Jezik i nacija
Language and Nation

Summary/Abstract: After some introductory comments on terminology, the relationship between the concepts of language and nation is briefly discussed, with the following conclusions. Ideologically, language and nation are linked, in that linguistic considerations are frequently invoked and politicized in discussing issues concerning national identity. Historically, the two are partly linked, as many nations have indeed evolved together with their standard languages, though there have been many different developments also. Theoretically, they are not linked, since a language can serve more than one nation, and a single nation may use more than one language. Hence the traditional European model of the »linguistic nation« is by no means universally valid, especially not in contemporary Third world countries, and each individual case must therefore be described and evaluated in its own cultural, historical and political context.

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