Serbian language

The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the ?tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). Serbian is used primarily in Serbia and Montenegro, Republika Srpska and by Serbs everywhere.

Serbian literature

Main article: Serbian literature

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Serbian literature emerged in the Middle Ages, and included such works as Miroslavljevo jevandjelje (The Gospel of Miroslav) in 1192 and Du?anov zakonik (Du?an's Code) in 1349. Little secular mediæval literature has been preserved, but what there is shows that it was in accord with its time; for example, Serbian Alexandride, a book about Alexander the Great, and a translation of Tristan and Isolde into Serbian.

Related Topics:
Middle Ages - 1192 - Du?an's Code - 1349 - Secular - Alexander the Great - Tristan and Isolde

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the mid-15th century, Serbia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and, for the next 400 years there was no opportunity for the creation of secular written literature. However, some of the greatest literary works in Serbian come from this time, in the form of oral literature, the most notable form being Serbian epic poetry. It is known that Goethe learned the Serbian language in order to read Serbian epic poetry in the original. Written literature was produced only for religious use in churches and monasteries, and held to Old Church Slavonic. By the end of the 18th century, the written literature had become estranged from the spoken language. In the second half of the 18th century, the new language appeared, called Slavonic-Serbian. In the early 19th century, Vuk Stefanovi? Karad?i?, following the work of Sava Mrkalj, reformed the Cyrillic alphabet by introducing the phonetic principle, as well as promoting the spoken language of the people as a literary norm.

Related Topics:
15th century - Ottoman Empire - Serbian epic poetry - Goethe - Old Church Slavonic - 18th century - Slavonic-Serbian - 19th century - Vuk Stefanovi? Karad?i? - Sava Mrkalj - Phonetic - Spoken language

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first printed book in Serbian, Oktoih was produced in Cetinje in 1494, only 40 years after Gutenberg's invention of movable type.

Related Topics:
Cetinje - 1494 - Gutenberg - Movable type

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~