What Does the Cyrillic Script Mean to the Serbs, and Why Must It Be Preserved?
One of the most debated issues in Serbia and beyond its borders today is the use of the Cyrillic script. The alphabet has suddenly become the heart of a political dispute. We have asked philologist and Serbian teacher Natalia Starikovskaya to explain how this came to be, what the prevailing opinions are, and what an optimal solution would look like.
«Ћирилица је символ српства. Она је његов саставни део. Српство би без ћирилице било кусо, крње, дефектно. Друго, оно се не би могло ни држати без свога писма. Дефектан и мањкав организам много би брже подлегао нападима који не престају. Знају то наши непријатељи. Зато су се толико и окомили на ћирилицу. Нашом, сопственом кривицом, ми смо ту учинили Ахилову пету наше националности, због комоције, због лењости, због недовољне будности. Непријатељи су то искористили и користе још данас». (Лазар (Лазо) М. Костић)
‘The Cyrillic alphabet is a symbol and an integral part of Serbdom. Without the Cyrillic script, Serbian identity would be curtailed, incomplete, and impaired. Besides, it would not have survived without the Script. A flawed and deficient organism is far more prone to unceasing assault. Our adversaries know it. That is why it is the Cyrillic script that they continue to attack so fiercely. It is our fault that our script has become the Achilles’ heel of our nation – due to our carelessness, laziness, and lack of vigilance. Our adversaries have seized this opportunity and are still exploiting it.’ (Lazar (Lazo) M. Kostić)
When we say ‘Serbia’, we mean ‘Slavdom, Orthodoxy and the Cyrillic script’! It was this very idea that Lazar Kostić, a renowned 20th century Serbian scholar, historian, and statesman, sought to convey. The Cyrillic script in Serbia and for Serbia is not a matter of preference but a question of preserving the identity and cultural code of the Serbian nation.
To trace the roots of this situation and to understand why calls to preserve the Serbian Cyrillic script are so frequent in modern Serbia, let us turn to the key milestones in the history of the Serbian nation and its language.
Persecution of the Language and Script
From the early period of Serbian statehood – marked by the adoption of Greek Orthodox Christianity and alphabet under the Nemanjić dynasty (12th – 14th centuries) and under the patronage of St Sava – the Cyrillic script emerged as an inseparable part of Serbian Orthodoxy and national identity. Following the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and, later, the loss of independence by the Serbs, for nearly 500 years of the Ottoman rule, the Cyrillic script remained the way to preserve the Serbian national identity and one of the drivers of national consolidation, revival, and struggle for independence.
Of course, the struggle could not be successful everywhere. For example, some of the territories of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina originally used the Cyrillic script. Unfortunately, Islamisation caused a transition to the Latin alphabet.
In the territories that fell under the Austro-Hungarian rule, the Cyrillic script and the Serbian vernacular language were also suppressed and banned. After the Great Migration of the Serbs to Vojvodina in 1690, it was Vojvodina that, over the next century, became the cultural centre and the stronghold for the preservation of Orthodoxy (with the Serbian Orthodox Church opening a metropolitanate in Sremski Karlovici), as well as of the language and literature. It was Vojvodina that became the main destination for Russian Orthodox educators who sought to offer their aid.
At the turn of the 19th century, the Serbs had four languages: Serbian vernacular, Serbian and Russian variants of Church Slavonic, and Slavo-Serbian (a chaotic mix of elements from Church Slavonic, Serbian and Russian). Notably, in one way or another, all the four languages used a Cyrillic script based on Greek and Russian letters.
At the same time, in the geographically separated territories of Croatia, Croatian vernacular was being actively expelled by Latin in Church services and by Hungarian in everyday administration. In such a situation, the idea of a single language automatically became a defining element of national consciousness. The task was not only to standardise the language but also to use it as an instrument of Slavic integration. Ironically, it was in Croatia that the idea of Yugoslavism emerged.
In the mid-19th century, philologists joined the efforts to standardise the language. The Serbian Cyrillic script in use today, which is in focus of this article, is the work of Vuk Karadžić who reformed the spelling and created the modern literary Serbo-Croatian language. Karadžić introduced a phonetic principle of spelling, excluded redundant letters and added six others to implement the principle ‘1 letter = 1 sound’ in Serbian Cyrillic. Since that time, the Serbian Cyrillic script has been known as ‘Vukovica’ (or Vuk’s Cyrillic alphabet).
Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj adapted the Latin alphabet to match Cyrillic by borrowing some of the letters from the Czech language. His alphabet was named ‘Gajica’ (or Gaj’s Latin alphabet). In 1850, in Vienna, Serbian and Croatian scientists concluded an agreement about a unified language with two equally legitimate pronunciation variants (Ekavica and Ijekavica) and two equally legitimate alphabets (Cyrillic and Latin). Another remarkable event took place in 1867: after decades of suppression, Serbo-Croatian gained official recognition in Austria-Hungary!
The brief period between the two World Wars, following the independence of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, was marked by linguistic stability. However, on the eve of World War II, Croatia saw a rise of nationalist sentiment which, as a result, turned into a policy of linguistic purism – an attempt to use language as a tool of distancing the nation from the Serbs. Following World War II, now in Socialist Yugoslavia, this process intensified. In 1954, the Novi Sad Agreement established the equality of the two Serbian and Croatian variants in Yugoslavia.
Risks for the Cyrillic Script
To this day, Serbia uses two alphabets in parallel: the official Cyrillic and Latin scripts, which Serbian linguists consider a risk factor for Cyrillic.
Serbia upholds the rights of national minorities to use their alphabet and to receive education in their language. For example, Croatian children in Serbia have access to textbooks in their variety of the language. The Croatian government is implementing a single script (Latin) policy.
This is going on in parallel with active ‘Latinisation’ of Montenegro: when the country gained its independence in 2003, it began, slowly but surely, replacing Cyrillic with the Latin script. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Cyrillic script is retained in Republika Srpska – a predominantly Serbian entity.
In Serbia itself, Cyrillic remains the official alphabet of the state and public agencies and institutions. But the fast spread of IT technologies in everyday life is prompting more and more young people to use the Latin alphabet. Teaching English and German in Serbian schools and universities has also played a part in the expansion of the Latin script.
However, parallel to this, patriotic sentiment is surging. It is considered inappropriate for a Serbian patriot to use the Latin script. Numerous public organizations are working to protect Cyrillic as a symbol of Serbia, Serbdom, and Orthodoxy, as well as the brotherly bonds with Russia and Russian people. Чувари ћирилице – ‘Guardians of Cyrillic’ – are painting popular murals in the streets of Serbian cities urging people to ‘Write in Cyrillic’. They are also monitoring public institutions to ensure compliance with the Law on the Official Use of Language and Scripts.
It is impossible to predict further developments of the situation today. But a nation that does not know its past has no future. That is why the Serbs – a nation that has survived almost 5 centuries of persecution against their faith and language – continue to fight for the preservation of their national identity and the Cyrillic script as its integral part. ‘Чувајмо ћирилицу и негујмо језик – if we preserve Cyrillic, we will preserve the language!’
Questions of language development have always been and remain a key component of culture, and we will keep an eye on how the situation evolves. The editorial board will continue covering this subject.
