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The Bosnian language (bosanski jezik) or Bosniak language (bošnjacki jezik) is one of the standard written versions of the Central South Slavic diasystem, formerly known as Serbo-Croatian.
The language is used primarily by Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina and elsewhere. It is based on the Western variant of the Shtokavian dialect and uses the Latin alphabet.
The name for the language is a controversial issue. Croats and Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina call their language CroatianThe Croatian language is a language of the western group of South Slavic languages which is used primarily by the Croats. It is one of the standard versions of the Central-South Slavic diasystem, formerly (and still frequently) called Serbo-Croatian. and SerbianThe Serbian language or Serb language is one of the standard versions of the Central-South Slavic diasystem, formerly (and still frequently) called Serbo-Croatian. Serbian is used primarily in Serbia-Montenegro, Republika Srpska and by Serbs everywhere.. The constitution of Republika SrpskaRepublika Srpska ( In detail) ( In detail) Official languages Serbian, Croatian, Bosniak Capital''de jure Sarajevo, de facto Banja Luka Area Total % water24,811 km˛n/a Population Total ( 2001) Density1,490,99360/km˛ Ethnic groups( 1996) Serbs: 90% Bosniak, where the language is also official, refers to the language as "Bosniak language" (Бошњачки језик/Bošnjacki jezik), as does the government of SerbiaRepublika Srbija ( In detail) ( In detail) Official language Serbian1 Unofficial national motto Samo sloga Srbina spasava (Only Unity Saves the Serbs) Capital Belgrade Area Total % water88,361 km˛n/a Population Total ( 1998) Density11,206,847126. 83/km˛ E.
The name Bosnian language is the commonly accepted name among Bosniak linguists. Bosniak language is the prescribedIn linguistics, prescription is the laying down or prescribing of normative rules of the language. This is in contrast to the description of language, which simply describes how language is used in practice. For example, a descriptive linguist descriptivi name of the language in Serbian. Pre-eminent Croatian linguists ( Radoslav Katicic, Dalibor Brozovic , Tomislav Ladan) also consider that the adequate name for Bosnian language would be «Bosniak» rather than «Bosnian», since the appellation Bosnian refers to the whole land of Bosnia, therefore falsely implicating that «Bosnian» is the national standard language of all Bosnians- and not only Bosniaks. Although there is no publicly formulated Croatian policy towards this question, in official Croatian publications (for instance, in Croatian Encyclopaedia issues or University manuals), the language of Bosniaks is invariably referred to as Bosniak.
