A Call for Awakening or a Swan Song? On the First Dictionary and First Novel in Raba Valley Slovenian

Abstract

Porabsko-knjižnoslovensko-madžarski slovar in roman Garaboncijaš Franceka Mukiča sta nadvse pomembni deli porabsko-slovenskega slovstva in z lingvističnega in še katerega stališča zaslužita posebno obravnavo. Priložnostna poročila ob njunem izidu še zdaleč ne zajamejo teže in pomena njunega pojava ne le v zamejenem krogu lokalnega narečja, temveč v najširšem diapazonu skupine vzhodnoslovenskih dialektov in slovenistike nasploh. Prispevek zato skuša ob kratki analizi obe deli umestiti v ustrezen kulturološki okvir.

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Francek Mukič's three-way Porabsko-knjižnoslovenskomadžarski slovar (Dictionary of the Rába Valley Dialect, Literary Slovenian, and Hungarian), together with his novel Garaboncijaš (The Wizard), represent important literary achievements of Rába Valley Slovenian that merit special attention from linguistic and other points of view. The reviews that appeared when the two works were published fall far short of encompassing their importance and significance, not only in the limited circle of the local dialect, but also in the broader range of the eastern Slovenian dialect group and Slovenian studies in general. This article therefore briefly analyzes both works and attempts to place them in an appropriate culturological framework.