Declaration on the Common Language

The Declaration on the Common Language ( / Декларација о заједничком језику) was issued in 2017 by a group of intellectuals and NGOs from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia who were working under the banner of a project called "Language and Nationalism". The "Declaration" states that Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs and Montenegrins have a common standard language of the polycentric type.
Before any public presentation, the "Declaration" was signed by over 200 prominent writers, scientists, journalists, activists and other public figures from the four countries. The "Declaration on the common language" is an attempt to counter nationalistic factions. Its aim is to stimulate discussion on language without nationalism and to contribute to the reconciliation process.
Contents of the Declaration.
The "Declaration" states that Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs and Montenegrins have a common standard language of the polycentric type. It refers to the fact that the four peoples communicate effectively without an interpreter, i.e. to their mutual comprehensibility, which is a key notion when talking about language. Furthermore, it points out that the current language policy of emphasizing differences has led to a number of negative phenomena, and linguistic expression is imposed as a criterion of ethnonational affiliation and a means of affirming political loyalty. The "Declaration" states that language and people do not have to coincide, and that each state or nation may independently codify its own variant of the common language, and that the four standard variants enjoy equal status. The "Declaration" calls for abolishing all forms of linguistic segregation and discrimination in educational and public institutions. It also advocates for the freedom of individual choice and respect for linguistic diversity.
International project languages and nationalisms.
The "Declaration" followed the international project Languages and Nationalisms, (founded by two German foundations: and ), within which conferences were held in the four countries during 2016, thus providing an insight into the current situation and problems. The project was inspired by the book "", and was organized by four non-governmental organizations from each of the countries included: P.E.N. Center Bosnia-Herzegovina from Sarajevo, the Association Kurs from Split, Krokodil from Belgrade and the Civic Education Center from Podgorica. An interdisciplinary series of expert conferences in Podgorica, Split, Belgrade and Sarajevo took place under participation of linguists, journalists, anthropologists and others. Numerous audiences were also included. The titles of debates on the conferences were:
The creation of the Declaration.
More than thirty experts participated in the drafting of the "Declaration", half of whom were linguists of different nationalities from the four states. The process of writing lasted for several months. The initiative emerged just after the last conference in Sarajevo, when young people from Bosnia-Herzegovina who experienced the educational segregation in the so-called "two schools under one roof" came up with the idea of composing a text that would encourage change of the language policy in all four countries. They entitled the text "Declaration on the Common Language" and gave it for rewriting to professional linguists, so that the "Declaration" was redrafted in Zagreb in the following months and can therefore be called the "Zagreb Declaration."
As a continuation of the project Languages and Nationalisms, a committee of experts of different nationalities from all four countries was formed that worked on the final version of the "Declaration" on 16 and 17 January 2017 in Zagreb. After the meeting, the text was sent to some twenty consultants, whose proposals are then embedded in the final form of the text.
Presentation of the Declaration.
The "Declaration on the common language" with more than two hundred signatures of prominent intellectuals from Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia was simultaneously presented to the public on 30 March 2017 in Zagreb, Podgorica, Belgrade and Sarajevo, where a press conference was held and two panel discussions with titles "What is a common language?" and "Language and the Future". Then the "Declaration" was opened for signing to other people. Over the next few days, more than 8.000 people signed it. Two months later, in the framework of the 10th Subversive Festival in Zagreb, a round table on the "Declaration", titled "Language and Nationalism", was held. Then a debate "About the Declaration on the Common Language and Other Demons" was held at the Crocodile Literature Festival in Belgrade. After that, in Novi Sad, a panel discussion "Whose is Our Language?" at the Exit festival and a forum "What are the Achievements of the Declaration on the Common Language?" at the International Literary Conference Book Talk were organised. In Montenegro, there was a round table on the "Declaration" in the framework of the 7th Njegoš's Days. At the end of 2017, a discussion "What to do With the Language: Who speaks (or does not speak) the common language?" was organised at the 6th Open University in Sarajevo.
During 2018, a series of plenary lectures on the "Declaration" was held at conferences at the universities of various EU countries, and then at the universities in Japan. On the occasion of the second anniversary of the "Declaration", two round tables were held: in Vienna "Language and Nationalisms: Do We Understand Each Other?" and in Zagreb "One Language or Several Languages: Discussion on the Declaration on the Common Language", organized by the Union of Student Associations of the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, which later also organized a plenary lecture on the "Declaration" at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb.
Text and signatories.
The British sociolinguist Peter Trudgill notes that "linguists are well represented on the list of signatories." The most famous linguist "Noam Chomsky has signed the Declaration on the common language", which has been particularly resounding. The Declaration has been signed by "over fifty other linguists, including Anders Ahlqvist, Ronelle Alexander, Nadira Aljović, Bojan Anđelković, Boban Arsenijević, John Frederick Bailyn, Josip Baotić, Ranka Bijeljac-Babić, Ranko Bugarski, Vesna Bulatović, Daniel Bunčić, Costas Canakis, Greville Corbett, Oliver Czulo, Natalia Długosz, Ljiljana Dolamic, Rajka Glušica, Radmila Gorup, Senahid Halilović, Camiel Hamans, Mirjana Jocić, Jagoda Jurić-Kappel, Dunja Jutornić, Dejan Karavesović, Jana Kenda, Ivan Klajn, Snježana Kordić, Svetlana Kurteš, Zineta Lagumdžija, Igor Lakić, Gordana Lalić-Krstin, Alisa Mahmutović, Olga Mišeska Tomić, Spiros Moschonas, Joachim Mugdan, Zoran Nikolovski, Miloš Okuka, Tatjana Paunović, Dušan-Vladislav Pažđerski, Mira Peter, Tanja Petrović, Enisa Pliska, Milena Podolšak, Luka Raičković, Katarina Rasulić, Svenka Savić, Marko Simonović, Ljiljana Subotić, Danko Šipka, Dušanka Točanac, Neda Todorović, Aleksandar Trklja, Peter Trudgill, Mladen Uhlik, Hanka Vajzović, Vera Vasić, Elvira Veselinović, Đorđe Vidanović, Ana Ždrale.""
Text.
Source: "Novosti"
Notes.
a. Participants: Borka Pavićević, Rajka Glušica and Snježana Kordić ; Moderator: Sandra Zlotrg
b. Participants: Ivana Bodrožić, Balša Brković and Asim Mujkić ; Moderator: Igor Štiks
c. Participants: Nerzuk Ćurak and Vladimir Arsenijević ; Moderator: Žarka Radoja
d. Participants: Tomislav Longinović, Viktor Ivančić, Snježana Kordić, Boris Buden and Mate Kapović ; Moderator: Katarina Peović Vuković
e. Participants: Teofil Pančić, Dragan Markovina, Snježana Kordić and Igor Štiks ; Moderator: Vladimir Arsenijević and Ana Pejović
f. Participants: Dragan Bjelogrlić, Snježana Kordić, Marko Šelić Marčelo, Vladimir Arsenijević and Vlatko Sekulović ; Moderator: Milena Bogavac Minja
g. Participants: Ivan Ivanji, Goran Miletić, Mirjana Đurđević, Srđan Tešin and Pero Zlatar ; Moderator: Eržika Pap Reljin
h. Participants: Rajka Glušica, Ivo Pranjković, Snježana Kordić, Ranko Bugarski, Vladimir Arsenijević and Svein Mønnesland ; Moderator: Nikola Vučić