Ivan Šreter (1951–1991), a Croatian physician who was persecuted by Yugoslav authorities for using the
Croatian language
Croatian (; ' ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language used by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina, and other neighboring countries. It is the official ...
. He was killed in 1991 by Serbs in the
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...
.
1984
In October 1984 Dr. Šreter examined as a specialist doctor at the
Lipik
Lipik is a town in western Slavonia, in the Požega-Slavonia County of northeastern Croatia. It is known for its spas, mineral water and Lipizzaner stables.
Settlements
The settlements included in the administrative area of Lipik include:
* ...
Hospital a patient named Stevo Majstorovic and, when entering the patients' occupation in the medical record, he wrote the
Croatian term "umirovljeni časnik" (retired officer) instead of the
Serbian equivalent "penzionisani oficir". Because of this he was sentenced to jail time in
Communist Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...
in 1987
for choosing to use the distinct Croatian ''umirovljeni časnik'' to refer to his patient as a retired officer, rather than using ''penzionisani oficir''.
During the
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...
he was taken captive by
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
troops and presumably killed, although his remains have not been found {{As of, 2008, 04, lc=on.
Memory
In his honor the Croatian Linguistic Award since 2005 is named
Dr. Ivan Šreter Award
The Dr. Ivan Šreter Award ( hr, Nagrada Dr. Ivan Šreter) is an annual Croatian linguistics award for the best Croatian language word coined.
The award is named after Dr. Ivan Šreter (1951–1991), a Croatian physician who was sentenced to ja ...
.
See also
*
Linguistic discrimination
Linguistic discrimination (also called glottophobia, linguicism and languagism) is unfair treatment of people which is based on their use of language and the characteristics of their speech, including their first language, their accent, the p ...
*
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.
The different types of cultural assi ...
References
Croatian language