Hijábo beszíll így vagy úgy a embër,
akkor is csak a magájjét mongya.
(The language usage in Száz Pál's novel: Fűje sarjad mezőknek)

Gabriella PETRES CSIZMADIA

Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra
(gabi.csizmadia@gmail.com)

Keywords: higher and lower function, standard and dialect, language contact effects, figurativity

Száz Pál's phytolegendry is a unique writing in (Slovakian) Hungarian literature. The author connects special text types with flora, e.g. phytoaphorisms, phytoicons, phytoenigmas, phytolegends, phytoanecdotes. This novel discusses the narrative of life stories which is made more difficult by the subjective point of view, functioning of memory, various language usage, different language variations, etc. One of the most significant parts of the text involves life stories from the 20^th century of Hungarians living in Slovakia influenced by religious, magical and mythical components. These features make the novel unique in Slovakia. The way of the narration is different than in the majority of stories in literature because this novel is not written in standard language but it is in dialect. Other speciality of the text is that it includes not only dialect but also Slovak-Hungarian language contact effects, Slovak loanwords, hybrid sentences which are typical to the Slovak-Hungarian multilingual area. Moreover, the features of every day communication are also dominant in the novel. Next to these words and phrases the reader can also find the elements of higher registers which intensify the poetic functions of the language, e.g.: the narration of narrators is influenced by sacral language and the terminology of plants. In my lecture I aim to present this variety of the language, mainly those elements of the Hungarian language which are unfamiliar to non-Hungarian speakers.