Latin at the Crossroads of Identity: The Evolution of Linguistic Nationalism in the Kingdom of Hungary

From the late 18th century in the multi-ethnic Kingdom of Hungary, new language-based national identities came to dominate over those that had previously been constructed on legal, territorial, or historical basis. While the Hungarian language struggled to emancipate itself, the roles and functions of Latin (the official language until 1844) were changing dramatically. Latin held a different significance for varying segments of society, from being the essential part of an individual identity to representing an obstacle to national survival ; from guaranteeing harmony between the different linguistic communities to hindering change, social and political justice. This pioneering volume aims to highlight the ways language debates about Latin and Hungarian contributed to the creation of new identities and ideologies in Central Europe.

Contributors include Gabor Almasi, Per Pippin Aspaas, Piroska Balogh, Henrik Hoenich, Laszlo Kontler, Istvan Margocsy, Alexander Maxwell, Ambrus Miskolczy, Levente Nagy, Nenad Ristovic, Andrea Seidler, Teodora Shek Brnardic, Zvjezdana Sikiric Assouline, and Lav Subaric