This article was initially revealed at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Robert Greenberg, Dean of Arts, University of Auckland
The world was excited by the information final week that NASA’s Perseverance rover had successfully landed in a Martian crater. The rover will now set about gathering samples from what scientists say was an historic lake fed by a river. The identify of this unique Martian crater is Jezero.
As a South Slavic linguist, I instantly recognised the phrase. In a number of former Yugoslav nations, together with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, “jezero” (pronounced “yeh-zeh-ro,” with the stress on the primary syllable) means lake. Fair sufficient — however why a Balkan lake on Mars?
The activity of offering names for locations of curiosity on Mars falls to the International Astronomical Union (IAU). They apparently named the Martian crater Jezero in 2007, nicely earlier than earthlings had paid any consideration.
I later found the identify was not, actually, supposed merely as a generic “lake,” however refers to a particular village referred to as Jezero. With a inhabitants round 500, it’s situated in western Republika Srpska, the Serb-dominated a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It may be very close to a river-fed lake referred to as Veliko Plivsko Jezero, or Great Plivsko Lake.
Famous on Mars
According to the Balkan Insight information service, the mayor of Jezero first discovered of NASA’s plans in a letter from the US ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina, informing her the village and its identify had been to be honored by the spacecraft touchdown within the Jezero crater.
The villagers apparently first dismissed this as fake news. But, to their later amazement, folks everywhere in the world have now been studying to pronounce Jezero correctly.
The touchdown was broadcast stay on the village’s solely college, with the Balkan Insight reporter describing the villagers as “star-struck” and justifiably pleased with their connection to the mission.
There was additionally cautious optimism in regards to the prosperity which may circulation from vacationers discovering their sleepy hamlet (no less than after the pandemic). Famous on Mars, may Jezero be celebrated on Earth as nicely?
Earthly tensions
The various to be averted, one hopes, is {that a} minor Balkan battle breaks out over language and designated names. Every one of many former Yugoslav nations can declare the phrase “jezero” of their respective dictionaries. And any traveller to the Balkans is aware of the area is wealthy with lakes.
But just one village carries this generic phrase as its identify. Was it politically advisable for one village within the Serb-dominated entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be singled out? For many, this a part of the nation remains to be related to the nationalism and ethnic cleaning of the Bosnian war within the Nineties.
Read extra: ‘7 minutes of terror’: a look at the technology Perseverance will need to survive landing on Mars
How would the members of different communities within the nation — Bosniaks (the nation’s Muslim inhabitants) and Croats — reply? Could they assist the Serbs of Jezero receiving such constructive media protection?
As my e-book in regards to the break-up of the Serbo-Croatian language explored, language rifts within the Balkans are endemic and have lengthy been each a symptom of ethnic animosity and a trigger for inflaming it.
Will folks quibble over whether or not the crater is called for the village or for its close by lake, or any lake inside the area? Or ought to all who say “jezero” really feel proud the phrase is now within the international lexicon?
Space and time
During the time of Tito’s rule in Yugoslavia, such issues wouldn’t have been as contentious, since many individuals believed the dominant frequent language of the nation was Serbo-Croatian.
Ethno-nationalism was forbidden and other people largely obtained alongside. However, for the reason that violent break-up of Yugoslavia, folks within the newly unbiased states now communicate separate languages: Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian.
Read extra: Remembering Srebrenica, more than 20 years on
Over the years, audio system of the 4 languages have slowly drifted aside, however all of them agree a lake known as “jezero”. Further issues come up with peoples and governments even additional afield. The Slovenes and Czechs additionally say “jezero,” and the Macedonian and Bulgarian type is the virtually equivalent “ezero”.
Any similarity between the panorama round Jezero in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the crater with the identical identify on Mars might finish with the identify. And I doubt the scientists at NASA or the IAU ever thought-about the potential implications of utilizing a typical phrase shared by so many countries to call an essential website on Mars.
But, as we all know, phrases have energy. It can be a disgrace if a distant, silent crater on one other planet precipitated envy and resentment right here on Earth. So far, nevertheless, the political scenario within the Balkans stays virtually as calm as that on Mars, and that’s trigger for hope.
This article is republished from The Conversation underneath a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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