Slovenski jezik in razvoj slovenskih identitet*

Abstract: The paper first outlines the relationship between language and national identity in the Slavic world and then the relationship between lan- guage and national identity among Slovenes. The accelerated develop- ment of the Slovene language and the national awakening of the Slovenes began in the second half of the 18th century and continued with the poets in the era of Romanticism. At the beginning of the 20th century, Slovenes moved to the Yugoslav state, which fell apart at the beginning of the World War II. The new era, based on a unified Yugoslav identity, began with the establishment of the new Yugoslavia and ended with Slovenia's independence in 1991. In the mid-1990s the emphasis on Slovene identity reached its peak, as the process of globalization triggered the Slovenes to reflect on their local identities, starting from the border regions.