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Vuk KaradzicSerbian linguist and educator
Date of Birth: 07.11.1787
Country:  Turkey |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Scholarly Journey
- Linguistic Reforms
- Russian Visit and Linguistic Studies
- Late Career and Legacy
Early Life and Education
Vuk Karadžić was born in 1787 in Tršić, Serbia. His parents, Stefan and Jegdja Karadžić, were from Montenegro. Karadžić's childhood was marked by poverty and limited formal education. He initially studied with a relative and later attended a monastery school. At age 19, he enrolled in a gymnasium in Srem.
Scholarly Journey
In 1808, Karadžić became a student at the Belgrade High School. However, he soon contracted an illness that forced him to seek medical attention in Novi Sad and Pest. His illness left him permanently crippled. Upon his return to Serbia in 1810, Karadžić briefly worked as a primary school teacher.
Linguistic Reforms
In 1813, Karadžić traveled to Vienna, where he met the Slovenian linguist Jernej Kopitar. Kopitar encouraged Karadžić's efforts to reform the Serbian language and script. Between 1814 and 1815, Karadžić published two volumes of Serbian folk songs, followed by the first Serbian grammar in 1814. In 1818, he published his influential Serbian dictionary, "Srpski rječnik."
Russian Visit and Linguistic Studies
In 1819, Karadžić traveled to Russia at the invitation of the Bible Society. He was commissioned to translate the New Testament into Serbian. During his stay, he also gathered linguistic and ethnographic data from various Slavic regions.
Late Career and Legacy
In 1861, Karadžić was named an honorary citizen of Zagreb. He passed away in 1864 and was initially buried in St. Mark's Cemetery. In 1897, his remains were transferred to the Belgrade Cathedral.
Karadžić's linguistic reforms played a significant role in the development of the modern Serbian language. His Cyrillic script, which aimed to align each sound with a corresponding letter, became widely accepted in Serbia, Vojvodina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and formed the basis of the contemporary Serbian language.
