Srbijanci

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Ethnic map of Serbia
Ethnic map of Serbia

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, or broader, from 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 most people, to whom the term Serbians could be applied, find the term Srbijanci insulting, one of the most famous and cherished songs played at almost every larger social gathering in Central Serbia[citation needed] 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. However, the term here is used as a literary expression and its definition is uncertain. It cannot be considered as part of mainstream language as its frequency and usage in Serbian is minimal. Some explanation is that Serbs from Serbia most probably would recognize term Srbijanac as an insult, so it should be avoided.

Regardless of this controversy, some recent voices propose that the term Srbijanci is to be used to designate citizens of Serbia regardless of their ethnicity, similarly to one of the meanings of the word Serbians in English.

[edit] See also

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Ethnic groups of Serbia
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Vojvodina
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