Chopei, Laslov/Csopey, Laszlo

Chopei, Laslov/Csopey, Laszlo (b. Vasylii Chopei, October 1, 1856, Romachevytsia [Hungarian Kingdom], Ukraine; d. June 23, 1934, Budapest, Hungary) — pedagogue, linguist, and translator of Rusyn national orientation in Hungary. Chopei attended the gymnasia in Mukachevo and Sarospatak and completed his studies at the faculty of physics and mathematics of Budapest University (1883). From his graduation until his death in 1934 he taught in various gymnasia in Budapest.

While still a student, Chopei began working as a translator (1879) of Rusyn and Russian texts for the office of Hungary’s prime minister. As part of this work he prepared for publication several Rusyn-language textbooks for use in Subcarpathian elementary schools. Some of these he wrote (Rus’ka azbuka y pervonachal’naia chytanka, 1881; Rus’ka chytanka dilia druhoy klasy narodnykh shkol, 1894); others he translated into Rusyn from existing Hungarian-language textbooks by Vilmos Groo (Madiars’ka chytanka y upraznytel’na knyha, 1881, repr. 1889), Pal Goncz (Rus’ka azbuka y perva chytanka dlia pervoi klasy narodnykh shkol, 1883), and Aron Kiss and Miksa Mayer (Vodytel’na knyha ko uchiniu ystorii u narodnykh shkolakh, 1884).

In the course of his translation work Chopei compiled the first Rusyn dictionary of approximately 20,000 words (Rus’ko madiarskyi slovar’, 1883). He recognized that Rusyn dialects were related to Little Russian (Ukrainian) dialects, but in both the dictionary and translations the vocabulary was drawn primarily from the Subcarpathian Rusyn dialects spoken by the *Dolyniane/Lowlanders (Bereg, Ugocha, and Maramorosh counties). Chopei’s language was strongly criticized by contemporary and later Russophile-oriented activists in Subcarpathian Rus’, who viewed both him and his language as an instrument of magyarization. Despite the value of Chopei’s dictionary in recording Subcarpathian vernacular speech, his work was not used by subsequent supporters of the Rusyn national orientation.

Bibliography: Istvan Udvari, “Pamiati Laslo Chopei,” Studia Slavica Hungaricae, XXXVII (Budapest, 1991-92), pp. 467-473—in Hungarian: “Adatok egy Karpataljai szotariro mukodesehez,” Studia Slavica Savariensia, I, 1 (Szombathely, 1992), pp. 70-81.

Paul Robert Magocsi

Entry courtesy of Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture.
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