Ljudevit Gaj
Encyclopedia
Ljudevit Gaj (8 August 1809 20 April 1872) was a Croatia
n linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the Croatian national reformation, also known as the Illyrian Movement
.
(then in the Varaždin County, Austrian Empire
), on August 8th, 1809. His father Ivan (Johann) Gay was a German immigrant from Hungarian Slovakia, and his mother was Julijana née Schmidt, the daughter of a German immigrant arriving in the 1770s.
In Buda in 1830 Gaj's Latin alphabet was published ("Brief Basics of the Croatian-Slavonic Orthography"), which was the first common Croatian orthography
book (after the works of Ignjat Đurđević and Pavao Ritter Vitezović
). The book was printed bilingually, in Croatian
and German
. The Croatians used the Latin alphabet
, but some of the specific sounds were not uniformly represented. Gaj followed the example of Pavao Ritter Vitezović and the Czech orthography
, using one letter of the Latin script for each sound in the language. He used diacritic
s and the digraph
s lj and nj.
The book helped Gaj achieve nationwide fame. In 1834 he succeeded where fifteen years before Đuro Matija Šporer had failed, i.e. obtaining an agreement from the royal government of the Habsburg Monarchy
to publish a Croatian daily newspaper. He was known as an intellectual leader thereafter.
On 6 January 1835, Novine Horvatske ("The Croatian News") appeared, and on 10 January it got the literary addition Danicza horvatzka, slavonzka y dalmatinzka ("The Croatian, Slavonia
n, and Dalmatia
n Daystar"). It was a big progress in realising the idea of marking the Croatian literature
as unique. The "Novine Horvatske" were printed in Kajkavian dialect
until the end of that year, while "Danica" was printed in Shtokavian dialect
along with Kajkavian.
In early 1836 the publications' names were changed to Ilirske narodne novine ("The Illyrian People's News") and Danica ilirska ("The Illyrian Morning Star") respectively. This was because historians at the time hypothesised Illyrians had been Slavic and were the direct forefathers of the present-day South Slavs.
Aside from all this Gaj was a writer also. The most popular poem of that time was "Još Horvatska ni propala" ("Croatia is not in ruin yet"), written in 1833.
language is credited to Gaj's Kratka osnova Hrvatskog pravopisa.
The Latin alphabet (gajica) is also used for Serbian when written in Latin, the Cyrillic counterpart is called vukovica, after contemporary linguist Vuk Karadžić. The Slovenian alphabet
, introduced in the mid 1840s, is also a variation of Gaj's Latin alphabet (the only difference is the lack of the letters ć and đ).
. They had five children: daughter Ljuboslava, and sons Velimir, Svetoslav, Milivoje, and Bogdan.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the Croatian national reformation, also known as the Illyrian Movement
Illyrian movement
The Illyrian movement , also Croatian national revival , was a cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of 19th century, around the years of 1835–1849...
.
Origin
Ljudevit Gaj or Ludwig Gay was born in KrapinaKrapina
Krapina is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 and a total municipality population of 12,479...
(then in the Varaždin County, Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
), on August 8th, 1809. His father Ivan (Johann) Gay was a German immigrant from Hungarian Slovakia, and his mother was Julijana née Schmidt, the daughter of a German immigrant arriving in the 1770s.
Orthography and Other Work
Gaj started publishing very early; his 36-page booklet on stately manors in his native district, written in his native German, appeared already in 1826 as Die Schlösser bei Krapina.In Buda in 1830 Gaj's Latin alphabet was published ("Brief Basics of the Croatian-Slavonic Orthography"), which was the first common Croatian orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
book (after the works of Ignjat Đurđević and Pavao Ritter Vitezović
Pavao Ritter Vitezovic
Pavao Ritter Vitezović was a noted Croatian writer, historian, linguist and publisher.-Early life:Pavao Ritter Vitezović was born in Senj to a family of a frontier soldier. His father was descended from a German immigrant from Alsace, and his mother was Croatian...
). The book was printed bilingually, in Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
and 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....
. The Croatians used the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
, but some of the specific sounds were not uniformly represented. Gaj followed the example of Pavao Ritter Vitezović and the Czech orthography
Czech alphabet
The Czech alphabet is a version of the Latin script, used when writing Czech. Its basic principles are "one sound, one letter" and the addition of diacritical marks above letters to represent sounds alien to Latin...
, using one letter of the Latin script for each sound in the language. He used diacritic
Diacritic
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
s and the digraph
Digraph (orthography)
A digraph or digram is a pair of characters used to write one phoneme or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined...
s lj and nj.
The book helped Gaj achieve nationwide fame. In 1834 he succeeded where fifteen years before Đuro Matija Šporer had failed, i.e. obtaining an agreement from the royal government of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
to publish a Croatian daily newspaper. He was known as an intellectual leader thereafter.
On 6 January 1835, Novine Horvatske ("The Croatian News") appeared, and on 10 January it got the literary addition Danicza horvatzka, slavonzka y dalmatinzka ("The Croatian, Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
n, and Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n Daystar"). It was a big progress in realising the idea of marking the Croatian literature
Croatian literature
Croatian literature is a definition given to the compilation of novels, dramas, short stories, poems and other various work of written kind entirely attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats and the Croatian language....
as unique. The "Novine Horvatske" were printed in Kajkavian dialect
Kajkavian dialect
The Kajkavian dialect is one of the three main dialects of Croatian. It has low mutual intelligibility with the other two dialects, Štokavian and Čakavian. All three are named after their word for "what?", which in Kajkavian is kaj....
until the end of that year, while "Danica" was printed in Shtokavian dialect
Shtokavian dialect
Shtokavian or Štokavian is the prestige dialect of the Serbo-Croatian language, and the basis of its Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Montenegrin standards...
along with Kajkavian.
In early 1836 the publications' names were changed to Ilirske narodne novine ("The Illyrian People's News") and Danica ilirska ("The Illyrian Morning Star") respectively. This was because historians at the time hypothesised Illyrians had been Slavic and were the direct forefathers of the present-day South Slavs.
Aside from all this Gaj was a writer also. The most popular poem of that time was "Još Horvatska ni propala" ("Croatia is not in ruin yet"), written in 1833.
Linguistic legacy
The Latin alphabet used in the CroatianCroatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
language is credited to Gaj's Kratka osnova Hrvatskog pravopisa.
The Latin alphabet (gajica) is also used for Serbian when written in Latin, the Cyrillic counterpart is called vukovica, after contemporary linguist Vuk Karadžić. The Slovenian alphabet
Slovenian alphabet
The Slovene alphabet is an extension of the Latin script and is used in the Slovene. The standard language uses a Latin alphabet which is a slight modification of Gaj's Latin alphabet, consisting of 25 lower- and upper-case letters:...
, introduced in the mid 1840s, is also a variation of Gaj's Latin alphabet (the only difference is the lack of the letters ć and đ).
Personal
He married 26-year-old Paulina Krizmanić, niece of an abbott, in 1842 at Marija BistricaMarija Bistrica
Marija Bistrica is municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in central Croatia, located on the slopes of the Medvednica mountain in Hrvatsko Zagorje, not far away from Zagreb...
. They had five children: daughter Ljuboslava, and sons Velimir, Svetoslav, Milivoje, and Bogdan.