Serbian language
Serbian | |
---|---|
српски језик / srpski jezik | |
Pronunciation | Southeastern Europe |
Ethnicity | Serbs |
Native speakers | c. 12 million (2009)[1] |
| |
Countries/regions where Serbian is an official language.
Countries/regions where it is recognized as a minority language. | |
Serbian is not endangered according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Serbian (српски / srpski, pronounced [sr̩̂pskiː]) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs.[8][9][10][11][12][13] It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kosovo. It is a recognized minority language in Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian,
Serbian is practically the only European standard language whose speakers are fully functionally digraphic,[18] using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić, who created it based on phonemic principles. The Latin alphabet used for Serbian (latinica) was designed by the Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj in the 1830s based on the Czech system with a one-to-one grapheme-phoneme correlation between the Cyrillic and Latin orthographies, resulting in a parallel system.[19]
Classification
Serbian is a standardized variety of
Geographic distribution
Figures of speakers according to countries:
- Serbia: 6,540,699 (official language)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1,086,027[24] (co-official language)
- Germany: 568,240[citation needed]
- Austria: 350,000[citation needed]
- Montenegro: 265,890 (language in official use)
- Switzerland: 186,000
- United States: 172,874
- Sweden: 120,000
- Italy: 106,498[25]
- Kosovo: est. 70.000–100.000[26][27] (co-official language)
- Canada: 72,690[28]
- Australia: 55,114[29][30]
- Croatia: 52,879[31] (recognized minority language)
- Slovenia: 38,964
- North Macedonia: 24,773 (recognized minority language)
- Romania: 22,518 (recognized minority language)
Status in Montenegro
Serbian was the official language of Montenegro until October 2007 when the new Constitution of Montenegro replaced the Constitution of 1992. Amid opposition from pro-Serbian parties,[32] Montenegrin was made the sole official language of the country, and Serbian was given the status of a language in official use along with Bosnian, Albanian, and Croatian.[33]
In the 2011 Montenegrin census, 42.88% declared Serbian to be their native language, while Montenegrin was declared by 36.97% of the population.[34]
Differences between standard Serbian and standard Croatian and Bosnian
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2012) |
Writing system
Standard Serbian language uses both Cyrillic (ћирилица, ćirilica) and Latin script (latinica, латиница). Serbian is a rare example of synchronic digraphia, a situation where all literate members of a society have two interchangeable writing systems available to them. Media and publishers typically select one alphabet or the other. In general, the alphabets are used interchangeably; except in the legal sphere, where Cyrillic is required, there is no context where one alphabet or another predominates.
Although Serbian language authorities have recognized the official status of both scripts in contemporary Standard Serbian for more than half of a century now, due to historical reasons, the Cyrillic script was made the official script of Serbia's administration by the 2006 Constitution.[35]
The Latin script continues to be used in official contexts, although the government has indicated its desire to phase out this practice due to national sentiment. The Ministry of Culture believes that Cyrillic is the "identity script" of the Serbian nation.[36]
However, the law does not regulate scripts in standard language, or standard language itself by any means, leaving the choice of script as a matter of personal preference and to the free will in all aspects of life (publishing, media, trade and commerce, etc.), except in government paperwork production and in official written communication with state officials, which have to be in Cyrillic.[35]
Usage
To most Serbians, the Latin script tends to imply a cosmopolitan or neutral attitude, while Cyrillic appeals to a more traditional or vintage sensibility.[37]
In media, the public broadcaster,
In the public sphere, with logos, outdoor signage and retail packaging, the Latin script predominates, although both scripts are commonly seen. The Serbian government has encouraged increasing the use of Cyrillic in these contexts.[37] Larger signs, especially those put up by the government, will often feature both alphabets; if the sign has English on it, then usually only Cyrillic is used for the Serbian text.
A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of the Serbian population favors the Latin alphabet whereas 36% favors the Cyrillic one.[38]
Latin script has become more and more popular in Serbia, as it is easier to input on phones and computers.[39]
Alphabetic order
The sort order of the ćirilica (ћирилица) alphabet:
- Cyrillic order called Azbuka (азбука): А Б В Г Д Ђ Е Ж З И Ј К Л Љ М Н Њ О П Р С Т Ћ У Ф Х Ц Ч Џ Ш
The sort order of the latinica (латиница) alphabet:
- Latin order called Abeceda (абецеда): A B C Č Ć D Dž Đ E F G H I J K L Lj M N Nj O P R S Š T U V Z Ž
Grammar
Serbian is a highly inflected language, with grammatical morphology for nouns, pronouns and adjectives as well as verbs.[40]
Nouns
Serbian nouns are classified into three declensional types, denoted largely by their nominative case endings as "-a" type, "-i" and "-e" type. Into each of these declensional types may fall nouns of any of three genders: masculine, feminine or neuter. Each noun may be inflected to represent the noun's grammatical case, of which Serbian has seven:
Nouns are further inflected to represent the noun's number, singular or plural.
Pronouns
Pronouns, when used, are inflected along the same case and number morphology as nouns. Serbian is a pro-drop language, meaning that pronouns may be omitted from a sentence when their meaning is easily inferred from the text. In cases where pronouns may be dropped, they may also be used to add emphasis. For example:
Serbian | English equivalent |
---|---|
Kako si? | How are you? |
A kako si ti? | And how are you? |
Adjectives
Adjectives in Serbian may be placed before or after the noun they modify, but must agree in number, gender and case with the modified noun.
Verbs
Serbian verbs are conjugated in four past forms—
As for the non-finite verb forms, Serbian has one
Vocabulary
Most Serbian words are of native Slavic lexical stock, tracing back to the Proto-Slavic language. There are many loanwords from different languages, reflecting cultural interaction throughout history. Notable loanwords were borrowed from Greek, Latin, Italian, Turkish, Hungarian, English, Russian, German, Czech and French.
Serbian literature
Serbian literature emerged in the
By the beginning of the 14th century the Serbo-Croatian language, which was so rigorously proscribed by earlier local laws, becomes the dominant language of the Republic of Ragusa.[41] However, despite her wealthy citizens speaking the Serbo-Croatian dialect of Dubrovnik in their family circles, they sent their children to Florentine schools to become perfectly fluent in Italian.[41] Since the beginning of the 13th century, the entire official correspondence of Dubrovnik with states in the hinterland was conducted in Serbian.[42]
In the mid-15th century, Serbia was conquered by the
Dialects
The dialects of Serbo-Croatian, regarded Serbian (traditionally spoken in Serbia), include:
- Šumadija–Vojvodina (Ekavian, Neo-Shtokavian): central and northern Serbia
- Eastern Herzegovinian (Ijekavian, Neo-Shtokavian): southwestern Serbia, western half of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia
- Kosovo–Resava (Ekavian, Old-Shtokavian): eastern central Serbia, central Kosovo
- Smederevo–Vršac (Ekavian, Old-Shtokavian): east-central Serbia
- Torlakian): southeastern Serbia, southern Kosovo
- Zeta–Raška (Ijekavian, Old-Shtokavian): eastern half of Montenegro, southwestern Serbia
Dictionaries
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
Standard dictionaries
- Dictionary of Serbo-Croatian Literary and Vernacular Language (Rečnik srpskohrvatskog književnog i narodnog jezika) is the biggest dictionary of Serbian (and Serbo-Croatian as a whole) and still unfinished. Starting in 1959, 21 volumes were published as of 2020 and about 40 are expected by the time it is finished.
- Dictionary of Serbo-Croatian Literary Language (Rečnik srpskohrvatskoga književnog jezika) in six volumes in 1967–1976, started as a common project of Matica srpska (published in Cyrillic) and Matica hrvatska (published in Latin). Only the first three volumes were published by Matica hrvatska due to negative feedback from Croatian linguists.
- Dictionary of the Serbian language (Rečnik srpskoga jezika; ISBN 978-86-7946-004-2) in one volume, published in 2007 by Matica srpska, which on more than 1500 pages in A4 formatexplains more than 85,000 entries.
Etymological dictionaries
The standard and the only completed etymological dictionary of Serbian is the "Skok", written by the Croatian linguist Petar Skok: Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika ("Etymological Dictionary of Croatian or Serbian"). I-IV. Zagreb 1971–1974.
There is also a new monumental Etimološki rečnik srpskog jezika (Etymological Dictionary of Serbian). So far, two volumes have been published: I (with words on A-), and II (Ba-Bd).
There are specialized etymological dictionaries for German, Italian, Croatian, Turkish, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, English and other loanwords (cf. chapter word origin).
Dialectal dictionaries
- Kosovsko-resavski dialect dictionaries:
- Gliša Elezović, Rečnik kosovsko-metohiskog dijalekta I-II. 1932/1935.
- Prizren-Timok (Torlakian) dialect dictionaries:
- Brana Mitrović, Rečnik leskovačkog govora. Leskovac 1984.
- Nikola Živković, Rečnik pirotskog govora. Pirot, 1987.
- Miodrag Marković, Rečnik crnorečkog govora I-II. 1986/1993.
- Jakša Dinić, Rečnik timočkog govora I-III.1988–1992.
- Jakša Dinić, Timocki dijalekatski recnik, (Institut za srpski jezik, Monografije 4; ISBN 978-86-82873-17-4) Beograd 2008,
- Momčilo Zlatanović, Rečnik govora južne Srbije. Vranje, 1998, 1–491.
- East-Herzegovinian dialect dictionaries:
- Milija Stanić, Uskočki rečnik I–II. Beograd 1990/1991.
- Miloš Vujičić, Rečnik govora Prošćenja kod Mojkovca. Podgorica, 1995.
- Srđan Musić, Romanizmi u severozapadnoj Boki Kotorskoj. 1972.
- Svetozar Gagović, Iz leksike Pive. Beograd 2004.
- Zeta-Pešter dialect:
- Rada Stijović, Iz leksike Vasojevića. 1990.
- Drago Ćupić – Željko Ćupić, Rečnik govora Zagarača. 1997.
- Vesna Lipovac-Radulović, Romanizmi u Crnoj Gori – jugoistočni dio Boke Kotorske. Cetinje – Titograd, 1981.
- Vesna Lipovac-Radulović, Romanizmi u Budvi i Paštrovićima. Novi Sad 1997.
- Others:
- Rečnik srpskih govora Vojvodine. Novi Sad.
- Mile Tomić, Rečnik radimskog govora – dijaspora, Rumunija. 1989.
Sample text
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Serbian, written in the Cyrillic script:[43]
Сва људска бића рађају се слободна и једнака у достојанству и правима. Она су обдарена разумом и свешћу и треба једни према другима да поступају у духу братства.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Serbian, written in the Latin alphabet:[44]
Sva ljudska bića rađaju se slobodna i jednaka u dostojanstvu i pravima. Ona su obdarena razumom i svešću i treba jedni prema drugima da postupaju u duhu bratstva.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:[45]
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
See also
South Slavic languages and dialects |
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- Declaration on the Common Language 2017
- Dialects of Serbo-Croatian
- Mutual intelligibility
- Pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language
- Romano-Serbian language (mix with Romany)
- Šatrovački (slang form)
- Serbian language in Croatia
- Language secessionism in Serbo-Croatian
References
- ^ "Српски језик говори 12 милиона људи". РТС. 2009-02-20.
- WIPO. 19 October 2007. Archived from the originalon 28 July 2013.
Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian and Croatian shall also be in the official use.
- ^ "Ec.Europa.eu" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-11-30.
- ^ "B92.net". Archived from the original on 2013-11-10.
- ^ "Czech Republic Overview". Minority Rights Group International. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
- ^ "Národnostní menšiny v České republice a jejich jazyky" [National Minorities in Czech Republic and Their Language] (PDF) (in Czech). Government of Czech Republic. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-15.
Podle čl. 3 odst. 2 Statutu Rady je jejich počet 12 a jsou uživateli těchto menšinových jazyků: ..., srbština a ukrajinština
- ^ "Macedonia Overview". Minority Rights Group International. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
- ^ David Dalby, Linguasphere (1999/2000, Linguasphere Observatory), pg. 445, 53-AAA-g, "Srpski+Hrvatski, Serbo-Croatian".
- ^ Benjamin W. Fortson IV, Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction, 2nd ed. (2010, Blackwell), p. 431, "Because of their mutual intelligibility, Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian are usually thought of as constituting one language called Serbo-Croatian."
- ^ Václav Blažek, "On the Internal Classification of Indo-European Languages: Survey" retrieved 20 Oct 2010 Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine, pp. 15–16.
- S2CID 244134335.
The debate about the status of the Serbo-Croatian language and its varieties has recently shifted (again) towards a position which looks at the internal variation within Serbo-Croatian through the prism of linguistic pluricentricity
- . Retrieved 8 June 2022.
Obwohl das Kroatische sich in den letzten Jahren in einigen Gebieten, vor allem jedoch auf lexikalischer Ebene, verändert hat, sind diese Änderungen noch nicht bedeutend genug, dass der Terminus Ausbausprache gerechtfertigt wäre. Ausserdem können sich Serben, Kroaten, Bosnier und Montenegriner immer noch auf ihren jeweiligen Nationalsprachen unterhalten und problemlos verständigen. Nur schon diese Tatsache zeigt, dass es sich immer noch um eine polyzentrische Sprache mit verschiedenen Varietäten handelt.
- from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
- ^ Ljiljana Subotić; Dejan Sredojević; Isidora Bjelaković (2012), Fonetika i fonologija: Ortoepska i ortografska norma standardnog srpskog jezika (in Serbo-Croatian), FILOZOFSKI FAKULTET NOVI SAD, archived from the original on 2014-01-03
- ^ Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Or Montenegrin? Or Just 'Our Language'? Archived 2010-11-05 at the Wayback Machine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, February 21, 2009
- ^ Nosovitz, Dan (11 February 2019). "What Language Do People Speak in the Balkans, Anyway?". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 11 February 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-203-21320-9. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
Following Vuk's reform of Cyrillic (see above) in the early nineteenth century, Ljudevit Gaj in the 1830s performed the same operation on Latinica, using the Czech system and producing a one-to-one symbol correlation between Cyrillic and Latinica as applied to the Serbian and Croatian parallel system.
- S2CID 150383965.
Serbo-Croatian, which features four ethnic variants: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin
- (PDF) from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ISSN 1068-2090. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ISBN 3-89586-965-1
- ^ "Maternji jezik 2013". Popis 2013. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-07-29.
- ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT" (PDF). Demo.istat.it. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
- ISBN 978-1-316-98277-8.
- ^ "Kosovo's Demographic Destiny Looks Eerily Familiar". Balkan Insight. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
- ^ "Ethno-Cultural Portrait of Canada, Table 1". www12.statcan.ca. 2001. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-920996-23-9. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
Ancestry
- ^ "Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection" (PDF). Immi.gov.au. 2013-04-21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Croatian Census 2011". 2011. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- ^ "Pro-Serbian parties oppose Montenegro constitution". setimes.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "SNP CG". snp.co.me. Archived from the original on 2018-01-20. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ Montenegro Census 2011 data, Montstat, "Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i stanova u Crnoj Gori 2011. godine" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- ^ a b "The Constitution". The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
- ^ "Serbian ministry wants only Cyrillic script in official use". 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Should you Localize to Serbian Latin or to Serbian Cyrillic?". 17 November 2016.
- ^ "Ivan Klajn: Ćirilica će postati arhaično pismo". b92.net. 16 December 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ Crosby, Alan; Martinovic, Iva (August 28, 2018). "In The Age Of The Internet, Serbia Aims To Keep Its Cyrillic Alive". RFE/RL. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ISBN 9781138949799.
- ^ a b Through Bosnia and the Herzegovina on Foot During the Insurrection by Sir Arthur Evans, page 416
- ^ LANGUAGE AND LETTER IN MEDIEVAL BOSNIAN STATE – CHARTERS AND LETTERS at plemenito.com
- ^ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Serbian (Cyrillic)". unicode.org.
- ^ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Serbian (Latin)". unicode.org.
- ^ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". United Nations.
Further reading
Books
- Belić, Aleksandar (2000). O dijalektima. Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva. ISBN 9788617076311.
- Greenberg, Robert D. (2004). Language and Identity in the Balkans: Serbo-Croatian and its Disintegration. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191514555.
- Grickat, Irena (1975). Studije iz istorije srpskohrvatskog jezika. Narodna Biblioteka SR Srbije.
- Ivić, Pavle (1995). "Standard language as an instrument of culture and the product of national history". The history of Serbian Culture. Rastko.
- Ivić, P. (1971). Srpski narod i njegov jezik. Beograd: Serbian Literary Guild.
- Ivić, P. (1986). Srpski narod i njegov jezik (2nd ed.). Beograd: Serbian Literary Guild.
- Kovačević, M. (2003), Srpski jezik i srpski jezici, Serbian Literary Guild
- Marojević, R. (2008), Српски jезик данас, Бард-фин
- Milćanović, A. (2006), Kratka istorija srpskog književnog jezika, Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike
- Milošević, M. (2001). Gramatika srpskoga jezika: priručnik za poznavanje srpskog književnog jezika. Draganić.
- ISBN 9789537611064.
- Petrović, Dragoljub; Gudurić, Snežana (2010). Фонологија српскога језика. Beograd: Institut za srpski jezik SANU, Beogradska knjiga, Matica srpska.
- Popović, I. (1955). Историја српскохрватског језика. Novi Sad: Матица српска.
- Popović, L. (2004). From standard Serbian through standard Serbo-Croatian to standard Serbian.
- Radovanović, Milorad (1996). Српски језик на крају века [The Serbian language at the end of the century]. Belgrade: Institute for the Serbian Language OCLC 1169814518.
- Simić, Ž. (1922). Srpska gramatika. G. Kon.
- Vujanić, M.; Nikolić, M., eds. (2007). Речник српскога језика. Матица српска.
Journals
- Belić, Aleksandar, ed. (1911). "Српски дијалектолошки зборник". Srpski dijalektološki zbornik [Recueil de dialectologie serbe]. 2.
- Greenberg, Robert D. (2000). "Language Politics in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: The Crisis over the Future of Serbian". Slavic Review. 59 (3): 625–640. S2CID 155546040.
- ISSN 0354-9259. COBISS 121971724. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- Isailović, Neven G.; Krstić, Aleksandar R. (2015). "Serbian Language and Cyrillic Script as a Means of Diplomatic Literacy in South Eastern Europe in 15th and 16th Centuries". Literacy Experiences concerning Medieval and Early Modern Transylvania. Cluj-Napoca: George Bariţiu Institute of History. pp. 185–195.
- Kovačević, M. (2007). "Srpski jezik i njegove varijante". Srpsko Pitanje I Srbistika: 255–262.
- Marinković, M. (2010). "Srpski jezik u Osmanskom carstvu: primer četvorojezičnog udžbenika za učenje stranih jezika iz biblioteke sultana Mahmuda I". Slavistika. XIV.
- Marojević, R. (1996). "Srpski jezik u porodici slovenskih jezika" [The Serbian language in the family of Slavic languages]. Srpski jezik [The Serbian language]: 1–2.
- Mišić Ilić, B. (2015). "Srpski jezik u dijaspori: pogled iz lingvističkog ugla" [Serbian language in the diaspora]. Srpski Jezik. 20: 289–307.
- Okuka, M. (2009). "Srpski jezik danas: sociolingvistički status". Jezični varijeteti i nacionalni identiteti: 215–233.
- Petrović, T. (2001). "Speaking a different Serbian language: Refugees in Serbia between conflict and integration". Journal of Liberal Arts. 6 (1): 97–108.
- Radić, Jovanka; Miloradović, Sofija (2009). Piper, P. (ed.). "Српски језик у контексту националних идентитета: поводом српске мањине у Мађарској". ЈУЖНОСЛОВЕНСКИ филолог. LXV: 153–179. GGKEY:00RD5D429DG.
- Radovanović, Milorad (2000). "From Serbo-Croatian to Serbian". Multilingua. 19 (1–2): 21–35. S2CID 143260283.
- Savić, Viktor (2016). "The Serbian Redaction of the Church Slavonic Language: From St. Clement, the Bishop of the Slavs, to St. Sava, the Serbian Archbishop". Slověne=Словѣне. International Journal of Slavic Studies. 5 (2): 231–339.
- Sorescu-Marinković, Annemarie (2010). "Serbian Language Acquisition in Communist Romania" (PDF). Balcanica (41): 7–31. .
- Vučković, M. (2009). "Савремена дијалектолошка истраживања у српској лингвистици и проблематика језика у контакту". Јужнословенски филолог. 65: 405–423.
External links
- Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Appendix:Swadesh lists)
- Standard language as an instrument of culture and the product of national history – an article by linguist Pavle Ivić at Project Rastko
- A Basic Serbian Phrasebook Archived 2008-12-29 at the Wayback Machine