This is the first multiple comparative and comprehensive research on spelling reform/change phenomena that integrated top-down (methodology of orthographic codification, language policy actors, language legislation) and bottom-up analysis (speakers' attitudes and beliefs) of the South Slavonic standard languages in Europe.
A considerable amount of data was collected during the project. Besides 1672 press clip media articles and 1246 photos of archival documents, the project resulted in one of the largest data sets of speakers’ attitudes and beliefs on language identity and its sociopolitical context in sociolinguistics. A 2022 survey of 2000 participants in four countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia), matched to country census quotas on five demographic criteria, collected data sets that are more representative and robust than the current state of the art in sociolinguistic survey research, invaluable not just for sociolinguists, but also for language anthropologists, sociologists, and other scholars.
The main research results were presented in two journal paper manuscripts. It was shown that the likelihood of spelling-change conflicts is low in a society in which spelling is not strongly linked with national language ideology or where national language identity is not endangered, in which spelling standardization is conducted in a socially responsible way; and in which the acceptance of specific spelling changes (such as spelling variants without national language symbolism) does not pose any threat to a speaker. Furthermore, the analysis of four Serbian language policy actions (2021-2022), which have caused significant international repercussions among the post-Yugoslav countries, revealed a new role of the public in language policy actions. An observed discrepancy between speakers’ views and language policy ideas, represented in Serbian language declarations, demonstrated a novel method of shaping public opinion with greater national-political aspirations.
One of the particularly noteworthy project exploitation activities was the task of co-drafting the Croatian Language Act, commissioned on 10 January 2022 by the Presidency of Matica hrvatska, the oldest cultural and publishing society in Croatia, which is expected to be a new language legislation act in Croatia. Several SPELLFLICT research aspects were beneficial to this language policy objective, such as the methodology and social responsibility of spelling standardization, presented in one of the journal article manuscripts.
The dissemination activities are very rich. Some of them are: two conference presentations, the teaching of three language modules at the University of Nottingham, two invited lectures, three interviews, one project video pitch, three press statements, three round table presentations and panel discussion talks, the organization and moderation of two panel discussions, six essays/columns, and organization and co-authoring of one Open Letter which was signed by 30 members of the Croatian academic community from Croatia and abroad.
