Lexical stratification in 20th-century Croatian children’s poetry

Abstract

Aim: Using selected works from the corpus of 20^th-century Croatian children's poetry, this study aims to demonstrate how Croatian has been consciously inherited and preserved and how the standard language keeps developing across different lexical layers. The analyzed works belong to the sixth stage of the Croatian language history, spanning the entire 20^th century. This period is marked by the consolidation of the key features of the standard language, codified by normative manuals aligned with the doctrines of Croatian Vukovians. The focus is on analyzing the relationship between the literary functional style and the standard Croatian language, highlighting the significant influence of literary works on the development of standard Croatian.

Methods: The analysis encompassed poems by four notable 20^th-century Croatian children’s poets – Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, Vesna Parun, Zvonimir Balog, and Luko Paljetak. Lexical stratification was examined using normative manuals from the relevant historical periods and modern Croatian dictionaries, both synchronic and diachronic descriptions are provided. The methodological framework divides the vocabulary into temporal, regional, and functional layers.

Results: The findings revealed temporal, regional, and functional strata of Croatian vocabulary. The study demonstrated the connection between the poetic language of the analyzed works and earlier Croatian literary and linguistic tradition, uncovered dialectal influences in two of the authors, and shed light on linguistic innovation in line with the principle of elastic stability. Compared to the literature of the first half of the 20^th century, in the latter half, there was a shift away from passive vocabulary, with a more pronounced preference for lexical innovation and neologisms.

Conclusions: 20^th-century Croatian children’s poetry exemplifies a synthesis between tradition and innovation. While drawing upon the literary and linguistic foundations established over centuries, the authors of selected works enrich the standard language through imaginative wordplay, creative word formation, and diverse stylistic approaches. These findings validate the viability of Croatian as a literary medium, confirming that literary works have always been the guardians of the lexicon, emphasizing the interaction between linguistic heritage and contemporary expression, while maintaining its distinct identity.