Social Features of Gorizia and Carniola as Presented in Nektere opazke ruskega profesorja by Baudouin de Courtenay

Jan Ignacy Niecisław Baudouin de Courtenay (1845–1929) was a Polish linguist who devoted a significant part of his research to Slovenian dialects and their linguistic features by largely focusing on the western Slovenian ethnic area (Gorizia, Resia as well as the Torre/Ter Valley and the Natisone/Nadiža Valley). The article focuses on his first research visit to the provinces of Gorizia and Gradisca and Carniola in the second half of 1872 and early 1873. Emphasis is on describing the local environment and its reception of Baudouin de Courtenay’s fieldwork. The article also presents his records, titled Nektere opazke ruskega profesorja (A Few Observations Made by a Russian Professor), about society in Gorizia and Carniola, which he published in the feuilleton of the newspaper Soča. His writings offer an interesting and sometimes critical view of Slovenian environment from the perspective of a foreign observer. The article focuses on the segments describing the economic and social conditions, questions regarding national identity and determination as well as the role of women in society.