Valstybinė lietuvių kalba: teisės aktų nuostatos tarpukariu

Jurgita Venckienė. Lithuanian State Language: Legislative Provisions in the JURGITA VENCKIENĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas Interwar Period 9 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2022.95.02 Official Lithuanian language: JUDGMENTS of legal acts in Lithuanian1 ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: bendrinė kalba, valstybinė kalba, teisės aktai, tarpukaris. Annotations The restoration of the Lithuanian state in 1918 accelerated the development of the Lithuanian common language. The important aspects of the development of the common language that were directed towards the form of language – the choice of norm and codication – in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were replaced in the interwar period by aspects directed towards the function of language, namely the improvement of functions and social acceptance. The common language began to be used in government institutions, in the education system that was being created, in public life – where it had previously been prohibited or restricted, and in 1922 it was granted the status of a state language. The article discusses the requirements of interwar Lithuanian legislation relating to the use, mastery, teaching and improvement of Lithuanian language functions; they are seen as theoretical provisions that influenced the development of the common language. ABSTRACT the restoration of the Lithuanian state in 1918 accelerated the development of the Lithuanian standard language. the form‑oriented aspects of the development of the standard language at the end of the 19th century and the very beginning of the 20th century, the selection of norm and the codification of form, were replaced by function‑oriented aspects, the elaboration of function and acceptance by the community, in the inter‑war period. the standard Lithuanian began to be used in government offices, in the education system under construction, and in public life, where it had previously been forbidden or restricted, and was given the status of a state language in 1922. the article discusses the requirements of interwar Lithuanian legal documents concerning the use, learning, teaching and elaboration of the functions of standard Lithuanian. these documents were seen as theoretical provisions that influenced the development of the standard language. 1 The article was prepared based on the presentation What significance had the status of the state language for the common Lithuanian language, read at the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the state language status held in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on 14 September 2022. 10 General language | 95 INTRODUCTION 2022 will mark the centenary of the Lithuanian language as a state language. In the Constitution of the State of Lithuania of 1 August 1922, published in Vyriausybės Žinios2, the Lithuanian language was granted the status of state language: Article 6 of Chapter 1, Common Laws, states: “The state language is Lithuanian” (LVk 1922: 1)3. the same provision is repeated in the 1928 Constitution of the State of Lithuania, in Article 7 of the General Laws (LVk 1928: 1). This was also the case in Article 7 of the 1938 Constitution: “The state language is Lithuanian” (Vk 1938: 1). According to Vlado Sirutavičius, in the Central European states that formed after the First World War, “the idea of a state language became an important instrument of national policy, both in strengthening statehood and in promoting the development of national culture” (Sirutavičius 2010: 52). thus, language became part of state policy. Granting the status of the state language greatly influenced the development of the common language (hereinafter – bk). giedrius Subačius bk compared the interwar period to the eruption of a volcano: “both independences of Lithuania are simply linguistic eruptions and explosions of the Lithuanian language volcano, tectonic fractures in the pronunciation of the language” (Subačius 2018: 109). aldonas Pupkis called the years 1918–1940 the most prominent period of the rise of Lithuanian literature (Pupkis 2005: 44). However, detailed studies covering the development of bk after it became a state company are not many. This article focuses on the initial aspect of such research – the requirements of interwar Lithuanian legislation. They will be viewed as theoretical opinions that influenced bk use, teaching, improving its functions, and spreading it in society. It mainly refers to documents published in the Government Gazette from 1919 to 1938 in various fields – constitutions, laws and their amendments, statutes, statutes, orders, procedures, instructions, as well as the Municipalities Act (1919) and the Seimas Elections Act (1926). individual aspects of the interwar bk history have attracted the attention of researchers. au‑ relija tamošiūnaitė analyzed the acceptance of bk and personal usage (tamo‑ šiūnaitė 2009, 2011), algirdas ažubalis, Diana Builienė and rolanda kazlauskaitė‑Markelienė investigated issues of the use of Lithuanian in the army (ažubalis et al. 2010), Dangiras Mačiulis (2002) and Danguolė Mikulėnienė (2021) wrote about the establishment of the Institute of Lithuanian Studies of Anton Smetona, albina auksoriūtė examined the activities of the termology commission (2011, 2021), 2 when mentioning this publication, the article maintains the spelling of the time. 3 The provisional Constitution of the State of Lithuania, adopted in 1920, did not mention the state language (see LLVk 1920: 1–2). Jurgita Venckienė. 11 Mindaugas Maksimaitis (2007), alvydas umbrasas (2001, 2021), Lithuanian language curricula and textbooks for primary schools are covered by Vaida Buivydienė’s studies (2012, 2013, 2015, 2017), a summary article on Lithuanian language in the interwar period has been published by aldonas Pupkis (2019a, b). 1. Researchers of common and state languages distinguish four most important aspects of the development of common languages: selection of norm, codification, elaboration of function and acceptance by the community (Haugen 1972: 252; 1987: 59). The first two aspects are directed towards the form of language, the second towards function (Haugen 1972: 252; Subačius 2004: 103). The beginning of Lithuanian bk is associated with illegal printing – the editorial offices of Auszra (1883–1886), Varpas (1889–1905) and other publications chose the western Highland dialect as the basis of their language, which was adopted by the intelligentsia in the last decades of the 19th century. In 1901, the Lithuanian Grammar by Jon Jablons, signed under the pseudonym of Petro kriaušaitis, played the role of symbolic codification – bk rules became more accessible and learnable. After the restoration of the Lithuanian state, bk development intensified. Its functions began to expand rapidly, it began to function where it had not been used or restricted until then, namely in government institutions, the army, schools, public life. It became the language of science at the Lithuanian University founded in Kaunas. The acceptance of a common language in society is related to its prestige. Research shows that the attractiveness of bk in society has grown since the end of the 19th century4, but it increased even more after the restoration of the independent state, when Lithuanian language, in the words of G. Subačius, “became a matter of course in everyday life of the state” (Subačius 2018: 109). Therefore, the development of Lithuanian bk, or more precisely, the improvement of its functions and acceptance in society, is directly related to the restoration of the state and the becoming of bk a state language – the official language of public life of the state, authorized by law. During the 20th century, many states adopted language laws or established a state language in their constitutions. Special commissions and councils began to coordinate the development of the Lithuanian bk, which had become a state language (improvement of its functions and acceptance in society); A new phenomenon has emerged – language policy (Smetonienė 2005: 4). For example, the language of tombstone inscriptions at the beginning of the 20th century shows an increasing orientation towards bk (see Venckienė 2017). 12 General | 95 24; 2014: 101). In implementing language policy, the authorities regulate the public use of the language, the development of language skills necessary to satisfy the state’s priorities, as well as the rights and opportunities to learn, use their own language (kėvalienė, raipa 2007: 47). 2. Lithuanian language in legal acts In the 1922 Constitution, Lithuanian was granted the status of a de jure state language, and it became part of state policy (Smetonienė 2014: 101), but it was considered a de facto state language even earlier. this is evidenced by more than one document. although before the adoption of the constitution there were discussions as to whether one or several state languages should be recognised in Lithuania (kelmutis 1922: 2), however, since 1919 documents in various fields contained requirements to teach and use the state language of Lithuania. 2.1. Requirements for knowledge and use of the official language The Provisional Regulation of Lithuanian Courts and their Work, published in January 1919 and signed by the Presidium of the State Council, stipulated that “[t]eis mas shall be conducted in the state language, Lithuanian; in that language are written the minutes and decisions”5 (LS 1919: 7). The Municipalities Act, issued in the same year, states: “Written work in all municipal institutions is carried out in the state language Lithuanian. other languages may be used in addition to the state language Lithuanian” (SĮ 1919: 2). Thus, the legislative power, without disciplinating the use of other languages, sought the use of the Lithuanian language in administrative bodies. Pranas Janauskas, who studied the use of languages in Kaunas municipality between 1918 and 1928, stated that this multilingual municipality “successfully used Russian in various areas for a long time and resisted the positions of the state language” (Janauskas 2003: 45). The breakthrough in the transition from Russian to the state language was recorded only in the second half of the 1920s. After 1922, there were more demands for representatives of government bodies, civil servants, and members of county and city councils to be fluent in the Lithuanian language, both orally and in writing. For example, the statute of the municipal council, published on 31 December 1924, stipulates that the mayor and the members of the council must be able to write in the state language: “§ 8. 5 Furthermore, it is added here that if the parties to the case do not speak the state language, “the judges must also speak and communicate in other local languages (Polish and Gudi)” (LS 1919: 7). Jurgita Venckienė. 1924: 2) The village council shall elect the treasurer and the assistant treasurer of the village council from among persons who are able to write in the state language. The Local Municipality Act, adopted in 1929, required that the elder and the representative of the eldership to the state council be elected from among persons who could read and write Lithuanian, and that only persons who could speak and write Lithuanian could be elected as the mayor (LSA 1929: 1–2). And according to the Seimas election law adopted in 1936, those “who do not speak or write the state language” could not be elected to represent the nation (SrĮ 1936: 1)6. The legislation provided that the Lithuanian language is compulsory not only for those working in government and administrative bodies, but also for employees in other fields. In 1925, the Law on the Rights of Medical, Veterinary, Pharmaceutical and Dental Practice was published, which stated: “a person wishing to have the right to practice medicine, veterinary, pharmaceutical or dental practice in Lithuania must speak Lithuanian” (MVFOĮ 1925: 7). The Emigration Act of 1929 stipulated that “[e]migrant office officials who receive emigrants in ports and accompany emigrants on transport must be fluent in Lithuanian”, and emigration books were written in Lithuanian (eĮ 1929: 1). In 1932, the Cinema Act was issued, and according to it, “the titles and written texts of films must be used only in Lithuanian” (Act 1932: 1). The Press Act of 1935 set the requirements for publishers of periodicals: “From 1935, printers and bookstore tegali Lietuvos pilietis, mokąs žodžiu ir raštu lietuvių kalbą ir gyvenąs Lietuvoje“ (SpĮ 1935: 2). taip pat nurodyta, kad ne lietuvių kalba leidžia‑ mų laikraščių pavadinimai turi būti pateikti ir lietuvių kalba (SpĮ 1935: 1). managers were also required to speak Lithuanian to publish newspapers: the Printing and Printing Supplies Act stipulated that “[S]printer’s manager can only be a Lithuanian citizen who has reached the age of 24 and is fluent in the Lithuanian language orally and in writing” (SSrĮ 1935: 5), the Bookstore Act stipulated that “[k]bookstore manager can only be a Lithuanian citizen who has reached the age of 21 and is fluent in the Lithuanian language orally and in writing” (knĮ 1935: 6). The Associations Act, promulgated in 1936, stipulated that members of the board must be Lithuanian citizens and must have a fluent command of the Lithuanian language, both orally and in writing, and that “[t]he proficiency in the language may be tested” (DĮ 1936: 2). This law states that only the documents of the societies written in Lithuanian have legal significance. On April 8, 1940, the Minister of the Interior, Kazys Skučas, approved the Lithuanian language proficiency program and its verification procedure. The document shows that the proficiency in the Lithuanian language orally and in writing is proved by at least 6. The 1926 Seimas Elections Act did not contain this provision (see SRĮ 1926). 14 General | 95 4 skyrių pradžios mokslo arba kitos lietuvių mokyklos tolygus pažymėjimas. kitais atvejais lietuvių kalbos mokėjimas tikrinamas. tam „susitarę minis‑ trai appoints one representative from each of its managements” (LkP 1940: 2). the use of the state language appeared in the legislation even before the adoption of the 1922 constitution – the knowledge and use of the language in jimas valdžios ir kitose įstaigose buvo reglamentuojamas įvairiais dokumen‑ 1919. Such requirements affected both the spread of the bk, which had become a state newspaper, and its prestige – in order to occupy certain positions, a person had to know Lithuanian. a. tamošiūnaitė’s research shows that the gradual growth of bk’s authority took place approximately from the 1920s (tamošiūnaitė 2011: 505). 2.2 The national education system that was being created, according to Dangiras Mačiulis, had to strengthen the “Lithuanian cultural linguistic environment” (Mačiulis 2015: 17). First of all, in order to increase the literacy and education of the population, the Constituent Seimas adopted the Elementary Schools Act on 6 October 1922. It provides for compulsory primary education: “All children of both sexes aged 7 to 14 years must attend primary school” (PMĮ 1922: 1). Furthermore, that statute states that, among other subjects, primary school must teach ‘native language, reading and writing’. In schools where Lithuanian was not taught, it was required to be taught as a separate subject “in the second, third and fourth classes”, at least one lesson per day (PMĮ 1922: 1). Three years later, on 5 August 1925, an amendment to the Law on Primary Schools was published. From the previous version remained the provision for non-Lithuanian-language schools: in them Lithuanian language had to be taught as a separate subject in the second to fourth years, at least one lesson per day (PMĮP 1925: 5). This amendment to the law provided for language teaching requirements for primary school teachers: “for those who do not speak or write Lithuanian to the extent required by a certain program established by the Ministry of Education, the teacher’s certificate is recognised only after passing Lithuanian language examinations according to the established program” (PMĮP 1925: 6). In 1919, the Ministry of Education instructed schools to refer to Jojo Jablonski’s Lithuanian Grammar, published that year, and to P. Kriaušaitis’ and Rygiškių Jono Lithuanian Grammar. Etymology. For our first higher education institutions (Vilnius, “Žaibo” printing house). The newspaper Vyriausybės Žinios published a letter from the Department of Elementary Education to all instructors, teachers and teachers of elementary schools, in which they were asked to refer to the following work: The Ministry of Education organized annual (1919–1920 school Jurgita Venckienė. 15 The Department has experienced that in Lithuanian primary schools the spelling is not sufficiently uniform, and in remote schools the language is not sufficiently regular. In order to eliminate these defects in our education, the Department of Elementary Education asks all teachers of elementary schools to follow, both in official writings and in teaching matters, the rules of language and spelling set out in the Lithuanian language grammar by P. Krūšaitis and John of Ryga (Vilnius, 1919, Lithuanian Scientific Society publication) (appeal 1919: 8). This grammar became the main teaching tool of Lithuanian language in all Lithuanian schools (Palionis 1957: 34). In 1922, he published the supplementary edition of Rygiškių Jono lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Etymology. For secondary educational institutions (kaunas, “Švyturio” company’s publication) the Ministry of Education approved as normative and compulsory in Lithuanian schools (Stevens 1992: 153). A decade later, on July 29, 1936, the previous school laws were repealed and a new Primary Schools Act was issued. It includes a previously unseen provision: “The language of instruction in primary schools is Lithuanian” (PMĮ 1936: 1). In addition, it is mandatory for children whose one parent is of Lithuanian nationality to attend school in the Lithuanian language of instruction. In schools where Lithuanian was not the language of instruction, Lithuanian was to be taught as a compulsory subject from the second year of schooling. in the third year, Lithuanian was to be taught in homeland knowledge, history and geography. requirements for the administration of such schools – “correspondence must be conducted in Lithuanian” (PMĮ 1936: 2). The Secondary Schools Act was promulgated together with the Primary Schools Act. It states that in schools where the language of instruction is not Lithuanian, Lithuanian language and literature, history, Lithuanian geography, physical education and military training must be taught in Lithuanian. writing, as specified, in such schools must also be handled in Lithuanian (VMĮ 1936). Lithuanian was also taught in other educational institutions, such as the military school (see kMĮ 1922: 2), as well as in the Ministry of Education’s Postal, Telegraphic and Telephone courses (see PttĮ 1924: 1). Lithuanian language exams could be prepared for those wishing to study in these courses. when creating a state education system, it was necessary to train personnel. 1919. year) courses for elementary school teachers in Marijampolė, Kaunas, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Jurbarkas, Telšiai, Ukmergė and Rokiškis. Statutes for Annual courses for primary school teachers have been published in the Government Gazette. The document states that the courses, among other subjects, must be taught in “Lithuanian language, 16 General language | 95 its methodology and practice" (MĮ 1919: 5). They were able to attend them after completing at least three classes of high school and having certificates attesting to this. those who did not have such a document had to take Lithuanian language, religion, arithmetic and elementary geography exams. The Lithuanian language exam consisted of etymology7, dictation and retelling (MĮ 1919: 5). In 1923, the Ministry of Education established two-year teacher training courses and published the Law on Primary School Teacher Training Courses (PMMĮ 1923: 1) in the Government Gazette. Paragraph 5 of the Act states that in courses taught in a language other than Lithuanian, Lithuanian language and literature, geography and history must be taught in Lithuanian: “in courses where education is taught in a language other than Lithuanian, Lithuanian language and literature, Lithuanian geography and history are compulsory subjects; they are taught in Lithuanian. Lithuanian language is allocated at least one hour per day in each class” (PMMĮ 1923: 1). Thus, in creating the national education system, the use of the Lithuanian language in schools was regulated (referring to J. Jablonski’s grammar of 1919 and 1922), the payment requirements for teachers were approved, and the teaching and use of the Lithuanian language as well as the writing procedures for schools in which teaching or teaching takes place in other languages were established. In 1919–1940, the inhabitants were expected to have learned the common language after completing the secondary school. 2.3. Improvement of language functions Einar Haugen, speaking about the improvement of bk functions, first showed that modern language needs terminology8. When Lithuanian bk became the official language of the state, its usage expanded, and the creation of terms was taken care of. On March 29, 1921, the Government Gazette published the order for the formation of the Terminology Commission (tkĮ 1921: 4). It states that a commission is being set up at the Ministry of Education “to establish and unify terms for all fields of science and all matters of practical life” (for more on the activities of the terminology commission see: umbrasas 2001, 2021; Maksimaitis 2007; auksoriūtė 2011, 2021). The use of personal names and place names, their Lithuanianization, as well as the requirements for the press language are regulated by laws. In order to take care of the spelling of names, the Order on the spelling of names, surnames and nicknames of people, as well as place names, was adopted in early 1920 (VPP 1920: 5). 7 Etymology was a section of school grammar covering phonetics and morphology (see § 10). (Lt.) 8 „a modern language of high culture needs a terminology for all the intellectual and hu‑ manistic disciplines, including sciences“ (Haugen 1987: 61). Jurgita Venckienė. 17 It states that “[i]n documents and official [sic!] writings (written in Lithuanian) the names, surnames and nicknames of people, as well as the names of places (villages, farms, towns and towns) must be written without breaking the laws of the Lithuanian language, precisely as they are pronounced in Lithuanian and following the laws of the phonetics of the Lithuanian language” (VPP 1920). Furthermore, it was indicated that the names of places changed by other authorities should not be used: “those places which, during the foreign rule of Lithuania, were referred to in documents and official writings by a different name than that by which the inhabitants of the same place referred to them, must be left with the name used by people and this name used in official writings” (IVP 1920). so far there is no detailed study of how the law worked in practice. It is known from the analysis of Kaunas street names from 1918–1940 carried out by Min‑ daugas Balkaus that in 1919 the city council had decided to allow street names to be written in three languages (Lithuanian, Polish and Yiddish) in the street signs, and only in July 1923 the city council adopted a resolution according to which street names had to be written only in Lithuanian (Balkus 2020: 55). The place names are also mentioned in the instructions for the Land Planning work published in the Government Gazette on 28 June 1928. Paragraph 235 of this instruction states: “non-Lithuanian or distorted Lithuanian characters of the ordering units must be replaced with purely Lithuanian characters” (ŽĮ 1928: 17). The Surnames Act (PĮ 1938)9 was promulgated in 1938. It states that Lithuanian surnames are written “in the common language spelling and genders according to the Pavardžių dictionary”10. The law also defined the procedure for correcting surnames: Lithuanian surnames may be “corrected” if they “(1) have Slavic suffixes, (2) have been translated into other languages and (3) have been distorted by the influence of foreign languages” (PĮ 1938: 2). In addition, it is stated that corrections are made to “dialectal” and “deviation from the laws of common language” surnames. The Press Act of 1919 does not make any requirements for the printed language, but the Press Act of 1935 devotes a second chapter II to it. Language maintenance of printed materials. Purity and correctness of language were required: “The language of printed Lithuanian must be pure and correct. purity and correctness of the language is supervised by the Minister of Education. If the Minister of Education notices that the language of the printed material is not pure or incorrect, he shall inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs thereof” (SpĮ 1935: 2). In the case mentioned in the law – when the language of the printed material is not appropriate, the previous, adopted in 1922, Law on Change of Surnames (PkĮ 1922) was repealed 9 times. 10 It is also stated that non-Lithuanian surnames are written in accordance with the laws of Lithuanian language and spelling, but they can also be written “as written in the language of its owner, if he so wishes and if the alphabet of that language is Latin” (PĮ 1938: 2). 24 General language | 95 Tuvan grammar. Etymology. For our first higher educational institutions (Vilnius, 1919), he later published the supplemented edition of this grammar as Rygiškių Jono lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Etymology. For secondary educational institutions (kaunas, 1922). regulated language teaching in schools where Lithuanian is not the teaching language, established Lithuanian language proficiency requirements for teachers. The spread and prestige of the common language was also influenced by the requirements to know and use the Lithuanian language in government and other institutions and societies. With the expansion of common language usage and the care for its functions improvement, the use and change of real names were regulated by laws, the requirements applicable to the press language were established. ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: bendrinė kalba, valstybinė kalba, teisės aktai, tarpukaris. Jurgita Venckienė Lietuvių kalbos institutas Petro Vileišio g. 5, Lt‑10308 Vilnius [email protected]