Is Serbo-Croatian a language?

By T.J.

SOME 17m people in Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro speak variations of what used to be called Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian. Officially though, the language that once united Yugoslavia has, like the country, ceased to exist. Instead, it now has four names: Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian and Montenegrin. But are these all the same language?

The answer, according to a group of linguists and NGOs from the four countries, is a resounding “yes”. Working under the banner of a project called “Language and Nationalism”, the group issued a “declaration on the common language” on March 30th. It stated that the four tongues together form a “polycentric” language, similar to English, German or Arabic. They argue that while different dialects exist, these are variations of the same language since everyone who speaks it can understand one another. Indeed, this makes the four tongues more similar than the dialects of many other polycentric languages. The authors consider the insistence by educational and public institutions on the usage of only one of the four name variants to be “repressive, unnecessary and harmful”. The aim of the declaration is to stimulate discussion on language “without the nationalistic baggage and to contribute to the reconciliation process”, says Daliborka Uljarevic, the Montenegrin partner behind the declaration.