Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity

1
Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity

• Ch 21 The Slavic World
• By Miroslav Hroch

2
Divisions among Slavs

• Linguistic
• West Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Sorbs
• East Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians
• South Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Macedonians,
  Bulgarians

• Religious
• Catholic/Protestant West Slavs Ruthenians
  (Greek Catholics), Croats, Slovenes
• Orthodox East Slavs Serbs, Bulgarians,
  Macedonians
• Muslim (some) Bosnians

3
Neighbors among the Slavs

• Balts Lithuanians, Latvians
• Finno-Ugric Hungarians, Estonians
• Romance Romanians
• Albanians

4
Pre-nationalist empires

• The Slavs inhabited three multiethnic empires
  with three administrative languages
• Tsarist Russia (Russian)
• Ottoman (Turkish)
• Habsburg (German)
• Except for the Russians
• All Slavs had a national revival
• Slavic languages codified early 19th c
• Slavs were primarily low status, lacking
  political power

5
Czechs

• Czech language was used as a literary/administrati
  ve language 14th-16th c
• Late 17th c Czech was replaced by German in
  public sphere, upper classes Germanized
• Early 19th c Dobrovský writes grammar of Czech
  for posterity Jungmann demands rights for
  Czech language Czechs come to understand
  themselves as a nation in mid-19th c

6
Slovaks

• Upper classes were mainly Magyarized or
  Germanized
• Since 16th c Czech was used as literary language
• Ethnic identity divided between Magyar (1000 yrs
  in that kingdom), Czech (Protestants), Slovak
  (Catholics)
• 1840s Ludovit Stur creates literary Slovak, but
  it does not gain real status until Czechoslovakia
  is established in 1918

7
Sorbs

• A small group (approx 40-100K) in the eastern
  part of Germany, differentiated into two
  linguistic varieties
• Upper Sorbian (larger, closer to Czech)
• Lower Sorbian (smaller closer to Polish)
• Agitated for recognition in 19th c, did have some
  protections under East Germany (DDR), but all
  speakers are now bilingual and language is
  threatened

8
Croatians

• Kingdom was joined to Hungary (Latin), Dalmatian
  part also used Italian
• 16th-17th c first literary publications in
  Croatian
• Most Croats speak a dialect shared with Serbian
  1850 agreement on common Serbo-Croatian written
  in two scripts
• 20thc rejection of Serbian dominance, since 1980s
  independent Croatian state and language
  overemphasizing differences from Serbian

9
Serbs

• Orthodox Church an essential component of
  identity
• Ottoman empire late 14th-19thc, followed by
  independent Serbia
• Vuk Karadzic led movement for Greater Serbia
  stressing linguistic identity

10
Slovenes

• 1840s a group of SSl dialects in the Alps formed
  the basis for a literary language
• Previously weak ethnic identity based on local
  valleys, strong tendency toward assimilation
• Late 19thc national mobilization part of
  Yugoslavia in most of 20thc now separate state

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Bulgarians

• 9thc conversion to Orthodoxy and use of Old
  (Church) Slavonic, followed by Greek assimilation
  under Ottoman Empire
• 1860s formation of literary language mostly based
  on E dialects 1878 Bulgarian nation/state
  emerges
• Continuing struggles over what/who is/isnt
  Bulgarian (in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia)

12
Macedonians

• Macedonian nationalism begins with establishment
  of Bulgarian state
• Macedonians we are independent
• Bulgarians no, they are West Bulgarians
• Greeks no, Macedonia is part of Greece
• Serbs no, they are Bulgarized Serbs
• Macedonian literary lang est in 20thc, a republic
  of Yugoslavia and now an independent state

13
Poles

• Medieval Poland-Lithuana used Polish Latin
• Polish nationalism emerges when Poland is divided
  by conquerors (Prussia, Russia, Austria), under
  assimilation pressures (Germanification,
  Russification)
• Cultural support from wealthy Polish diaspora in
  W Europe

14
Ukrainians

• After dissolution of Poland-Lithuania, Ukrainian
  territory divided among Habsburg and Russian
  empires
• Russians regard them as Little Russians, but
  Austrians allowed Ruthens to develop their
  culture
• Ukraine is big, literary language based on
  central dialects
• After 1917, most of Ukraine was in USSR, subject
  to Russification, remainder in Poland was later
  seized by USSR, patriots were persecuted

15
Russians

• Literary/administrative language since middle
  ages, Russian state since 15thc
• Since late 19thc (under tsar and continued in
  USSR) Russification of non-Russian ethnic groups
  in the multiethnic empire

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Summary

• Three Empires
• Habsburg Germanification until 1860s, some
  improvements thereafter
• Ottoman Identity keyed to religion, not language
• Russian Persecution of non-Russians Ukrainian
  Belarusian considered dialects, Polish persecuted
  for political reasons, but slavophiles supported
  other W and S Slavs

17
Summary, contd.

• Czechs Poles had literary languages since
  middle ages
• Others had to codify literary language based on
  one or more dialects
• National movements purified languages,
  distinguished them from ruling state or old
  church languages
• Strong identity of language with social status
  and strong identification of ethnicity and
  language