More than just a slight difference
I lived in Bosnia for twelve years, and I think there is more than just a slight difference between the languages -
definitely more than between British and American English. Some words are spelled differently and the alphabet is
different in Serbia. Some of the words are pronounced very differently in Beograd then they are in Sarajevo or in
Dubrovnik.
Here are some examples:
beautiful: lepo (Serbian), lijepo (Bosnian), lipo (Croatian)
river: reka (Serbian), rijeka (Bosnian), rika
(Croatian)
song: pesma (Serbian), pijesma (Bosnian), pisma (Croatian)
Sent by: Semir
Comments
I think Semir took a very simplistic view. The Croatian language has many dialects (ijekavski, kajkavski, ikavski) as no doubt does Serbian. Croatians from Medimurje would have a hard time understanding someone from the islands. His argument is not a very good one.
Most Serbs don't even speak Belgrade "ekavica" or Standard Serbian. I was in Zlatibor in Western Serbia, they talk similar to Serbs from the Banija region of Croatia! This was a surprise for me. They would also use lijepo, pjesma, ... so I don't see your point. It's all the same in Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian.
Yes, the 'i' version (lipo, rika, pisma) does exist but in general Croatian has also 'ije' or 'je' corresponding to Serbian 'e'. But these are constant patterns which exist between lots of words, just as vowel correspondences exist between British/American English. They don't present a barrier to communication and shouldn't be considered as evidence of Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian being three separate languages.
Lijepo, etc. are also Croatian (ijekavian). I have ttravelled extensively in 70s and 80s all over ex-Jugoslavia, speaking Croatian and had no problems anywhere. I even used it in Bulgaria and was understood. Of course there are differences: as in any language how many of us really speak standard whatever? I wish folks could simply enjoy the similarities and differences .. .but the burden of history etc etc. Food for thought: though we speak English in America, think about the differences between our regional 'accents' and vocabularies - but yet we still call it all English, even if we can't understand what our compatirot is saying!
I totaly agree with VS and think Semir is talking about the Istrian and Dalmatian dialect.
Sorry, but as far as I know, 'beautiful' in Croatian is lijepo, and 'river' is rijeka ...
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Your examples are misleading. Words like 'Lijepo' or 'Rijeka' are not just Bosnian but also Croatian and Montenegrin. They are part of the Ijekaski dialect. 'Lipo', etc, is the ikavski dialect and confined to some parts of Dalmatia. Only Serbs in Serbia itself use the ekavski dialect (and not even all of them!). All Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro speak ijekavski.
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