Linguistic systems in the Slovene-speaking (Alpine and Pannonian) area

Avtor ugotavlja, da sta v 18.stol. obstajala na današnjem slovenskem ozemlju dva knjižna jezika - osrednjeslovenski in vzhodnoslovenski. Temeljne značilnosti je osrednjeslovenskemu jeziku določil že P. Trubar, pravopisno in jezikovno ga je izpopolnik S. Krelj, dokončno podobo pa je dobil z Dalmatinovim prevodom Biblije. V 17.stol. se je razširil med slovensko izobraženstvo, v 18. stol. pa je prišel tudi v šole. Vzhodnoslovenski knjižni jezik pa je rasel iz tradicije nekdanje panonske slovenščine, bil pod močnim nemškim, madžarskim in kajkavskim vplivom, končno pa sta se izoblikovali dve različici - prekmurska in vzhodnoštajerska. Avtor ugotavlja, da so se s pomočjo obrednega jezika ohranile razlike med obema jezikovnima sistemoma, dokler se v 18. stol. tudi prekmurski jezik ni uveljavil v tiskani obliki, veliko kasneje - v 19. stol. pa s svojimi oblikami obogatil osrednji knjižni jezik in se z njim zlil v celoto.In the 18th century there were two standard literatury languages, the Central and Eastern Slovene, used on the territory which is now Slovene, but was then part of Austria and Hungary. Slovenes living in Austria spoke their Central Slovene language alongside with German and Latin, while those living in Hungary used the Eastern Slovene language in addition to Hungarian, Kajkavian and Latin. Owing to historical reasons the Eastern Slovene language developed into two variants, the Eastern Styrian and the one in Prekmurje. The contacts between the two were weak. While the Central Slovene and the Eastern Styrian literary languges were used both in religious and in secular print, no literary works were produced in the Prekmurje variant. Regardless of that, this variant of the Eastern Slovene language was on a high cultural level