# Serbs, Croatians and Bosnians **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2014, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426 "2014-01-10T06:06:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426/21 "2014-01-10T22:17:46Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Serbo-Croatian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbo-Croatian_language) is generally considered to be a single language, but with different Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and (perhaps) Montenegrin standardized forms. Croatian uses the Latin alphabet, while Serbian and Bosnian use both Cyrillic and Latin. There are a variety of dialects/subdialects as well. Specifically referring to [Shtokavian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shtokavian_dialect), [Kajkavian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kajkavian_dialect), and [Chakavian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakavian_dialect). Slovenian is the most “unique” Yugoslav language as Macedonians, when the title isn’t claimed by Greeks, speak what is mostly Bulgarian. But like Romanian/Moldovan, don’t tell _them_ that. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Gavrillo Princip was a Bosnian Serb. And Niko Bellić, it is implied. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426/22 "2014-01-11T00:52:45Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > To expand a little, to this day, Bosnia is still fairly divided, with a Serbian division to the north and east of the country called Republika Srpska (“Serbian Republic”) and the rest, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Bosniak-Croat Federation. I don’t know how it is now, but Republika Srpska in the late 90s and early 00s was a fairly intense and insular place, and a refuge for Serbian war criminals. I haven’t followed Balkan politics in a number of years, now, so I don’t know what the climate is like down there now. > > Now, before the war, things were a lot more mixed, with Sarajevo (which is in the Federation) being something like one-third Serb. When that region is on the news here Republika Srpska is rarely, if ever, mentioned. I only knew of its existence from Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426/23 "2014-01-11T01:26:01Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > When that region is on the news here Republika Srpska is rarely, if ever, mentioned. I only knew of its existence from Wikipedia. In English, the Serb Republic, not to be confused with the Republic of Serbia. :dubious: And Bosnia & Herzegovina has two names, but it’s one part… Not that I expect the news to get the names right. As far as they’re concerned, the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville/French Congo/the safer one) doesn’t even exist. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426/24 "2014-01-11T01:47:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Bosnia is still fairly divided, with a Serbian division to the north and east of the country called Republika Srpska (“Serbian Republic”) Which, incidentally, is a reason for much of the fighting : the Croats and Bosniaks stole all of the Serbs’ vowels. (this is not intended as a factual answer) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426/25 "2014-01-11T02:56:58Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Which, incidentally, is a reason for much of the fighting : the Croats and Bosniaks stole all of the Serbs’ vowels. > > (this is not intended as a factual answer) Well, there is a vowel shortage in Croatia, too. See: the island of Krk. (Technically, the “r” is performing vowel- like duties there.) I remember an Onion article back in the mid 90s that had to do with the vowel shortage. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426/26 "2014-01-11T03:05:55Z")
The city of Trieste in Italy, with lots of Slovene influence, is in that language and Serbo-Croatian _Trst_ (or Трст). It seems Finland or Estonia could ship in some of their surplus vowels to help the shortage. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426/27 "2014-01-11T03:06:19Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > In English, the Serb Republic, not to be confused with the Republic of Serbia. :dubious: And Bosnia & Herzegovina has two names, but it’s one part… > > Not that I expect the news to get the names right. As far as they’re concerned, the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville/French Congo/the safer one) doesn’t even exist. I do see reports about Congo-Brazzaville but then I’m apt to watch France 24 when I can’t sleep. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426/28 "2014-01-11T03:23:08Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > The city of Trieste in Italy, with lots of Slovene influence, is in that language and Serbo-Croatian _Trst_ (or Трст). > > It seems Finland or Estonia could ship in some of their surplus vowels to help the shortage. We have to go north in our Slavic languages a bit, but there is also the famous Czech tongue twister: Strč prst skrz krk. (“Stick [your] finger through [your] throat.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serbs-croatians-and-bosnians/678426.md?page=1)