Bunjevac speech

Infobox Language
name=Bunjevac
nativename=Bunjevački
familycolor=Indo-European
states=Serbia [http://webrzs.statserb.sr.gov.yu/axd/Zip/VJN3.pdf]
speakers=about 6,000-9,000 people (2002)
rank=not official
fam2=Slavic
fam3=South Slavic
fam4=Western South Slavic
fam5=Ikavian Shtokavian
nation=None yet
agency=Unknown
iso1=none
iso2b=none|iso2t=none
iso3=noneThe Bunjevac speech ("bunjevački govor") is a Štokavian dialect used by some members of Bunjevci ethnic group. The Bunjevci who use it live in parts of the autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia as well as in southern parts of Croatia. It has an Ikavian reflex of Common Slavic yat phoneme. Its users are largely known to use the Latin alphabet, as is illustrated in their locally published newspaper.

In the 2002 census results published by the Statistical Office of Serbia, Bunjevac was not listed separatelly as a language, but those who declared that their language is Bunjevac are listed in category "other languages". For example, in the municipality of Subotica, number of those who are listed to speak "other languages" (presumably Bunjevac) is 8,914. [http://webrzs.statserb.sr.gov.yu/axd/Zip/VJN3.pdf]

The status of the Bunjevac speech as a language or even a dialect is vague, and instead it is often considered to be a dialect of Serbian or Croatian. According to the 2002 census in Serbia, some of the members of the Bunjevac ethnic community declared that their native language is Serbian or Croatian. This doesn't mean that they don't use this specific speech; merely that they don't consider it sufficiently distinct from the aforementioned standard languages to register as speakers of a separate language. However, those Bunjevci who declared in census that Bunjevac is their native language consider it as separate language.

In the old Austro-Hungarian censuses (for example one from 1910), the Bunjevac language was declared as a native language of numerous citizens (for example in the city of Subotica 33,247 people declared Bunjevac as their native language in 1910). During the existence of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, members of the Bunjevac ethnic community mostly declared to speak Serbo-Croatian, Serbian, or Croatian.

Today, there is wish among the Bunjevac community for affirmation of their speech. The "Bunjevačke novine" is a Bunjevac language monthly newspaper published in Subotica. The Radio Television of Vojvodina broadcasts TV programme ("Spektar" TV magazine) in Bunjevac. There are also demands for the school classes in Bunjevac.

External links

* [http://www.bunjevci.org.rs/site/bunjevacki-jezik/ Bunjevački jezik (Bunjevac language)]
* [http://www.dshv.org/hrvatski/aktuelnosti/aktuelnosti030605.htm An opinion on the Bunjevac speech, issued by Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, at the request of the Council of Vojvodina Croats] , in Croatian