Serbian language in Croatia

The Serbian language is one of officially recognized minority languages in Croatia. Language is primarily used in Serbs of Croatia community. Croatian Constitution, Croatian Constitutional law on national minorities rights, Law on Education in language and script of national minorities and Law on Use of Languages and Scripts of National Minorities define span of public co-official use of Serbian language and Serbian Cyrillic alphabet in country. Serbian and Croatian languages sre two standardized varieties of the Serbo-Croatian language.

History

Orthodox liturgical book Varaždin Apostol from 1454 represents the oldest preserved text in Cyrillic from the territory of today's Croatia.[1] Croatian Constitutional law on national minorities rights, one of only two constitutional laws in country, entered into force on 23 December 2002.[2]

In April 2015 United Nations Human Rights Committee has urged Croatia to ensure the right of minorities to use their language and alphabet.[3] Committee report stated that particularly concerns the use of Serbian Cyrillic in the town of Vukovar and municipalities concerned.[3] Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić said that his country welcomes the UN Human Rights Committee's report.[4]

Serbian language education

bi-lingual plate in front of the schoolin Trpinja

Most schools with instruction in Serbian language and Serbian Cyrillic alphabet are located in Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja County in the area of former Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia where right on education in minority language was provided during United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium based on Erdut Agreement. Today with those schools there is also Kantakuzina Katarina Branković Serbian Orthodox Secondary School in Zagreb.

Other forms of cultural autonomy

Various minority organizations use Serbian language in their work. One of them, Association for Serbian language and literature in Croatia from Vukovar is a nonprofit professional organization that brings together scientists and technical workers in the Republic of Croatia engaged in studying and teaching of Serbian language and literature.

The co-official use at local government level

Serbian language as co-official minority language in municipalities in Croatia

Law on Use of Languages and Scripts of National Minorities provides for a mandatory co-official use of minority languages in municipalities of Croatia with at least one third of members of ethnic minoritiy. Municipalities Dvor, Gvozd, Jagodnjak, Šodolovci, Borovo, Trpinja, Markušica, Negoslavci, Biskupija, Ervenik, Kistanje, Gračac, Udbina, Vrbovsko, Donji Kukuruzari, Erdut and Vukovar, according to the provisions of law, are obliged to grant equal co-official use of Serbian language and Serbian Cyrillic alphabet. Law enforcement is facing great resistance in the part of the majority population, most notably in the case of Vukovar where it led to 2013 Anti-Cyrillic protests in Croatia.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "A823". Biskupija-varazdinska.hr. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  2. ↑ Serb Democratic Forum. "Provedba Ustavnog zakona o pravima nacionalnih manjina u jedinicama lokalne i područne (regionalne) samouprave" (in Serbian). Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 B92 (3 April 2015). "UN calls on Croatia to ensure use of Serbian Cyrillic". Retrieved 2015-04-11.
  4. ↑ Tanjug (3 April 2015). "Serbia welcomes UN stance on use of Cyrillic in Croatia". Retrieved 2015-04-11.