Serbians

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Serbians is a word of English language which could have multiple related meanings.

It could be used synonymously with Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi), however it could also be used as the translation of Serbian word Србијанци (Srbijanci), especially when distinction is made between the two. In a similar way, adjectives "Serb" and "Serbian" could be used to mean "of Serbs" and "of Serbia", respectively, though they too are used interchangeably.

In Serbian language, Srbijanci are Serbs from central Serbia. All Srbijanci are Serbs, but not all Serbs are Srbijanci (ex. Vojvodjani are Serbians from Vojvodina, Kosovari are Serbs from Kosovo etc.) An English speaker might use the word "Serbians" to mean "Serbs", or might use precise meaning of "Serb from central Serbia". Further confusions issues as in English the word "Serbs" may be used to refer to ethnic Serbs, or to citizens of Serbia regardless of their ethnicity, and going from there, word "Serbians" could be used in the same way.

Though there may be some people who are Serbs from central Serbia but find the term Srbijanci somewhat insulting, one of the most famous and cherished songs played at almost every larger social gathering in Central Serbia has in the refrain the words "..jelek, anterija i opanci, po tome se znaju Srbijanci..." or "...jelek, anterija and opanaks, this is how you can recognize a Srbijanac". The song describes the Serbian dress of people from Central Serbia.

[edit] See also


Ethnic groups of Serbia
Demographic history of Serbia
Bosniaks · Ethnic Muslims · Jews · Montenegrins · Romanians · Serbs · Serbians · Vlachs
In other languages