As part of the “Želim više” educational camp, organized by the Pedagogical Institute of the Republic of Srpska and the University of Banja Luka, a workshop titled “The Language That Is Disappearing – Not While I’m Here!” was held. The workshop was conducted by Professor Marija Runić from the Faculty of Philology at the University of Banja Luka and Rossella Montibeler, expert collaborator in Italian language at the Faculty of Philology and secretary of the Stivor Italian Association. It brought together young high school students eager to learn and interested in languages, culture, and social issues, offering them a unique combination of theoretical knowledge and practical insight into linguistic research.
The workshop was clearly structured in three parts, gradually guiding participants from general concepts about language to practical examples of fieldwork in linguistics. In the first, introductory part, the discussion focused on languages in general, their diversity, and the richness that this diversity brings to humanity. Participants learned that there are several thousand languages in the world, but that many of them are currently endangered. Professor Runić emphasized that language is much more than a means of communication: it carries culture, collective memory, and the identity of a community. The disappearance of a language also means losing a unique worldview, a way of thinking, and a way of life.
The second part of the workshop was dedicated to the concept of national minorities, their position and role in society, with particular attention to the situation of national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants were introduced to what it means to belong to a minority group, what rights minorities have, and the challenges they face in everyday life, especially regarding the preservation of language and culture. Through conversation and discussion, students had the opportunity to understand the complexity of minority issues in a multicultural society like Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the final segment of this part, special focus was placed on the Italian national minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina, discussing its history, characteristics, and significance. This section was important because it provided a concrete example of how a small community can actively work to preserve its language and traditions.
The third and final part of the workshop was entirely devoted to the Stivor dialect and practical work with linguistic data. Participants had a unique opportunity to see how a linguistic researcher works in the field. Through concrete examples, they learned how linguistic data are collected, processed, and archived, and how important it is to document endangered dialects. Special interest was sparked by a visit to the Stivorling archive, where students could see real materials collected during research. In this way, theoretical knowledge gained a practical dimension, and participants gained insight into the seriousness and importance of linguistic research. They also had the chance to learn some Stivor words, such as “škanjelo”, to take home the story of how Italians in Prnjavor ate traditional cabbage and barley rolls at Christmas, and to discover how personal names and surnames have changed over time.
The workshop “The Language That Is Disappearing – Not While I’m Here!” left a strong impression on the participants, not only as an educational experience but also as an encouragement for personal responsibility. The message contained in the workshop’s title clearly emphasized that the fate of a language does not depend solely on institutions and experts, but also on each individual who chooses to use, transmit, and preserve it.
