JEZIČKE POLITIKE U NEKIM ČASOPISIMA BOŠNJAČKE DIJASPORE U NJEMAČKOJ I AUSTRIJI
LANGUAGE POLICIES IN SOME BOSNIAK DIASPORA MAGAZINES IN GERMANY AND AUSTRIA

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyzes language policies in three journals published by members of the Bosniak diaspora in Germany and Austria. The goal of media in diaspora is usually to inform members of the community, but they also serve to build a sense of unity within the community or, in some cases, within more communities. They also promote certain social values, such as integration into the host country’s society and the preservation of their identity and connections with the country of origin (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The language policies implemented by these media are connected with these goals. Language policy is not only an explicit engagement in the routing of language development and its use, planning, making decisions and resolutions, but it can also be reflected in attitudes, beliefs and practices, or in language choices made by language users. This paper investigates the first issue of the Bulletin of the Islamic Cultural Center of Bosniaks in Berlin (Bilten Islamskog kulturnog centra Bošnjaka u Berlinu), the first issue of the Austrian magazine Oaza, and the first issue of the Pangea magazine, published in Germany. There are no explicit language programs or plans in these journals, but important attitudes and beliefs are noticed. Language is presented as a significant component of identity and culture and a vital connection with homeland and relatives. It is also indicated that multilingualism is a key resource and that the mothertongue of immigrants in Germany and Austria is not less worth than German. In terms of language choices, the following features have been explored: the choice of scripts, the yat substitution, nomination of the language, the functions performed by certain languages in the analyzed media, the presence of foreign-origin words and the choice of orthographic solutions. All of these magazines are written in the Latin alphabet and have an ijekavian yat substitution. In Pangea and Bulletin of the Islamic Cultural Center of Bosniaks in Berlin language is called Bosnian, but in Oaza a combined name Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian or b/h/s is used. In these magazines, there are a few orthographic phenomena that could be considered as specific indicators of a particular language policy.

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