

Marko Pohlin Marko Pohlin born Anton Pohlin (13 April 1735 – 4 February 1801), was a Slovene philologist and author. He is generally considered the first exponent of the Age of Enlightenment in the Slovene Lands. He was baptized Antonius Puhlin in Ljubljan ...

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 ...

Jernej Kopitar Jernej Kopitar, also known as Bartholomeus Kopitar (21 August 1780 – 11 August 1844), was a Slovene linguist and philologist working in Vienna. He also worked as the Imperial censor for Slovene literature in Vienna. He is perhaps best known f ...

, and

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 ...

, completing it in 1854 under the advice of

and

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 ...

. The same year, he also published a

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

of Slovene, which was used in Slovene-language schools until the 1920s. In 1850, Janežič launched the literary magazine ''Slovenska bčela'' (The Slovene Bee), which published the works of important contemporary Slovene authors, such as Josipina Turnograjska,

Miroslav Vilhar Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic S ...

Fran Levstik Fran Levstik (28 September 1831 – 16 November 1887) was a Slovene writer, political activist, playwright and critic. He was one of the most prominent exponents of the Young Slovene political movement. Life and work Levstik was born in 18 ...

Janez Trdina Janez Trdina (29 May 1830 – 14 July 1905) was a Slovene writer and historian. The renowned author Ivan Cankar described him as the best Slovene stylist of his period. He was an ardent describer of the Gorjanci Ridge and of the Lower Carniolan ...

and

Andrej Einspieler Andrej Einspieler (13 November 1813 – 16 January 1888) was a Slovenes, Slovene politician, Roman Catholic priest and journalist, and one of the early leaders of the Old Slovene national movement in the 19th century. He was known as the "father ...

. In 1858, the magazine merged with the journal ''Vaje'' edited by

Simon Jenko Simon Jenko (October 27, 1835 – October 18, 1869) was a Slovene poet, lyricist and writer. Jenko was born in Podreča in the Sora Plain (''Sorško polje'') in Upper Carniola, then part of the Austrian Empire, now in Slovenia, as an illegit ...

, Valentin Zarnik, and Janez Mencinger, to form the magazine '' Slovenski glasnik'' (The Slovene Herald), which attracted the collaboration of many important authors, including

Fran Erjavec Fran may refer to: People and fictional characters * Fran (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Fran (footballer, born 1969) or Francisco Javier González Pérez * Fran (footballer, born 1972), Spanish retired football ...

and

Josip Jurčič Josip Jurčič (4 March 1844 – 3 May 1881) was a Slovene writer and journalist. He was born in Muljava, Austrian Empire (now part of the municipality of Ivančna Gorica, Slovenia)Levec, Fran. 1881. Josip Jurčič. ''Ljubljanski zvon'' 1(6) ( ...

. Between 1861 and 1868 the journal also published the book collection ''Cvetje iz domačih in tujih logov'' (Flowers from Home and Abroad) which issued several important books of Slovene authors and translation of classical authors such as

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

Andersen Andersen () is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Anders" (itself derived from the Greek name " Ανδρέας/Andreas", cf. English Andrew). It is the fifth most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 3.2% of the population.< ...

Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

, and others. After retiring in 1866, he left the editorship to

Josip Stritar Josip Stritar (6 March 1836 – 25 November 1923) was a Slovene writer, poet, essayist, the first aesthetic critic, playwright, publisher and translator. Life Stritar spent his early childhood in his home village of Podsmreka in rural Lower ...

. In 1851, Janežič founded the Hermagoras Society, the oldest Slovene publishing house, together with

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 ...

. In addition, he collaborated with

and

in preserving the folk traditions of Slovenes in Carinthia and

Lower Styria Styria ( sl, Štajerska), also Slovenian Styria (''Slovenska Štajerska'') or Lower Styria (''Spodnja Štajerska''; german: Untersteiermark), is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy o ...

. He was also the first to give a complete translation 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 document in Slovene and the first Roman-script record of any Slavic language, into modern Slovene.

Sources

Janko Kos Janko Kos (born 9 March 1931) is a Slovenian literary historian, theoretician, and critic. He was born in Ljubljana in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as the son of the painter and sculptor Tine Kos. His father was a liberal and freet ...

, ''Slovenska književnost'' (Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1982), 121.

External links

* Deutsch-slovenisches Hand-wörterbuch written by Anton Janežič
books.google.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janezic, Anton 1828 births 1869 deaths People from Villach-Land People from the Duchy of Carinthia Carinthian Slovenes Austrian philologists Slovenian philologists Grammarians from Slovenia