U.S. English Foundation Research

BOSNIA

Language Research

As stated in the Yugoslavian Federal Constitution of 1974, five languages had official and equal status in the Former Socialistic Republic of Yugoslavia: Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian, Albanian, Hungarian, and Macedonian. Serbo-Croatian was spoken as a first language by three quarters of the population and as a second language by most of the rest of the population.

The director of the Language Institute in Sarajevo, Mr Cedic explains the history of the creation of the standard Bosnian language in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

"After the World War II, the first standard for language and the basis of the first common dictionary were composed in Novi Sad, in 1967. Serbo-Croatian language was defined and attempts to resolve differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, orthography and the name of the language were made. Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian language functioned as a common standard until 1990.

Four national groups used this language: Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs and Montenegrins. The use of one language under the different socio-cultural, political, literary-linguistic and civilization circumstances caused the language to gain specific characteristics e.g. two different terms for one word existed (bread: hljeb-kruh) or phonetic variations (Europe: Europa-Evropa), synonyms etc.

Four different variants of one standard language were gradually created: Bosno-Herzegovian, Croatian, Serbian and Montenegrian. Afterwards they were identified by different names known as the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages. Only Montenegris did not name their variation of the language and they continued to use the name Serbian language.

The Bosnian-Herzegovian variant was considered as a language idiom used in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1972-1992. Meanwhile the two nationalities living within Bosnia Herzegovina named their languages as Croatian and Serbian. In 1991 Bosniaks restored their national name of their mother tongue as the Bosnian language."