Page:A history of Hungarian literature.djvu/102

 IX

THE LANGUAGE REFORM

the commencement of the nineteenth century Hungarian literature presents a remarkable phenomenon. In the course of a few years the literary language was so entirely transformed, that practically a new tongue came to be at the service of poets. As culture and literary taste spread, and authors grappled with the theory of art and of poetry, it became more and more evident that the Hungarian language was neither rich enough, nor polished enough, to express all the new ideas which increased culture had called into being. Many new words and technical expressions were needed. The process of enriching the language by the instru­mentality of literature, was called "the Language Reform." The effort was crowned with victory in the decade 1830–1840, when Count Stephen Széchenyi was endeavouring to reorganise the state, really to create a new Hungary. For the new country a new language was a necessity.

The greatest reforms are linked with the name of (1759–1831). It is true that before his time some authors had invented and used new words in their writings, but the commencement of serious reform is marked by the appearance of Kazinczy. At first he had enormous difficulty in overcoming the