Jože Toporišic
Encyclopedia
Jože Toporišič is a Slovene linguist
.
Toporišič was born in a small village near Brežice
in Slovenia
, in what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During the Nazi occupation, his family was expelled from home and was resettled to Silesia
, where they had to live between 1941 and 1945.
Upon returning to Yugoslavia
, he studied Russian
and Slavic philology in Ljubljana
. In the early 1950s, he became a junior lecturer at the University of Zagreb
, where he was influenced by the Prague school of structural linguistics
. After returning to Slovenia in the early 1960s, he started teaching at the University of Ljubljana
and became the founding father of modern Slovene linguistics.
As part of the newer generation of linguists, who brought an innovative and structural approach to the teaching of language, he was trusted by the educational authorities of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
to supervise the reform of language teaching in Slovenian schools from the late 1960s on. He was the author or co-author of several textbooks, as well as the author of an influential reference grammar of Slovene. His work has had an enormous influence in the development of modern Slovene language teaching.
In 1968, he worked as an assistant researcher at the University of Chicago
. Later he was a guest lecturer at the universities of Hamburg
, Regensburg
, Klagenfurt
, and Graz
.
He is a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
, and coauthor of the Slovenian Academy's normative guide to Slovene . In this position, he transformed the linguistic section of the academy into the central regulatory authority for codification of Slovene. He has been criticized for preferring a normative
rather than a descriptive approach in Slovene language policy
.
Toporišič has insisted on strong codification of language use (especially in pronunciation) as opposed to regional features. He has frequently expressed his admiration for the language policy in France
and has suggested that a similar legal regulation of language use be introduced in Slovenia. He is also well known as the inventor of several neologisms in Slovene. Due to this, the general public often attributes to him the authorship of every neologism that enters Slovene through the media or the educational system, although this is not always the case.
Toporišič has been often criticized for linguistic purism
. He has frequently voiced his disagreement with journalists, politicians and other public figures who used words of foreign origin. In 2010, for example he criticized the Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor
for using too many English interjections.
Toporišič has reiterated his conviction that a strong and centralized language policy is needed because of the extreme dialectal fragmentation of Slovene and the lack of a long and well-established tradition in the public use of Slovene.
In addition to Slovene, he is fluent in German
, Serbo-Croatian
, and English
; he also reads Polish
.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
.
Toporišič was born in a small village near Brežice
Brežice
Brežice is a city and municipality in eastern Slovenia in the Lower Sava Valley, near the Croatian border. The area was traditionally divided between Lower Styria and Lower Carniola...
in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, in what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During the Nazi occupation, his family was expelled from home and was resettled to Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, where they had to live between 1941 and 1945.
Upon returning to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, he studied Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and Slavic philology in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
. In the early 1950s, he became a junior lecturer at the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
, where he was influenced by the Prague school of structural linguistics
Structural Linguistics
Structural linguistics is an approach to linguistics originating from the work of Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. De Saussure's Course in General Linguistics, published posthumously in 1916, stressed examining language as a static system of interconnected units...
. After returning to Slovenia in the early 1960s, he started teaching at the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
and became the founding father of modern Slovene linguistics.
As part of the newer generation of linguists, who brought an innovative and structural approach to the teaching of language, he was trusted by the educational authorities of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
Socialist Republic of Slovenia
The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1990...
to supervise the reform of language teaching in Slovenian schools from the late 1960s on. He was the author or co-author of several textbooks, as well as the author of an influential reference grammar of Slovene. His work has had an enormous influence in the development of modern Slovene language teaching.
In 1968, he worked as an assistant researcher at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Later he was a guest lecturer at the universities of Hamburg
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
, Regensburg
University of Regensburg
The University of Regensburg is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on July 18, 1962 by the Landtag of Bavaria as the fourth full-fledged university in Bavaria...
, Klagenfurt
University of Klagenfurt
The University of Klagenfurt was founded in 1960 in Klagenfurt, Austria. It began as a College of Educational Studies . Since October 2004 the official German name is Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt in order to stress the intercultural connections between the Alpine regions and the Adriatic Sea...
, and Graz
University of Graz
The University of Graz , a university located in Graz, Austria, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria....
.
He is a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members of the academy....
, and coauthor of the Slovenian Academy's normative guide to Slovene . In this position, he transformed the linguistic section of the academy into the central regulatory authority for codification of Slovene. He has been criticized for preferring a normative
Norm (sociology)
Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...
rather than a descriptive approach in Slovene language policy
Language policy
Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to...
.
Toporišič has insisted on strong codification of language use (especially in pronunciation) as opposed to regional features. He has frequently expressed his admiration for the language policy in France
Language policy in France
France has one official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications...
and has suggested that a similar legal regulation of language use be introduced in Slovenia. He is also well known as the inventor of several neologisms in Slovene. Due to this, the general public often attributes to him the authorship of every neologism that enters Slovene through the media or the educational system, although this is not always the case.
Toporišič has been often criticized for linguistic purism
Linguistic purism
Linguistic purism or linguistic protectionism is the practice of defining one variety of a language as being purer than other varieties. The ideal of purity is often opposed in reference to a perceived decline from an "ideal past" or an unwanted similarity with other languages, but sometimes simply...
. He has frequently voiced his disagreement with journalists, politicians and other public figures who used words of foreign origin. In 2010, for example he criticized the Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor
Borut Pahor
Borut Pahor is a Slovenian politician who has been Prime Minister of Slovenia since 2008. A longtime president of the Social Democrats party, Pahor served several terms as a member of the National Assembly and was its chairman from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, Pahor was elected as member of the European...
for using too many English interjections.
Toporišič has reiterated his conviction that a strong and centralized language policy is needed because of the extreme dialectal fragmentation of Slovene and the lack of a long and well-established tradition in the public use of Slovene.
In addition to Slovene, he is fluent in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
, and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; he also reads Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
.
Selected published works
- Jože Toporišič, Enciklopedija slovenskega jezika (Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1992)
- Jože Toporišič, Slovenska slovnica (Maribor: Obzorja, 2002)
- Jože Toporišič et al., Slovenski pravopis (Ljubljana : Znanstvenoraziskovalni center SAZU, 2007)