ðɪs pɹˈɛvələns ʌvðɪ ˌɛsˈeɪtʃtəkˈeɪviən ɐmˌʌŋ ɹˈaɪɾɚz ænd pˈʌblɪk ˌɪntəlˈɛktʃuːəlz ʌv ðæt tˈaɪm, ɪspˈɛʃəli wˈʌnz bᵻlˈɔŋɪŋ tʊ ɪlˈɪɹiən mˈuːvmənt, wʌzðə mˈeɪn ɹˈiːzən dˈaɪəlɛkt pɹɪvˈeɪld æz ðə bˈeɪsɪs fɚðə dɪvˈɛləpmənt ʌv stˈændɚd lˈæŋɡwɪdʒ ɪn ˈɔːl ðə vˈɛɹiənts ʌv sˈɜːboʊkɹoʊˈeɪʃən, ˈaɪ.ˈiː. bˈɑːsniən, kɹoʊˈeɪʃən, mˈɔntənˌɛɡɹɪn ænd sˈɜːbiən.
This prevalence of the Shtokavian among writers and public intellectuals of that time, especially ones belonging to Illyrian movement, was the main reason dialect prevailed as the basis for the development of standard language in all the variants of Serbo-Croatian, i.e. Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian.