The Philological Work of Josip Tominšek

Abstract

Josip Tominšek was active as a philologist and teacher of the classical languages for 22 years of his career (from his graduation in 1896 to c. 1918). His philological work falls into the following categories: (1) books; (2) studies: (a) professional studies, (b) studies in the methodology of classical language teaching, (c) reviews and surveys; (3) pedagogical work; (4) participation in the Slovenian Professors’ Society, as well as in other boards and societies which promoted the use of Slovenian in education and in public life. After 1920 he concentrated on teaching rather than on scholarly philological work. His last major contribution was the introduction written in 1923 for the first edition of Wiesthaler’s Latin-Slovenian dictionary. As a scholar he displayed little originality; as a methodologist, on the other hand, he introduced into teaching a number of innovations; his papers on the methodology of teaching Latin and Greek helped to shape school lessons and to educate the teachers. Tominšek’s methodology is based on the work of German and Austrian methodology experts, enriched with his own teaching experience. His particular merit is his contribution to teaching Greek: as the author of the first Slovenian textbooks and teaching materials for Greek (Grška slovnica [A Greek Grammar], Grška vadnica [A Greek Exercise Book], andKsenofontov slovar [The Xenophon Dictionary]), he enabled the teaching of Greek in the Slovenian language both at Slovenian gymnasia and at the Slovenian counterparts to German gymnasia.