Lexical Magyarisms in the Context of the Slovak Literary Language

The article focuses on the perception of Magyarisms by codifiers of the Slovak literary language, which determined their place in the vocabulary. This perception has changed significantly over time. While A. Bernolák sought to define their status, forL. Štúr and S. Czambel, they did not pose any problem. In the first decades of Czechoslovakia's existence, Magyarisms were at the centre of a struggle between supporters and opponents of the convergence of the Czech and Slovak literary languages which was reflected in their evaluation in the "Rules of Slovak Spelling" (1931 and 1940). At present, however, there is a tolerant attitude towards both Magyarisms and their Slavic correlates.