Language of children's literature

Abstract

U radu se proučavaju dječje priče na jezičnoj razini, koje su objavljivane proteklih deset godina u hrvatskim književnim dječjim časopisima. Pokušavalo se otkriti što se postiže uporabom specifičnih jezičnih oblika te jesu li priče svojim leksičkim i stilskim obilježjima prilagođene namijenjenoj dobi. To znači: jesu li razumljive, zanimljive, poučne i poticajne za razvoj čitalačke kulture. Cilj je rada analizirati leksik dječje priče, koliko se koriste elementi razgovornog jezika kao što su žargonizmi, kolokvijalizmi, tuđice, strane riječi ili pak zastarjelice, leksemi poput arhaizama ili historizama. Osim leksika, analizirana je i morfološka razina te sintaktička obilježja priča čijom se analizom željelo pokazati jesu li rečenice jednostavne, jasne ili duge i složene, te koliko su u skladu s današnjim načinom izražavanja. U stilističkom smislu proučavane su stilske figure koje pričama daju umjetničku vrijednost te mladim čitateljima omogućuju poimanje svijeta koji se u pričama predočuje. Pokušavalo se uočiti koliko pravopisna obilježja mogu utjecati na značenje ili ton priče, iako je takvih primjera pronađeno manje. Zaključeno je da se priče razlikuju prema dobi kojoj su namijenjene, po jeziku koji je bitno drugačiji od jezika klasičnih dječjih priča, po likovima te po stilskim figurama i leksiku koji se u njima koristi. Na temelju rezultata ovog istraživanja uočava se da su djeci vrtićke dobi prilagođene priče koje su pisane jednostavnim i razumljivim jezikom i podsjećaju na bajke te imaju antropomorfne likove ili govore o temama iz svakodnevnog života djece, a leksik je blizak suvremenom načinu izražavanja.The thesis studies children’s stories which have been published in Croatian children’s literature magazines in the past ten years. The stories are studied at the language level. The goal was to discover what is being accomplished by using specific language forms, as well as whether the stories are appropriate for their readers’ intended age in terms of their lexical and stylistic features. In other words: are they interesting, understandable, educational and stimulating for the development of the reading culture. The goal of the thesis is to analyze the lexis of the children’s story, how much are the elements of conversational language used, elements such as vernacular, colloquial language, foreign words, and archaic words. Other than lexis, the thesis also analyzes the morphological level as well as the syntactic features of the story, in order to show whether the sentences are simple and clear or long and complex, and if they are in sync with the modern way of expression. In terms of style, the thesis studies the figures of speech which give the stories artistic value and enable the young readers to comprehend the world presented in them. There was also an attempt to pinpoint how much orthographic features can affect the meaning and the tone of the story, but there were only a few examples found. It is concluded that the stories vary according to the readers’ age they are intended to, according to language which is substantially different from the language used in classic children’s stories, according to characters as well as figures of speech and lexis used. Based on research results, it is concluded that the stories intended for kindergarten children are adjusted by using simple and understandable language, they are similar to fairy tales and they have anthropomorphic characters or they talk about the subjects from children’s everyday life, but the lexis is closer to modern way of expression