Breakdown of To je biologija, odnosno znanost o životu.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
to
that
život
life
o
about / on (dependent on)
Questions & Answers about To je biologija, odnosno znanost o životu.
How is odnosno different from just using ili (or) in this sentence?
While both can sometimes translate as 'or', odnosno is used specifically for clarification, meaning 'that is to say' or 'in other words'. If you used ili, it might sound like you are offering a choice between two completely different things. Odnosno makes it crystal clear that znanost o životu is just the definition of biologija.
Why does the Croatian sentence use o životu (about life) instead of using the genitive case for 'of life'?
In Croatian, fields of study or discussions about a topic typically use the preposition o plus the locative case. While English says 'the science of life', Croatian literally says 'the science about life'. Using the genitive (znanost života) would sound strange here, as if life itself possesses the science.
Since biologija is a feminine noun, why does the sentence start with the neuter pronoun to?
When pointing out, introducing, or defining a concept, Croatian always uses the default neuter pronoun to (meaning 'that is' or 'this is'), regardless of the gender of the noun that follows. You would only use the feminine ona if biology had already been the active subject of the previous sentence.
Is the comma before odnosno strictly necessary here?
Yes. When odnosno is used to introduce an explanation, a correction, or an alternative name for the exact same thing, it acts as an apposition and must be preceded by a comma.