Montenegrin language
During the 2003 population census in Montenegro, the issue of the Montenegrin language was contentious and hotly debated. In March 2004, the Montenegrin education council proposed changing the official language of the republic from Serbian to "Maternji jezik" (mother tongue). The proposal caused outrage among ethnic Serbs, who saw it as an attempt by the Montenegrin government to marginalize aspects of Serbian identity. Jevrem Brković, president of the Doclean Academy of Sciences and Arts, hailed attempts to change the name of the language as a "transitional phase to the establishment of the Montenegrin language in the constitution of the republic".