Language as a weapon

In times of war, language can not only be used for propaganda purposes but also as a way of brutally expressing the conflict and the side you are on.

During the Bosnian War of 1992-95, there was a cafe in an area of Bosnia and Herzegovina that was controlled by Croatians. On the menu, not surprisingly, was coffee. But how the cafe sold their coffee depended on how you pronounced coffee and, by extension, the identity of the customer. 

Kava, the Croatian word for coffee used by Croatian Catholics, was sold for 1 Deutsche Mark. Kafa, the Serbian word for coffee used Serbian Orthodox Christians, was not available for sale. Kahva, the Bosnian word for coffee used by Bosnian Muslims, cost the customer a ‘bullet in the head’.