Sustainability of the Linguistic Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia Through the Process of Protection of Local Speeches as Intangible Cultural Assets

Sažetak

The paper will present the intangible linguistic cultural assets of the Republic of Croatia and their significance for the cultural identity of Croats and the Republic of Croatia as one of the si­gnatory countries to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Republic of Croatia appointed the Commission for Intangible Heritage in 2002, and since then it has been considering and improving the process of protection, preservation and popularization of intangible cultural heritage. The aim of this paper is to present the intangible linguistic heri­tage of the Republic of Croatia, cultural assets and consequently the impact and importance of the protected cultural heritage on the community after its inclusion on the list. At the same time, the aim of the paper is to provide an overview of linguistic heri­tage assets as a basis for preserving linguistic and cultural iden­tity. Speeches from Siče and Stari Perkovci will serve as basic and exemplary examples of protected intangible cultural assets. The paper will use the method of analysing and synthesizing the existing scientific material on linguistic heritage as well as the author’s field recordings of protected speeches.