The Bunjevac dialect (), also known as Bunjevac speech (), is the Danubian branch of

Shtokavian Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige dialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin standards. It ...

– Younger Ikavian dialect of the

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

pluricentric language A pluricentric language or polycentric language is a language with several interacting codified standard forms, often corresponding to different countries. Many examples of such languages can be found worldwide among the most-spoken languages, inc ...

, preserved among members of the

Bunjevac Bunjevci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Bunjevci, Буњевци, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevac, Буњевац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevka, Буњевка) are a South Slavic sub-ethnic group living ...

community. Their accent is purely

Ikavian Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige dialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin standards. I ...

, with /i/ for the Common Slavic vowels ''

yat Yat or jat (Ѣ ѣ; italics: ) is the thirty-second letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet and the Rusyn alphabet. There is also another version of yat, the iotified yat (majuscule: , minuscule: ), which is a Cyrillic character combining ...

''. There are three branches of the Shtokavian–Younger Ikavian dialect: Dalmatian, Danubian, and Littoral-Lika. Its speakers largely use the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...

and are living in parts of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

, different parts of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

, southern parts (inc.

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

) of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

as well in the autonomous province

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

Dictionary

There have been three meritorious people who preserved the Bunjevac dialect in two separate dictionaries: Grgo Bačlija and Marko Peić with "''Rečnik bački Bunjevaca''" (editions 1990, 2018), and Ante Sekulić with "''Rječnik govora bačkih Hrvata''" (2005).
''"Bunjevac dialect of the hinterland of Senje with special consideiration of emphasis."'' Grga Tomljenović. Croatia. 1984

Bunjevac phrases and proverbs in Gara, Hungary. ''"Bunjevačke fraze i poslovice u Gari"''. Tomislav Krekić. 2016

Bunjevac speech in Tavankut, Serbia. ''"Govor Tavankuta"''. Mirjana Crnković. 2015

Number of speakers

In the 2002 census results published by the Statistical Office of Serbia, Bunjevac speech was not listed among main languages spoken in Serbia, but those that declared that their language is Bunjevac were listed in category "other languages". For example, in the municipality of Subotica, the number of those listed as speaking "other languages" (presumably Bunjevac) was 8,914. According to the 2011 census in Serbia, 6,835 people declared Bunjevac dialect as their

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...

(''bunjevački maternji jezik'') and it was listed independently.

Status

Opinions on the status of the Bunjevac dialect remain divided. Bunjevac speech is considered a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

of the

, by linguists. Popularly, the Bunjevac dialect is often referred to as "Bunjevac language" or Bunjevac mother tongue. At the political level, depending on goal and content of the political lobby, the general confusion concerning the definition of the terms language, dialect, speech, mother tongue, is cleverly exploited, resulting in an inconsistent use of the terms. In the old

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

censuses (for example one from 1910), Bunjevac was declared as a native language of numerous citizens (for example in the city of

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Subotica i ...

33,247 people declared Bunjevac as their native language in 1910). During the existence of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

and the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

, members of the Bunjevac ethnic community mostly declared themselves as speaking

. According to the 2002 census in

, some members of the Bunjevac ethnic community declared that their native language to be Serbian or Croatian. This does not mean that they do not use this specific dialect, but merely that they do not consider it sufficiently distinct from the aforementioned

standard language A standard language (also standard variety, standard dialect, and standard) is a language variety that has undergone substantial codification of grammar and usage, although occasionally the term refers to the entirety of a language that include ...

s to register as speakers of a separate language. However, those Bunjevci who declared Bunjevac to be their native language consider it a separate language. The dialect, of the in Serbia residating Danubian Bunjevci, was standardized in the Republic of Serbia in 2018 and officially approved as a standard dialect by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

for teaching in schools. Speakers use in general the standardized dialect variety for writing and conversation in formal situations. Theodora Vuković has provided, in 2009, the scientific methodology for the finalization of the standardization proces of the Bunjevac dialect corpus in Serbia, classified as the Serbian Bunjevac dialect variety of the Danubian branch of the Shtokavian–Younger Ikavian dialect. There is an ongoing wish among the members of the Bunjevac community for affirmation of their dialect in Croatia, Hungary, and in Serbia. The Bunjevac National Council has the following projects in Bunjevac dialect in Serbia: Montley newspaper ''"Bunjevačke novine"'', TV programme ''"Spektar"'' (broadcaststed by

Radio Television of Vojvodina Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tra ...

), and a language school program for Bunjevac speech and culture ''"bunjevački govor s elementima nacionalne kulture"''. The Croat National Council in Subotica is organizing the yearly Bunjevac Song Contest ''"Festival bunjevački’ pisama"'' On March 4, 2021, the municipal council in

has voted in favor of amending the city statute adding Bunjevac dialect to the list of official languages in the municipality, in addition to Serbian, Hungarian, and Croatian. This has created a special situation that contradicts the official position, of both the

Serbian government The Government of Serbia ( sr, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government ( sr, � ...

and

Matica Srpska The Matica srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Матица српска, Matica srpska, la, Matrix Serbica, grc, Μάτιτσα Σρπσκα) is the oldest Serbian language independent, non-profit, non-governmental and cultural-scientific Serbian national in ...

, that classified Bunjevac speech as a dialect. Also other scholars from Serbia and Croatia confirm the linguistic dialect status of the Bunjevac speech. The Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics launched a proposal, in March 2021, to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, to add Bunjevac dialect to the List of Protected

Intangible Cultural Heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. I ...

of the Republic of Croatia and was approved on 8 October 2021 — the three Bunjevac dialect branches are categorised by Croatia as New-Stockavian Ikavian dialects of the Stockavian dialect of the Croatian language. The status of the Bunjevac dialect and the identity and nationality dispute of people calling themselves Bunjevac or Bunjevac-Croat, has been on the political agenda of stakeholders involved for decades, influencing bilateral cooperation between Croatia and Serbia, domestic political developments in Serbia and Croatia, and the implementation of political decisions of the EU.

Organisations

Bunjevac Croatian Cultural and Educational Society in Serbia; HKPD Matija Gubec Tavankut

Bunjevac Cultural Institute, "Bunyevác Kulturális Intézet" in Baja in Hungary; www.bunyevacintezet.hu

Bunjevac National Council in Serbia; www.bunjevci.net

Bunjevačka matica (under auspices of Bunjevac National Council); www.bunjevacka-matica.rs

* ttps://hnv.org.rs/ Croat National Council in Serbia (Bunjevci, Coats, Šokci), www.hnv.org.rs
Croatian Cultural Centre "Bunjevačko kolo" for Croats, Bunjevci, and Sokci in Serbia; m.facebook.com/hkcbunjevackokolosubotica

Ogranak Matice hrvatske u Subotici; www.matica.hr/ogranci/Subotica/

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska ( la, Matrix Croatica) is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illy ...

External links

Linguistic institutes & Universities

Fakultät Sprach-, Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaften - TU Dresden

Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje - Zagreb - Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics

Linguistics Research Institute - Budapest

Multilingualism - Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Research Institute Linguistics - Mercator Network

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts - SANU

Slavic-Eurasian Research Center - 北海道大学 - Sapporo

Newspaper (digital)

Bunjevački govor ostaje u školama - Politika (7 November 2015)

Bunjevački jezik u školskom programu - Blic. Dragan Šolaja (25 October 2007)

Deset godina bunjevačkog govora u osnovnim školama - subotica.info (11 November 2016)

Sources for further reading

* [https://www.academia.edu/4873215/%C5%BDarko_Bo%C5%A1njakovi%C4%87_Biljana_Sikimi%C4%87_Bunjevci_Etnodijalektolo%C5%A1ka_istra%C5%BEivanja_2009_Novi_Sad_Matica_srpska_Subotica_Nacionalni_savet_bunjeva%C4%8Dke_nacionalne_manjine_2013 Bunjevci. Etnodijalektološka istraživanja 2009. Žarko Bošnjaković, Biljana Sikimić. 2013]
Bunjevci in Senj (Croatia)

Der Ausbau des Bunjewatzischen zu einer südslavischen Mikroliteratursprache. Martin Henzelmann. 2016

Hrvatska revija br. 3/2005. Proslava 250. obljetnice doseljavanja veće skupine Bunjevaca (1686.-1936.) – Bunjevci u jugoslavenskoj državi. Stevan Mačković

Hungarian views of the Bunjevci in Habsburg times and the inter-war period. Eric Beckett Weaver. 2011

Međunarodni znanstveni skup "Jugoistočna Europa 1918.-1995." Stjepan Matković. 1996

Politics and the Slavic Languages. Tomasz Kamusella. 2021

The Politics Of Language And Nationalism In Modern Central Europe. Tomasz Kamusella. 2008

What does the case of Vojvodina tell us about multilingualism, mobility, inclusion and power relations? Edgár Dobos. 2018

Notes

{{Shtokavian dialects Languages of Vojvodina Languages of Croatia Languages of Serbia Bunjevci Dialects of Serbo-Croatian