Why was Josef Jungmann’s Czech-German dictionary important to the Czech National Revival?

Josef Jungmann’s monumental Czech-German dictionary (1835–39) was a cornerstone of the Czech National Revival because it served to significantly extend and modernize the Czech vocabulary.1

While scholars like Josef Dobrovský were instrumental in codifying the grammar and structure of the language, Jungmann’s work provided the necessary lexical breadth to allow Czech to function as a fully developed literary and intellectual language again. By expanding the vocabulary through his dictionary and his own translations—such as his 1811 version of John Milton’s Paradise Lost—Jungmann helped ensure that the language could meet the demands of 19th-century cultural and political life, effectively supporting the broader movement to rediscover and reconstruct the Czech national identity.21