Bosnian Muslims have been denied their identity
For far too long the Bosnian Muslims have been denied their identity. This is evident in the name of the language we are supposed to be speaking. Where do you see 'Muslim' or 'Bosnian' in 'Serbo-Croat'? The real issue is not what language we're speaking - because we might as well call it South Slavonic - but what does 'Serbo-Croat' mean. Up until the 1970's, the Muslims of ex-Yugoslavia were not recognized - you had to be a Serb or a Croat. Most decided to be neither. The name of the language had to do with this denial of identity and now when we have chosen an identity for ourselves, we have also chosen how to name our language - so that we can be proud of it and so that we don't have to be reminded of the dark ages of ex-Yugoslavia - though we should never forget it so it won't happen again.
Sent by: MJ
Comments
I cant agree with you, Sergey. Bosnian people should be able to call their language as they want. It is not Serbo-Croatian because Bosnia is not in Serbia neither in Croatia. When somebody asks me where I am from I tell them that I'm from Bosnia and when they ask me what language we speak in Bosnia I tell them it's Bosnian. Serbs can call their language Serbian and Croats can call theirs Croatian which most of them do. This has nothing to do with politics its just that everybody wants whats theirs and Bosnians want their own language ...
Ok, I agree Sergey, but it's no wonder that Bosnian people want to have their own name, identity, flag and language since for years it was claimed that they didn't even exist. And all the time they were there, unable to be heard. And finally they are given the opportunity to be acknowledged, so why not to be finally independent and have your own language? After all, it's not only a question of a different language, but also of culture and religion!
Austrians and Swiss people still speak a language that they all call German (and dialects). Citizens of Andorra speak Catalan and Spanish. Australians, Newzealanders etc. speak English. The majority of the Latin America speak Spanish, the other speak Portuguese. Canadians use two languages that are named after two other countries. Apparently, all of this bothers no one in these countries, and doesn't seem to be an obstacle in defining and maintaining an identity for these people.
2 Dino
In short, the determination what is a language and what is a dialect is purely political, as you insist? I am a Russian and I live in Udmurtia -- a national republic within Russia. The Udmurts have Urgo-Finnish orgin and AFAIK (I myself know not more than a five or six words in the Udmurtian language, since the majority in Udmurtia and especially in its capital are ethnically Russian) northern Udmurts do not understand southern ones, and nevertheless the language they use is considered the same! LOL
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