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THE PEOPLE

Demography (1995 estimate, except where noted):

Culture:

Language: In the 1960s, Croatia rejected the terms "Croato-Serbian" or "Serbo-Croatian," and returned to the older concept of Croatian as a distinct language. This is a particularly sensitive subject among Croatians, where an attack on the identity of the Croatian language is regarded as an attack on the identity of the Croatian people as well. With the breakup of Yugoslavia, the term Serbo-Croatian has largely disappeared also among Serbs, who call their own language or variant Serbian. However, many linguists continue to regard Croatian and Serbian as variants of one language due to their similar structures and vocabulary. Even in the case of the most visible difference (Croatian uses the Latin alphabet and Serbian uses Cyrillic), there is a one-to-one correspondence between the two alphabets (note that one Croatian letter may consist of one or two Latin letters plus an accent) and each is readily transcribed into the other.

There is a tendency for Croatian especially to revert to older vocabulary and grammatical structures that were common in the early 20th century, rejecting the changes introduced by efforts to standardize the language which characterized Yugoslavia during much of this century. For example, zrakoplov is now used for the former avion (airplane), zracna luka for the former aerodrom (airport), and dojutrak for the former dorucak (breakfast).

Three major variants of the language exist, distinguished by the word used for "what?": kaj, caj or sto. Two are relatively little-used: Kajkavski, which can be considered a transitional language between Croatian and Slovenian, and which is reasserting itself in the Zagreb area; and Cajkavski which is still used in parts of Dalmatia. Stokavski is most widespread, dominating Serbia and most of Croatia. Within Stokavski, three further variants are distinguished by whether a specific Old Slavic vowel is rendered eh (Ekavski), jeh or ijeh (Ijekavski), or ee (Ikavski). Ikavski is used in parts of Dalmatia. Ekavski is primarily characteristic of Serbia, including the Croatian and other minorities in Syrmia (Srijem/Srem) and Vojvodina. Jekavski dominates the speech of Croats, Serbs and Bosnians in most of Croatia and Bosnia. The language section below employs the Jekavski variant of Stokavski.

Religion: Most of the Croat majority follow the Roman Catholic faith. Some of the Serb minority follow Orthodox Christianity. Religious practice in both cases has increased since the late 1980s, although some also associate themselves with their ethnic groups religion as an expression of nationalism rather than of faith. A small but active Jewish community is centered in Zagreb. Small numbers follow Evangelical Protestantism and Eastern Uniate Catholicism. (The head of the Croatian Catholic Press Agency, IKA, is an Eastern Unitate priest.) A very small Old Catholic denomination exists, which split off from Roman Catholicism late in the last century.

Cultural Traditions: In spite of a very close relationship on their arrival in the Balkans, Croats and Serbs have differentiated substantially since then. Croatia is west and Serbia is east of the line along which the Christian church split about 1050 AD between Rome and Constantinople. Thus Croatia became Roman Catholic and Serbia Orthodox. Migrations of Serbs during the centuries Serbia was ruled by the Ottoman Empire resulted in large Serb areas within Croatia. Croatian culture has been shaped by a combination of elements, including Catholicism, centuries of Austrian and Hungarian rule, and resistance to centralization of the South-Slav state from about 1919 to 1991. The culture of the Serbian minority has been shaped by adherence to Serbian Orthodoxy, the traditions of the Military Border (see below), and strong oral traditions originating in Medieval Serbia and the Turkish conquest. Intermixing between groups was not insignificant in Croatia, with intermarriage particularly significant in urban areas. During the ethnic conflict beginning in 1991, partners in mixed marriages were targeted by extremists on both sides. Care is strongly advisable in discussing history, ethnic origins, religion and other areas where differing perceptions exist between Serbs and Croats.

National Holidays:

Back to Chapter 2: Table of Contents

Historical Overview