SOURCE: Lockwood, Yvonne R. “Vuk Stefanović Karadžić: Pioneer and Continuing Inspiration of Yugoslav Folkloristics.” Western Folklore 30, no. 1 (January 1971): 19-32.

In the following essay, Lockwood considers Karadžić's impact on Serbian culture, and notes his continuing influence on the study of folklore.

Vuk Stefanović Karadžić did more to revolutionize Serbian culture than any other individual before or since. His two greatest contributions—language reform and collections of folk literature—with their very foundation in peasant culture, had great impact on all Serbian culture. From an illiterate peasant background, Vuk taught himself to read and write and went on to reform the written language, changing it from Church Slavonic to one based on popular Serbian. Having been raised in a peasant environment, Vuk had close association with oral literature in his early years. This peasant upbringing determined Vuk's attitude toward his collections of folksongs, tales, and proverbs...