Bernolákovci

Bernolákovci refers to the followers of Anton Bernolák, a Slovak linguist and priest who initiated the first attempt to codify the Slovak language in the late 18th century. Bernolák's group, active primarily in the 1780s and 1790s, aimed to create a standardized literary Slovak based on the western Slovak dialects. Their most significant work was Bernolák's "Slovár slovenskij, česko-nemecko-latinskij" (Slovak, Czech-German-Latin Dictionary), published in 1825-1827, and the accompanying grammar "Dissertatio-grammatica linguae slavicae suae dialecto occidentali" (Grammatical Dissertation on the Slovak Language of its Western Dialect), published in 1790.

The Bernolákovci faced considerable opposition from those who favored the continued use of Czech as the literary language for Slovaks or those who advocated for a different dialectal basis for Slovak. Despite their efforts, Bernolák's codification did not become universally accepted and was eventually superseded by the codification based on central Slovak dialects led by Ľudovít Štúr in the mid-19th century. However, the Bernolákovci are recognized as pioneers in the Slovak national revival and the process of Slovak language formation, laying important groundwork for future linguistic and national development. Their work demonstrated a conscious effort to define and elevate the Slovak language as a distinct entity.