Bosnian

SVO; prepositions; gender (masculine/feminine/neuter); vestiges of dual number; case-marking (7 cases); verb affixes mark person, number, gender of subject (in past tense); passives; tense and aspect; 25 consonant and 5 vowel phonemes; pitch stress.

Language Development

Literacy rate in L1: 97%. Dictionary. Bible: 2013–2021.

Language Resources

OLAC resources in and about Bosnian

Writing

Cyrillic script [Cyrl]. Latin script [Latn].

Other Comments

There are influences from Turkish [tur] and Arabic [arb]. Muslim, Christian, Jewish.

Also spoken in:

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Australia

Language NameBosnian

User Population

15,800 in Australia (2016 census).

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Austria

Language NameBosnian

User Population

34,900 in Austria (2003 UNSD).

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Canada

Language NameBosnian

User Population

12,200 in Canada (2016 census).

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Croatia

Language NameBosnian

User Population

16,900 in Croatia (2011 census). Ethnic population: 31,500 (2011 census).

Location

Dubrovnik-Neretva, Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Sisak-Moslavina, Split-Dalmatia, Vukovar-Syrmia, and Zagreb City.

Alternate Names

Serbo-Croatian

Dialects

Ijekavían, Ikavian.

Language Status

5* (Dispersed). Recognized language (2002, Constitutional Law on the Rights of Minorities, Article 15).

Other Comments

Non-indigenous. Influences from Turkish [tur] and Arabic [arb].

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Denmark

Language NameBosnian

User Population

16,800 in Denmark (2020 census), based on nationality.

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Finland

Language NameBosnian

User Population

2,360 in Finland (2018 census).

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Germany

Language NameBosnian

User Population

211,000 in Germany (2020 census), based on nationality.

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Italy

Language NameBosnian

User Population

20,700 in Italy (2012 census).

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Luxembourg

Language NameBosnian

User Population

1,960 in Luxembourg (2011 census).

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Montenegro

Language NameBosnian

User Population

36,700 in Montenegro (2011 census).

Location

Gusinje, Petnijica, Plav, and Rožaje municipalities.

Dialects

Ijekavían, Ikavian.

Language Status

5* (Dispersed). Recognized language (2006, Minority Rights Law, No. 31-06, Article 2).

Other Comments

Influences from Turkish [tur] and Arabic [arb].

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North Macedonia

Language NameBosnian

User Population

8,560 in North Macedonia (2002 census). Ethnic population: 17,000 (2002 census).

Location

Petrovec, Skopje, Veles and Zelenikovo municipalities.

Alternate Names

Serbo-Croatian

Language Status

5* (Dispersed).

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Norway

Language NameBosnian

User Population

18,700 in Norway (2021 census), based on nationality.

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Serbia

Language NameBosnian

User Population

172,000 in Serbia (2013 UNSD), including 33,000 in Kosovo (2021 World Factbook).

Location

Raška district: Novi Pazar and Tutin municipalities; Zlatibor district: Priboj, Prijepolje, and Sjenica municipalities.

Alternate Names

Serbo-Croatian

Dialects

Ijekavían, Ikavian.

Language Status

4 (Educational). Statutory language of provincial identity in Bujanovac, Medveda, Presevo (1991, Official Language Use Law No. 45, Article 3).

Language Development

Taught in primary schools, in minority-language schools.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous. Influences from Turkish [tur] and Arabic [arb].

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Slovenia

Language NameBosnian

User Population

31,500 in Slovenia (2003 UNSD).

Language Status

5* (Dispersed). Recognized language (2000, Slovenian Ratification, ECRML).

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Spain

Language NameBosnian

User Population

1,190 in Spain (2020 census), based on nationality.

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Sweden

Language NameBosnian

User Population

6,720 in Sweden (2020 census), based on nationality.

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Turkey

Language NameBosnian

User Population

112,000 in Turkey (2019).

Language Status

Unestablished.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Bosnian

Primary tabs

A language of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Also spoken in:

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