Pavel Zdovc, a Slovene from Carinthia and a prominent linguist, died in Vienna at the age of 92. Photo: Slovenian Science Institute in Vienna/M. The villain
The linguist and lexicographer, Pavel Zdovc, a Slovene from Carinthia, has died
The linguist and lexicographer, Pavel Zdovc, a Slovene from Carinthia, author of the work Slovenian local names in Austrian Carinthia, died last Wednesday in Vienna. He was 92 years old. He is the author of numerous linguistic treatises in Slovenian and German, as well as contributions on literary and cultural topics in the Austrian Carinthia.
As announced today by the National Council of Carinthian Slovenes, one of the umbrella organizations of Carinthian Slovenes, Zdovac, born in Rinkole near Pliberk in 1933, remained loyal to Austrian Carinthia with his scientific work until the end of his life.
Zdovac studied philosophy and theology in Innsbruck and Vienna, and Slavic studies in Vienna. He continued his professional development at the Lomonosov University in Moscow, as well as in Croatia and Serbia. In 1967, he became an assistant at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the University of Vienna, where he taught the Slovenian language until 2000.
From the very beginning, he devoted himself to the language, and in 1972 he devoted his dialectological dissertation to the sub-june dialect, entitled Die Mundart des Südostlichen Jauntales in Kärnten. Lautlehre und Akzent der Mundart der Poljanci.
He devoted most of his research work to the study and determination of the use of place names in Austrian Carinthia, and in 1993 he published the monumental, reference work Slovenian local names in Austrian Carinthia. He worked on the 347-page life project, which lists more than a thousand bilingual place names, for 13 years.
In 2020, he received the Trubar award, which is awarded by the National and University Library for contributions to the protection, preservation and presentation of the national written cultural heritage.
