Dragan Stanić, President of Matica Srpska, said that throughout its two centuries of existence, that institution has been fortifying Serbian identity—and by extension, the Serbian ethnic space—through culture. He also noted the existence of various projects and a high level of mutual understanding with the Republic of Srpska.

– The Republic of Srpska is not diaspora. These are traditional Serb habitats, and we regard BiH—or rather, the Republic of Srpska—as Serbian land. The same applies to Montenegro. How things are going to unfold in a political or state-level sense is not our primary concern – Stanić said.

He noted that Matica Srpska focused mainly on the sphere of culture and where a clear cultural self-awareness existed, which was the foundation for its activities and for cooperation with everyone who cared about Serbian culture. – The main effect of what Matica Srpska has been doing is fortification of our identity—and consequently our ethnic space—through culture. We thus fortify also our survival—specifically, the dignified survival of the entire Serbian people, wherever they may be – stated Stanić. Regarding cooperation between the Republic of Srpska and Serbia, Stanić says that there are no obstacles there, and hopes this will remain the case, serving as a foundation for prudent action over the long term.

BOTH EKAVIAN AND IJEKAVIAN ARE SERBIAN IN ORIGIN

He noted the existence of various projects with the Republic of Srpska and that Matica had published basic manuals for the standardization of the Serbian language, making them easier for Ijekavian speakers of Serbian to use. Stanić says that, when proposing this idea, he was mindful of the need to nurture both Ekavian and Ijekavian as the two standard pronunciations of Serbian. – We published those books /manuals/ because we must nurture both Ekavian and Ijekavian as the two Serbian pronunciations; they are, first and foremost, Serbian in origin. They might conceivably belong to others as well, but they are primarily Serbian in origin – Stanić said. Stanić also noted the contribution of Mlađen Cicović, Head of the Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Serbia, to completing the publication of the manuals.

LARGE SERBIAN LANGUAGE STANDARDIZATION PROJECTS

As Matica Srpska’s most significant projects, he listed projects related to standardizing the Serbian language, drafting orthography manual, prescriptive grammar, and a single-volume dictionary of the Serbian language, as well as plans for various other Serbian dictionaries yet to be produced. He also notes the importance of developing encyclopaedics, where major tasks still lie ahead, and that Matica is implementing projects such as the Serbian Biographical Dictionary and, in collaboration with the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Textbook Institute, is implementing the important Serbian Encyclopedia project. Matica, he says, has published a number of other encyclopedic editions, such as the Lexicon of Writers of Serbian Literature, whose first volume has already been released, and work on the second is nearing completion. Stanić stated that the Lexicon of Serbian Chess has been published and that the Lexicon of the Serbian Diaspora—focusing primarily on its creative potential—is currently being prepared. He also said that Matica’s Publishing Center had completed the major project titled Ten Centuries of Serbian Literature.

SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH SERBIAN COMMUNITY IN BUDAPEST

There are celebrations throughout this year marking the anniversary – bicentennial of Matica Srpska, says Stanić. One was held also over the weekend in Budapest, which is of special significance, as it is in Pest that this institution was founded, giving rise to fostering a unique relationship with the local Serbian community. Stanić noted that the jubilee had already been celebrated in some cities of the Republic of Srpska, such as Banja Luka, and that events marking the occasion would also be organized in Montenegro, Romania, and other locations across the Serbian cultural space.

Source: RTRS – SRNA

Photo: Matica Srpska Library/bms.rs