Ethnographic Research on Bosnia and Herzegovina

The following essay was written for my Communication Across Cultures course, where we had to select a non-English speaking country and interview a native speaker about their language and their cultural beliefs/traditions. I chose to write about Bosnia and Herzegovina, because of a close connection I have with a Bosnian-American. I was able to discover a lot about Bosnian culture as well as the similarities and differences between the English and Bosnian languages.

1.0: Introduction and Background

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a nation located in the Balkans, a peninsula in Southeastern Europe. It is neighbored by the countries of Croatia and Serbia, which make up the other two main constituent peoples of BiH. The population is just over 3.3 million, and while there is no national religion, over half the citizens declare themselves Muslim. The capital of this nation is the city of Sarajevo, which is located in the southeast central area of the country. BiH is often informally referred to as Bosnia (without mention of Herzegovina). As a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia, it is divided into two entities—The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and The Serbian Republic (Hadžiefendić). Though BiH did not gain independence until 1992, it has been a permanent settlement since the Neolithic period (10,000-4,500 B.C.E). Their history ranges back thousands of years, but perhaps the more recent events to tackle the nation such as the breakup of Yugoslavia (1941) and the Bosnian War (1992-1995) have had the greatest impact on their current culture and all it entails (Hadžiefendić). They have overcome extensive genocide and persecution, they were shaken by the loss of the Socialist Yugoslavia leader Josip Broz Tito (often simply referred to as Tito) who was widely loved, and still live in impoverished, post-war conditions. Many of the values and beliefs of this nation are shaped by this history, and it has greatly affected not only their verbal communication, but the nonverbal aspects of the culture as well; their conceptions and perceptions of time, space, and touch.

2.0: Values & Beliefs of the Culture

One of the largest belief systems in BiH is Islam, which is globally characterized as following the five pillars: 1) šehadet, ‘shehada’, or the declaration of the presence of God and the truth of Mohammed’s works, 2) namaz, ‘salat’, or the concept of prayer, 3) milostinja, ‘alms’, or giving to the poor and giving offerings, 4) sawm, ‘fasting’, which is the act of fasting during Ramadan, and 5) hadž,’hajj’, the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca (“Glosbe Dictionary…”). Though the religion has many more creeds and beliefs, these are the main ones to be followed by each believer. Besides religious beliefs, there are also superstitious beliefs. Promaja, or ‘draft’ (the phonetic spelling of the original European spelling ‘draught’) is a word carried by the belief that drafts caused by wind can cause serious health issues, such as inflammation of the brain, stiff muscles, a cold, and general numbness (Hadžiefendić). Women are not supposed to sit on concrete because the coldness of the ground will freeze the woman’s ovaries, preventing her from having children (Hadžiefendić). In general, every sickness has a cause and a homeopathic solution, such as socks to treat a cold, onions on the back to treat a pregnant woman’s pains, and hot tea for pretty much everything. Their attitudes towards people are often similar to other southern European countries, such as the ideal body having fair skin and a thin figure (Hadžiefendić). Additionally, while women can maintain a job as her husband does, her main role is still to provide for the family—cooking, cleaning, and other traditionally feminine roles. Because these were the roles in the Bosnian war, some families still strongly cling to them as it was only 20-30 years ago for them; however, some families have taken a more modern approach and more evenly divide the duties of the home (Hadžiefendić).

3.0: Verbal Communication

BiH is a high-context culture regarding their verbal communication, as everything they say is accompanied by referred and inferred knowledge shared between those communicating, which calls for the sender of a message obtaining knowledge on the receiver of said message. Though they are collectivistic, they do seem to maintain a self-enhancing nature in their communication. This can be seen in their impersonal expressions, such as the phrase “I’m cold” would be stated as “it’s cold to me”, or “I forgot” would be stated as “it forgot me” (“In Bosnia We Don’t). Self-enhancing language shapes not only their communication but reflects on their outlook on life and the effects it has on the individual. Their jokes, however, seem to be quite self-deprecating, poking fun at serious topics and major downfalls in one’s life, especially when talking about themselves (Hadžiefendić). There are some folkways present in their greetings and salutations, such as the differences in the non-Muslim and Muslim Bosniak greetings: where a non-Muslim might greet another non-Muslim with the formal Zdravo, ‘hello’, a Muslim will greet another Muslim with Merhaba, ‘welcome, I greet you as a friend,’ or even selam-alejkum, ‘peace be with you’ (Pricer). This is where verbal communication is high context because depending on who the recipient of the message is the greeting may change. Additionally, they have a very direct communication style, not relying on subtleties to portray their message. To an American citizen, their communication would seem very blunt by nature (Pricer).

4.0: Nonverbal Communication

As a high context culture, their verbal communication is inevitably accompanied by forms of nonverbal communication. Many rules and norms in BiH culture are nonverbal, such as the expectation of direct eye-contact in conversation (“Bosnian Culture…”). Another interesting form of nonverbal communication is their gesturing, as things like pointing are allowed but are preferably performed with the eyes and head instead of by use of an index finger. One trait similar to the neighboring countries of Croatia and Serbia is that waving is used often to show the sender acknowledges the present of the recipient, but it is not necessarily an action to beckon them over (Pricer). This type of hand signal would call for something different; once again, instead of using their index finger to gesture a friend over, the common hand motion is to scoop with the palm facing the ground, instead of palm-up like many other cultures. Many countries in this area of Europe, Bosnia not being the exception, seem to amplify their emotional state or exaggerate them, instead of concealing them like the people of the U.S (Hadžiefendić).

5.0: Chronemics

Perhaps one of the best ways to understand the concept of time in BiH is to observe a Bosnian person having coffee. In the U.S, a quick trip through the Starbucks drive-thru on the way to work is how we consume the caffeine whose job is to help us get through the rest of our days. In Bosnia, however, drinking coffee is a social event. Cafes in BiH are filled will customers who will sit and drink their coffee (more commonly espresso) for hours with their friends, and there is no rush (Pricer). Bosnia is purely nonageric, believing that humans have no control over time and should not treat it as if they can. Linguistically, this even results in a different verb tense—the aorist tense are verbs that do not happen in a specific time in the past and do not refer to any duration or whether or not the verb has met completion (Hadžiefendić). As a polychronic culture, the people are at the forefront of the Bosnian person’s agenda, and the task comes secondary. Plans can be made spontaneously, and even flexibly moved forward or back in time without any issue. Bosnians have a very relaxed view of time, allowing people to be late to events or for the events to run past their end time. This is all the result of Bosnia being a collectivistic culture, as the effects of war and genocide have put relationships with friends, family, and chosen family as the only priority for the Bosnian people.

6.0: Proxemics and Haptics

Personal space is a less strict concept in BiH. People (including men) do not mind walking under the same umbrella, which is seen as awkward or intimate in other cultures (Hadžiefendić). Older, female family members can often hold the arms of younger family men, such as a grandmother and a grandson (Hadžiefendić). This is true of smaller cities like Tuzla, where Emil Hadžiefendić is from, but in places like the capital of Sarajevo, the people seem to want more space because they already are living on top of each other, so there is a greater concept of personal space (Hadžiefendić). In southeastern Europe, it is common for the nations to have some form of a dance performed in a circle, and in BiH this is called the Kolo dance. In order to perform the dance, the members must either hold each other’s waists or hold hands, showing a closeness in both space and touch even in their more extravagant activities (Pricer). In places like public transport, Bosnians do not shy away from sitting close to each other, as keeping too much of a distance from someone is a nonverbal statement of a lack of trust. Normally, touch is reserved between friends and family, and public displays of affection is not only accepted but almost seems to be encouraged, less so in the larger cities (“Bosnian Culture…”).

7.0: Conclusion

Overall, this country has a refreshing take on communication and relationships. BiH has a completely different concept of time and relationships than what can be seen of the U.S, and is possibly a result of their long, painstaking history of war and loss. They are collectivistic, high-context, and polychromic in relation to values, communication, and chronemics, respectively. They have values and beliefs that are largely based on Muslim tradition and values, yet there is a plethora of superstitions that also affect the daily life of a Bosnian. Their communication style is generally self-enhancing, while their style of humor does rely on a more self-effacing, even self-deprecating approach. There are nonverbal forms of communication that can be found in the U.S as well, such as direct eye contact, but some that are less familiar, such as sitting close to people on public transportation as a sign of trust. Their concept of time is highly relaxed due to the emphasis on relationships and enjoyment over tasks. They are close to each other physically and metaphorically, despite the idea of personal space, and touch is a sign of love and respect.

8.0: Works Cited

Hadžiefendić, Emil. Personal Interview. 10 March 2021.

Pricer, Džejlan. Personal Interview. 12 February 2021.

In Bosnia We Don’t Say [@inbosniawedont]. Textpost. Instagram, 4 Mar. 2021, https://www.instagram.com/p/CMA2-kkj-69/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

"Bosnian Culture - Communication". Cultural Atlas, 2021, https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/bosnian-culture/bosnian-culture-communication. Accessed 12 Mar 2021.

"Glosbe Dictionary - All Languages Of The World In One Place". Glosbe.Com, 2021, https://glosbe.com/. Accessed 12 Mar 2021.