LL-L: "Language varieties" LOWLANDS-L, 02.DEC.2000 (02) [E]

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  L O W L A N D S - L * 02.DEC.2000 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Pepijn Hendriks [pepijnh at bigfoot.com]
Subject: LL-L: "Language varieties" LOWLANDS-L, 30.NOV.2000 (01) [E/Ap]

Criostoir O Ciardha wrote:

>To me, the answer to the question is very simple - a
>variant is a "language" if its speakers deem it so.
>Likewise, it is a "dialect" if that is what they feel
>most comfortable with. If we look at the case of
>Serbo-Croat, where three mutually intelligible
>variants are now referred to as Croatian, Bosnian and
>Serbian in the territories of Croatia,
>Bosnia-Hercegovina and Yugoslavia respectively, by
>different ethnic groups, the reasoning becomes clear.

I think you have an important point here, indicating that, indeed,
the qualification of a linguistic system as a language or dialect is
certainly not clear-cut and, probably has more to do with extra-
linguistic factors.

A little over a week ago, I attended a lecture by guest speaker
Ranko Bugarski from the University of Belgrade here at the
University of Leiden. As I understand it, in the turmoil of the late
eighties and first half of the nineties, he remained calm and didn't
give in to the temptation of hate speech and war discourse of
which we seen all too much of in the former Yugoslavia.

His lecture was about language and nationalism in the Yugoslav
context. I don't intend to relate everything he said, one thing I
thought was very interesting in this context.

According to Prof. Bugarski, Serbo-Croat doesn't exist anymore on
the political or symbolical level. But, speaking in terms of linguistics,
Serbo-Croat still exists as an entity, albeit with considerable
variance.

I tend to agree with him. Indeed, as far as I can see (as a Slavist,
but very much a layman in this area), the reasons to qualify Serbian
and Croat (and 'Bosnian', if you will) as different languages are not
sufficient.

But this provokes the following thought: if we agree that the
difference between languages and dialects is largely extra-
linguistical, and that these extra-linguistic indicators in this case
seem to point to the existence of at least two languages, how
come that 'we' (i.e. linguists, or simply observers) say that Serbo-
Croat does indeed exist, as one language and think that we are
right?

It underlines once more that the linguistic situation in the former
Yugoslavia is very complex indeed. Generalising, we can say that
the entire subject of languages vs. dialects is very complex, and
that the same sort of situation may, in different parts of the world,
may lead to a different outcome, may be evaluated differently.

Very, very intriguing.

Closing off, I'd like to give two of the references given by Prof.
Bugarski (one forthcoming):

Bugarski, R., "Language and State: The Yugoslav Experience" (in:
_Wiener Linguistische Gazette_ 66, 1999, p. 3-11)

Bugarski, R., "Language, Nationalism and War in Yugoslavia" (in:
Radovanovi{c'}, M., R.A. Major (eds.), _Serbian Sociolinguistics_,
forthcoming (= _International Journal of the Sociology of Language_
151)

Regards,

-Pepijn

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