JANEZ KRANJC – PRAVNI POLOŽAJ SLOVENSKEGA JEZIKA V ILIRSKIH PROVINCAH 7/23

The Position of Slovenian Language in the Provinces of

Summary

Language is more than a mere means of communication; it represents an important aspect of national identity. Therefore, especially for nations speaking less widely spoken languages, a concern for preserving one’s native language means also caring about one’s identity. In some countries the official language is determined by the constitution. Therefore, within multiethnic countries the official use of a language is of particular importance. During the time of the , the Slovenian language never achieved the status of a fully official language. Nonetheless, Slovenian intellec- tuals struggled for this status from the March revolution of 1848 until the end of the Monarchy. During that period many believed that the Slovenian langu- age had enjoyed full recognition during the time of the French administration within the Provinces of Illyria. In publications marking the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Provinces several authors were praising the French admini- stration as a period of cultural and national renaissance, and linguistic freedom. This rather romantic view was to some extent revised by modern historians. Nonetheless, the period of the Provinces of Illyria is still perceived of as a time that contributed greatly towards the development of Slovenian national identity. The Provinces of Illyria were created on the 14th of October, 1809 by the Treaty of Schönbrunn in which the ceded to the territories of western , , southeast of the river , and Gradisca as well as Triest and . These territories were amalgama- ted with and the former territory of the (occupied by the French before) into the Provinces of Illyria. Their creation had primarily strategic reasons. They were aimed at protecting the Italian Kingdom, preventing Austrian contact with the British naval forces and creating a link with the Otto- man Empire. The capital of the Provinces was the city of Laybach (the present ). At the head of the Provinces was the Governor General. In 1810 the territory of in was also integrated into the . The Illyrian Provinces consisted of seven provinces – six civil and one mi- litary. They were further subdivided into intendancies and subintendancies, districts, subdistricts and cantons, the smallest administrative unit being the arrondissement communal. Initially the Provinces had a provisional system of organization with ample powers of the Governor General. In April 1811 Napole- on issued a decree regulating the organization of the Illyrian Provinces.

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In the Provinces the French tried to introduce their system of administration and their laws. Yet, the ethnic, cultural, and economic differences (among other things) between provinces prevented them from immediately introducing the centralized French system of administration. These differences required a gradu- al transition from the old to the new system. One of the problems the French were facing in the Illyrian Provinces was the linguistic diversity. Although, in theory, French was the official language of the Provinces, its use was limited to French officials and some intellectuals. Since many civil servants were of non-French origin, the public administration had to also use German and Italian and, to a lesser extent, the local languages. Initially, the first Governor, General Marmont, wanted to introduce the Il- lyrian language as a language of communication with the local population. However, , Žiga Zois, and other intellectuals demonstrating the differences between the Slovenian, Serbian and , managed to convince him of the existence of more than one Illyrian language. In his ordi- nance on the organization of public education issued on the 4th of July 1810, he prescribed also teaching languages. Despite his endeavour to create a uniform system of public education for the Illyrian Provinces as a whole, he provided instruction in the language of the country (langue du pays). This was the case in elementary schools and partially in the secondary schools. The major difference to the old Austrian system, dating from the time of Empress Maria Theresia, having also some teaching in Slovenian in the so called Trivialschulen, was the fact that this time the use of the Slovenian language was not a mere preparation for the teaching of French but an independent phase of education. Because of a lack of teachers able to teach in Slovenian the new system had not achieved all the results it could produce. Nevertheless, it gave the Slovenians a sense of linguistic freedom and self-confidence. For the needs of teaching in elementary schools, Valentin Vodnik wrote several schoolbooks in Slovenian. Together with teaching in Slovenian, this had an unprecedented influence on the further development of national identity. This was strengthened also by the founding of the first university (Ecole centrale) on Slovenian territory. The absence of Slovenian in the teaching at higher schools was understan- dable. Even if Marmont would have made it possible by his ordinance, there were no teachers or teaching materials in Slovenian to put such a provision into practice. Also, because of financial constraints, the successor to Marmont Governer, General Bertrand, closed down many lower gymnasia that had taught using the local language. As a result, teaching in local languages was limited to elementary schools only.

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During the rather brief French rule, Slovenian never became an official lan- guage in the field of jurisdiction. The decree on the administration of justice and the introduction of French laws in the Illyrian Provinces (Décret sur la mise en activité de l’administration de la justice, et des lois françaises dans les Provinces illyriennes) provided that an official Gazette would be published in the Provinces. Yet, the French laws and by-laws were translated only into Italian and German. With the exception of public education, the French did not brought major changes to the official standing of the Slovenian language. It is therefore surpri- sing that, especially among intellectuals, the period of their administration was so popular. There are several reasons for this. The most important was probably the fact that under the French, the Slovenian population for the first time lived together under one state instead of being divided among several provinces. To the positive picture of the French period contributed also the atmosphere of intellectual liberty and the fact that it was so short that it could not develop all the negative features of a centralized state.

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