🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <498@owl.ukc.ac.uk> dat@ukc.ac.uk (D.A.Turner) writes:
>In response to a reference to a message about "Serbian" (language) I wrote:
>>That's interesting - I wasn't previously aware of a language called Serbian.
>>I had been told it was called Serbo-Croat.
>
>To which victor@jezebel.wustl.edu (Victor Wickerhauser) replies:
>>I think it is reasonable to distinguish a language written in one alphabet
>>from one written in another.
>
>I see, so when Serbo-Croat is written in Cyrillic you call  it  Serbian,
>when  in  the  Roman alphabet you call it Croat.  Sounds rather silly to
>me.  Is English a different language when I use shorthand  to  write  it
>down?
>
>The "instructions" referred to (and included) in the message about fonts
>were in the ROMAN alphabet - so how could they be in Serbian?  According
>to your formulation they were in Croat!
>.

Before this gets out of hand, allow me to add my two cents worth:

The language spoken in the majority of ex-YU republics (Croatia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina,Montenegro & Serbia ) is essentially the same
language, meaning that people from these republics can communicate
without any problems. There are different dialects, and some
differences in vocabulary, but again, these differences are minor.
The grammar (including spelling) is the same.
One of the outstanding "features" of the language is that it can
be written using two alphabets - the latin alphabet and the
Cyrillic alphabet. Due to historical circumstances, the latin
alphabet is nowadays used primarily in the western parts, and
the Cyrillic alphabet in the eastern parts.
It is incorrect to call the language Serbian just because it is
written in the Cyrillic alphabet, just as it is incorrect to call
it Croatian just because it is written in the Roman, or latin
alphabets.
During the communist rule, the official name of the language was
"Srpskohrvatski" or "Hrvatskosrpski" (Serbo-Croatian or Croatian-
Serbian). Nationalists prefer to call it Serbian (Serbs) or Croatian
(Croats). It is *esentially* the same language, but we have to respect
each nations right to call it how they wish.

So you can write either "CBAKu CP6uH CEPE CE6E" or "SVAKI SRBIN SERE
SEBE". Likewise, you can write: "VIKTOR JEDE GOVNA"  or "BuKTOP JEgE
TOBHA". You see, it's not the spelling that matters, as long as the
message gets through.

( All references to real Serbs or Victors is totally unintentional :-)

George Bogavac.