Vuk Karadžić

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For other uses, see Vuk Karadžić (TV series) and Vuk Karadžić (basketball).

Vuk Karadžić
Вук Караџић
linguist
Known forSerbian language reform
Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
MovementSerbian Revival
SpouseAnna Maria Kraus
Childreninter alia, Mina Karadžić

Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (

anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the modern Serbian language.[1][2][3][4] For his collection and preservation of Serbian folktales, Encyclopædia Britannica labelled Karadžić "the father of Serbian folk-literature scholarship."[5] He was also the author of the first Serbian dictionary in the new reformed language. In addition, he translated the New Testament into the reformed form of the Serbian spelling and language.[6]

He was well known abroad and familiar to Jacob Grimm,[6] Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and historian Leopold von Ranke. Karadžić was the primary source for Ranke's Die serbische Revolution ("The Serbian Revolution"), written in 1829.[7]

Biography

Early life

Petnjica, Šavnik
Tršić
.

Karadžić was born to

Tršić, near Loznica, which was at the time in the Ottoman Empire. His family settled from Drobnjaci (Petnjica, Šavnik), and his mother was born in Ozrinići, Nikšić (in present-day Montenegro.) His family had a low infant survival rate, thus he was named Vuk ("wolf") so that witches and evil spirits would not hurt him (the name was traditionally given to strengthen the bearer).[8]

Education

Oil painting by Pavel Đurković, dating to 1816 (age 29)

Karadžić was fortunate to be a relative of Jevta Savić Čotrić, the only literate person in the area at the time, who taught him how to read and write. Karadžić continued his education in the

First Serbian uprising seeking to overthrow the Ottomans began in 1804. After unsuccessful attempts to enroll in the gymnasium at Sremski Karlovci,[9] for which 19-year-old Karadžić was too old,[10] he left for Petrinja where he spent a few months learning Latin and German. Later on, he met highly respected scholar Dositej Obradović in Belgrade, which was now in the hands of the Revolutionary Serbia, to ask Obradović to support his studies. Obradović dismissed him. Disappointed, Karadžić left for Jadar and began working as a scribe for Jakov Nenadović and sometime later for Jevta Savić Čotrić as a customs officer all during the time of the War of Independence (1804-1813). After the founding of Belgrade's Grande école (University of Belgrade), Karadžić became one of its students.[11]

Later life and death

Soon afterwards, he grew ill and left for medical treatment in

Slavistics. Kopitar's influence helped Karadžić with his struggle in reforming the Serbian language and its orthography. Another important influence on his linguistic work was Sava Mrkalj.[12]

In 1814 and 1815, Karadžić published two volumes of Serbian Folk Songs, which afterwards increased to four, then to six, and finally to nine tomes. In enlarged editions, these admirable songs drew towards themselves the attention of all literary Europe and America.

Goethe
characterized some of them as "excellent and worthy of comparison with Solomon's Song of Songs."

In 1824, he sent a copy of his folksong collection to

Owen Meredith, and John Bowring
, among others.

Vuk Karadžić in 1850.

Karadžić continued collecting song well into the 1830s.

Milan Đ. Milićević
.

The majority of Karadžić's works were banned from publishing in Serbia and Austria during the rule of Prince

Emperor of All Russia
in 1826.

He died in Vienna, and was outlived by his daughter

St. Michael's Cathedral (Belgrade).[18]

Work

Linguistic reforms

Example of pre-reform spelling in a school book from 1787.

During the latter part of the eighteenth- and the beginning of the nineteenth century, most nations in Western and Eastern Europe underwent a period of language reforms with Germany's

Russia's Yakov Grot
and others.

At about the same period, Vuk Karadžić reformed the Serbian literary language and standardized the

Czech alphabet. Karadžić's reforms of the Serbian literary language modernized it and distanced it from Serbian and Russian Church Slavonic and brought it closer to common folk speech. For example, Karadžić discarded earlier signs and letters that had no match in common Serbian speech, and he introduced 6 Cyrillic letters to make writing the Serbian language simpler.[19] Karadžić also translated the New Testament
into Serbian, which was published in 1847.

Because the

Serbo-Croatian language
; Karadžić himself only ever referred to the language as "Serbian".

The Vukovian effort of language standardization lasted the remainder of the century. Before then the Serbs had achieved a fully independent state (1878), and a flourishing national culture based in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Despite the Vienna agreement, the Serbs had by this time developed an

Ekavian pronunciation, which was the native speech of their two cultural capitals as well as the great majority of the Serbian population. Vuk Karadžić greatly influenced South Slavic linguists across southeast Europe. Serbian journals in Austria-Hungary and in Serbia proper began to use his linguistic standard. In Croatia, the linguist Tomislav Maretić acknowledged Karadžić's work as foundational to his codification of Croatian grammar.[22]

Karadžić held the view that all South Slavs that speak the

Shtokavian dialect were Serbs or of Serbian origin. and considered all of them to speak the Serbian language (for consequences of such idea see Greater Serbia#Vuk Karadžić's Pan-Serbism), which was by then and still is today disputed by scientists (see Ethnic affiliation of native speakers of Shtokavian dialect). He personally considered Serbs to be of three different creeds (Serbian: zakona), specifically of the Orthodox, Catholic and Mohammedan, citing general similarities in local traditions that only differed because of the local religion and, in the case of Catholicism and Islam, foreign influences. [23][24][25] However, Karadžić wrote later that he gave up this view because he saw that the Croats of his time did not agree with it, and he switched to the definition of the Serbian nation based on Orthodoxy and the Croatian nation based on Catholicism.[26]

Literature

See also: Serbian epic poetry, Kosovo Myth, and Prince Marko

In addition to his linguistic reforms, Karadžić also contributed to folk literature, using peasant culture as the foundation. Because of his peasant upbringing, he closely associated with the oral literature of the peasants, compiling it to use in his collection of folk songs, tales, and proverbs.

Miloš Obrenović.[28] In some cases Karadžić hid the fact that he had not only collected folk poetry by recording the oral literature but transcribed it from manuscript songbooks of other collectors from Syrmia.[29]

His work had a chief role in establishing the importance of the Kosovo Myth in Serbian national identity and history.[30][6] Karadžić collected traditional epic poems related to the topic of the Battle of Kosovo and released the so-called "Kosovo cycle", which became the final version of the transformation of the myth.[30][31] He mostly published oral songs, with special reference to the heroic deeds of Prince Marko and the Kosovo Battle-related events, just like the singers sang without changes or additions.[32] Karadžić collected most of the poems about Prince Lazar near the monasteries on Fruška Gora, mostly because the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church was moved there after the Great Migrations of the Serbs.[33]

Non-philological work

Besides his greatest achievement on literary field, Karadžić gave his contribution to Serbian anthropology in combination with the ethnography of that time. He left notes on physical aspects of the human body alongside his ethnographic notes. He introduced a rich terminology on body parts (from head to toes) into the literary language. It should be mentioned that these terms are still used, both in science and everyday speech. He gave, among other things, his own interpretation of the connection between environment and inhabitants, with parts on nourishment, living conditions, hygiene, diseases and funeral customs. All in all this considerable contribution of Vuk Karadžić is not that famous or studied.

Recognition and legacy

Vuk Karadžić, lithography by Josef Kriehuber, 1865
A diploma given to Karadžić, making him the honorary citizen of Zagreb
Monument to Vuk Karadžić, Belgrade.

Literary historian Jovan Deretić summarized his work as "During his fifty years of tireless activity, he accomplished as much as an entire academy of sciences."[34]

Karadžić was honored across Europe. He was chosen as a member of various European learned societies, including the

Prussian king,[35] Order of Prince Danilo I[37] and Russian academy of science. UNESCO proclaimed 1987 the year of Vuk Karadzić.[17] Karadžić was also named an honorary citizen of the city of Zagreb.[38]

On the 100th anniversary of Karadžić's death (in 1964) student work brigades on youth action "Tršić 64" raised an amphitheater with a stage that was needed for organizing the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro awarded a state Order of Vuk Karadžić.[40]

Vuk's Foundation maintains the legacy of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in Serbia and Serb diaspora as well.[41][42] A student of primary (age six or seven to fourteen or fifteen) or secondary (age fourteen or fifteen to eighteen or nineteen) school in Serbia, that is awarded best grades for all subjects at the end of a school year, for each year in turn, is awarded at the end of his final year a "Vuk Karadžić diploma" and is known (in common speech) as "Vukovac", a name given to a member of an elite group of the highest performing students.[43]

Selected works

  • Mala prostonarodna slaveno-serbska pesnarica, Vienna, 1814
  • Pismenica serbskoga jezika, Vienna, 1814
  • Narodna srbska pjesnarica II, Vienna, 1815
  • Srpski rječnik istolkovan njemačkim i latinskim riječma (Serbian Dictionary, paralleled with German and Latin words), Vienna, 1818
  • Narodne srpske pripovjetke, Vienna, 1821, supplemented edition, 1853
  • Narodne srpske pjesme I-V, Vienna and Leipzig, 1823–1864
  • Luke Milovanova Opit nastavlenja k Srbskoj sličnorečnosti i slogomjerju ili prosodii, Vienna, 1823
  • Mala srpska gramatika, Leipzig, 1824
  • Žizni i podvigi Knjaza Miloša Obrenovića, Saint Petersburg, 1825
  • Danica I-V, Vienna, 1826–1834
  • Žitije Đorđa Arsenijevića, Emanuela, Buda, 1827
  • Miloš Obrenović, knjaz Srbije ili gradja za srpsku istoriju našega vremena, Buda, 1828
  • Narodne srpske poslovice i druge različne, kao i one u običaj uzete riječi, Cetinje, 1836
  • Montenegro und die Montenegriner: ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der europäischen Türkei und des serbischen Volkes, Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1837[44]
  • Pisma Platonu Atanackoviću, Vienna, 1845
  • Kovčežić za istoriju, jezik i običaje Srba sva tri zakona ("A Case of History, Language and Traditions of Serbs of all three Creeds"), Vienna, 1849
  • Primeri Srpsko-slovenskog jezika, Vienna, 1857
  • Praviteljstvujušči sovjet serbski za vremena Kara-Đorđijeva, Vienna, 1860
  • Srpske narodne pjesme iz Hercegovine, Vienna, 1866
  • Život i običaji naroda srpskog, Vienna, 1867
  • Nemačko srpski rečnik, Vienna, 1872
  • Sunce se djevojkom ženi

Translations:

Misquotes

Write as you speak and read as it is written.

— The essence of modern Serbian spelling

Although the above quotation is often attributed to Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in Serbia, it is in fact an orthographic principle devised by the German grammarian and philologist

former Yugoslavia.[citation needed] Due to that fact, the entrance exam to the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology occasionally contains a question on the authorship of the quote (as a sort of trick question).[citation needed
]

See also

People closely related to Karadžić's work

References

  1. ISBN 9780582210028
    . Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  2. ISBN 9789052014319
    . Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  3. ISBN 9781136798641
    .
  4. ^ Đorđević, Kristina. "Jezička reforma Vuka Karadžića i stvaranje srpskog književnog jezika.pdf". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "Vuk Stefanović Karadžić | Serbian language scholar". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Selvelli, Giustina. "The Cultural Collaboration between Jacob Grimm and Vuk Karadžić. A fruitful Friendship Connecting Western Europe to the Balkans". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ "Vuk Stefanović Karadžić Biografija". Biografija.org (in Serbian). 19 April 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic". www.loznica.rs. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Историја | Sremski Karlovci" (in Serbian). Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Koreni obrazovanja u Srbiji". Nedeljnik Vreme. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Biografija: Vuk Stefanović Karadžić".
  12. ^ Đorđević, Kristina. "Jezička reforma Vuka Karadžića i stvaranje srpskog književnog jezika.pdf". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ISBN 978-0-299-15073-0
    .
  14. ^ Sremac, Radovan. "Vuk St. Karadžić i Šiđani (Sremske novine br. 2915 od 11.1.2017)". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ^ "Vuk Karadzic – Vuk Vrcevic, Srpske narodne pjesme iz Hercegovine". Scribd. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  16. ^ a b ПАТриот (8 December 2017). "Вук Караџић препродао стотине старих српских књига странцима". Патриот (in Serbian). Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  17. ^ a b Kostić, Jelena (11 April 2018). "Vuk Stefanović Karadžić – Reformator Srpskog Jezika I Velikan Srpske Književnosti | Jelena Kostić". Svet nauke. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic". www.loznica.rs. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Azbuka (ćirilica) – Opšte obrazovanje" (in Serbian). Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  20. ISBN 978-0-299-21193-6
    .
  21. ISBN 9780801453717
    , retrieved 3 August 2022
  22. ^ Barac, Antun (2006). "Iz bliske prošlosti hrvatskoga jezika, O hrvatskim vukovcima". Hrčak. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  23. ISBN 978-80-263-1150-8
    .
  24. ^ Balikić, Lucija (July 2018). "Croats and Serbs through the Lens of Vuk Karadžić's Serbian Language Reform and Ilija Garašanin's Serbian National Program". Carnival. 18/19: 1–9.
  25. ^ Melichárek, Maroš (July 2018). "The Role of Vuk Karadžić in the History of Serbian Nationalism (In the Context of European Linguistics in the First Half of 19th Century)". Serbian Studies Research. 5 (1): 55–74.
  26. ISBN 9783205984962.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  27. ^ Sudimac, Nina; Stojković, Jelena S. "SYNTAX OF VERB FORMS IN SERBIAN FOLK PROVERBS BY VUK STEFANOVIĆ KARADŽIĆ". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  28. ^ Antić, Dragan (6 September 2017). "Životni put Vuka Karadžića po godinama (Biografija)". Moje dete (in Serbian). Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  29. ^ Prilozi za književnost, jezik, istoriju i folklor (in Serbian). Државна штампарија Краљевине Срба, Хрвата и Словенаца. 1965. p. 264. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  30. ^ a b Greenawalt, Alexander (2001). "Kosovo Myths: Karadžić, Njegoš, and the Transformation of Serb Memory" (PDF). Spaces of Identity. 3Greenawalt. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  31. ISBN 9783643902870
    .
  32. ^ Miles Foley, John; Chao, Gejin (2012). "Challenges in Comparative Oral Epic" (PDF). Oral Tradition. 27/2: 381–418.
  33. S2CID 209475358
    .
  34. ISBN 978-1-905048-08-3
    .
  35. ^ a b "Serbia.com – Vuk Karadzic". www.serbia.com. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  36. ^ "Riznica srpska — Vuk i jezik". Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  37. ^ Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 85.
  38. doi:10.5699/slaveasteurorev2.89.3.0520. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  39. ^ "Споменици културе у Србији". spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  40. ^ "Država bez odlikovanja". Politika Online. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  41. ^ "Vukova zaduzbina". www.loznica.rs. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  42. ISBN 9788682417033
    .
  43. ^ "Правилник-о-дипломама-за-изузетан-успех-ученика-у-основној-школи" (PDF).
  44. ^ Stefanović-Karadžić, Vuk (1837). Montenegro und die Montenegriner: Ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss der europäischen Türkei und des serbischen Volkes. Stuttgart und Tübingen: Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung.
  45. ^ Đorđević, Kristina. "Jezička reforma Vuka Karadžića i stvaranje srpskog književnog jezika.pdf". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  46. ^ as stated in the book The Grammar of the Serbian Language by Ljubomir Popović

Further reading

  • Kulakovski, Platon (1882). Vuk Karadžić njegov rad i značaj. Moscow: Prosveta.
  • Lockwood, Yvonne R. 1971. Vuk Stefanović Karadžić: Pioneer and Continuing Inspiration of Yugoslav Folkloristics. Western Folklore 30.1: pp. 19–32.
  • Popović, Miodrag (1964). Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. Belgrade: Nolit.
  • Skerlić, Jovan, Istorija Nove Srpske Književnosti/History of New Serbian Literature (Belgrade, 1914, 1921) pages 239–276.
  • Stojanović, Ljubomir (1924). Život i rad Vuka Stefanovića Karadžića. Belgrade: BIGZ.
  • Vuk, Karadzic. Works, book XVIII, Belgrade 1972.
  • Wilson, Duncan (1970). The Life and Times of Vuk Stefanović Karadzić, 1787–1864; Literacy, Literature and National Independence in Serbia. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
    ISBN 0-19-821480-4
    .

External links

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