Politik per Sprache – Gedanken zur „Glottotomie

Instead of the standard (alias: norm) language „Serbo-Croatian“ or „Croato-Serbian“ – likewise binding for Serbs, Croatians, Bosnians and Montenegrins – three, sometimes four standard languages unknown up to now are put in its place after the former Yugoslavia has come apart. In linguistic terms, this placement does not have any noteworthy effects, since the population sticks to its old language patterns. The new standard languages are therefore socially and politically motivated. They intend to strengthen the „we-feeling“ among the respective new state nation and aim at creating a separating “they-consciousness” towards the others. Thus the new state structures would experience a fortification not only in political but also in mental aspects. Facing the supranational unification efforts of today, the post-Yugoslavian linguistic actions are contra-productive.