Novi Sad agreement
Encyclopedia
The Novi Sad Agreement was an attempt by twenty five Serbian
, Croatian
and Montenegrin writers, linguists and intellectuals to build unity across the ethnic and linguistic divisions within Yugoslavia
, and created the Serbo-Croatian
language.
Sponsored by the Serbian cultural organization's journal Letopis Matice srpske
editorial board, talks on the use and acceptability of the Serbian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet
and is centered around the city of Belgrade
(known as the eastern variety of Serbo-Croat) and Croatia
n (which uses the Roman alphabet, centered around the city of Zagreb
, and is known as the western variety of Serbo-Croat) took place in the city of Novi Sad
, in the Serbian province of Vojvodina
. Two days of discussion from December 8th through December 10th, 1954, resulted in the signing of the agreement, which laid out ten resolutions regarding the languages and their relations to one another.
The agreement focused on the similarities between the two dialects, and was primarily concerned with reconciling the different dialects for the benefit of a federalized Yugoslavia. The agreement stated that groups of linguists and intellectuals who from both the eastern Serbian variant and the western Croat variant, would work together toward establishing a single dictionary and terminology.
The agreement ironically also stated that the future language should develop naturally, although it was being forged by the force of political will and pressure from both dialects.
The new terminology and dictionary would have its roots in both languages, and the literary journal present at the agreement would have the same content published in both Cyrillic Serbian and Roman Croatian.
However, many, such as Croatian intellectual Ljudevit Jonke
, viewed the agreement as a veiled attempt to have Serbian become the official language of a Federal Yugoslavia, and to wipe out other languages such as Dalmatian, with only a passing nod given to Croat.
As a direct result of the agreement, Matica srpska
and its Croatian counterpart Matica hrvatska
published an orthography manual in 1960. Although widely praised by all levels of Serbian and Yugoslav party officials and intellectuals, the orthography was roundly criticized by Croatian intellectuals, who saw the work as too Serb-centric. Their criticisms stemmed mainly from an analysis of the case of larger differences between the two languages, claiming that the dictionary favored the eastern variant of the language over the Croatian.
, had bugged the residences of top Serbian party officials, and had even placed Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito
himself under surveillance.
The bugging plan was masterminded by Aleksandar Ranković
and overseen by a Croat general, namely Ivan Gošnjak. Ranković was fired by Tito and stripped of all of his posts. However, he was never incarcerated for his involvement.
The ensuing scandal was seen as a de facto victory for the rest of the various factions within Yugoslavia, and the clamor for more separation from the federal state grew larger. In 1967, the Croats responded to this outcry by refusing to honor the agreement, which was representative of the fractious nature endemic to not only the nation but the region as a whole.
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Montenegrin writers, linguists and intellectuals to build unity across the ethnic and linguistic divisions within Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, and created the Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
language.
Matica srpska
The Matica srpska is the oldest cultural-scientific institution of Serbia. Matica srpska was founded in 1826 in Budapest and moved to Novi Sad in 1864....
editorial board, talks on the use and acceptability of the Serbian, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
and is centered around the city of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
(known as the eastern variety of Serbo-Croat) and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n (which uses the Roman alphabet, centered around the city of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, and is known as the western variety of Serbo-Croat) took place in the city of Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
, in the Serbian province of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
. Two days of discussion from December 8th through December 10th, 1954, resulted in the signing of the agreement, which laid out ten resolutions regarding the languages and their relations to one another.
The agreement focused on the similarities between the two dialects, and was primarily concerned with reconciling the different dialects for the benefit of a federalized Yugoslavia. The agreement stated that groups of linguists and intellectuals who from both the eastern Serbian variant and the western Croat variant, would work together toward establishing a single dictionary and terminology.
The agreement ironically also stated that the future language should develop naturally, although it was being forged by the force of political will and pressure from both dialects.
The new terminology and dictionary would have its roots in both languages, and the literary journal present at the agreement would have the same content published in both Cyrillic Serbian and Roman Croatian.
Ljudevit Jonke
Ljudevit Jonke was a Croatian linguist.-Life and work:After finishing primary school and gymnasium in Karlovac, he graduated at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb the history of Yugoslav literatures, Croatian and Old Church Slavonic language and folk history with Russian and Latin...
, viewed the agreement as a veiled attempt to have Serbian become the official language of a Federal Yugoslavia, and to wipe out other languages such as Dalmatian, with only a passing nod given to Croat.
As a direct result of the agreement, Matica srpska
Matica srpska
The Matica srpska is the oldest cultural-scientific institution of Serbia. Matica srpska was founded in 1826 in Budapest and moved to Novi Sad in 1864....
and its Croatian counterpart Matica hrvatska
Matica hrvatska
Matica hrvatska is one of the oldest Croatian cultural institutions, dating back to 1842. The name is somewhat idiosyncratic, best translated as "The Croatian Centre" . It is the largest publisher of Croatian language books...
published an orthography manual in 1960. Although widely praised by all levels of Serbian and Yugoslav party officials and intellectuals, the orthography was roundly criticized by Croatian intellectuals, who saw the work as too Serb-centric. Their criticisms stemmed mainly from an analysis of the case of larger differences between the two languages, claiming that the dictionary favored the eastern variant of the language over the Croatian.
The text of the Novi Sad Agreement
The ten "Conclusions", or zaključci- Serbs, Croats and Montenegrins share a single language with two equal variants that have developed around Zagreb (western) and Belgrade (eastern).
- Officially, the name of the language must make reference to its two constituent parts (i.e. both "Serbian" and "Croatian")
- The Roman and Cyrillic alphabets have equal status and Serbs and Croats are expected to learn both alphabets in school.
- The two pronunciations—ijekavian and ekavian—have equal status in all respects.
- The Matica srpska will cooperate with the Matica hrvatska in the production of a new dictionary of the joint language.
- Work will proceed on the establishment of a common terminology for all spheres of economic, scholarly, and cultural life.
- Both sides will cooperate in the compiling of a joint orthographic manual (pravopis).
- Care must be given to the natural development of Croato-Serbian, and no longer should texts be altered from one variant to another.
- The composition of a Commission from the pravopis and terminology will be decided by universities in Zagreb, Belgrade, and Sarajevo, the Academies in Zagreb and Belgrade, Matica hrvatska, and Matica srpska.
- The conclusions will be made available by Matica srpska to the Federal Executive council (i.e., the federal Yugoslav government), the governments of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, and to the universities, the Matica hrvatska in Zagreb, and to daily papers and journals.
The Implications of the Agreement
The agreement is also seen as a high point in relations between the Serbian and Croatian factions within the federal Yugoslavia, which quickly devolved. Soon after the death of Stalin, the nation was no longer able to define itself as a distinct and opposite kind of communist nation, and so building a federal, unified Yugoslavia was no longer the top priority for the nation. Factional disagreements and power struggles following a scandal in which the head of the Yugoslav security services, the UDBAUDBA
The Department of State Security was the secret police organization of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.Although it operated with more restraint than other secret...
, had bugged the residences of top Serbian party officials, and had even placed Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
himself under surveillance.
The bugging plan was masterminded by Aleksandar Ranković
Aleksandar Rankovic
Aleksandar "Leka" Ranković was a Yugoslav communist politician of Serbian origin considered to be the third most powerful man in Yugoslavia after Josip Broz Tito and Edvard Kardelj....
and overseen by a Croat general, namely Ivan Gošnjak. Ranković was fired by Tito and stripped of all of his posts. However, he was never incarcerated for his involvement.
The ensuing scandal was seen as a de facto victory for the rest of the various factions within Yugoslavia, and the clamor for more separation from the federal state grew larger. In 1967, the Croats responded to this outcry by refusing to honor the agreement, which was representative of the fractious nature endemic to not only the nation but the region as a whole.