WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS
The Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature and the Montenegrin PEN Center have responded to what they describe as the persecution of the Montenegrin language on the Public Service.
Their statement is presented in full:
Two years ago, the Montenegrin public was informed that the management of RTCG had banned the use of the so-called “jotated” version of the Montenegrin language grammar. Although this decision was widely condemned by the professional community at the time, RTCG, under the leadership of Boris Raonić, continued the practice of misusing the public service as a media outlet for the current government. Let us remember the coverage of the events at the Belvedere civil protest, the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the scandalous series about Vraneška Valley, and the discrimination of RTCG journalists who do not agree with the degradation of the profession, etc.
RTCG, as a government service whose top officials openly deny the official language of the state they represent, or publicly state that they do not speak the official language of that state, has recently entered a new phase of denying this official language.
As is known, the standard linguistic norm of Montenegrin as the official language in Montenegro equally treats forms like "đed" and "djed," "śever" and "sjever," "požućeti" and "požutjeti," "iźelica" and "izjelica," etc. The first are typically Montenegrin, while the second are part of the Yugoslav standard linguistic heritage. For those who use the first forms, it is known that they come from Montenegro because these forms are recognizably Montenegrin. The second can be Bosnian, Croatian, or Serbian – as Serbia, at least formally, does not abandon ijekavica, since its great-power ideology encompasses territories under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church, that is, the entire Štokavian area.
The officially and democratically defined equality in the use of jotated and non-jotated forms in Montenegrin standard language is not recognized by Raonić’s Public Service. Therefore, in its programs, when titling statements by speakers, their "śever," "đe," "śedi," etc., are translated into "sjever," "gdje," "sjedi." Does the Public Service do this because someone in Montenegro does not understand what "śever," "đe," "śedi" mean? Does it do this to remove communication barriers between its TV guests and the audience? No. Because in Montenegro, not only is there no one who finds these forms incomprehensible, but there is also no area in Montenegro where these forms are not in use. The goal is clear. Since they have not found interlocutors in Montenegro who truly speak the Serbian language, at least in the Dodik-style Serbian language with the ijekavian pronunciation, they must align them with the language standard of the Serbian World through subtitles.
There is no doubt that this statement will not force Boris Raonić to start respecting the Montenegrin language grammar, given that he may not even respect decisions made by Montenegrin courts. However, trampling on fundamental constitutional values and basic rights and freedoms must not be accompanied by silence, even if such trampling has become a daily occurrence, as is the case in Montenegro.
For a full 150 years, the Montenegrin language standard was not created in accordance with how people speak, but in accordance with the needs of the wider community to which Montenegro belonged or was part of. Despite these adjustments, the Montenegrin language has maintained its authenticity within the framework of the common Štokavian language. It still retains this authenticity, and no one better enlightens its users than those who try to hide it through subtitling, like Raonić’s RTCG, or eliminate it by declaring Serbian as the official language in Montenegro. Perhaps for some new programs, Raonić should send journalists to Pale and Banja Luka, as there he will find interlocutors he won’t need to subtitle. If they are not from Montenegro, they are from the Serbian World.
