SLOVAKIAN. Along with the Czech language must be mentioned the Slovakian language, spoken by 2.500.000 persons in northwest Hungary and in America. Its literature is only a century old, and its independent development was entirely due to the great wave of national reawakening that swept over Europe at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. The movement, communicated to the Czech language, spread to the kindred Slovakian. In spite of the serious opposition on the payt of such prominent Bohemians as Havlihk, Safal•k (q.v.), and Kollar (q.v.), himself a Slovak, a Slovakian literature was established. The pioneer of the movement was Antonin I:cilia:1k (1762-1813), whose Dissertatio Philologica-Critieu de Literis Sin rorum , Gra in mat iea Sta rica ( Presburg, 1790), and Lexicon Slaeirum Bohcmico- Latino - Ger manic° - Bungarieum (6 vols.. Buda, 1825-27) supplied the foundation for Slovak literature. The other great names are:, the poet Jan (1785-1849), Ljudevit Stur (1815-56), Josef Hurban, and Michael Hodi, who brought the language to its high standard of literary perfection. Among the more recent writers the following deserve especial mention: the famous Martin Hattala, one of the foremost of Slavic linguists; Svetozfir Hurban Vajansky, son of Josef Hurban; the lyric poet Orsag Hvezdoslav, and the novelist a power ful portrayer of popular life and manners. The language in the works of these writers, though closely kindred to the Czech, exhibits many well defined peculiarities which justify its classifica tion as a separate branch. There are numerous works that are not found in the Czech language, and many features bring it nearer to the Russian, Polish. and Servian than to the Czech. Ethno
graphically considered, the Slovaks are yield ing before the march of the stronger and politically dominant Hungarian nationality; but literature has received too strong a start to allow of any doubt as to its future development.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Grammars of the Czech lanBibliography. Grammars of the Czech lan- guage: Dobrovsk', Lehrgebande dcr hiihmischen prache (Prague. 1819) ; Hattala, Srortni mei mlo•niee jazy•a i'eskf'ho a slorenskao (ib„ 1857) ; Gobauer, /Thiskos/ori (ib.. 1876) ; id., If lurnice C.CSk (I pro Holy stredut (ib.. 1890), excellent ; id., II istoriekii mlurniec jazyket eeskeho (ib., 1894, 1896-98),—in all four volumes are promised by the author of this epoch-making work; Vyrnazal, itiihmische Gram matik fiir deutsche 11 ittelschulen mind Lehrer Gild flys - A n st al ten ( 11 Milli, 1881 )—although somewhat behind latest philological researches, a most practical and simple handbook; Masafik, L m ischc Schnlyra mina( ik (51.11 ed., Prague, 1890).
Dictionaries of the Czech language: Jung mann, Sto•ni]; t'esko-ni'meckaj ( 5 vols., Prague, 1835-39) ; t•la kovsky, .Idditions to Jungmann's Dictionary I Prague, 1851 ) ; Kott, Ha is.eh dentsches Wiirterbnch, especially Gramm:dim Phraseologieal (7 vols., Prague, 157 R-93); Su mo Beih m en I sell es Wiirterbn•k (3d ed., Prague. 1874) ; Rank. Tamehi n wort erbnek der bah in bit-It-den schen Spraehc ( 6t11 ed., Prague, 1895).