[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Bosnian is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina,[14] alongside Croatian and Serbian, all of which are mutually intelligible.

[18] It is notable among the varieties of Serbo-Croatian for a number of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish loanwords,[b] largely due to the language's interaction with those cultures through Islamic ties.

[19][20][21] Bosnian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian, more specifically on Eastern Herzegovinian, which is also the basis of standard Croatian, Serbian and Montenegrin varieties.

[37] The same is the case in German-speaking countries, where the language is taught under the name Bosnisch, not Bosniakisch (e.g. Vienna,[38] Graz,[39] Trier)[40] with very few exceptions.

[46] The original text of the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was agreed in Vienna and was signed by Krešimir Zubak and Haris Silajdžić on March 18, 1994.

[47] The constitution of Republika Srpska, the Serb-dominated entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, did not recognize any language or ethnic group other than Serbian.

"[69] The Bosnian language, as a new normative register of the Shtokavian dialect, was officially introduced in 1996 with the publication of Pravopis bosanskog jezika in Sarajevo.

[70][better source needed] 2018, in the new issue of Pravopis bosanskog jezika, words without "h" are accepted due to their prevalence in language practice.