That's a good tip because it is in fact the same language with various dialect and naming differences, similar to the many flavors of English we have today or different variants of German. Montenegrian is the latest addition to the family.
However, everyone I know has a common understanding about this, so I'm not sure who would be reluctant to admit that it is the same language... outside of the very few extremist groups of course :)
Oh definitely. They're pretty few and far between, too. I actually usually say that I'm learning "Yugoslavian" -- not as a callback to the country, but to the whole region. There are definitely slight differences, but they're all very similar languages, and looking into resources for all of them will be a great way to get an awesome view of the rich and diverse culture of the Balkan peninsula.
However, everyone I know has a common understanding about this, so I'm not sure who would be reluctant to admit that it is the same language... outside of the very few extremist groups of course :)