Bosnian language

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Bosnian
bosanski jezik 
Pronunciation: [ˈbɔsanskiː]
Spoken in: Predominantly in native regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina[1] and Serbia (Sandžak)
Amoung emigrant communities in Croatia[2], Austria[3], Italy[4], Hungary[5], Romania[6], Sweden[7], Germany[8]
Total speakers: 3 000 000[citation needed]
Language family: Indo-European
 Balto-Slavic
  Slavic
   South Slavic
    Western South Slavic
     Bosnian 
Official status
Official language in:  Bosnia and Herzegovina,
 Montenegro
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: bs
ISO 639-2: bos
ISO 639-3: bos
South Slavic
languages
and dialects
Western South Slavic
Croatian
Western Štokavian
Čakavian · Kajkavian
Burgenland · Molise
Serbian
Eastern Štokavian
Slavoserbian
Romano-Serbian · Užice
Bosnian
Central Štokavian
Slovenian
dialects
Differences between standard
Croatian / Serbian / Bosnian
Deprecated or non-ISO
recognized languages
Serbo-Croatian · Bunjevac
Montenegrin · Šokac
Eastern South Slavic
Church Slavonic (Old)
Bulgarian
Banat · Greek Slavic
Shopski · more
Macedonian
Dialects
Aegean Speech
Spoken Macedonian
Standard Macedonian
Transitional dialects
Eastern-Central
Torlak dialects · Našinski
Western-Central
Kajkavian
Alphabets
Modern
Gaj's Latin1 · Serbian Cyrillic
Macedonian Cyrillic
Bulgarian Cyrillic
Slovenian
Historical
Bohoričica · Dajnčica · Metelčica
Arebica · Bosnian Cyrillic
Glagolitic · Early Cyrillic
1 Includes Banat Bulgarian alphabet.
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The Bosnian language (bosanski jezik [ˈbɔsanskiː] (help·info)), sometimes referred as Bosniak language[9] [10], is a South Slavic language native to the Bosniak people. The language is notably spoken in the areas of Bosnia, the Bosniak-dominated region of Sandžak (in Serbia and Montenegro) and elsewhere. It is one of the standard versions of the Central-South Slavic diasystem which covers the region that was once known as Serbo-Croat from the 19th century until the early 1990s. It should be noted, however, that the standard Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian languages are all mutually intelligible.

The Bosnian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. The Cyrillic alphabet is accepted (chiefly to accommodate for its usage in Bosnia in the past, especially in former Yugoslavia), but seldom used in today's practice. The name Bosnian language is the commonly accepted name among Bosniak linguists, and the name used by the ISO-639 standard.

Contents

Controversy

The name for the language is a controversial issue for neighboring Croats and Serbs. Croats and Serbs call their languages Croatian and Serbian. The constitution of the Republika Srpska, where the language is also official, refers to it as the "Language spoken by Bosniaks" ("Jezik kojim govore Bošnjaci"). The use of the language will remain an issue as the three peoples of Bosnia and Hercegovina will continue to call the spoken language that which identifies their ethnic background. Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) choose the language Bosnian, Serbs continue call their language Serbian, and Croats call the language Croatian. The constitutions of RS and FBIH recognize all three languages, it is the people that refuse to settle on a name for what is overall the same language.

Bosniak language (bošnjački jezik) is the prescribed name of the language in Serbian[11], but the Serbian Ministry of Education recognizes it as Bosnian. Some Croatian linguists (Radoslav Katičić, Dalibor Brozović and Tomislav Ladan) consider the appropriate name to be "Bosniak" rather than "Bosnian". In their opinion, the appellation "Bosnian" refers to the whole country, therefore implying that "Bosnian" is the national standard language of all Bosnians, not only Bosniaks. Some other Croatian linguists (Zvonko Kovač, Ivo Pranjković) recognize it as Bosnian. Bosniak linguists and intellectuals (for instance Muhamed Filipović) consider interpretation of some Croatian and Serbian linguists as nationalistic actions against Bosniaks and their identity, as the situation in Serbia and Croatia was very anti-Bosniak in the light of Bosnian War.

Montenegro officially recognizes the Bosnian language, as its 2007 Constitution specifically states that while Montenegrin is the "official language," also "in official use are Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian and Croatian languages."[12]

It is important to observe that the Dayton Peace Accord officially recognizes and specifies the Bosnian language as a distinct language spoken in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This distinction and official recognition of the Bosnian language is further acknowledged by signatures of the former presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Alija Izetbegović), Croatia (Franjo Tuđman) and Serbia (Slobodan Milošević). As such the Bosnian language is officially recognized by constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.

No Croatian and Serbian linguistic authorities had been contacted when this issue was settled[citation needed]. According to Croatian participant Radoslav Dodig, the renaming of "Bosniak" into "Bosnian" was not a process, but a semi-hidden manoeuvre.[13]

Although the Bosnian language is spoken mostly by Bosniaks, there are also Bosnian Croats and Serbs in Sarajevo, Zenica and Tuzla regions who claim to speak Bosnian. For instance, Željko Komšić, a Croat member of Bosnian Presidency calls his mother tongue, the Bosnian language.

Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian standard languages are examples of ausbauspraches, since they are largely mutually intelligible and have been, due to the conjunction of historical circumstances, all codified on essentially the same dialect, and many people say that they are all one entity otherwise known as Serbo-Croatian.

Differences from similar languages


References

  1. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/index.shtml
  2. ^ http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv/censuses/Census2001/Popis/H01_02_03/H01_02_03.html
  3. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/index.shtml
  4. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/index.shtml
  5. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/index.shtml
  6. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/index.shtml
  7. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/index.shtml
  8. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/index.shtml
  9. ^ http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Bosnian:language.htm
  10. ^ http://www.birn.eu.com/en/100/10/3895/
  11. ^ Board for Standardisation of Serbian Language (February 16 1998). "1", Три питања и три одговора. Decision No. 1. 
  12. ^ http://www.pravda.vlada.cg.yu/vijesti.php?akcija=rubrika&rubrika=121 See Art. 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro, adopted on 19 October 2007, available at the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Montenegro
  13. ^ Sanoptikum

External links

Wikipedia
Bosnian language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia