Bunjevci

Bunjevci (Serbo-Croatian: Bunjevci / Буњевци, pronounced [bǔɲeːʋtsi, bǔː-]; singular masculine: Bunjevac / Буњевац, feminine: Bunjevka / Буњевка) are a South Slavic ethnocultural group, variously described as either a Croatian sub-ethnic group or a separate ethnic group, living mostly in the region of Bačka of northern Serbia; Bács-Kiskun County (particularly in Baja and surroundings) of southern Hungary; in Croatia (Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Lika-Senj County, Split-Dalmatia County, Osijek-Baranja County, Vukovar-Srijem County); and in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They originate from Western Herzegovina. As a result of the Ottoman conquest, some of them migrated to Dalmatia, from there to Lika and the Croatian Littoral, and in the 17th century to Bačka.

Those who emigrated to Bačka underwent an extensive process of integration and assimilation. In the 18th and 19th century they made up a significant part of the population of Bačka. The government of Hungary considers the Bunjevac community to be part of the Croatian minority.

Bunjevci in Serbia and Hungary are split between those who see themselves as a Croatian sub-ethnic group (bunjevački Hrvati) and those who identify themselves as a distinct ethnic group with their own language. The latter are represented in Serbia by the Bunjevac National Council, and the former by the Croat National Council.

Bunjevci are mainly Catholic and the majority still speaks neo-Shtokavian Younger Ikavian dialect of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language with certain archaic characteristics. Within the Bunjevac community and between Serbia and Croatia, there is an unresolved political identity conflict regarding ethnicity of Bunjevci and an ongoing language battle over the status of the Bunjevac speech as well.