Odsjek za bosanski, hrvatski, srpski jezik i književnosti naroda Bosne i

Hercegovine

Refleksija na temu „Foreign words in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian

language“
How did language become so diverse? Language is a cultural category that is constantly evolving. The
reasons can be various such as migration, traffic, trade, territorial conquest, technology and new
inventions. The linguistic reasons for the changes are the need to name new objects, concepts and
ideas. It is interesting that, unlike in some cases from the past where a certain language was
imposed (Hungarian, German or Turkish), no one imposes English, but it becomes desirable to know
it for its prestige and economic benefits.

There is a long history of the connection between Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Turkish language.
Although the relations were mostly hostile, cultural exchange was inevitable. The Turks conquered
Bosnia and Herzegovina in the mid-15th century, and ruled it until 1878. The words from Turkish
language are used in many segments but especially the culinary, administration, military, clothing,
family ties and certainly the religious life and customs of Muslims. Some examples of the words
coming from Turkish language: šećer, bakar, badem, alat, bubreg, čarapa, džep, jastuk, jogurt, krevet,
kutija, majmun, pamuk, rakija, tava, sat, top, boja, limun, badem, sapun, tambura, tavan.

In spite of the relation with Hungarians since 1102 until 1918, their language left no deeper trace in
Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian language. Some examples of the words coming from Hungarian
language: kocka, lopov, bunda, gumb, kip, soba, cipela, čipka, palačinka, gulaš, lampaš, čopor, puška,
gazda, poplun, remek, kočija, tabor.

German language also had a minor influence and some of the words that today make part of
standard language are: vaga, bista, tegla, šunka, cilj, šank, celer, plata, saga, ruksak, ura, rentgen,
kuplung, hauba, ratkapa, auspuh.

The influences of Italian language mostly survived on the dialectal level. As for the words that came
from Italian language into the standard language, these are mostly the words used in art and music.

Over the last 60 years, English became the most influential language, and many languages are taking
new terms from it.

In the case of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian language, several factors contribute to this
phenomenon. First of them is the educational system: children begin learning English from a very
early age. Another reason is the use of the Internet, which contains 80 percent of all content in
English. It is important also to mention the consumption of American popular culture: the music and
movie industries have a huge impact. English is especially present in certain areas such as computer
and internet, lifestyle, then sports, music and film. Some of the examples of the words used:
Monitor, printer, konzola, džojstik, USB stick, team building, jacuzzi, smeč, knockout, forhend,
diskoteka, džuboks, džingl, stage, soundtrack.

Some of the English words are adapted to the Croatian language system, while many are used in
their original form. The development of technology, the flood of content in Anglo - American culture,
as well as the growing competence in English, suggest that the trend of word flow from English
vocabulary will continue.
 So, is language change a good thing or a bad thing? Language change can be a good thing because it
keeps everything interesting and current. It also stops language being boring and is a way to build
your own personal identity. Another postive is it can help to close the gaps between cultures.
Language change can be negative because people may not always understand what others are saying
and words can lose meaning. In my opinion, language change is positive because language needs to
be updated to suit the time. However, I think that slang and made up words are not good for
language because people cannot always understand you and they often have negative connotations.

Emir Sivac

Broj indeksa: 49376