Montenegrin language 729764 224760604 2008-07-10T08:45:17Z Sombrero 947867 /* Linguistic considerations */ {{Infobox Language |name=Montenegrin |nativename=Crnogorski<br>Црногорски|familycolor=Indo-European |states=[[Montenegro]]<ref>[http://www.plav.net/zavicaj/popis_2003.htm Monstat” Saopštio Rezultate Popisa Stanovništva U Crnoj Gori O Nacionalnoj Pripadnosti, Maternjem Jeziku I Vjeroispovijesti<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |speakers=about 144,838 people; some 22% of the population of Montenegro ([[2003]]) |rank=official |fam2=[[Slavic languages|Slavic]] |fam3=[[South Slavic languages|South Slavic]] |fam4=[[Western South Slavic languages|Western South Slavic]] |fam5=[[Ijekavian]] [[Shtokavian|Štokavian]] |nation={{flagcountry|Montenegro}} |agency=not regulated |iso1=none |iso2b=none|iso2t=none |iso3=none }} {{Southslavlang}} '''Montenegrin language''' (''Crnogorski jezik'', Црногорски језик) is the name given to the Ijekavian-[[Shtokavian]] dialect of [[Serbo-Croatian]] or [[Croato-Serbian]] diasystem, spoken in [[Montenegro]]. It is recognized as a variant of the [[South Slavic languages]], 22% of [[Montenegrins]] refer to their specific dialect as a separate language. Since 2004 the Montenegrin administration has slowly promoted the idea of a Montenegrin language among the populace, a movement whose origins go back as far as 1993. As of [[Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006|Montenegrin 2006 independence]], there is an ongoing dispute over the subject, culminating with its proclamation as the [[official language]] of Montenegro in the new Constitution on [[22 October]] [[2007]]. The Constitution was supported by a majority in the Parliament of Montenegro. == History of Montenegrin Language == {{POV|date=April 2008}} Up to the 19th century the only language in use was old Slavic language until a group of Serbian and Croatian philologists, linguistic historians and lexicographers made efforts to create a modern language. The list of rules and differences from the old Slavic Language was called Language of People ("Narodni jezik"<ref>[http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Bosnia-Aug06.pdf Bringing Order out of Chaos:<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>). This was done by Vienna Agreement of 1850 which, encouraged by Austrian authorities, laid the foundation for the modernized Folk Language. Which later both biggest south Slavic nations pronounced as their own Language as [[Serbian Language]] and [[Croatian Language]]. At that time Montenegro was exhausted by constant wars for freedom with their neighbors, which led to the situation that it was devastated as a nation and a self-sufficient community. The biggest territorial and assimilative threat on Montenegro was the [[Serbian Monarchy]], which they finally succeeded in carrying out on 1918 by forceful occupation<ref>[http://www.montenegro.org/abolish.html How the Montenegrin State was Abolished<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> of Montenegro<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02E2DA1439EF3ABC4C53DFB0668389639EDE MONTENEGRO'S PLEA AS MADE AT GENOA; Documents Containing Her Protest a... - Article Preview - The New York Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. That was first time after 1000 years that Montenegro had lost sovereignty; it was renamed as a region of Serbia in the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians]]. Under occupation of the unconstitutional Government in Belgrade, no effort are made to raise Montenegrin community self-education, making the once-glorious nation face annihilation<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F06E4DE1339E133A25755C1A9629C946395D6CF ANNIHILATION OF A NATION; Montenegrins' Effort to Prevent Annexation o... - Article Preview - The New York Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> with the military support of France and political silence from other western and eastern nations, all allies of Montenegro which lost 1/3 of population only in the [[World War I]]. This made Montenegro the only country which, after victory in World war I, lost Sovereignty, its name, its church and its Government. This situation continued until the end of [[World War II]] when Montenegro was restored as a full and equal Sovereign State in the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] Federation among six other South Slavic Nations. 56 years needed to pass after occupation for Montenegro to establish an University for first time on 29 April 1974 <ref>[http://www.ucg.cg.ac.yu/eng/o_univerzitetu.htm Univerzitet Crne Gore<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Until that date the majority of people were educated in Serbia, in Serbian language and Literature. Until the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia|Communistic party of Yugoslavia]] didn't made agreement to make unified Serbo-Croat Language, Montenegrin Language was preserved. The Serbo-Croat Language was practically only in strict use in Montenegro. Most Montenegrin don't write as they [[Vuk_Stefanovi%C4%87_Karad%C5%BEi%C4%87#Quotes| speak]] which is basic rule of Serbian Language established by [[Vuk Stefanović Karadžić]]. Even if 3 more phonemes are not in written letters they are used daily in conversation. Most contribution to standardization of Montenegrin Language had prof dr [[Vojislav Nikčević]]. Today Montenegro is finally after two centuries in a position to be a self-sufficient and sovereign state with the means and will to restore and preserve its language uniqueness as it is in reality. In Montenegro today the official language is, by constitution, the Montenegrin Language, and efforts to provide international standardization are in progress. == Official status and speakers' preference == {{update}} The language remains an ongoing issue in Montenegro. In the previous census of 1991, the vast majority, 510,320 or 82.97% of Montenegrin citizens, declared themselves as speakers of the then official language: [[Serbo-Croatian]]. The 1981 population census also recorded a Serbo-Croat-speaking majority. However in the first Communist censuses, the vast majority of the population declared Serbian their native tongue. Such is also the case with the first recorded population census in Montenegro, in 1909, when approximately 95% of the population of the [[Princedom of Montenegro]] declared Serbian their native language. According to the [[Constitution of Montenegro]], the official language of the republic, since 1992, is [[Serbian language|Serbian of the Ijekavian standard]]. After [[World War II]] and until 1992, the official language of Montenegro was Serbo-Croat. Before that, in the previous old Montenegrin realm, Serbian was the language in usage. The [[Serbian language]] was the officially used language in Communist Montenegro, until after the 1950 Novi Sad Agreement that defined the Serbo-Croat, and "Serbo-Croatian" introduced into the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Montenegro in 1974. In the late nineties and early twenty-first century, organizations promoting Montenegrin as a distinct language appeared, and since 2004 the [[Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro]] regime introduced the term to usage. The new constitution, adopted on [[19 October]] [[2007]], deemed Montenegrin to be the official language of Montenegro. The most recent [[Demographic history of Montenegro|population census]] conducted in Montenegro was in 2003, when it was still in its [[Serbia and Montenegro|state union with Serbia]]. According to it, 144,838 citizens or 21.53% of the population declared "Montenegrin" their native language. After [[Milo Đukanović]]'s regime conducted the controversial act of deleting Montenegrin citizens living abroad in an effort to evade diaspora votes, the official number that was published was 136,208, comprising 21.96% of the total population. The speakers' statistics is as follows: * 106,214 [[Montenegrins]] (''77.98%'') * 13,627 [[Slavic Muslims]] (''10%'') * 12,549 [[Bosniacs]] (''9.21%'') * 1,375 [[Croats]] (''1.02%'') * 2,443 others (''1.79%'') In 2003 401,382 or 59.67% of Montenegrin citizens declared the official Serbian their native tongue. After the deletion of citizens abroad, the final published figure was 393,740 or 63.49% of the total population. The following is the speakers' statistics: * 197,684 [[Serbs]] (''50.21%'') * 156,374 [[Montenegrins]] (''39.72%'') * 8,696 [[Slavic Muslims]] (''2.21%'') * 2,723 [[Bosniacs]] (''0.69%'') * 2,529 [[Croats]] (''0.64%'') * 1,705 [[Yugoslavs]] (''0.43%'') * 24,029 others (''6.1%'') President [[Filip Vujanović]] claimed polls say over 60% of Montenegrin population would support his proposal for mix, "MonteSerbian language" or "Serbo-Montenegrin language" (crnogorsko-srpski jezik, srpsko-crnogorski jezik). With the polls heating up, the opposition uniting and stalling of the negotiations for a new Constitution, a similar situation like the one before the independence referendum is arising in Montenegro. A poll from late 2007, declaration of language of the population: * [[Serbian language|Serbian]] - 49.6% * Montenegrin - 34.9% * Serbo-Montenegrin or MonteSerbian - 4% * others - 3.6% * Mother tongue - 7.8% * undecided - 7.8% Some people may compare the situation with Montenegrin to the positions of [[Croatian language|Croatian]] and [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], and even come to the conclusion that the position of Montenegrin fully parallels the positions of the others. However, there are significant differences between the three: while Croatian and Bosnian are [[standard language]]s and [[official language]]s, there is no accepted standard for Montenegrin and it is not yet official anywhere (the official language of the Republic of Montenegro remains Serbian at the start of Montenegro's independence). [[Mijat Šuković]], a prominent Montenegrin lawyer, wrote a draft version of the constitution, which passed the parliement's constitutional committee. Šuković suggested [[Montenegrin]] as the official language of [[Montenegro]]. The [[Venice Commission]], an advisory body of the [[Council of Europe]], had a generally positive attitude towards the draft of the constitution, but did not address the language and church issues, calling them symbolical. Now it is down to the Montenegrin political elite to find a suitable solution, but finding a compromise will certainly be a difficult task, as the issue remains a hot topic. A compromise was reached and the new constitution was ratified on 19 October 2007, declaring Montenegrin as the official language of Montenegro, as well as recognising Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. However as it seems by time more and more unlikely, Montenegro is getting closer to another referendum, possibly a rematch of the sides that fought in the 2006 independence referendum, with slight changes. The ruling [[Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro]] and [[Socialdemocratic Party of Montenegro]] stand for nothing but plainly renaming the country's official language into Montenegrin, meeting opposition from the [[Socialist People's Party of Montenegro]], the [[People's Party (Montenegro)|People's Party]], the [[Democratic Serb Party]], the [[Bosniak Party of Montenegro|Bosniak Party]], the [[Movement for Changes]] as well as the [[Serb List]] coalition led by the [[Serb People's Party (Montenegro)|Serb People's Party]]. However, a referendum was not needed, as two-thirds majority of the parliament voted for the Constitution, including the [[Coalition for a European Montenegro|ruling coalition]], [[Movement for Changes]], the [[Bosniak Party|Bosniaks]] and the [[Liberal Party of Montenegro|Liberals]], while the pro-Serbian parties voted against and the Albanian minority parties abstained from voting. The Constitution was thus ratified and adopted on 19 October 2007, recognising Montenegrin as the official language of Montenegro. == Linguistic considerations == Montenegrins speak subdialects of the Shtokavian dialect of [[South Slavic languages]]: *[[Shtokavian dialect#East Herzegovinian|East Herzegovinian dialect]] (in the west and northwest, similar to the one spoken in most of [[Herzegovina|Eastern Herzegovina]], [[Stari Vlah|Western Serbia]] and [[Dubrovnik|Dubrovnik area]]) and *[[Shtokavian dialect#Zeta-South Sandžak|Zeta-South Sandžak dialect]] (spoken in the rest of the country). <!-- Their borders are blurred due to migration of population and influence of standard language, based on Eastern Herzegovinian; the principal difference is in [[stress (linguistics)|accentuation]]. The vocabulary of the dialect has some distinct features, but words different from other dialects are few (e.g. "sjutra" or "śutra" is used in Montenegro instead of "sutra" (''tomorrow''), which is used in standard Serbian, Bosnian or Croatian, and "nijesam" is used in Montenegro instead of "nisam" (''I am not'' or ''I have not [done]''), which is used in standard Serbian, Bosnian or Croatian). [[Image:Original montenegrin language alphabet.gif|right|thumb|Proposed Montenegrin language alphabet, which contains 3 more letters than Serbian counterpart &mdash; Ś, Ź, and З]] Some other characteristics are: *Using ''što'' for interrogative form of ''what'' (as in Croatian, and unlike Serbian ''šta''). *[[Supine]] or "short [[infinitive]]" (''pjeva'''t''', radi'''t''', na'''ć''', mo'''ć''''') instead of standard "full infinitive" (''pjeva'''ti''', radi'''ti''', na'''ći''', mo'''ći'''''). *The group ''a + o'' gave ''a'' (''ka'' instead of ''kao'', ''reka'' for ''rekao''), like in other Shtokavian and [[Chakavian]] vernaculars along the Adriatic coast. The much more common contraction in other Shtokavian vernaculars is ''ao > o''. *The reflex of long [[Yat|jat]], ''ije'', is bisyllabic, while it is [[diphthong]]al in most of the other ijekavian areas (and even considered a separate phoneme by some Croatian linguists<ref>[http://www.matica.hr/MH_Periodika/vijenac/1999/136/tekstovi/28.htm "Ije je je"], Ivo Škarić, ''Vijenac'', Matica Hrvatska</ref>). For example, the distinction can be clearly heard in the opening verses of the national anthems of [[Oj, svijetla majska zoro|Montenegro]] and [[Lijepa naša domovino|Croatia]]. However, the Montenegrin form is the standard Ijekavian form in the Serbian (Ijekavian) standard, while the monosyllabic variant is considered a dialectism. * Several "hyper-ijekavisms" (words keeping a [[Yat|jat]] reflex from a non-existing or elsewhere differently evolved original) (''nijesam'', ''tijeh'', ''ovijeh'', ''ovijema'', ''tijema'' and ''kisjelo'' (or ''kiśelo'' when the iotation occurs),<ref>According to ''Pravopis srpkog jezika, Mitar Pešikan, Jovan Jerković, Mato Pižurica, Novi Sad 1993, p. 137.'' old Slavic root had an alternate form kisel/kisĕl.</ref> where many other shtokavian dialects use ''nisam'', ''tih'', ''ovih'', ''ovima'', ''tima'' and ''kiselo''). * Hyper-[[iotation]]s (đe for gdje, đevojka for djevojka, ođe for ovdje, neđe for negdje, niđe for nigdje, đeca for djeca, lećeti for letjeti, bačiti for baciti, ćerati for tjerati, velji for veliki, ćeskoba for tjeskoba etc). The iotation also affects sounds [s] and [z] to a much greater extent than in some other shtokavian dialects, yielding {{IPA|/ʃʲ/}} or {{IPA|/[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative|ɕ]]/}} for {{IPA|/sj/}}, and {{IPA|/ʒʲ/}} or {{IPA|/[[Voiced alveolo-palatal fricative|ʑ]]/}} for {{IPA|/zj/}} {{Fact|date=February 2007}}. ({{Unicode|/ɕɛdi/, /ɕɛkira/, /ɕɛver/, /kiɕɛɔ/, /paɕɛ/, /iʑelitsa/}} etc.). Some proponents of Montenegrin language propose amending of the alphabet with the letters Ś and Ź representing those sounds. * Several differently builded words such as: ''sjutra'' (or ''śutra'' when the iotation occurs) instead of usual ''sutra'', or ''puštit(i)'' instead of ''pustit(i)''. Furthermore, some verbs form their [[imperative]] [[grammatical mood|mood]] in a specific way, for example: ''viđet(i)'' - ''viđi'' instead of ''vidi''; ''ležat(i)'' - ''leži'' instead of ''lezi''. * Other common words, usually associated with [[Croatian language]], and mostly used in some dialects and speeches of Montenegro, and less in the literary language: ''to do'' - ''činit(i)'' along with ''uradit(i)''; ''to talk'' - ''velit(i)'' along with ''pričat(i)''; ''home'' - ''doma'' along with ''kući''; ''farmland'' - ''baština'' along with ''njiva''; ''to intend'' - ''kanit(i)'' along with ''namjeravat(i)''; ''to eat'' - ''obidovat(i)'' along with ''objedovat(i)'' - also ''ije'' along with ''jede''; ''ugly'' - ''grdan'' along with ''ružan''; ''stone'' - ''krš'' along with ''kamen''; ''wave'' - ''val'' along with ''talas''; ''mad'' - ''ma(h)nit'' along with ''bijesan''; ''ultimate'' - ''potonja'' along with ''poslednja''; ''dog'' - ''kučak'' along with ''pas''; ''rooster'' - ''kokot'' along with ''pijetao''; ''sand'' - ''pržina'' along with ''pijesak''; ''rock'' - ''greda'' or ''pećina'' along with ''stijena; ''show off'' - ''zorna'' and ''zorit(i)''; etc. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} * A number of words common with [[Macedonian language]], usually used in some dialects and speeches of Montenegro, and less used in the literary language: ''to do - činit(i)''; ''to say - velit(i)''; ''home - doma''; ''ugly - grdan''; ''dog - kučak''; ''to speak'' - ''zborit(i)''; ''work'' and ''to work'' - ''rabota'' and ''rabotat(i)''; ''to pluck'' - ''skubat(i)'', ''rice'' - ''oris'' or ''oriz''; ''onion'' - ''kromid''; ''to go'' - ''odit(i)''; ''shut up'' - ''muči'' along with ''ćuti''; ''to cry'' - ''pištit(i)'' along with ''plačat(i)''; ''fire'' - ''oganj''; ''spoon'' - ''ložica''; ''scissors'' - ''nožica''; ''easy'' - ''lasno'', etc. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} * A number of words with [[Italian language|Italian]] origin, usually used in some dialects and speeches of Montenegro, especially in the littoral and Montenegro proper (Cetinje, Podgorica etc.), and less used in the literary language: ''plate'' - ''pjat''; ''stairs'' - ''skale''; ''bean'' - ''faзola'', etc. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} * A number of other words that are used in some dialects and speeches of Montenegro that have different local forms; or traditional words that have been repelled by loans from neighbouring languages: ''melon'' - ''pipun'' along with ''dinja''; ''rice'' - ''oris'' or ''oriz'' along with ''pirinač'' and ''riža''; ''watermelon'' - ''bostan'' along with ''lubenica''; ''onion'' - ''kromid'' along with ''luk''; ''potato'' - ''krtola'' along with ''krompir''; ''wallet'' - ''takulin'' along with ''novčanik''; ''table'' - ''tavulin'' along with ''sto''; ''bucket'' - ''karić'' along with ''kanta''; ''tailor'' - ''terzija'' along with ''krojač''; ''pillow'' - ''kušin'' along with ''jastuk''; ''hour'' - ''ura'' along with ''sat''; ''dog'' - ''biзin'' or ''bizin'' along with ''kučak'' and ''pas''; ''fork'' - ''pirun'' along with ''viljuška''; ''to go'' - ''odit(i)'' along with ''ić(i)''; ''shut up'' - ''muči'' along with ''ćuti''; ''to cry'' - ''pištit(i)'' along with ''plačat(i)''; ''gypsy'' - ''gabelj'' along with ''cigan''; ''kitchen'' - ''kužina'' along with ''kuhinja''; ''fire'' - ''oganj'' along with ''vatra''; ''wolf'' - ''kurjak'' along with ''vuk''; ''answer'' - ''odzbor'' along with ''odgovor''; ''without'' - ''liše'' along with ''bez''; ''leather'' - ''čapra'' along with ''koža''; ''spoon'' - ''ložica'' along with ''kašika''; ''twig'' - ''šibak'' along with ''prut''; ''sugar'' - ''cukar'' along with ''šečer''; ''bag'' - ''saket'' along with ''kesa''; ''scissors'' - ''nožica'' along with ''makaze''; ''thief'' - ''lupež'' along with ''lopov''; ''to start'' - ''pođet(i)'' along with ''krenet(i)''; ''pregnant'' - ''sandruga'' along with ''bremenita'' and ''trudna''; ''bride'' - ''odiva'' along with ''nevjesta''; ''belt'' - ''remnik'' along with ''kaiš''; ''pistol'' - ''ljevor'' along with ''pištolj''; ''mirror'' - ''zrcalo'' along with ''ogledalo''; ''to get mad'' - ''srčit(i)'' along with ''ljutit(i)''; ''easy'' - ''lasno'' along with ''lako''; ''to learn'' - ''ulječit(i)'' along with ''učit(i)''; ''to pass'' - ''pasat(i)'' along with ''proć(i)''; ''friend'' - ''murga'' along with ''drugar''; ''trouble-maker'' - ''maragun'' along with ''mangup''; ''what'' - ''česa'' along with ''šta'' and ''što''<ref>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cesa+cg.yu&btnG=Search</ref>; ''good job'' - ''aferim'' along with ''svaka čast''; ''idiot'' - ''nesoj'' along with ''budalo''; ''milk'' - ''varenika'' along with ''mlijeko''; ''tomato'' - ''pamidora'' along with ''paradajz'', etc. *Note that only the latter words are used in the standard written language and are common with the Serbian or Croatian standard. * Sound {{IPA|[ʣ]}}, which is very rarely used, usually in some loans from Italian (such as ''bron'''dz'''a''). Allocated letter in the newly proposed Montenegrin alphabet is З. * Sound {{IPA|/xʋ/}} (hv) is rarely used and is usually replaced by sound {{IPA|/f/}} (''kahva - kafa'', ''hvala - fala'' etc.). * Sound {{IPA|/x/}} (h) is used in most speeches of Montenegro, unlike most other Štokavian dialects, where it was lost. Those features present just a general overview, as not all of them are confined to Montenegro, and not all of them are universally spoken in the country itself. In other words, their [[isogloss]]es don't match the country borders. --> '''Alphabet''' *Abeceda: 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 Ś T U V Z З Ž Ź The proponents of the separate Montenegrin language tend to prefer using [[Latin alphabet]] over the [[Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic]], which was traditionally used in Montenegro before [[2006]]. == Literature == Many literary works of authors from [[Montenegro]] provide examples of the local Montenegrin vernacular. The medieval literature was mostly written in [[Old Church Slavonic]] and its recensions, but most of the 19th century works were written in some of the dialects and speeches of Montenegro. They include the folk literature collected by [[Vuk Stefanović Karadžić]] and other authors, as well as books of the writers from Montenegro, such as [[Petar Petrović Njegoš]]'s ''Gorski vijenac'' (''[[The Mountain Wreath]]''), [[Marko Miljanov]]'s ''Primjeri čojstva i junaštva'' (''[[The Examples of Humanity and Bravery]]''), etc. In the second half of the 19th century and later, the East [[Herzegovina]] dialect, which served as a base for the standard [[Serbo-Croatian]] language, was often used instead of the [[Zeta]]-[[Sanjak]] dialect, characteristical for most speeches of Montenegro. Petar Petrović Njegoš, one of the most respectable Montenegrin authors, changed many characteristics of the Zeta-Sanjak dialect from the manuscript of his ''Gorski vijenac'' to those proposed by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić as a standard for the [[Serbian language]]. For example, most of the [[accusative]]s of place, used in the Zeta-Sanjak dialect, were changed by Njegoš to [[locative]]s, used in the Serbian standard. Thus the stanzas ''"U '''dobro''' je lako dobar biti, / na '''muku''' se poznaju junaci"'' from the manuscript were chaged to ''"U '''dobru''' je lako dobar biti, / na '''muci''' se poznaju junaci"'' in the printed version. Other works of later Montenegrin authors were also often modified to the East Herzegovinian forms, in order to follow the Serbian language literary norm. However, some characteristics of the traditional Montenegrin Zeta-Sanjak dialect sometimes used to appear as well. For example, the poem ''[[Onamo namo]]'' by [[Nikola I Petrović Njegoš]], although it was written in East Herzegovinian Serbian standard, contains several Zeta-Sanjak forms: ''"Onamo namo, za '''brda ona'''"'' ([[accusative]], instead of [[instrumental case]] ''za brdima onim''), and ''"Onamo namo, da '''viđu''''' (instead of ''vidim'') ''Prizren"'', and so on. == Language politics == Most mainstream politicians and other proponents of Montenegrin language simply state that the issue is chiefly one of self-determination and the people's right to call the language as they want, rather than an attempt to artificially create a new language when there is none. The Declaration of [[Montenegrin PEN Center]]<ref>[http://www.montenet.org/language/pen-decl.htm Declaration of Montenegrin PEN Center on Constitutional State of Montenegrin Language]</ref> states that "''Montenegrin language does not mean a systemically separate language, but just one of four names (Montenegrin, Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian) by which Montenegrins name their part of Shtokavian system, commonly inherited with [[Bosniaks|Muslims]], Serbs and Croats''". Introduction of Montenegrin language has also been supported by other important academic institutions, such as the [[Matica crnogorska]], although meeting opposition from the [[Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts]]. Some proponents go further. The chief proponent of Montenegrin is [[Zagreb]]-educated dr [[Vojislav Nikčević]], professor at the Department of Language and Literature at the [[University of Montenegro]] and the head of the [[Institute for Montenegrin Language]] in the capital Podgorica. His dictionaries and grammars were printed by Croatian publishers as the major Montenegrin publishing houses such as [[Obod]] in [[Cetinje]] opted for the official nomenclature specified in the Constitution (Serbian until 1974, Serbo-Croatian to 1992, Serbian until 2007).<ref>Pravopis crnogorskog jezika, Vojislav Nikčević. Crnogorski PEN Centar, 1997</ref> Nikčević advocates amending of the Latin alphabet with three letters Ś, Ź, and З and corresponding Cyrillic letters Ć, З́ and S (representing IPA: [ç], {{IPA|[ʝ]}} and {{IPA|[ʣ]}} respectively).<ref>[http://www.montenet.org/language/letters.htm Proposed Montenegrin alphabet, Montenet.org]</ref> Opponents acknowledge that these sounds can be heard by many Montenegrin speakers, however, argue that they are relatively rare and do not form minimal pairs, and so are not considered phonemes by that criterion. In addition, there are speakers in Montenegro who don't utter them and speakers of Serbian and Croatian outside of Montenegro (notably in Herzegovina and Bosanska Krajina) who do. In addition, introduction of those letters could pose significant technical difficulties (Eastern European code page ISO/IEC 8859-2 does not contain letter З, for example, and the corresponding letters were not proposed for Cyrillic). Montenegro's former prime minister [[Milo Đukanović]] declared his open support for the formalization of the Montenegrin language by declaring himself as a speaker of the Montenegrin language, in an October 2004 interview with Belgrade daily ''[[Politika]]''. Official Montenegrin government communiqués are given in ''English and Montenegrin'' on the government's webpage.<ref>[http://www.gom.cg.yu/eng/ Official site of Government of Montenegro]</ref> The official web page of the President of Montenegro states that it is provided in "Montenegrin-Serbian version" (''Crnogorsko-srpska verzija''). In 2004, the government of Montenegro changed the school curriculum in such a way that name of the mandatory classes teaching the language was changed from "Serbian language" to "Mother tongue (Serbian, Montenegrin, Croatian, Bosnian)". This change was made, according to the government, in order to better reflect the diversity of languages spoken among citizens in the republic and to protect human rights of non-Serb citizens in Montenegro who declare themselves as speakers of other languages.<ref>"[http://www.voanews.com/Serbian/archive/2004-03/a-2004-03-26-9-1.cfm Slobodan Backović potpisao odluku o preimenovanju srpskog u maternji jezik], Voice of America, 26 March 2004"</ref> This decision resulted in a dozen Serb teachers declaring a [[Strike action|strike]] and a number of parents refusing to send their children to schools. The cities affected by the strike included [[Nikšić]], [[Podgorica]], [[Berane]], [[Pljevlja]] and [[Herceg Novi]].<ref>{{sr icon}}[http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/2004/09/17/srpski/D04091602.shtml "Počelo otpuštanje profesora srpskog"], Glas Javnosti, 17 September 2004.</ref>. ==References== {{reflist}} ==See also== * [[Dialect continuum]] * [[Montenegrins]] * [[Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian]] ==External links== *[http://www.tol.cz/look/CER/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=14&NrIssue=47&NrSection=5&NrArticle=9309 "What Language Do Montenegrins Speak?"], Aida Ramusovic, Transitions Online, 16 April 2003. *{{sr icon}} [http://www.vreme.com/arhiva_html/478/18.html "Govorite li crnogorski?"], Violeta Arsenić, [[Vreme]], 4 March 2000. *[http://www.montenet.org/language/language.htm Montenet.org: Language in Montenegro] *[http://www.suc.org/culture/history/Hist_Serb_Culture/chc/Standard_Language.html Standard Language as an Instrument of Culture and the Product of National History], Pavle Ivić * [http://montenegrina.net/pages/pages1/jezik/jezik_main.htm Montenegrin language on Montenegrina] * [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cesa+cg.yu&btnG=Search Česa] ===Examples of nomenclature=== * [http://www.predsjednik.cg.yu/eng/ Official page of President of Montenegro with ''Crnogorsko-srpska verzija'' or 'Montenegrin-Serbian version' in top left corner] * [http://www.gom.cg.yu/eng/ Official page of Montenegrin Government with ''CRNOGORSKI'' or 'Montenegrin' in top left corner] * [http://www.montenegro.yu/english/naslovna/index.htm Former page of Montenegrin Government (between 2000-2001) with ''srpski'' or 'Serbian' at the bottom] {{Slavic languages}} [[Category:South Slavic languages]] [[Category:Montenegrin language|*]] [[Category:Languages of Montenegro]] [[bs:Crnogorski jezik]] [[cs:Černohorština]] [[de:Montenegrinische Sprache]] [[fr:Monténégrin]] [[hsb:Čornohoršćina]] [[hr:Crnogorski jezik]] [[it:Lingua montenegrina]] [[lv:Melnkalniešu valoda]] [[lt:Juodkalniečių kalba]] [[lij:Lengua môntenegrinn-a]] [[hu:Montenegrói nyelv]] [[mk:Црногорски јазик]] [[nl:Montenegrijns]] [[pms:Lenga montneigrin-a]] [[pl:Język czarnogórski]] [[pt:Língua montenegrina]] [[ro:Limba muntenegreană]] [[ru:Черногорский язык]] [[sq:Gjuha malazeze]] [[sl:Črnogorščina]] [[sr:Црногорски језик]] [[sh:Crnogorski jezik]] [[fi:Montenegron kieli]] [[sv:Montenegrinska]] [[tr:Karadağca]] [[uk:Чорногорська мова]] [[vec:Lengua montenegrina]]