Slavica (alphabet)
Encyclopedia
Slavica is a new writing system
for Serbo-Croatian language
that was proposed by Rajko Igić
in his 1987 book, Nova Slovarica, published by Universal from Tuzla
. The alphabet
is a combination of Gaj's Latin and Serbian Cyrillic alphabets and is intended for people of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
that speak the same language, but write it in two different writing systems.
s and digraphs
. Five letters common to both alphabets — a, e, o, j, and k — are also used in this new script. In this way, Slavica follows the principle of one grapheme for one phoneme
, a principle that come from Cyrillic script.
, Croatia
. According to several articles in daily press,1987 and 1988, it has been especially attractive to the people from Bosnia
, Vojvodina
and Istria
. However, strong opposition has been noted in these years by the Croatian media. Slavica has been written about both before and after the civil war, in many daily newspapers (Večernje novosti
, Front slobode, Dnevnik
, etc.) as well as some other magazines (American Psychologist
in 1999; Pregled, Sarajevo, 2005; Prosvjetna poslanica, Tuzla, in 2006).
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
for Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian language
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...
that was proposed by Rajko Igić
Rajko igic
Rajko Igić is a Serbian doctor and scientist. He is best known for his anti-smoking campaign in the Former Yugoslavia and experimental work on the angiotensin converting enzyme ....
in his 1987 book, Nova Slovarica, published by Universal from Tuzla
Tuzla
Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 1991 census, it had 83,770 inhabitants, while the municipality 131,318. Taking the influx of refugees into account, the city is currently estimated to have 174,558 inhabitants...
. The alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
is a combination of Gaj's Latin and Serbian Cyrillic alphabets and is intended for people of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
that speak the same language, but write it in two different writing systems.
Organisation
The basis of Slavica is 17 Latin letters, with 8 Cyrillic letters used in the cases where the Latin script uses diacriticDiacritic
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
s and digraphs
Digraph (orthography)
A digraph or digram is a pair of characters used to write one phoneme or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined...
. Five letters common to both alphabets — a, e, o, j, and k — are also used in this new script. In this way, Slavica follows the principle of one grapheme for one phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
, a principle that come from Cyrillic script.
| Letter | IPA sound | Original alphabet |
|---|---|---|
| A a | /a/ | either |
| B b | /b/ | Latin |
| C c | /ts Voiceless alveolar affricate The voiceless alveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The sound is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet with ⟨⟩ or ⟨⟩ . The voiceless alveolar affricate occurs in such languages as German, Cantonese, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Mandarin... / |
Latin |
| Ч ч | /tʃ/ | Cyrillic |
| Ћ ћ | /tɕ/ | Cyrillic |
| D d | /d/ | Latin |
| Џ џ | /dʒ/ | Cyrillic |
| Ђ ђ | /dʑ/ | Cyrillic |
| E e | /ɛ/ | either |
| F f | /f/ | Latin |
| G g | /g/ | Latin |
| H h | /h/ | Latin |
| I i | /i/ | Latin |
| J j | /j/ | either |
| K k | /k/ | either |
| L l | /l/ | Latin |
| Љ љ | /ʎ/ | Cyrillic |
| M m | /m/ | Latin |
| N n | /n/ | Latin |
| Њ њ | /ɲ/ | Cyrillic |
| O o | /ɔ/ | either |
| P p | /p/ | Latin |
| R r | /r/ | Latin |
| S s | /s/ | Latin |
| Ш ш | /ʃ Voiceless postalveolar fricative The voiceless palato-alveolar fricative or voiceless domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in many spoken languages, including English... / |
Cyrillic |
| T t | /t/ | Latin |
| U u | /u/ | Latin |
| V v | /v/ | Latin |
| Z z | /z/ | Latin |
| Ж ж | /ʒ Voiced postalveolar fricative The voiced palato-alveolar fricative or voiced domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is Z. An alternative symbol used in some... / |
Cyrillic |
Implementation
The new alphabet was tested in 1988 and 1989 by the students of primary school Mate Balota in BujeBuje
Buje is a town situated in Istria, Croatia's westernmost peninsula, population 2,979 .Buje was known as the "sentinel of Istria" for its hilltop site located inland from the Adriatic sea. It still commands an excellent panorama. Buje has a rich history; traces of life in the region date back to...
, 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 ...
. According to several articles in daily press,1987 and 1988, it has been especially attractive to the people from Bosnia
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
, Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
and Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
. However, strong opposition has been noted in these years by the Croatian media. Slavica has been written about both before and after the civil war, in many daily newspapers (Večernje novosti
Vecernje novosti
Večernje novosti is a Belgrade-based daily newspaper. Founded in 1953, it quickly grew into a high-circulation daily.It first appeared on stands on October 16, 1953 edited by Slobodan Glumac who set the newspaper's tone for years to come...
, Front slobode, Dnevnik
Dnevnik
Dnevnik means "The Daily" or "Daily News" in South Slavic languages. It can also be translated as "Diary".Closely related Slavic variants of the word are Deník Dziennik and Дневник .It may refer to:...
, etc.) as well as some other magazines (American Psychologist
American Psychologist
The American Psychologist is the official academic journal of the American Psychological Association. It contains archival documents and articles covering current issues in psychology, the science and practice of psychology, and psychology's contribution to public policy...
in 1999; Pregled, Sarajevo, 2005; Prosvjetna poslanica, Tuzla, in 2006).