Ferenc Velkey:
“… zunächst erklären wir den Unterschied zwischen Nation und Volk.”
Abstract:
The author writes about the special features of nation typology in Hungary during the so-called Age of Reforms (Vormärz). He analyses the fact why the so-called “struggle for the language” had a strong impact on the definitions of nations, and he points out that the construction of strictly interpreted concepts of nations was a difficult task. This proved to be difficult due to the fact that historically inherited and different European concepts had been connected to the image of the word “nation”, and these concepts could emerge in very different forms in different situations of communication. The analyses of the works of two “linguistic warriors” (Ján Čaplovič, S. Hojč) makes it clear that the concepts used by the non-Hungarian (Nichtmagyaren) ethnic groups of Hungary had a strong impact on the Hungarian concepts of nation (Gusztáv Szontagh, István Széchenyi), still in formation. These authors developed an ethno-cultural concept of nation, which they combined with neutral patriotism as the subjects of the kingdom of Hungary.
