Suchergebnisse

This paper focuses on language policy and social changes which have taken place in Croatia during and since the 1991-5 war. I first describe the historical background, the war and the nineties being marked by excesses of linguistic purism and prescriptivism, alongside the formation of post-Yugoslav states in which national belonging was key to defining citizenship. ! rough examining the relationship between changing linguistic and social orders, I raise a number of issues for discussion. I argue that the legal framework of minority language rights has consolidated and legitimated a nationalist imaginary, increasing social divisions and reinforcing hierarchies asserted by some nationalists between national categories. For this reason, I suggest that the uncritical endorsement of or promotion of linguistic diversity can be dangerous. Second, in an activist-anthropological vein, I discuss possible reasons why academics trained in the social sciences and humanities have rarely participated in sociolinguistic debates concerning the new Croatian standard. I suggest such discussions could greatly benefit from interventions by social scientists, so as to bring sociolinguistics into contact with other strands of the social sciences and humanities and move away from what I believe to be a problematic policy focus on "identity".

Ovaj se rad bavi jezičnom politikom i društvenim promjenama koje su se dogodile u Hrvatskoj za vrijeme i nakon rata koji je trajao od 1991. do 1995. godine. Počinjem opisom povijesne pozadine, rata i devedesetih godina 20. stoljeća, koje je obilježila velika količina jezičnog purizma i preskriptivizma u Hrvatskoj te stvaranje postjugoslavenskih država u kojima je pripadanje naciji predstavljalo ključ za definiranje državljanstva. Istraživanjem odnosa između promjena u jezičnom i društvenom poretku, problematiziram više tema. Tvrdim da je zakonski okvir prava manjinskog jezika osnažio i legitimizirao nacionalistički imaginarij, stvarajući daljnje društvene podjele i učvršćujući hijerarhije koje među nacionalnim kategorijama promoviraju određeni nacionalisti. Iz tog razloga, tvrdim da nekritičko odobravanje ili promoviranje lingvističke različitosti mogu biti opasni. Nadalje, u aktivističko-antropološkom smislu, razlažem moguće razloge zbog kojih su znanstvenici društvenih i humanističkih znanosti rijetko sudjelovali u sociolingvističkim raspravama koje se tiču novog hrvatskog standardnog jezika. Tvrdim da bi takvim raspravama u znatnoj mjeri doprinijelo sudjelovanje znanstvenika humanističkih i društvenih znanosti, jer bi se stvorila veza između sociolingvistike i ostalih grana humanističkih i društvenih znanosti te bi se tako odmaknuli od, prema mojem sudu problematične, politike usredotočene na "identitet". ; This paper focuses on language policy and social changes which have taken place in Croatia during and since the 1991-5 war. I first describe the historical background, the war and the nineties being marked by excesses of linguistic purism and prescriptivism, alongside the formation of post-Yugoslav states in which national belonging was key to defining citizenship. Through examining the relationship between changing linguistic and social orders, I raise a number of issues for discussion. I argue that the legal framework of minority language rights has consolidated and legitimated a nationalist imaginary, increasing social divisions and reinforcing hierarchies asserted by some nationalists between national categories. For this reason, I suggest that the uncritical endorsement of or promotion of linguistic diversity can be dangerous. Second, in an activist-anthropological vein, I discuss possible reasons why academics trained in the social sciences and humanities have rarely participated in sociolinguistic debates concerning the new Croatian standard. I suggest such discussions could greatly benefit from interventions by social scientists, so as to bring sociolinguistics into contact with other strands of the social sciences and humanities and move away from what I believe to be a problematic policy focus on "identity".