The Politics of Language in Constructing Civil Identity: Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
https://doi.org/10.24833/2071-8160-2021-4-79-91-106
Abstract
Civil identity is one of the most significant factors in modern political practice. Today’s identity formation and development of large national groups is less based on a cultural and historical foundation and increasingly depends on political technologies. Among them, the construction of new languages plays an important role. The article studies the Bosnian language policy, which, contrary to forming a common civil identity, as a result of the politicization of linguistic norms becomes a factor in creating a “forge of hatred”. Drawing on constructivist social theories, the author summarizes Bosnian linguistic practices and examines them through the prism of symbolic interactionism and negative feedback systems. Particular attention is paid to situations when the desire for effective communication motivates speakers to abandon ethnically colored linguistic markers and situations in which the language acts as a defense against the internal “other.” Applying the criteria for distinguishing between language and dialects, the author concludes that the phonetic principle of the Serbo-Croatian language formation made it possible, after the destruction of Yugoslavia, to turn this linguistic continuum into an identification weapon to delimit the citizens of one country. This experience helps analyze the politicization of literary interpretations and linguistic norms in other regions of the world, where there are also examples of the growth of xenophobia, nationalism, and intolerance resulting from a differentiating language policy.
About the Author
T. I. Popadeva
Institute of System-Strategic Analysis
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tatiana I. Popadeva – Junior Researcher
16 Kuskovskaya St., Moscow, Russian Federation, 111398
References
1. Alexander R. 2010. Cultural Identity in Southeastern Europe: Balancing the Global and the Local. Europe-Evropa: Cross-cultural dialogues between the West, Russia, and southeastern Europe. Kononen M. and Nuorluoto J. (eds). Uppsala: University of Uppsala. P. 15-33.
2. Blumer H. 1962. Society as Symbolic Interaction. Human Behavior and Social Processes. Rose A. M. (eds) Boston: Houghton Mifflin. P. 179–192.
3. Bugarski R. 2012. Language, Identity and Borders in the Former Serbo-Croatian Area. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 33(3). P. 219–235. DOI:10.1080/01434632.2012.663376
4. Bugarski R. 2017. Ethnicity and Mother Tongue in Population Censuses: from Yugoslavia to Serbia and Montenegro. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 38(8). P. 742- 752. DOI:10.1080/01434632.2016.1252768
5. Burke P.J., Stets J.E. 2009. Identity Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 272 p.
6. Buzási K. 2016. Languages and National Identity in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multilevel Approach. In: M. Gazzola & B. Wickström (eds). The Economics of Language Policy. Cambridge, MA and London: MIT Press. P. 225–264. DOI:10.7551/mitpress/9780262034708.003.0008
7. Carmichael C. 2000. A People Exists and that People Has its Language: Language and Nationalism in the Balkans. Language and nationalism in Europe. Barbour S., Carmichael C. (eds). Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 221-239.
8. Edwards J. 2009. Language and Identity: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI:10.1017/CBO9780511809842
9. Giles H., Bourhis R.Y., Taylor D.M. 1977. Towards a Theory of Language in Ethnic Group Relations. Language, Ethnicity and Intergroup Relations. H. Giles (Ed.). London: Acad. Press. P. 307–348.
10. Giles H., Johnson P. 1981. The Role of Language in Ethnic Group Relations. Intergroup Behaviour. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. P. 199–243.
11. Giles H., Johnson P. 1987. Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory: a Social Psychological Approach to Language Maintenance. International Journal of the Sociology of Language. №68. P. 69–100. DOI:10.1515/ijsl.1987.68.69
12. Greenberg R.D. 2009. Dialects, Migrations, and Ethnic Rivalries: The Case of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Journal of Slavic Linguistics. №1-2. P. 193–216.
13. Halilbašić S. 2018. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s National Theatres in the Context of Language Politics During the War. Theatre in the Context of the Yugoslav Wars. 1st ed. Dolečki J., Halilbašić S., Hulfeld S. (eds) Palgrave Macmillan: Switzerland. P. 63-81. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-98893-1_4
14. Malabotta M.R. 2004. Semantics of War in Former Yugoslavia: A Response to the Papers and Debate. Language Discourse and Borders in the Yugoslav Successor States. Busch B., KellyHolmes H. (eds). Multilingual Matters: Toronto. P. 78-87. DOI:10.21832/9781853597336-008
15. Mead G.H. 1934. Mind, Self, and Society. Identity Theory. Burke P.J., Stets J.E. 2009. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 33–47. DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388275.001.0001
16. Mitrovic M. 2004. Language, Borders, Identity: A Response to Ranko Bugarski. In: Busch B., Kelly-Holmes H. (eds). Language Discourse and Borders in the Yugoslav Successor States. Multilingual Matters: Toronto. P. 75-77. DOI:10.21832/9781853597336-007
17. Powers W.T. 1973. Behavior: The Control of Perception. Chicago: Aldine. 266 p.
18. Stets J.E., Biga C.F. 2003. Bringing Identity Theory into Environmental Sociology. Sociological Theory. №4. P. 398-423. DOI:10.1046/j.1467-9558.2003.00196.x
19. Swadesh M. 1971. The Origin and Diversification of Language. Chicago: Aldine, 372 p.
20. Weiner N. 1948. Cybernetics: Or the Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Cambridge: MIT Press. 244 p.
21. Wendt A. 1992. Anarchy is What States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power Politics. International Organization. 46(2). P. 391-425.
22. Kapović M. 2011. Čiji je jezik? Zagreb: Algoritam. 183 p. (In Serbian)
23. Matasović R. 2001. Uvod u poredbenu lingvistiku. Zagreb: Matica Hrvatska. 334 p. DOI:10.4312/linguistica.42.1.195-198 (In Croatian)
24. Petrović D. 2006. Anatomija identiteta: teorijsko problematiziranje identiteta. Etnološka istraživanja. №11. S. 209–233. (In Serbian)
25. Sekulić I. 1966. Anketa: Govor i jezik. Beograd: Matica Srpska. P. 305–337. (In Serbian)
26. Selimović M. 1987. Za i protiv Vuka. Beograd: BIGZ. 136 p. (In Serbian)
27. Tošović B., Wonisch A. 2012. Srpski pogledi na odnose između srpskog, hrvatskog i bošnjačkoga jezika. Knjiga 1/3. Beograd: Beogradska knjiga. 638 p. (In Serbian)
28. Alekseeva T.A. 2019. Konstruktivizm v mezhdunarodno-politicheskih issledovaniyah [The Constructivism in International Political Studies]. Sovremennaja politicheskaja nauka: Metodologija.Gaman-Golutvina O. V., Nikitin A.I. (eds). Moscow: Aspekt Press. P. 293-315. (In Russian)
29. Achkasov V.A. 2013. Politika identichnosti v sovremennom mire. [Identity Politics in the Modern World]. Vestnik SPbGU. 6(4). P. 71–77. (In Russian)
30. Gorshkov M.K., Tjurina I.O. 2018. Sintez jetnonacional'nogo i grazhdanskogo kak osnova rossijskoj identichnosti [Synthesis of Ethno-National and Civic as the Basis of Russian Identity]. Vestnik RUDN: Sociologija. 18(1). P. 44–57. DOI:10.22363/2313-2272-2018-18-1-44-57 (In Russian)
31. Malinova O.J. 2015. Koncept «Drugogo» v issledovanijah identichnosti: analiz sovremennyh diskussij [The Concept of the "Other" in the Study of Identity: Analysis of Contemporary Discussions]. Politicheskaja nauka. №4. P. 154–169. (In Russian)
32. Nojmann I. 2004. Ispol'zovanie «Drugogo». Obrazy Vostoka v formirovanii evropejskih identichnostej [Using the "Other". Images of the East in the Formation of European Identities]. Moscow: Novoe izdatel'stvo. 336 p. (In Russian)
33. Ponomareva E.G. 2013. Balkany kak zona (dez)integracii [The Balkans as a Zone of (Dis) Integration.]. Razvitie i jekonomika. №5. P. 82–95. (In Russian)
34. Ponomareva E.G., Popadeva T.I. 2018. Bosnija i Gercegovina: jetnopoliticheskij faktor problemnoj gosudarstvennosti [Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ethnopolitical Factor of Problematic Statehood]. Obozrevatel'. №11, P. 63–76. (In Russian)
35. Ponomareva E.G., Popadeva T.I. 2019. Trendy identifikacii v molodezhnoj srede Bosnii i Gercegoviny i Severnoj Makedonii [Identification Trends in the Youth Environment of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Macedonia]. Nauchnyj zhurnal «Diskurs-Pi». 3(36). P. 98–119. DOI:10.24411/1817-9568-2019-10307 (In Russian)
36. Semenenko I.S., Fadeeva L.A. (eds). 2011. Identichnost' kak predmet politicheskogo analiza [Identity as a Subject of Political Analysis]. Moscow: IMJeMO RAN. 299 p. (in Russian)
37. Tošović B. 2012. Osobennosti bosnijskogo/boshnyackogo yazyka po otnosheniyu k serbskomu i horvatskomu [Features of the Bosnian/Bosniac Language in Relation to Serbian and Croatian]. Slavia Islamica: Language, Religion and Identity. Greenberg R. D., Nomachi M. (ed.). Sapporo: Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University. P. 9–64. (In Russian)
38. Tjapko G.G. 2006. Horvatskoe «trijazych'e» v nachale XXI v. [Croatian "Trilingual" at the Beginning of the 21 Century]. Globalizacija – jetnizacija: jetnokul'turnye i jetnojazykovye process. Neshhimenko G.P. (ed.). Moscow: Nauka. P. 153–173. (In Russian)
Review
For citations:
Popadeva T.I. The Politics of Language in Constructing Civil Identity: Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. MGIMO Review of International Relations. 2021;14(4):91-106. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24833/2071-8160-2021-4-79-91-106
Views:
965
Email this article 