Multilingualism on the 18 th Century School Stage
4. Csokonai’s Cultura
When preparing this paper, I expected to find the most typical cases of linguistic characterization in figures imitating foreign fashion and cus-toms, which is a frequent occurrence in Piarist and Calvinist school plays.
Such characters are also a sort of aladzon or pedant figure.11 Both are the opponents of the good Hungarian hero. The pedant uses wrong Latin phrases trying to show his (missing) erudition; the one aping foreign cus-toms shows off with French erudition. The latter is interesting because in Hungary one would suppose German as the main foreign language and fashion; but most figures are French imitations. There is only one example for the use of erroneous German: Ágyúsi, the bragger in And-rás Dugonics’s play Gyönygyösy. (In the later version of the drama, titled Tárházi, he omits the point!). But Ágyúsi is not a German imitation, his incorrect German expressions are military ones where there is no
Hun-10 Pálos iskoladrámák..., 530.
11 Demeter 1993, 87-100.
garian equivalent. Thus, his figure is quite close to the Captain in the Calvinist play.
Mihály Csokonai Vitéz used the widest spectrum of languages as a means of dramatic characterization. His play Cultura12 was performed on 12 July 1799. At that time, Csokonai was a teacher in the school of Csurgó.13 There has been a debate about the value of this play; some critics think it was written much earlier as it is mediocre,14 but accord-ing to the critical edition, writaccord-ing and performaccord-ing went in parallel.15 My research substantiates the latter opinion and, furthermore, the text must have been subordinated to the performance − which is rather special. The literary values of Cultura may not be as great of those of Csokonai’s other plays (Tempefői, or Karnyóné). The structure is rather loose, there is no conflict at all, the story is thin and we do not really understand. A nice, young, educated Hungarian nobleman wants to marry a similar young woman; they are accepted by the girl’s father, the owner of a well-kept manor and estate. Another suitor, a German style dandy appears, but before a conflict would arise he leaves in the hope of a better match. Thus, there is no obstacle for the lovers who happily marry.
Seemingly, the author was not interested in the weak story, rather in the comic situations of the plot. There are well-known types in the play with special couleur locale: the silly Pufók (servant to the manager of the manor house), Firkász, an extremely comic pedant, Ábrahám, the cute and defenceless Jew, Szászlaki, the dandy aping the Germans and his servant Conrad using a German-like broken Hungarian. Conrad’s bro-ken German must have been well known in Csurgó, both for the pupils and Csokonai himself.16
Conrad Carsamadiner.
12 Csokonai 1978, II., 141-171.
13 Csokonai 1978, II., 323-324.
14 Ferenczi 1907, 39-40.
15 Csokonai 1978, II., 316.
16 Csokonai 1978, II., 321.
Firkász
Salveat Conrad Salveat. – Hát hol jár Conrad hol hol?
Conrad
Eben asz örek ur az Knediger her.
Firkász
Ugy a’ D[omi]nus Spectabilisnál?
Conrad Ja Frajlic od od.
Firkász Et cui bono?
Conrad
Asz piszon nem tutom tessék szúr.
Firkász
Miért volt ottan miért?
Conrad
Ha mierd? – A Ludvig Zaszlaki az én Batron diszdeli a’ Knediger her mind-járt el lesz jönni kitsin vizitre.
Firkász Ugyan ugy é?
Conrad J
a Frajlig – Asszolgaja.
Firkász Servus.17
17 Csokonai 1978, II., 153.
Instead of the earlier French-aping dandies, Szászlaki imitates German fashion and customs.
The figures representing the ideal moral and good behaviour are all Hungarian: the suitor Lehelfi, Pertonella, the diligent young lady who knows and likes Hungarian music, literature and theatre, Tisztes, the ideal Hungarian nobleman. These scenes are quite loose genre pictures − and not a carefully formed drama text. But they are very good examples of how well Csokonai learnt the rules of stage and dramaturgy! He works with exactly ten figures because he had ten pupils. He uses his pupils’
skills and abilities: some play the violin, others can dance, or have an ear for comic language. In line with these given skills, Petronella plays the clavier (actually, professor Csokonai does it behind the stage and the pupil on the stage just pretends to be playing), the servant Kanakúz per-forms the special swineherd dance, we hear a folk tune on a pipe (also played behind the stage), and the rebellious Rákóczi song is sung. The latter was not an univocal success with the audience. Count György Fes-tetics being present at the performance wrote in a letter: “This song did not fit either the locations, the audience or our present days; furthermore, it was a huge mistake. On such festive occasions, it would be much more advisable to praise our Royal Majesty and the High Palatine.”18 One im-portant comic source is the wrong or special use of language: Abraham, the Jew, speaks a ‘coughing’ aspirated Jewish Hungarian, the German Conrad speaks a German-like broken Hungarian. The pure Hungarian Szászlaki, aping the Germans, has a different function: he boasts of his adventures abroad and he also mixes up several languages (Hungarian, German, French and Latin). Thus linguistic characterization also serves some moral purpose: the use of languages separates good and bad figures.
Szászlaki
Már én, Tekintetes Uram, annyira hozzászoktam azok[na]k a‘ tsinos nemzeteknek, minden kottümjeihez, hogy mihelyt valami nem auslen-dis, vagy nem ollyan mint az auslenauslen-dis, elöttem kedvet nem talál. Velem a‘ Somogyi Sódért, Thúri sajtot, azt az elszenvedhetetlen kövér magyar kolbászt meg unatta az a fein Ah igen igen fain vestfaliai Sonka, Helve-tiai sajt és Veronai Salami. – A ketsege igen jó hal; de minthogy magya-18 Csokonai 1978, II., 323.
rországi és comiz, százért sem adok egy Scotiai heringet, vagy egy Vene-tiai Szardellát. A‘ magyar országi halak közzül nem is szeretek egyebet az egy Vizánál, de az meg is érdemli; mert 200 mértföldnyiröl emigral hozzánk.
Tisztes
Az Urnak igen igen nagy szerentséje volt a‘ maga izlését külső országon ki mívelni, mit tsinál majd vélle itten közttünk, együgyű magyarok között.
Szászlaki
Tudom én majd mit tsinálok Tekintetes Uram. Én az udvaromban mind-ent, mindent külső országivá teszek. Cselédim mind idegen nemzetüek, annál fogva pallérozottak lesznek. Anglus Lovat, Suaitzer marhát, Spa-nyol Juhot, Khinai disznót, Török Ketskét, Olasz Pujkát, Norvegiai Ludat, Alexandriai Katsát, Nigritiai tyúkot ’s’a t. szerzek udvaromba, a’
mint ezt láttam Justitzvart Svevelhaj Lord King Sinyor Di Caropelleg-rina és mossiö emigrant Deniente érdemes és Tudós külföldi Zseniknél, kikkel utazásomban, megbarátkozni szerentsém volt.19