Language Planning and National Identity in Croatia (Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities)

Following the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, Croatian was declared officially to be a separate language, distinct from Serbian, and linguistic issues became highly politicized. This book examines the changing status and norms of the Croatian language and its relationship to Croatian national identity. It focuses on the period following the creation of an independent Croatian state in 1991, but encompasses broader historical developments to provide a context for understanding the contemporary linguistic situation. The complex history of language standardization in the Yugoslav lands and the emphasis on language planning in Croatia make this an especially interesting case study that offers insight into wider debates about linguistic identity, language policy, and language planning issues in general. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Croatian Language Question and Croatian Identity....Pages 3-16 Language and Identity: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework....Pages 17-45 Language, Dialect, or Variant? The Status of Croatian and Its Place in the South Slavic Dialect Continuum....Pages 46-74 The History of Croatian and Serbian Standardization....Pages 75-112 Front Matter....Pages 113-113 Language Rights and the Treatment of Croatian on the International Level....Pages 115-129 Croatian Language Policy at the National Level and the Regulation of Public Language....Pages 130-146 Institutions of Language Planning....Pages 147-172 Language Purism, Handbooks, and Differential Dictionaries....Pages 173-211 Models of Linguistic Perfection: The Role of the Educational System in Croatian Language Planning....Pages 212-246 The Media and the Message: The Promotion and Implementation of Language Planning in Print, Broadcasts, and on the Internet....Pages 247-270 The Croatian Language Question Today on the Boundary of Identity and Ideology....Pages 271-283 Back Matter....Pages 284-344 Following the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, Croatian was declared to be a separate language, distinct from Serbian, and linguistic issues became highly politicized. This book examines the changing status and norms of the Croatian language and its relationship to Croatian national identity, focusing on the period after Croatian independence.