Serbo-Croatian

Serbo-Croatian language on the Balkan peninsula, in 2005
Different dialects
Street sign in Dalj, Croatia, showing road names in Latin and Cyrillic

Serbo-Croatian is the name of a South Slavic language, which is spoken in modern-day Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, it has been divided into four variants. The variants of this language are all based on a single dialect, Shtokavian. Speakers of these variants all understand each other.

History

Between 1954 and 1992, it was one of the official languages of Yugoslavia (the others were Slovenian and Macedonian). The term Serbo-Croatian was first used in the 1830s. Today, people often speak about Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin languages. Research has also shown that what is called Serbo-Croatian language, is in fact a number of slightly different sub-dialects. People speaking one of the dialects easily understand other people speaking a different dialect. People in Croatia use the Latin alphabet to write the language, while people in other parts use both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.

Comparison of Serbo-Croatian languages

English Croatian Bosnian Serbian
January siječanj januar
February veljača februar
March ožujak mart
April travanj april
May svibanj maj
June lipanj juni jun
July srpanj juli jul
August kolovoz august avgust
September rujan septembar
October listopad oktobar
November studeni novembar
December prosinac decembar

Serbo-Croatian Media

References