Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian: one language or four? Speaker attitudes and language naming in the home countries and the diaspora

This paper aims to provide insights into speakers’ perspectives on whether B/C/M/S constitute a single language, as well as their use of the terms (glottonyms) that refer to these languages in the countries where they are spoken (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia) and in the Germanspeaking diaspora (Switzerland, Germany, Austria). The findings reveal that glottonyms and attitudes toward B/C/M/S vary primarily based on the speakers’ ethnic affiliation and, to a lesser extent, on their country of residence. The study uses a quantitative analysis of a transnational survey, complemented by an overview of the respondents’ language attitudes.

Keywords: BCMS; survey; glottonyms; speakers’ attitudes; Bosnian; Croatian; Serbian