THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRESERVING LANGUAGE AND ALPHABET LIES IN INSTITUTIONS

TREBINJE, NOVEMBER 9 /SRNA/ – Institutions bear the greatest responsibility for preserving the Serbian language and alphabet, participants of the panel discussion “A Few More Words About the Language, My People” concluded today in Trebinje, who addressed the issue of the endangered status of the Cyrillic alphabet in Serb textbooks, seen as part of an effort to undermine Serb national being.

Member of the Serbian Language Council, Zoran Avramović, told the press that the Serbian language, like any other, is a key element of a people’s identity. “We have a problem with our language and script, which is reflected in everyday communication and in the official use of alphabet. There is a difference between the official and the public use of the language,” Avramović said. According to him, a major issue is how to regulate this relationship normatively, ensuring that the official language remains truly official, while the law does not include public use of alphabet, which complicates language regulation. “When it comes to alphabet, the situation is even more difficult and more damaging to our culture. We have used Cyrillic since the 10th century, but in the past 100 years there has been an influx of Latin alphabet, which is necessary for foreign languages, but it is increasingly used in local ‘communication’ creating a major problem,” Avramović emphasized. He says that there is an ongoing effort to preserve this cultural heritage, to which the Serbian Language Council has made a significant contribution, adding that both individuals and institutions can play a role in preserving the language. As an example of neglect toward the alphabet, Avramović pointed to business signs and institutional nameplates written in foreign languages. “Caring for our alphabet and language is everyone’s duty, but institutions bear the greatest responsibility,” Avramović added. The panel discussion was held at the National Library as part of the cultural event “Dučić’s Evenings of Poetry.” At 19:00 tonight, the Cultural Centre will host a poetry evening titled “On Dučić’s Path”, during which the Dučić Award will be presented to Đorđe Nešić.