MODERN LANGUAGES IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE BALKANS IN THE XVIII – FIRST THIRD OF THE XIX CENTURIES (SOCIOLINGUISTIC ASPECT)

Abstract

Purpose. The article is devoted to the analysis of the formation of regional and local centers of teaching modern foreign languages in the Balkans in the XVIII-XIX centuries. The socio-historical conditions that were crucial in the formation of language education in this region and determined its character and main actors are investigated. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is a comparative historical method based on the cultural and historical interpretation of the data and systematization of the emerging linguistic situations and conditions on the territory of the studied areas. Results. The analysis made it possible to determine that the poly-linguistic area under study, despite certain national differences in language education in the XVIII-XIX centuries, also reveals a number of common features. These include the rather late formation of language schools and educational centers. Another important feature is the mediating role of the Greek elite in the development of language education and the dissemination of Western European didactic samples in this territory. Practical implications. The results of the research can be used in scientific and educational activities in the sections of historical sociolinguistics devoted to the analysis of the socio-historical conditions of the formation of national education systems, their didactic ideas and the social circumstances of their implementation.

Keywords

• classical/modern languages
• religious/secular education
• regional learning centers