Naš čakavski problem: marginalije
A collection of short essays, reflections, and marginalia dedicated to the position of the Chakavian dialect in Croatian literature and culture. The work contains a foreword by the writer and critic Antun Bonifačić.
In the book, Štefanić discusses the status of Čakavian in relation to the Štokavian standard, its literary value, the possibilities of its use in contemporary literature, and the cultural and linguistic marginalization of the Čakavian-speaking area (Istria, Kvarner, Dalmatia). The work belongs to the contemporary discussions about the Croatian literary language and dialects, which were alive in the interwar period. The author advocates for greater recognition and literary revival of Čakavian, criticizing the dominance of Štokavian expression.
The book is written in the polemical, personal, and engaged style of a typical marginalist – not as a systematic scientific study, but as a series of subjective observations, criticisms, and suggestions. Bonifačić's preface gives it additional weight in literary circles.
At a time when the Croatian language standard was firmly Štokavian, such works represented voices in defense of dialectal diversity and regional literary traditions. Štefanić's booklet is one of the rarer contributions to the Chakavian linguistic and literary issues of the 1930s.
Today, this edition is a bibliographic rarity, and is occasionally mentioned in Croatian studies curricula as supplementary literature for topics on Croatian dialects, regional literature, and language policy. It represents an interesting document of the interwar debates on Croatian linguistic identity and the relationship between standards and dialects.
One copy is available
