Montenegrin (Crnogorski jezik, Црногорски језик) is a name used for the Serbo-Croatian language as spoken by Montenegrins; it also refers to an incipient standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect of Serbo-Croatian used as the official language of Montenegro. The same subdialect of Shtokavian is also the basis of standard Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian, so all are mutually intelligible and are a single language by that criterion, despite being distinct national standards.
The idea of a Montenegrin standard language separate from Serbian appeared in 1990s, and gained traction in 2000s, by proponents of Montenegrin independence. Montenegrin became the official language of Montenegro with the ratification of a new constitution on 22 October 2007 . The Montenegrin standard is still emerging. Its orthography was established 10 July 2009, with the addition of two letters to the alphabet, though grammar and a school curriculum are yet to be approved.
|
|