NACIONALNA ORIJENTACIJA ALIJE NAMETKA I NJENA REFLEKSIJA NA NAMETKOV ODNOS PREMA JEZIKU

Abstract

The purpose of the current paper was to investigate in detail Alija Nametak’s (1906–1987) national orientation expressed in his literary works, and to analyze the circumstances leading to such an orientation as well as its reflection on Nametak’s attitude toward language, particularly with regard to his nomination of language and attitude toward language variations. The research encomapasses the author’s literary works, on the basis of which the corpus comprising texts of different stylistic affiliation was made. The following research methods were used: a descriptive method, a method of content analysis and a method of comparative analysis of texts by Nametak. It is concluded that Nametak’s pro-Croat orientation was a result of the socio-political situation of the time, while on the other hand, his association with Bosnia, with the Muslim cultural circle and Islam present the main determinants of his real identity, of which he was profoundly aware, but which due to the socio-political context was not possible to embrace by a Bosniak national name. It is also concluded that in the use of language variations Nametak did not consistently opt for the west (Croatian) variant forms (although the pro-Croat national orientation and language nomination using the attribute Croatian bound him to be more open toward linguistic varieties considered Croatian compared to those marked as Serbian), but in many cases he gave preference to the forms common in the standard language in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time. Some forms (such as the pronoun who), which Nametak over time accepted as a feature of his idiom, are now seen as marked in his language, since they do not present commonly used language forms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.