VCE Bosnian flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Bosnian alphabet size

The Bosnian Latin alphabet (Gajica) has 30 letters. It includes the digraphs dž, lj and nj, and letters č, ć, š and ž, each counted as one letter.

Phonemic orthography

Bosnian spelling is phonemic: each letter corresponds to one sound and words are written as pronounced. Voicing changes are reflected, e.g. 'grad' becomes 'grat' in derived forms.

Syllabic r

In Bosnian the consonant r can form a syllable by itself, as in 'prst' (finger), 'krv' (blood) and 'trg' (square). No vowel is needed for these syllables.

Three grammatical genders

Bosnian nouns belong to masculine, feminine or neuter gender. Gender controls adjective agreement and participle endings, e.g. 'dobаr dan', 'dobra knjiga', 'dobro jutro'.

Dual remnants

Bosnian has singular and plural, but traces of the old dual survive in paired body parts and fixed expressions such as 'oči' (eyes), 'ruke' (hands) and 'uši' (ears).

Seven cases

Bosnian nouns and adjectives inflect for seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, instrumental and locative. Each case is used for specific grammatical roles.

Genitive after prepositions

The genitive follows many prepositions, including 'iz', 'od', 'do', 'bez' and 'kod'. It also marks possession and quantity, e.g. 'čaša vode' (a glass of water).

Locative vs accusative with u

With 'u', the locative marks location ('u kući', in the house) and the accusative marks direction ('u kuću', into the house). This pattern also applies to 'na'.

Verb aspect pairs

Bosnian verbs come in imperfective/perfective pairs: 'pisati' (to write, ongoing) vs 'napisati' (to finish writing). Aspect marks completion or repetition, not time.

Present tense endings

Present-tense endings are -m, -š, -mo, -te and -ju or -e, depending on the verb class, e.g. 'radim, radiš, radi, radimo, radite, rade'.

Clitic second position

Short forms such as 'sam', 'je', 'se', 'mi', 'li' are clitics. They occupy the second position in the clause, after the first stressed word or phrase.

Negation with ne

Verbs are negated by placing 'ne' before the verb, written as a separate word: 'ne znam', 'ne dolazi'. Double negatives are standard in Bosnian.

Question particle li

Yes/no questions are formed with the enclitic 'li' in second position: 'Govoriš li bosanski?' (Do you speak Bosnian?). Question words like 'šta' and 'gdje' stand first.

Nominative case use

The nominative is the dictionary form and the case of the sentence subject. It also appears after the copula 'biti' in predicate nominals, e.g. 'On je student'.

Vocative forms

The vocative addresses people directly. Masculine nouns often take -e or -u ('Marko' → 'Marko!', 'gospodine'), and feminine nouns take -o or -e ('Ano!', 'gospođo!').

Personal pronouns

Bosnian personal pronouns are 'ja, ti, on/ona/ono' in the singular and 'mi, vi, oni/one/ona' in the plural. Short clitic forms exist for genitive, dative and accusative.

Perfekt past tense

The past tense (perfekt) combines the clitic present of 'biti' with the past participle: 'čitao sam' (I read), 'čitale su' (they read). The participle agrees with the subject.

Future I formation

Future I uses the clitic present of 'htjeti' plus an infinitive or 'da' + present: 'ću doći' or 'doći ću' (I will come). The clitic comes in second position.

Future II formation

Future II uses 'budem, budeš, bude...' plus the past participle. It appears in subordinate clauses after 'ako', 'kad' or 'dok' for an action completed before another future action.

Imperfect tense

The imperfect is a literary past tense describing ongoing or repeated past background, e.g. 'govorah' (I was speaking). It is rare in everyday speech and mostly found in literature.

Aorist tense

The aorist is a literary past tense marking a single completed past event, e.g. 'rekoh' (I said). Like the imperfect, it belongs mainly to narrative and poetic style.

Conditional I

Conditional I is formed with 'bih, bi, bi, bismo, biste, bi' plus the past participle: 'došao bih' (I would come). It expresses wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations.

Conditional II

Conditional II combines 'bio bih' with the past participle, e.g. 'bio bih došao' (I would have come). It expresses unreal conditions in the past.

Imperative formation

The imperative uses second-person forms ending in -i or -j: 'čitaj' (read), 'radi' (work), 'dođi' (come). Plural forms add -te, e.g. 'čitajte'.

Reflexive se

The clitic 'se' marks reflexive and reciprocal actions and some passive-like meanings: 'kupam se' (I wash myself), 'vidimo se' (we see each other), 'prodaje se' (it is sold).

Verbal nouns in -nje

Verbal nouns end in -nje or -će and are neuter: 'čitanje' (reading), 'učenje' (learning), 'pevanje' (singing). They translate English gerunds and abstract nouns.

Aspect in commands

Positive commands often use perfective verbs ('sjedni', sit down), while negative commands usually use imperfective verbs ('ne sjedi'). Aspect therefore changes the tone of an instruction.

Reported speech

Reported speech typically uses 'da' plus a shifted tense: 'Rekao je da dolazi' (He said he was coming). The conjunction 'da' introduces the subordinate clause.

Relative pronoun koji

The relative pronoun 'koji' agrees in gender, number and case with its antecedent and introduces relative clauses, e.g. 'knjiga koju čitam' (the book that I am reading).

Deseterac epic metre

The deseterac is a ten-syllable line used in Bosnian oral epic poetry, performed with the gusle. It is a central form of the oral tradition.

Sevdalinka

The sevdalinka is a traditional Bosnian urban love song, known for slow, melismatic melody and emotional lyrics. It is a recognised marker of Bosnian cultural identity.

Ivo Andrić

Ivo Andrić (1892-1975) was a Bosnian-born writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His best-known work is 'Na Drini ćuprija' (The Bridge on the Drina).

Meša Selimović

Meša Selimović (1910-1982) was a Bosnian writer best known for 'Derviš i smrt' (Death and the Dervish). His novels explore identity, power and moral conflict.