Paper short abstract:

The question of the language hybridity of folklore and folk songs, which interweave Slovenian with neighbouring or Latin languages, was long excluded from the field of Slovenian folklore studies, as it was perceived as a disturbance of "genuine" Slovenian folklore traditions.

Paper long abstract:

During the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, the study of folk singing in Central Europe was closely linked to the growing national movements. Therefore, the question of language hybridity in folklore, and especially of folk songs that combine different languages in their texts, was excluded from the framework of Slovenian folklore studies for a long time. Slovenian collectors made an effort to collect "old" narrative songs, not only to document the long history of the nation, but also to oppose the processes of modernization and prevent the disappearance of these songs. When collecting and examining desired types of artefacts, others were left out and, since they were not transcribed, were not included in the emerging canon of Slovenian folk songs. Although some of the non-Slovenian or bilingual songs that interweave Slovenian and German, Italian, Croatian, Hungarian or Latin were recorded, only a few of them were transcribed. The selection of the song recordings has become an important element in the construction of the image of tradition, and foreign or bilingual songs were perceived as a disturbance in the presentation of “genuine” Slovenian folk traditions. Such representation was gradually canonized, it found its way into popular publications and textbooks, became part of official cultural policy and formed the material basis for the heritage making processes. The songs that were not transcribed were not only in greater danger of being forgotten, but also did not have the potential to become a heritage artefact.