„Što južnije, to tužnije”: Linguicism as a Manifestation of ‘Ethnopsychological’ Prejudices and (Un)Conscious Language Discrimination

Abstract

This paper examines the implicit survival of core concepts from the outdated discipline of ethnopsychology such as national character and mentality in shaping negative prejudices and (auto)stereotypes toward speakers from the Prizren-Timok dialect area. It also explores the emergence of linguicism as a discourse of linguistic power exercised by the speakers of Neo-Štokavian dialects which form the foundation of the Serbian standard language. The authors address intra-linguistic linguicism not only in everyday attitudes but also within academic and institutional settings responsible for shaping Serbian language, education, and scientific policy. They argue that there is insufficient awareness in the Serbian academic community of the complex relationship between language policy, standardization, and the status of both the standard variety and regional dialects. This gap has led to cases of discrimination against Balkanized dialects and their speakers even when individuals have mastered the standard language. Discrimination often arises from identifiable dialectal features or simply from regional origin. The paper calls for greater efforts in Serbia’s educational system to challenge harmful stereotypes and promote the preservation of Prizren-Timok dialects.These dialects are crucial to the ethnic and cultural identity of their speakers and represent a living tradition and valuable resource for linguistic research, especially in dialectology, historical linguistics, and etymology.