Gyöngyi J. Borsos: The 125th anniversary of Lajos Szini’s birth, 100 years since the birth of uncle Laji

 

Lajos Szini, known to the public as uncle Laji is the singular figure of the XXth century Transylvanian literature. Literary history has published very little biographical information on him, this review aims at presenting his work and place in literary history and motivating further research.

The writer, editor and man of culture born in Lăzarea published his work mostly in periodicals whose mission was protecting and keeping popular traditions and motifs. His focus was on presenting the intellectual and linguistic manners of the Szekler and on recording in writing the authentic dialect of the Gheorgheni region. He published his Szekler stories written phonetically and was therefore strongly criticized by contemporary criticism. This opinion has unfortunately not changed, today’s erudite critics still consider his work mostly a parody, the exaggeration and distortion of the Szekler.

However, these texts can be looked at from a different angle: one must take into consideration the group of popular writers opposed to the process of swift embourgeoisment, moreover their rebel attitude towards the pressure of academic tendencies to unify the language. Lajos Szini’s funny stories, written in dialect represent this trend.

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