Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: Inherent Translanguaging in the Linguistic Landscape of Sarajevo

Abstract Language in the Balkan region of Southeastern Europe has a complex and turbulent history, acutely embodied tripartite trilingual state Bosnia Herzegovina (BiH) which Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs all make claim to their own mutually-intelligible varieties local “languages”. This study utilizes linguistic landscape methodology consider language use Sarajevo, capital BiH, approximately 20 years after brutal war that led establishment country. Data originate from three municipalities within Sarajevo Canton – namely, Old Town, Center, Ilidža because representation region’s diversity history. Signs were classified according primary varieties, i.e., Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian; BCS, representing common core among as well English, other languages, mixed languages. The application BCS uniquely positions present research comparison studies allows for more nuanced, less politically ethnolinguistically fraught analysis communicative tendencies users. More specifically, data indicate actors transcend boundaries national, ethnic, religious identities by tending towards neutral suggesting an orientation translingual dispositions than previous variety-bound approaches have indicated. Thus, instead divisiveness identity politics, indicates tendency toward inclusion egalitarianism.