Forgotten Memory of Numerous Synchronous Grammar Editions?

Abstract

The contribution focuses on the historical overview of the publication of Slovenian grammars and on the emergence of the “one-grammar” state of affairs in grammatography. The turning point in writing and publishing grammar books is 1854. It was then that Anton Janežič’s Slovenska slovnica s kratkim pregledom slovenskega slovstva ter z malim cirilskim in glagoliškim berilom za Slovence was published and introduced to grammar writing, at least on the level of grammatography, the concept of monopoly and with it the primacy of the one and only grammar. Janežič’s grammar maintained its influence until as late as 1916 (more than half a century), when Breznik’s Slovenska slovnica za srednje šole was published. The latter had the role of the leading (and only) grammar until as late as 1956, when the so-called grammar of the four was published. From 1976 to today, again nearly half a century, the role of the one and only grammar has been performed by Jože Toporišič’s grammar. Prior to 1854 the situation was entirely different. In some ways it was much freer or more plural in the sense of the number of published grammars. In the first half of the 19th century, a teacher of Slovenian could pick from as many as ten different grammars. The contribution focuses, then, on the occurrence of the transition from a (forgotten) state of grammar numerousness to today’s predominant state of the “one and only correct” grammar.

Keywords

• grammatography
• theory of standpoints to language
• history of grammatography in Slovenia