How planning a national language cured the Croatian nationalists <b>of</b> <b> <i>xenolingohassen</i> </b>

Abstract The Illyrian Movement, a 19th-century Croatian nationalist initiative, aimed to establish the Štokavian dialect as the foundation of the Croatian literary language, promoting cultural unity while resisting German and Hungarian influences. This study explores multilingual writing practices in Ilirske narodne novine [Illyrian National Newspaper], focusing on the use of German and Latin to clarify newly introduced Croatian terms. These elements, termed translational explanatory equivalents (TEEs), reveal the Movement’s pragmatic engagement with foreign languages despite its ideological commitment to linguistic purity. While members viewed foreign language use as unpatriotic, TEEs demonstrate a nuanced strategy: foreign languages were employed to bridge comprehension gaps and promote the national language. The study highlights the paradox of animosity toward foreign languages alongside their practical use, illustrating the complex interplay between cultural nationalism, functional multilingualism, and language planning in 19th-century Croatia. By analyzing these practices, the article contributes to broader discussions on the politics of scripts and writing in multilingual and multilectal contexts, as well as power struggles surrounding language standardization processes. Ultimately, it illuminates an underexplored dimension of multilingual writing, revealing a contradiction between the Illyrian Movement’s purist ideology and its actual language practices.