Murko, the Begining of Slavia, and Its Slovene Contributors

Abstract

There were some Slovenian authors, who collaborated with the international scholar journal Slavia, founded in Prague after World War one; however, this did not happen often. Some of the reasons for this may be found in correspondence between the editor of Slavia, Matija Murko, and the leading Slovenia linguist Fran Ramovš. In 1923 Ramovš criticized the contents and the editorial concept of Slavia. He rejected the traditional concept of philology and argued for the autonomy of linguistics and literary history. Slavonic studies should be strictly scientific, and for that reason he rejected tendencies which would also see them follow different aspects of practical application. On the other hand, Murko warned against over-specialisation; he argued for the unity of Slavonic philology, and stated as reasons in socially useful functions. In the light of this, the polemic between Murko and Ramovš is illustrative of the general state of Slavonic studies at the time.