JURGITA VENCKIENĖ

Institute of the Lithuanian Language

doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2022.95.02

LITHUANIAN AS THE STATE LANGUAGE: LEGAL PROVISIONS IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD¹

KEYWORDS: standard language, state language, legal acts, interwar period.

ABSTRACT

The restoration of the Lithuanian state in 1918 accelerated the development of the Lithuanian standard language. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the important aspects of standard-language development that had focused on linguistic form—selecting a norm and codification—were replaced during the interwar period by aspects focused on language function, namely the development of functions and social acceptance. The standard language began to be used in government institutions, the emerging education system, and public life—in areas where its use had previously been prohibited or restricted—and in 1922 it acquired the status of state language. This article discusses the requirements in interwar Lithuanian legal acts concerning the use, command, and teaching of the Lithuanian language and the development of its functions; these are considered as theoretical provisions that influenced the development of the standard 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 This article is based on the presentation What significance did state-language status have for the Lithuanian standard language, delivered on 14 September 2022 at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania during a commemoration marking the 100th anniversary of the state-language status.

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INTRODUCTION

The centenary of Lithuanian as the state language is commemorated in 2022. On 1 September 1922, the Constitution of the State of Lithuania, published in Vyriausybės Žiniose², granted Lithuanian the status of state language: Article 6 of Chapter 1, Bendrieji dėsnai, states: “The state language is Lithuanian” (LVK 1922: 1)³. The same provision was repeated in the 1928 Constitution of the State of Lithuania, in Article 7 of Bendrųjų dėsnių (LVK 1928: 1). It was worded the same way in Article 7 of the 1938 Constitution: “The state language is Lithuanian” (VK 1938: 1). According to Vladas Sirutavičius, in the Central European states that took shape after the First World War, “the idea of a state language became an important instrument of national policy, both in consolidating statehood and in promoting the development of national culture” (Sirutavičius 2010: 52). Thus, language became part of state policy.

The granting of state-language status had a major impact on the development of the standard language (hereafter SL). Giedrius Subačius compared the interwar development of the SL to a volcanic eruption: “Both periods of Lithuanian independence were, quite simply, linguistic eruptions and explosions of the Lithuanian-language volcano, tectonic shifts in language development” (Subačius 2018: 109). Aldonas Pupkis described 1918–1940 as the most remarkable period in the rise of the Lithuanian SL (Pupkis 2005: 44). Nevertheless, few detailed studies have examined the development of the SL after it became the state language. This article focuses on an initial aspect of such research: the requirements set out in interwar Lithuanian legislation. These are considered as theoretical provisions that influenced SL usage and teaching, the improvement of its functions, and its dissemination in society. The study draws primarily on documents from various fields published in Vyriausybės Žiniose between 1919 and 1938: constitutions, laws and amendments to them, regulations, statutes, orders, procedural rules, and instructions, as well as the Savivaldybių įstatymu (1919) and the Seimo rinkimų įstatymu (1926).

Researchers have examined various aspects of the history of the interwar SL. Aurelija Tamošiūnaitė analyzed the acceptance and personal use of the SL (Tamošiūnaitė 2009, 2011); Algirdas Ažubalis, Diana Builienė, and Rolanda Kazlauskaitė-Markelienė studied questions concerning the use of Lithuanian in the military (Ažubalis et al. 2010). Dangiras Mačiulis (2002) and Danguolė Mikulėnienė (2021) wrote about the establishment of the Antanas Smetona Institute of Lithuanian Studies, while Albina Auksoriūtė examined the work of the Terminology Commission (2011, 2021),

² When referring to this publication, the article retains the spelling used at the time.

³ The Provisional Constitution of the State of Lithuania, adopted in 1920, did not mention a state language (see LLVK 1920: 1–2).

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Mindaugas Maksimaitis (2007) and Alvydas Umbrasas (2001, 2021) have also contributed to this research. Vaida Buivydienė’s studies cover Lithuanian-language curricula and textbooks for primary schools (2012, 2013, 2015, 2017), and Aldonas Pupkis has published a general overview of Lithuanian during the interwar period (2019a, b).

1. STANDARD LANGUAGE AND STATE LANGUAGE

Researchers distinguish four key aspects in the development of standard languages: selection of a language variety (English selection of norm), codification (English codification), elaboration of functions (English elaboration of function), and acceptance by society (English acceptance by the community) (Haugen 1972: 252; 1987: 59). The first two aspects concern the form of language, while the latter two concern its function (Haugen 1972: 252; Subačius 2004: 103). The origins of the Lithuanian SL are associated with the clandestine press: the editorial offices of Aušros (1883–1886), Varpo (1889–1905), and other publications chose the Western Aukštaitian dialect as the basis for their language; this variety was adopted by the intelligentsia in the final decades of the nineteenth century. Published in 1901 under the pseudonym Petras Kriaušaitis, Jonas Jablonskis’s Lietuviškos kalbos gramatika played a role in symbolic codification: the rules of the SL became more accessible and easier to learn.

After the restoration of the Lithuanian state, the development of the SL accelerated. Its functions began to expand rapidly, and it came into use in areas where it had previously not been used or had been restricted—namely, government institutions, the military, schools, and public life. It became the language of scholarship at the Lithuanian University, established in Kaunas. Society’s acceptance of a standard language is linked to its prestige. Research shows that the appeal of the SL in society had been growing since the late nineteenth century⁴, but increased even more after independence was restored, when Lithuanian, in G. Subačius’s words, “became an everyday part of state life, taken for granted” (Subačius 2018: 109). Thus, the development of the Lithuanian SL—or, more precisely, the elaboration of its functions and its acceptance by society—is directly linked to the restoration of the state and to the SL becoming the state language, the official language of public state life as established by law.

In the twentieth century, the constitutions of many states established a state language or language laws were adopted. The development of the Lithuanian SL after it became the state language—its elaboration of functions and acceptance by society—began to be coordinated by specialized commissions and councils; a new phenomenon emerged: language policy (Smetonienė 2005:

⁴ For example, the language of gravestone inscriptions reflects the growing orientation toward the SL in the early twentieth century (for more, see Venckienė 2017).

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24; 2014: 101). In implementing language policy, the authorities regulate public language use, the development of language-proficiency skills needed to meet state priorities, as well as the rights and opportunities to learn and use one’s own language (Kevalienė, Raipa 2007: 47).

2. THE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE IN LEGAL ACTS

The 1922 Constitution granted Lithuanian the status of the state language de jure, making it part of state policy (Smetonienė 2014: 101), but de facto it had been considered the state language even earlier. This is attested by more than one document. Although debates had arisen before the Constitution was adopted over whether Lithuania should recognize one or several state languages (Kelmutis 1922: 2), documents from various fields had nevertheless required the knowledge and use of the state language, Lithuanian, from as early as 1919.

2.1. Requirements to know and use the state language

In the Provisional Regulations on Lithuanian Courts and Their Work, promulgated in January 1919 and signed by the Presidium of the State Council, it was established that “[T]he court proceedings are conducted in the state language, Lithuanian; the records and decisions are written in that language”⁵ (LS 1919: 7). The Law on Municipalities, issued in the same year, stated: “In all municipal institutions, written work is conducted in the state language, Lithuanian. Alongside the state language, Lithuanian, other languages may also be used” (SĮ 1919: 2). Thus, without prohibiting the use of other languages, the legislature sought to promote the use of Lithuanian in administrative institutions. Pranas Janauskas, who studied language use in Kaunas Municipality from 1918 to 1928, observed that this multilingual municipality “successfully used Russian at various levels for a long time and persistently resisted the position of the state language” (Janauskas 2003: 45). The shift from Russian to the state language was recorded only in the second half of the 1920s.

After 1922, more requirements were introduced for representatives of government institutions, civil servants, and members of county and city councils to know Lithuanian, both orally and in writing. For example, the Statute of the Rural District Council, published on December 31, 1924, stated that the rural district head and members of the board had to be able to write in the state language: Ҥ 8. The rural district head and members of the board (vir-

⁵ In addition, it was stipulated here that if the parties to a case did not know the state language, “judges must also know and be able to communicate in other local languages (Polish and Belarusian)” (LS 1919: 7).

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(the assistant to the elder and the treasurer) are elected by the district council from among persons who can write in the state language” (VTS 1924: 2). The Local Self-Government Act, adopted in 1929, required that the village elder and the representative of the village eldership be elected to the district council from among those able to read and write in Lithuanian; only a resident able to speak and write Lithuanian could also be elected district chief (VSI 1929: 1–2). Under the Seimas Election Act adopted in 1936, those “who do not know the state language, orally and in writing,” could not be elected to represent the nation (SRĮ 1936: 1)⁶.

Legal acts stipulated that knowledge of Lithuanian was mandatory not only for employees working in government and administrative institutions, but also for workers in other fields. The Law on the Rights to Practice Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, published in 1925, stated: “A person wishing to have the right to practice medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, or dentistry in Lithuania[,] must know Lithuanian” (MVFOĮ 1925: 7). The 1929 Emigration Act stipulated that “[E]migration office employees who receive emigrants at ports and accompany emigrant transports must know Lithuanian,” and emigration registers were to be written in Lithuanian (EĮ 1929: 1). The Cinematograph Act was issued in 1932; under it, “[O]nly Lithuanian is to be used for film titles and written texts” (KĮ 1932: 1). The 1935 Press Act established requirements for periodical publishers: “A newspaper may be published only by a citizen of Lithuania who can speak and write Lithuanian and resides in Lithuania” (SpĮ 1935: 2). It was also stipulated that the titles of newspapers published in languages other than Lithuanian had to be provided in Lithuanian as well (SpĮ 1935: 1).

From 1935, printers and bookshop managers were also required to know Lithuanian: the Printing Houses and Printing Supplies Act stated that “[T]he manager of a printing house may only be a citizen of Lithuania who has reached the age of 24 and can speak and write Lithuanian” (SSRĮ 1935: 5); the Bookshops Act set out the provision that “[T]he manager of a bookshop may only be a citizen of Lithuania who has reached the age of 21 and can speak and write Lithuanian” (KnĮ 1935: 6). The Associations Act, published in 1936, stipulated that Lithuanian citizens serving as members of the governing body must be able to speak and write Lithuanian; in addition, “[L]anguage proficiency may be tested” (DĮ 1936: 2). This act stipulated that only association documents written in Lithuanian had legal force.

On April 8, 1940, Minister of the Interior Kazys Skučas approved the Lithuanian Language Proficiency Program and Its Assessment Procedure. The document stipulated that proficiency in spoken and written Lithuanian was demonstrated by at least

⁶ This provision was absent from the 1926 Seimas Election Act (see SRĮ 1926).

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A certificate equivalent to completion of grade 4 in a science or other Lithuanian-language school. In other cases, proficiency in Lithuanian is tested. For this purpose, “the ministers concerned appoint one representative each from their departments” (LKP 1940: 2).

As can be seen, provisions requiring the use of the state language appeared in legal acts even before the adoption of the 1922 constitution—in 1919. Proficiency in and use of Lithuanian in government and other institutions were regulated by various documents. Such requirements also influenced both the spread and the prestige of the standard language, which had become the state language: to hold certain positions, a person had to know Lithuanian. A. Tamošiūnaitė’s research indicates that the authority of the standard language grew gradually, beginning around the 1920s (Tamošiūnaitė 2011: 505).

2.2. Education

According to Dangiras Mačiulis, the national education system being created was intended to establish a “Lithuanian cultural-linguistic environment” (Mačiulis 2015: 17). First, with the aim of increasing literacy and education among the population, on October 6, 1922, the Constituent Seimas adopted the Primary School Act. It provided for compulsory primary education: “All children, regardless of sex, aged 7–14 must attend primary school” (PMĮ 1922: 1). In addition, the act stipulated that primary schools were to teach, among other subjects, “the mother tongue, reading, and writing.” Schools where the language of instruction was not Lithuanian were required to teach it as a separate subject in “grades two, three, and four,” for at least one lesson each day (PMĮ 1922: 1).

Three years later, on August 5, 1925, the Amendment to the Primary School Act was published. The provision concerning schools where the language of instruction was not Lithuanian remained from the earlier version: Lithuanian was to be taught in them as a separate subject in the second through fourth years, for at least one lesson each day (PMĮP 1925: 5). This amendment set out language-proficiency requirements for primary-school teachers: “For those who do not know Lithuanian, orally or in writing, to the extent required by the relevant program established by the Minister of Education, a teacher’s qualification shall be recognized only after passing the examinations in Lithuanian prescribed by that program” (PMĮP 1925: 6).

In 1919, the Ministry of Education instructed schools to use the Lithuanian grammar published that year by Jojo Jablonskis: P. Kriaušaitis and Rygiškių Jonas, Lithuanian Grammar. Etymology. For Our First Higher Educational Institutions (Vilnius, “Žaibas” printing house). The newspaper Government Gazette published an appeal from the Department of Primary Education to all inspectors and teachers of elementary schools, asking them to use this work:

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The Department has learned that spelling in Lithuanian elementary schools is not sufficiently uniform, and that in some schools the language is not sufficiently correct. To remedy these shortcomings in our education [sic!], the Department of Primary Education asks all elementary-school teachers to follow, both in official correspondence and in matters of instruction, the language rules and spelling set out in P. Kriaušaitis and Rygiškių Jonas’s Lithuanian Grammar (Vilnius, 1919, publication of the Lithuanian Scientific Society) (Kreipimasis 1919: 8).

This grammar became the principal means of teaching Lithuanian in all schools in Lithuania (Palionis 1957: 34). The Ministry of Education approved the expanded edition of the grammar published in 1922, Rygiškių Jonas, Lithuanian Grammar. Etymology. For Secondary Educational Institutions (Kaunas, “Švyturys” Company publication), as normative and compulsory in Lithuanian schools (Zinkevičius 1992: 153).

A decade later, on July 29, 1936, the earlier school acts were repealed and a new Primary School Act was issued. It included a provision not found in the previous acts: “The language of instruction in primary schools is Lithuanian” (PMĮ 1936: 1). In addition, it was established as compulsory that children with at least one Lithuanian parent attend a school where the language of instruction was Lithuanian. In schools where the language of instruction was not Lithuanian, Lithuanian had to be taught as a compulsory subject starting in the second year of study. From the third year, pupils were to be taught civics, history, and geography in Lithuanian. Requirements were also imposed on the administration of such schools: “record-keeping must be conducted in Lithuanian” (PMĮ 1936: 2). The Primary School Act was published together with the Secondary School Act. It stipulated that in schools where the language of instruction was not Lithuanian, Lithuanian language and literature, history, the geography of Lithuania, physical education, and military training had to be taught in Lithuanian. Record-keeping in such schools, as stipulated, also had to be conducted in Lithuanian (VMĮ 1936). Lithuanian was also taught in other educational institutions, for example, the War School (see KMĮ 1922: 2), as well as in the Ministry of Education’s postal, telegraph, and telephone courses (see PTTĮ 1924: 1). Lithuanian-language examinations could be organized for those wishing to enroll in these courses.

Creating a state education system required the preparation of personnel. In 1919, the Ministry of Education organized annual courses for primary-school teachers (for the 1919–1920 academic year) in Marijampolė, Kaunas, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Jurbarkas, Telšiai, Ukmergė, and Rokiškis. The Government Gazette published the Regulations for the Annual Courses for Elementary-School Teachers. The document stated that the courses were to include, among other subjects, “the Lithuanian language,”

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jos metodika ir praktika“ (MĮ 1919: 5). Juos lankyti galėjo baigę bent tris gimnazijos klases ir turintys tai liudijančius pažymėjimus. Neturintiems tokio dokumento teko laikyti lietuvių kalbos, tikybos, aritmetikos ir pradedamojo geografijos kurso egzaminus. Lietuvių kalbos egzaminą sudarė etimologija⁷, diktantas ir atpasakojimas (MĮ 1919: 5).

In 1923, the Ministry of Education established two-year teacher-training courses and published the Government Gazette Law on Courses for Primary-School Teachers (PMMĮ 1923: 1). Point 5 of the law states that where courses are taught in a language other than Lithuanian, Lithuanian language and literature, geography, and history must be taught in Lithuanian: “In courses where instruction is conducted in a language other than Lithuanian, Lithuanian language and literature, the geography and history of Lithuania are compulsory subjects; they are taught in Lithuanian. At least one hour each day in every class is devoted to the Lithuanian language” (PMMĮ 1923: 1).

Thus, in establishing a national education system, the use of Lithuanian in schools was regulated (with instructions to follow J. Jablonskis’s grammars of 1919 and 1922); requirements for teachers’ proficiency in the language were approved, and rules were established for the teaching and use of Lithuanian and for recordkeeping in schools where instruction was given or taught in other languages. Residents who completed school in 1919–1940 were expected to have acquired some proficiency in the standard language.

2.3. Developing the Functions of the Language

In discussing the development of the functions of the standard language, Einar Haugen first noted that a modern language requires terminology⁸. As Lithuanian standard language became the official language of the state and its use expanded, efforts began to create terminology. On March 29, 1921, the Government Gazette published the Order Establishing the Terminology Commission (TKĮ 1921: 4). It stated that the Commission was being established under the Ministry of Education “to establish and standardize terms for all fields of science and all practical needs of life” (for more on the work of the Terminology Commission, see: Umbrasas 2001, 2021; Maksimaitis 2007; Auksoriūtė 2011, 2021). The use and Lithuanization of personal and place names were also regulated by legislation, as were requirements for the language of the press. In early 1920, an Order on the Writing of People’s Given Names, Surnames and Nicknames, and Place Names was adopted (ĮVPP 1920: 5), as part of efforts to regulate the spelling of names.

⁷ Etimologija was the name given to a section of school grammar covering phonetics and morphology (see LKKŽ).

⁸ „A modern language of high culture needs a terminology for all the intellectual and humanistic disciplines, including sciences“ (Haugen 1987: 61).

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It stated that “[D]ocuments and official [sic!] written records (written in Lithuanian) must give people’s given names, surnames and nicknames, as well as the names of places (villages, hamlets, towns and small towns), without violating the rules of the Lithuanian language—namely, in the form in which they are pronounced in Lithuanian and in accordance with the rules of Lithuanian phonetics” (ĮVPP 1920). It also stipulated that place names altered by other authorities must not be used: “For places which, while Lithuania was under foreign rule, were called by a different name in documents and official records from the name used by the inhabitants of those same places, the name used by the people must be retained and used in official records” (ĮVVP 1920).

So far, no detailed studies have examined how the law worked in practice. From Mindaugas Balkus’s analysis of Kaunas street names from 1918–1940, it is known that in 1919 the city board had decided to allow street names on signs to be written in three languages (Lithuanian, Polish, and Yiddish), and only in July 1923 did the city council adopt a resolution requiring street names to be written in Lithuanian only (Balkus 2020: 55).

Place names are also mentioned in the Government Gazette’s Instructions for Carrying Out Land-Management Work, published on June 28, 1928. Point 235 of these instructions provides: “Non-Lithuanian or corrupted Lithuanian names of administrative units must be replaced with purely Lithuanian ones” (ŽĮ 1928: 17).

The Law on Surnames (PĮ 1938)⁹ was published in 1938. It stated that Lithuanian surnames were to be written “using the spelling and forms of the standard language, according to the Dictionary of Surnames”¹⁰. The law also set out the procedure for correcting surnames: Lithuanian surnames could be “corrected” if they “1) had Slavic suffixes, 2) had been translated into other languages, or 3) had been distorted under the influence of foreign languages” (PĮ 1938: 2). It further established that surnames that were “dialectal” or “deviated from the rules of the standard language” were to be corrected.

The 1919 Press Law did not set requirements for the language of printed publications, but the 1935 Press Law devoted its second chapter to the subject: II. Oversight of the Language of Printed Publications. Purity and correctness of language were required: “Printed publications in Lithuanian must be pure and correct. The Minister of Education oversees the purity and correctness of the language. Upon noticing that the language of a printed publication is impure or incorrect, the Minister of Education reports this to the Minister of the Interior” (SpĮ 1935: 2). In the case specified in the law—when the language of a printed publication is unsuitable,

⁹ At the same time, the earlier Law on Changing Surnames, adopted in 1922, was repealed (PKĮ 1922).

¹⁰ It was also stipulated that non-Lithuanian surnames were to be written according to the rules of the Lithuanian language and orthography, but they could also be written “as their bearer writes them in their own language, if they so wish and if that language uses the Latin alphabet” (PĮ 1938: 2).

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The Minister of the Interior could warn the publisher and editor of a publication, suspend a newspaper’s publication for three months if, after the warning, its language “remained corrupted,” or shut it down altogether. A publication whose language was “extremely corrupted” could be confiscated (SpĮ 1935: 2).

During the interwar period, various issues of language use and language planning were regulated by law; thus, the government undertook to improve the language’s functions. A Terminology Commission was established, procedures for the use and alteration of personal and place names were set, and requirements for the language of the press were introduced.

SUMMARY

The beginnings of Lithuanian standard language—the selection of its terminological basis in the final decades of the nineteenth century and its codification in 1901—are associated with the activities of the intelligentsia. Its subsequent development—improvement of its functions and acceptance by society—is directly linked to the restoration of the state and the standard language’s becoming the state language, that is, the official language of public state life, established by law. The state undertook to regulate language use, proficiency, and teaching, as well as its development.

In legal documents, the term state language was used from 1919, while de jure Lithuanian was granted state-language status in 1922 in the Constitution of the State of Lithuania.

The dissemination of the standard language through the education system had a major influence on its acceptance by society. Various matters concerning the teaching of Lithuanian were regulated by law. In 1919, the Ministry of Education instructed teachers to use J. Jablonskis’s Lithuanian grammar, published that same year, as the basis for teaching the mother tongue; later, an expanded edition of this grammar (1922) was declared normative. Language teaching was regulated in schools where instruction was not in Lithuanian, and Lithuanian-language proficiency requirements were established for teachers.

Requirements to know and use Lithuanian in the Seimas, courts, municipal offices, county councils, and other institutions and associations influenced both the dissemination and the prestige of the standard language.

As use of the standard language expanded and efforts were made to improve its functions, legal documents regulated the spelling of proper names in accordance with the rules of Lithuanian, the Lithuanianization of surnames, and stipulated that non-Lithuanian or “distorted” names should not be used, but replaced with “purely Lithuanian” ones. In the 1930s, the Press Law began to require purity and correctness in the language of the press.

An analysis of interwar Lithuanian legislation shows how requirements concerning the Lithuanian language changed—becoming more frequent and stricter. At the beginning of the period, in 1919, it was stipulated that Lithuanian be used in courts and also in municipal offices

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the language, but other languages were also permitted alongside it. Later, civil servants and employees in various fields were required to know Lithuanian, both in writing and orally. By the mid-1930s, a publication that failed to meet the requirements for linguistic purity and correctness could be confiscated and “shut down” by the Minister of the Interior.

ŠALTINIAI

DĮ 1936: Draugijų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 522, 1–4.

EĮ 1929: Emigracijos įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 310, 1–4.

ĮVPP 1920: Įsakymas dėl žmonių vardų, pavardžių ir pravardžių, taip pat ir vietų vardų rašymo. – Vyriausybės Žinios 19, 5.

KĮ 1932: Kinoteatrų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 390, 1–2.

KMĮ 1922: Karo mokyklos įstatai. – Vyriausybės Žinios 103, 1–2.

KnĮ 1935: Knygynų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 510, 6–7.

Kreipimasis 1919: Visiems pradedamųjų mokyklų instruktoriams, mokytojams ir mokytojoms. – Vyriausybės Žinios 8, 8.

LKP 1940: Lietuvių kalbos programa ir jo tikrinimo tvarka. – Vyriausybės Žinios 702, 2.

LLVK 1920: Laikinoji Lietuvos Valstybės Konstitucija. – Laikinosios Vyriausybės Žinios 37, 1–2.

LS 1919: Laikinasis Lietuvos teismų ir jų darbo sutvarkymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 2–3, 6–7.

LVK 1922: Lietuvos Valstybės Konstitucija. – Vyriausybės Žinios 100, 1–8.

LVK 1928: Lietuvos Valstybės Konstitucija. – Vyriausybės Žinios 275, 1–6.

MĮ 1919: Metiniams pradedamųjų mokyklų mokytojų kursams įstatai. – Vyriausybės Žinios 13, 5.

MVFĮ 1925: Medicinos, veterinarijos, farmacijos ir odontologijos praktikos teisių įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 190, 7.

PĮ 1938: Pavardžių įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 629, 1–2.

PKĮ 1922: Pavardžių keitimo įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 79, 1.

PMĮ 1922: Pradžios mokyklų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 117, 1–3.

PMĮ 1936: Pradžios mokyklų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 541, 1–4.

PMĮP 1925: Pradžios mokyklų įstatymo pakeitimas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 200, 5–7.

PMMĮ 1923: Pradedamųjų mokyklų mokytojų kursų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 129, 1–2.

PTTĮ 1924: Pašto, telegrafo ir telefono kursų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 175, 1.

SĮ 1919: Savivaldybių įstatymas, Kaunas: Lietuvos Valstybės Spaustuvė.

SpĮ 1919: Spaudos įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 17, 5–6.

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SpĮ 1935: Spaudos įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 510, 1–4.

SRĮ 1926: Seimo rinkimų įstatymas, Šiauliai: Savičo ir Šumkauskio spaustuvė.

SRĮ 1936: Seimo rinkimų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 533, 1–6.

SSRĮ 1935: Spaustuvių ir spausdinimo reikmenų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 510, 5–6.

TKĮ 1921: Terminologijos Komisijos sudarymo įsakymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 60, 4.

VK 1938: Valstybės Konstitucija. – Vyriausybės Žinios, 608, 1–9.

VMĮ 1936: Vidurinių mokyklų įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 541, 4–8.

VSĮ 1929: Vietos savivaldybės įstatymas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 307, 1–2.

VTS 1924: Valsčiaus tarybos statutas. – Vyriausybės Žinios 177, 2–7.

ŽĮ 1928: Žemėtvarkos darbams vykdyti instrukcija. – Vyriausybės Žinios 279, 1–19.

LITERATŪRA

Auksoriūtė Albina 2011: Terminologijos komisijos (1921–1926) veiklos apžvalga. – Terminologija 18, 80–91.

Auksoriūtė Albina 2021: Terminologijos komisijos įkūrimo šimtmečiui. – Gimtoji kalba 3, 3–9.

Ažubalis Algirdas, Bulienė Diana, Kazlauskaitė-Markelienė Rolanda 2010: Valstybinė kalba kariuomenėje (1918–1940 m.), Vilnius: Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija.

Balkus Mindaugas 2020: Kauno gatvėvardžiai 1918–1940. – Kauno istorijos metraštis 18, 47–62.

Buivydienė Vaida 2012: Lietuvių kalbos mokymas XX a. pradžioje: pirmosios lietuvių kalbos programos ir to laikotarpio vadovėliai. – Naujausi kalbų ir kultūrų tyrimai, sud. V. Meiliūnaitė, N. Morozova, Vilnius: Petro ofsetas.

Buivydienė Vaida 2013: XX amžiaus pirmosios pusės pradžios mokyklų gimtosios kalbos vadovėlių turinio ir kalbos norminimo bruožai: daktaro disertacija, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas.

Buivydienė Vaida 2015: Pradinių mokyklų lietuvių kalbos mokymo programos 1915–1939 metais. – Bendrinė kalba 88, 1–21.

Buivydienė Vaida 2017: XX a. pirmosios pusės lietuvių bendrinės kalbos formavimosi bruožai pradžios mokyklų lietuvių kalbos vadovėliuose. – Valoda 27, 71–76.

Haugen Einar 1972: The Ecology of Language, Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

Haugen Einar 1987: Blessings of Babel. Bilingualism and Language Planning, Berlin, New York, Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter.

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Janauskas Pranas 2003: „Lietuviškasis lūžis“ (Kalbų varžybos Kauno savivaldybėje 1918–1928 metais). – Darbai ir dienos 34, 33–47.

Kelmutis A. [Klimas Adolfas] 1922: Valstybinė kalba. – Lietuva 68, 2.

Kėvalienė Dalia, Raipa Alvydas 2007: Pagrindiniai valstybinės kalbos politikos bruožai ir tendencijos. – Viešoji politika ir administravimas 19, 46–53.

LKŽe – Lietuvių kalbos žodynas, t. 1–20, 1941–2002 (elektroninis variantas), vyr. red. G. Naktinienė, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 2005. Prieiga internete: www.lkz.lt.

Mačiulis Dangiras 2002: Antano Smetonos lituanistikos instituto įkūrimas. – Lituanistica 2, 19–38.

Mačiulis Dangiras 2015: Nacionalinė švietimo sistema ir valdžia. – Lietuvos istorija 10(2), Vilnius: LII leidykla, 17–41.

Maksimaitis Mindaugas 2007: Prie lietuviškos teisės kalbos ištakų. – Jurisprudencija 5(95), 7–13.

Mikulėnienė Danguolė 2021: Lietuvių kalbos instituto istorija: lietuvių kalbos ir kalbotyros institucionalizacija, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas.

Palionis Jonas 1957: J. Jablonskis ir jo lietuvių kalbos vadovėliai. – Jonas Jablonskis. Rinktiniai raštai 1, Vilnius: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros leidykla, 7–61.

Pupkis Aldonas 2005: Kalbos kultūros studijos, Vilnius: Gimtasis žodis.

Pupkis Aldonas 2019a: Lietuvių kalba valstybėje. Iš tarpukario patirties. – Gimtoji kalba 1, 4–13.

Pupkis Aldonas 2019b: Lietuvių kalba valstybėje. Iš tarpukario patirties. – Gimtoji kalba 2, 7–15.

Sirutavičius Vladas 2010: „Kova už lietuvių kalbos teises“, arba dar kartą apie „murzinotojų“ bylą (antisemitizmas ir jo raiška Lietuvos viešajame gyvenime 1922–1924 m.). – Lietuvos istorijos metraštis 2, 51–76.

Smetonienė Irena 2005: Lietuvių kalbos politika Europos kalbų politikos kontekste. – Kalbos kultūra 78, 23–31.

Smetonienė Irena 2014: Kalbos vieta valstybių politikoje: standartinių kalbų susikūrimas. – Parlamento studijos 16, 82–103.

Subačius Giedrius 2004: Standartinių (bendrinių) kalbų istorijos chronologija. – Metmenys 84, 97–115.

Subačius Giedrius 2018: Lietuvių kalba: nepatogus unikalumas (The Lithuanian Language: Inconvenient Uniqueness). – Passport 2: Lietuvos tapatybė vakar, šiandien, rytoj, 96–109.

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Tamošiūnaitė Aurelija 2011: Lietuvių bendrinės kalbos priėmimo pradžia: tarmės ir bendrinės kalbos santykis asmeniniuose laiškuose: daktaro disertacija, University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Umbrasas Alvydas 2001: Teisės terminijos padėtis Lietuvoje 1918–1940 metais. – Terminologija 8, 76–94.

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Zinkevičius Zigmas 1992: Lietuvių kalbos istorija. T. 5. Bendrinės kalbos iškilimas, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla.

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JURGITA VENCKIENĖ

STATE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE:

PROVISIONS OF LAWS DURING THE INTERWAR

Summary

The restoration of the Lithuanian state in 1918 accelerated the development of the standard Lithuanian language. The selection of norm and codification of form, which were important aspects of the development of the standard language at the end of the 19th century and at the very beginning of the 20th century, during the interwar period were replaced by the aspects oriented to the function of the language – that is, to the elaboration of function and acceptance by the community. The selection of norm and codification of form is linked to the activities of the intelligentsia, and its further development, the elaboration of functions and acceptance by the community, was directly related to the restoration of the state and the granting of the status of state language to the standard Lithuanian in 1922. The government began to regulate the use, learning and teaching, elaboration of standard Lithuanian.

The article discusses the provisions of interwar Lithuanian legal documents related to the use, proficiency, education, and improvement of functions of Lithuanian standard language.

The acceptance of the standard Lithuanian language by the community was greatly influenced by its dissemination through the education system. Various issues of education of Lithuanian language were regulated by legal documents. Ministry of Education in 1919 instructed to use Jonas Jablonskis’ Lithuanian grammar P. Kriaušaičio ir Rygiškių Jono Lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Etimologija. PirmosIoms mūsų aukštesniosioms mokslo įstaigoms (Vilnius, 1919). Later the sup-

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plemented edition of this grammar Rygiškių Jono Lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Eti-mologija. Vidurinėms mokslo įstaigoms (Kaunas, 1922) was declared as the normative grammar. The teaching of Lithuanian language in schools with not Lithuanian main teaching language have been regulated as well as Lithuanian language proficiency requirements for teachers have been set.

The spread of the standard language and its prestige was also influenced by the requirements to know and use the Lithuanian language in government and other institutions and societies. As the use of the standard language expanded, the use and change of proper names was regulated, as well as the requirements for the press language were set up in order to improve standard language functions.

KEYWORDS: standard language, state language, laws, interwar.

JURGITA VENCKIENĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas Petro Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius [email protected]

JURGITA VENCKIENĖ

VALSTYBINĖ LIETUVIŲ KALBA:

TEISĖS AKTŲ NUOSTATOS TARPUKARIU

S a n t r a u k a

Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimas 1918-aisiais paspartino lietuvių bendrinės kalbos raidą. XIX a. pabaigoje ir pačioje XX a. pradžioje buvusius svarbius į kalbos formą nukreiptus bendrinės kalbos raidos aspektus – normos pasirinkimą ir kodifikaciją – tarpukariu pakeitė aspektai, nukreipti į kalbos funkciją: funkcijų tobulinimas ir visuomenės priėmimas. Terminio pagrindo pasirinkimas ir kodifikacija sietina su inteligentijos veikla, o tolesnė bendrinės kalbos raida – funkcijų tobulinimas ir priėmimas visuomenėje – buvo tiesiogiai susijusi su valstybės atkūrimu ir bendrinės kalbos tapimu valstybine, t. y. įstatymų įteisinta oficialia viešojo valstybės gyvenimo kalba. Valstybė ėmėsi reguliuoti tos kalbos vartojimą, mokėjimą ir mokymą, tobulinimą.

Straipsnyje aptariami tarpukario Lietuvos teisės aktų reikalavimai, susiję su lietuvių kalbos vartosena, mokėjimu, mokymu, funkcijų tobulinimu.

Lietuvių bendrinės kalbos priėmimui visuomenėje didelės įtakos turėjo jos sklaida per švietimo sistemą. Teisiniais dokumentais reglamentuoti įvairūs lietuvių kalbos mokymo klausimai. Švietimo ministerija 1919 m. nurodė mokant gimtosios kalbos remtis Jono Jablonskio lietuvių kalbos gramatika P. Kriaušaičio ir Rygiškių Jono Lie-

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tuvių kalbos gramatika. Etimologija. Pirmosioms mūsų aukštesniosiosoms mokslo įstaigoms (Vilnius, 1919), vėliau norminiu paskelbė papildytą šios gramatikos leidimą Rygiškių Jono Lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Etimologija. Vidurinėms mokslo įstaigoms (Kaunas, 1922). Reglamentuotas kalbos mokymas mokyklose, kuriose mokoma ne lietuvių kalba, nustatyti lietuvių kalbos mokėjimo reikalavimai mokytojams.

Bendrinės kalbos sklaidai ir prestižui įtakos turėjo ir reikalavimai mokėti ir vartoti lietuvių kalbą valdžios ir kitose įstaigose, draugijose. Plečiantis bendrinės kalbos vartosenai ir rūpinantis jos funkcijų tobulinimu, teisės aktais reglamentuotas tikrinių vardų vartojimas ir keitimas, nustatyti reikalavimai, taikytini spaudos kalbai.

ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: bendrinė kalba, valstybinė kalba, teisės aktai, tarpukaris.

JURGITA VENCKIENĖ

Lietuvių kalbos institutas

Petro Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius

[email protected]

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