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Why did many Hungarians resist Joseph II’s language policy?

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Portrait painting of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, wearing a black and red military coat with medals and a sash, with St. Peter's Basilica visible in the background. — Joseph II Joseph II, Holy Roman emperor, detail of a painting by Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, 1769; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Many Hungarians resisted Joseph II’s language policy because they perceived it as a direct threat to their national culture and identity. In 1784, Joseph II decreed that German would replace Latin as the official language of government and education, mandating its use in central, county, and local offices. Furthermore, he restricted government employment and membership in the Hungarian diet to German speakers.123

This policy was intended to streamline administration and modernize the state, but it triggered widespread opposition among the Hungarian gentry. The resistance was fueled by several factors:12

Cultural Preservation: Hungarians viewed the imposition of German as a form of forced assimilation, which spurred a linguistic and cultural movement to elevate the Hungarian vernacular as a standard literary language.4
Political Autonomy: The language ruling was seen as part of Joseph’s broader attempt to centralize power and erode the traditional Hungarian constitution, especially since he refused to undergo a traditional coronation in Hungary, which would have required him to swear to uphold the kingdom's laws.132
Nationalism: The policy coincided with the rise of nationalism in Europe, leading Hungarians to assert their own national identity against Habsburg centralization.4

Ultimately, this resistance, combined with other unpopular reforms and foreign policy failures, brought the country to the brink of revolt, forcing Joseph to revoke most of his administrative changes before his death.132