Jonas Jablonskis – varpininkas (Mintauja, ėjimas į Varpą)
Jonas Jablonskis in the Varpas (the Mintauja period)

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the development of J. Jablonskis’ national consciousness and his work in the periodical magazine Varpas (The Bell). The focus of attention is on Jablonskis’ publications from the Mintauja period. The time when the linguist lived in Mintauja was rather uneven in terms of productivity: in 1890 he published two articles, yet none came out in the following year. Two articles of 1892 were followed by thirteen publications in 1893 and eight in 1894. So the year 1893 could be seen as the most productive with a new article coming out every month.Jablonskis’ texts published in the Varpas could be classified into four topic categories: 1) Mintauja and local Lithuanians, 2) the history of Lithuania, 3) the history of writing in Lithuania, 4) language issues. The only article on Mintauja expresses the linguist’s desire to raise the level of education among Lithuanians – he encourages the readers to study in the Mintauja gymnasium.In his historical texts, which are reviews of various publications by other authors, J. Jablonskis emphasizes the importance of empirical research validity. He criticizes such authors whose writings on history are based on their preconceived ideological notions, e. g. J. Basanavičius, P. Briancev, or who fail to properly interpret the facts, e. g. Theobald. The requirement of scientific approach, in his opinion, is equally applicable to language study. According to Jablonskis, the authors of grammars should be aware of linguistic laws which are to be derived from the study “people’s language”. He names a few good sources of real language, namely, folklore and certain Lithuanian authors (K. Donelaitis, A. Baranauskas, M. Valančius).During his life in Mintauja, J. Jablonskis published articles in the Varpas. These texts demonstrate his mature national consciousness and a linguist’s awareness of the Lithuanian history, the importance of education and specificity of written language. As a reviewer, he focuses on essential aspects and leaves out personal preferences. His early articles outlined research principles and methods which he adhered to in the later work.

• Details
• Contents