LibGuides: Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Languages: Bosnian History

Geography, People, and Economy


Population:: 3,840,000
Capital:: Sarajevo; 579,000
Area:: 51,129 square kilometers (19,741 square miles)
Language:: Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Religion:: Muslim, Orthodox, Roman Catholic
Currency:: Marka
Life Expectancy:: 72
GDP per Capita:: U.S. $1,900
Literacy Percent:: 97; ECONOMY; Industry: Steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly; Agriculture: Wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock; Exports: Metals, clothing, wood products

—Text From National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition

Timeline

1464

Mehmed II and the Ottoman Turks conquer Bosnia, where a large number of noble families convert to Islam

1517

From Bosnia to Egypt and Arabia, the Ottoman Turks now rule the largest Muslim empire since the early caliphate

1878

A congress in Berlin agrees that Austria may administer the Turkish province of Bosnia-Herzegovina

1908

Austria annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina, in response to the policy of the Young Turks in Istanbul

1991

The parliament in Bosnia-Herzegovina votes to secede from the crumbling Yugoslavia

1992

Fighting intensifies between Serbs and Croats, Christians and Muslims, for territory within Bosnia-Herzegovina

1992

Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic encourages ethnic cleansing by paramilitaries in Bosnia

1995

The US hosts peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, between Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia to end the Bosnian civil war

For more timeline information visit BBC News.

Map

Image from Encyclopedia Britannica

History of Bosnia-Herzegovina: Overview

The Europa World Plus entry for Bosnia Herzegovina provides a strong introductory overview to the history of the country, starting in 1995.

Additionally, this Encyclopedia Article provides a thorough history dating back to the Bronze Age, and continues through the present. The references informing this article are thoroughly documented, and quite helpful.

History of the Bosnian Language

While UCLA’s previously wonderful resource, the Language Materials Project, is unfortunately currently unfunded, the UCLA Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures website provides a wonderful overview of the history of the Bosnian language. Beyond history, this page covers linguistic affiliation, language variation orthography, the language’s role in society and provides a linguistic sketch.

Bosnian Language

Bosnian

A language of Bosnia and Herzegovina

ISO 639-3: bos

Population	2,000,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2004). Population total all countries: 2,203,800.
Region	Also in Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia.
Dialects	Ijekavían, Ikavian. Shares lexical items with both Serbian [srp] and Croatian [hrv].
Classification	Indo-European, Slavic, South, Western A member of macrolanguage Serbo-Croatian [hbs] (Serbia).
Language use	Official language.
Language development	Literacy rate in L2: 97%. Dictionary. Bible: 1804–1968.
Writing system	Latin script.
Comments	There are influences from Turkish [tur] and Arabic [arb]. SVO. Muslim, Christian, Jewish.