Cryptoglossia as part of linguistic practice of the slavophone population of Kosovo and Metohija

Due to frequent interethnic crises, territory occupations and other similar life circumstances, the Slavic population of Kosovo and Metohija, particularly the Serbs, have been too often forced to disquise their linguistic and national identities. In terms of its range of practice and of aspects of manifestation, this phenomenon, here referred to by the term cryptoglossia, was especially evident in the early post-conflict period at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. The paper discusses the causes, different aspects of manifestation, and consequences of the phenomenon, illustrating them with a number of examples taken from our study material.