VENCLOVIĆ’S ALPHABET BOOK FROM 1717 PUBLISHED IN SZENTENDRE: PHILOLOGICAL АSPECT AND DIDACTIC POTENTIALS

This paper deals with philological characteristics of the alphabet book written by Gavril Stefanović Venclović and published in Szentendre in 1717, as well as with its didactic potentials. The study puts emphasis on: (1) the linguistic characteristics of Slavo‑Serbian language present in the alphabet book, which were identified by the linguists who have been thoroughly studying the history of the Serbian language, Slavo‑Serbian language in the first place, with the focus on Venclović’s language and style (principally Tomislav Jovanović, Dimitrije E. Stefanović, Ljupka Vasiljev, Milorad Pavić); (2) the way of writing and using punctuation marks; (3) didactic potentials of the manuscript and (4) the significance of Venclović’s alphabet book for cultural and educational history of Serbian people. The paper examines the phototypic edition of Venclović’s alphabet book from 1717, with a detailed analysis of the text and the translation into contemporary language, written by Tomislav Jovanović and Dimitrije E. Stefanović. Some earlier research studies on language characteristics have proven that Venclović’s alphabet book belongs to Slavo‑Serbian epoch; the writing style of the book makes it possible to attribute the autorship to Venclović. The research on didactic potentials has shown the significance of the alphabet book for the acquisition of reading and writing skills at beginner level, as well as for christian education of children, which is in accordance with the tradition of the epoch.Publishe