Communication in heroic decasyllable in contemporary Serbian language

The ?heroic decasyllable? (?epski deseterac?) has been a distinctive element of the Serbian traditional oral epics for centuries and is generally associated among South Slavic peoples with singing to the accompaniment of a traditional stringed instrument called gusle.1 Apart from its traditional usage, the heroic decasyllable has gained by today a new ground thanks to the Information and Communications Technology, widely spread usage of internet platforms and social networks for interpersonal communication and communication among social groups. Our aim is to present and discuss the complexity of contemporary phenomena related to the communication in heroic decasyllable among the modern populations of Serbia and Montenegro, and to analyze the interrelation of this linguistic tool of expression with the variety of thematic fields which are dominantly covered when this register is used. Finally, these phenomena are observed from the pragmatic perspective in order to point out the key functions of the current communication in heroic decasyllable in Serbian language.