The term Serbians in English is a

polysemic Polysemy ( or ; ) is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a symbol, a morpheme, a word, or a phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. Polysemy is distinct from ''monosemy'', where a word has a single ...

word, with two distinctive meanings, derived from morphological differences: * Morphology 1: Serb-

ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

- s, derived from the noun '' Serb'' and used interchangeably to refer to ethnic Serbs, thus having a synonymous

ethnonymic An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

use. * Morphology 2: Serbia- an- s, a

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

derived from the noun '' Serbia'', designating the population of Serbia, in general. In English, the use of term ''Serbians'' depends on the context, with demonymic use being more common, but not exclusive.

Demonymic use

The term ''Serbians'' is used in English as a

for all citizens of Serbia, regardless of their ethnic, linguistic, religious or other cultural distinctions. In

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

, however, the term ''Srbijanci'' ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Србијанци, Srbijanci) is also used for ethnic Serbs from Serbia, or in a narrower sense, Serbs from

Central Serbia Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nort ...

(

Serbia proper Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nort ...

). The term thus excludes ethnic Serbs in the neighboring countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, for which the common term ''Srbin'' () is used. In English, the two are commonly used interchangeably, with the term "Serbians" sometimes applied to ethnic Serbs outside Serbia (such as "Bosnian Serbians" for

Bosnian Serbs The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

). Likewise, the term "Serbs" has been erroneously applied to all citizens of Serbia regardless of their ethnicity. The term and usage of ''Srbijanci'' is controversial in Serbian-speaking areas. In Croatian usage, while ''Srbi'' is the term for ethnic Serbs, including Serbs of Croatia, ''Srbijanci'' are Serbs specifically from Serbia, but because no such distinctions exist for other nations, it is inconsistently applied and the main meaning is to indicate something specific to citizens of Serbia as opposed to ethnicity. The term is used in the province of Vojvodina. In response to Tomislav Nikolić using the term '' Bosanac'' for

Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

, Belgrade linguist Ivan Klajn said that this type of demonym and distinction between

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

and nationality are only found in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia as opposed to other European countries, even other former Yugoslav republics. The 1852 '' Srpski rječnik'' includes the following: A popular Serbian folk song contains a chorus " ...'' jelek'' (vest), ''anterija'' (short vest), and '' opanci'' (traditional moccasins), is how you recognize a ''Srbijanac'' (Serbian)...", describing the Serbian folk costume. Variant terms like ''

Old Serbians Old Serbia ( sr, Стара Србија, Stara Srbija) is a Serbian historiographical term that is used to describe the territory that according to the dominant school of Serbian historiography in the late 19th century formed the core of the S ...

'' ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Старосрбијанци, Starosrbijanci) and ''Southern Serbians'' ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Јужносрбијанци, Južnosrbijanci) were used as designations for populations from historical regions of

Old Serbia Old Serbia ( sr, Стара Србија, Stara Srbija) is a Serbian historiographical term that is used to describe the territory that according to the dominant school of Serbian historiography in the late 19th century formed the core of the S ...

Demonymic use

See also

Notes

References

Literature

External links