Search

The paper examines the place of the Dictionary of the Serbian Language (Matica srpska, 2007/2011/2018) among the normative manuals that support Serbian literary and linguistic norm. In addition to orthography manuals (Pravopis srpskog jezika, Matica srpska, 2010) and grammar (Normativna gramatika, Piper et al.), it considers descriptive monolingual dictionaries of the literary/standard language, such as the six-volume dictionary MS/MH (1967–1976), and the one-volume Dictionary of the Serbian Language (MS, 2007/2011/2018). For the purposes of the paper, several dictionary determinants/lemmas were selected in the dictionary article which include grammemes and grammatical characteristics that are part of the literary-linguistic norm, namely gender, number, morphological and morphonological forms, etc. The aim of the research was to determine which grammatical features are highlighted in the Dictionary of the Serbian Language and whether they are aligned with the grammar and orthography norms, and how these features can be pointed out in the teaching of the Serbian language at the school and university level.

The paper looks at the status of speech culture instruction in the lower grades of elementary school. Given that some teaching content related to speech culture is aimed at adoption and development of speech culture, the main goal of this paper is to determine the level of representation of this language area in grammar textbooks for elementary school that are currently in use. It was therefore necessary to identify when exactly pupils encounter this type of content for the first time, how this teaching segment is approached in grammar textbooks and reference books for elementary school, and how this area is treated in the classroom, namely, what exercises and tasks are used to improve pupils’ communication skills from the perspective of speech culture. The author of the paper analyzed Serbian language textbooks for the lower grades of elementary school and selected the teaching units and exercises related to speech culture, including proper pronunciation, accent, and intonation. It was important to establish the level of representation of these areas in the textbooks, given that phonetics and accentology are taught in the higher grades, while intonation is not covered at all. Different exercises can be used to develop speech culture of pupils in the lower grades of elementary school. Bearing this in mind, the author, relying on the research and relevant literature, offers a possible solution for teaching speech culture.

The orthographic norm specifies that Roman numerals (numbers) are used to denote ordinal numbers and represent a semantic equivalent to Arabic numerals with a full-stop, or ordinal numbers, as a numerical type, and therefore, with Roman numerals, the full-stop is not written (for example, XLVI FEST = 46 FEST). Bearing this in mind, the authors highlighted the importance of Roman numerals in the system of numerical types in the relevant orthography and grammar handbooks (from Belić's and Matica's orthography handbooks to Normative Grammar) and offered solutions that would regulate their normative status and place in the orthography and grammar of the Serbian Language. The paper analyzes the results obtained from the candidates at the entrance exam at the Teacher Education Faculty in Belgrade in 2017 on the tasks related to the knowledge of Roman numerals. The sample consisted of 405 candidates from both departments. The results of the research show that the knowledge that students acquire in the instruction of orthography is insufficient to clearly distinguish the functional marking of Roman numerals (on one hand, as linguistic, and on the other, as mathematical symbols). The results indicate the need for a systematic processing of Roman numerals within ordinal numbers (as one of the alternative solutions for their expression, in addition to the numerical word and Arabic numerals with a full-stop).