REFLECTING THE ATTITUDES ABOUT THE SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTION OF ACADEMICIAN VOJISLAV P. NIKČEVIĆ
Authors:   Institut za crnogorski jezik i jezikoslovlje „Vojislav P. Nikčević“, ĐUROVIĆ L. Žarko 
Published: December 2024

The modern meaning of linguistic and literal science in Montenegro comes from the pioneer’s works of academic Vojislav P. Nikcevic, who made in period from 1965. to 2007., not only its basis, but also made a radically changed scientific system which, by its value exceeds the reaches of traditional Serbian linguistics. The radical changes in meanings of linguistics and separation from Serbian traditional linguistic and literal meanings provoked a strong opposition, because they change the rudiments of Serbian statements that the stocavian diasystem is the one language into which all other related languages exist as a part. In other words, the main conception of traditional Serbian linguistics forced the statement that there is only one standard “Serbian” language as a south Slav stokavian language, which led to a linguistic unitary, or denationalisation and assimilation of the Montenegrin, Bosnian and Croatian stocavian language from the most spread hegemony (“Serbian”) official language.
Nikcevic presents many scientific evidences which show his conception that the stocavian diasystem exists as s part of south Slav linguistic system, together with chacavian, kaicavian and torlac dialect system, but it is more important because it is the most spread, more than all these three together. Checking and putting on analytic and critic test the whole linguistic doctrine whose aim was to make the Serbian all non-Serbians, Nikcevic came to the evidence that the nominal and crucial existence of the Bosnian, Montenegrin, Croatian and Serbian standard languages in middle Slav linguistic system, even in stocavian diasystem, is a linguistic reality. Thus, his scientific attitude opposes to the main Serbian nationalistic ideology in science which the national and standard languages: Bosnian, Montenegrin and Croatian treats as sub variants, that is, the dialects of unified “Serbian” language. Their wrong attitude is based on false theory : “one nation – one language”, as well as in their mistake that there is no a nation if there is no a separate language.
Academic Vojislav P. Nikcevic has cleared up by its works , one of the greatest mistakes from the past which treats the Montenegrins as Serbians, and their language as a part of “Serbian” or “Serbo-Croatian” language. His work was even harder, because of the ideological and political reasons he was lonely in his attitudes and opposed by lot of linguists, representatives and interpreters of the “official” philology. But, in spite of these, for him bad circumstances, Nikcevic has solved the opposite attitudes by scientific access from historical and modern aspects and proved the existence of the Montenegrin language, which, as a representative part of the Montenegrin national culture cannot be called by any other name. For that reason, his deed is of great, capital importance for whole Montenegrin culture which is in correspondence with authentic national tradition and has a continuity in ten centuries existence of the Montenegrin state. Reminding to the fact that the mother tongue is the safest guardian of tradition, Nikcevic studies in details the linguistic problems of stocavian diasystem and he treats the four languages: the Bosnian, Montenegrin, Croatian and Serbian as a separated national languages. As a part of that attitude, he supports the scientific concept of independent Montenegrin nation and Montenegrin language. Emphasizing the Montenegrin existence and independence, Nikcevic supports the idea of raising the Montenegrin language to the degree of the standard language. The Montenegrins are the independent, specific nations with their native language, not the part of the Serbian nation which use the Serbian language. That is not a politically motivated attitude, but the result of the long and persistent study of stocavian diasystem, especially of the Montenegrin language as a part of it. According to Nikcevic, the Montenegrin language is one of the most important characteristic of independent Montenegrin nation and state.
The Montenegrin language has a system of signs which represent the means of communication among people of the Montenegrin population. Thus, the Montenegrin language, by its name indicates to its ethnic origin. In the name of Montenegrin, there is the origin, ethnic name which indicates that it is the language of the Montenegrins in ethnic and geographical sense. Considering the fact that the Montenegrin language hasn’t been born or survived outside the ethnic limits, it cannot be called the Serbian (neither as a dialect, nor as language).
Referring to the literal language of the most important Montenegrin writers before Vuk’s period and in the transitional period, Nikcevic issued the rules and codification conforming to traditional norms and codification of the Montenegrin socio-cultural surroundings (“The Montenegrin Orthography”, Cetinje, 1997). The orthographic codification of the Montenegrin language provides its perspective and salvation of the Serbian standard hegemony language. Although, the 150 years of the Serbian force to the Montenegrin language put some traces on it (especially the ecavian pronunciation tried to annihilate the original Montenegrin ijecavian pronunciation), thanks to the deeds of Vojislav P. Nikcevic, there is a hope that the original Montenegrin linguistic culture in Montenegro will become lively again. In spite of the fact that the Serbians pronounced the deaf sentence to the Montenegrin language long ago.