South Slavic languages is one of the three groups of Slavic languages (besides West and East Slavic). There are around 30 million speakers of these languages, mainly in the Balkans. The South Slavic languages are further subdivided into Eastern and Western groups. The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ... This article or section should be merged with List of West Slavic languages The West Slavic languages is a subdivision of the Slavic language group (q. ... This article or section should be merged with List of East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of south-eastern Europe. ...

German, Hungarian and Romanian form a belt that geographically separate the South Slavic languages from West and East Slavic languages.

Classification

• Indo-European languages
  • Satem
    • Balto-Slavic
      • Slavic languages
        • South Slavic languages
          • East
            • Bulgarian language
            • Macedonian language
            • Old Church Slavonic (ancient language used in traditional liturgy and religious texts)
              • Church Slavonic
          • Transitional
            • Torlakian^2,7,11
          • West
            • Central (or East-West) South Slavic diasystem or Serbo-Croatian diasystem¹
              • Shtokavian^3,8,11,12,13
                • Serbian standard language^4,6
                  • Ekavian standard
                  • Iyekavian standard
                • Bosnian standard language^4,6
                • Croatian standard language⁴
                • Molise Slavic language¹⁰
                • Serbo-Croatian standard language^4,6,11
                  • Eastern (Serbian) Ekavian standard
                  • Eastern (Serbian) Iyekavian standard
                  • Western (Croatian) Iyekavian standard
              • Chakavian^3,9,12
                • Burgenland Croatian language¹⁴
              • Kajkavian^5,9,12
            • Slovene language⁵

1. Traditional naming of diasystem is Serbo-Croatian; today Croatian and Serbian linguists are trying to avoid the term "Serbo-Croatian".
2. Torlakian can be treated as the part of East South Slavic languages.
3. Shtokavian and Chakavian optionally can be grouped as Central South Slavic languages.
4. Note that Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian are still sometimes grouped as Serbo-Croatian.
5. If Shtokavian and Chakavian are grouped as Central South Slavic languages, then Kajkavian and Slovene may be grouped as Western South Slavic languages.
6. Standard languages are written in two alphabets: Cyrillic and Latin.
7. (Almost) all of speakers of this dialect are ethnic Serbs.
8. (Almost) all of speakers of this dialect are ethnic Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Croats and Serbs.
9. (Almost) all of speakers of this dialect are ethnic Croats.
10. Molise Slavic language is not based on Ekavian nor Iyekavian dialects, but on Ikavian. This language is spoken in Italy, not in Balkans.
11. Serbo-Croatian language was official language in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It had four official names: Serbo-Croatian, Croato-Serbian, Croatian or Serbian and Serbian or Croatian (Serbian linguists preferred the first two names, Croatian linguists preferred the second two names). After the end of Socialst Yugoslavia, Serbo-Croatian language doesn't have any official political support (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina nor Croatia don't recognize it). But, some people still say that they speak Serbo-Croatian (not Serbian, not Croatian, not Bosnian, not Montenegrin).
12. Torlakian and the part of Shtokavian now belong to Serbian diasystem.
13. Kaykavian, Chakavian and the part of Shtokavian now belong to Croatian diasystem.
14. The part of Shtokavian now belong to Bosnian diasystem.
15. Burgenland Croatian is spoken in Austria, not in Balkans.

The Indo-European languages include some 443 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects, including most of the major language families of Europe, as well as many languages of Southwest and South Asia, which belong to a single superfamily. ... The Satem division of the Indo-European family includes the following branches: Indo-Iranian, Baltic and Slavic, Armenian, Albanian, perhaps also a number of barely documented extinct languages, such as Phrygian, Thracian, and Dacian (see: Indo-European languages). ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Balto-Slavic languages are an Indo-European language family, consisting of the (possibly genetically related) Baltic languages and Slavic languages. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ... Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Southern branch of the Slavic languages. ... The Macedonian language (Македонски, Makedonski) is a language in the Eastern group of South Slavic languages and is the official language of the Republic of Macedonia. ... Old Church Slavonic (also called Old Church Slavic, Old Bulgarian, Old Macedonian, and inaccurately Old Slavic) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavic dialect of Solun (Thessaloniki) by 9th century Byzantine missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. ... Church Slavonic may refer to: Old Church Slavonic language Church Slavonic language This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Torlakian is the name used for the dialects spoken in Southern and Eastern Serbia (Serbia and Montenegro), North-west Macedonia and North-Eastern Bulgaria. ... Shtokavian (Štokavian, štokavski) is the primary dialect of the Central South Slavic languages system, Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... The Bosnian language (bosanski jezik) is one of the standard versions of the Central-South Slavic diasystem, based on the Å tokavian dialect. ... The Croatian language is a language of the western group of South Slavic languages which is used primarily by the Croats. ... Molise Slavic language is actually a distinct dialect of Croatian language spoken in the Molise region in Italy. ... Serbo-Croatian (srpskohrvatski or hrvatskosrpski) is a name for a language of the Western group of the South Slavic languages. ... Chakavian (Čakavian, čakavski) dialect is one of the three dialects of Croatian language. ... Kajkavian (kajkavski) dialect is one of the three dialects of Croatian language. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... ... Bosniaks (Bosnian: BoÅ¡njaci) are a South Slavic people living chiefly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sandžak region of Serbia and Montenegro. ... Montenegrins are South Slavic people who are primarily associated with the republic of Montenegro, a joint partner of the Serbia and Montenegro country. ... Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a south Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ... ... Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a south Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of south-eastern Europe. ... Official language none (1963–1974: Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, Croato-Serbian, Slovenian) Capital Belgrade Largest city Belgrade Area (1991)  - Total  - % water Ranked xxst 255,804 km² Negligible Population  - Total (2004)  - Density Ranked xxth 20,522,972 80/km² Currency Yugoslav dinar Time zone  - in summer CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2...

Eastern group of South Slavic languages

Bulgarian dialects

Main article: Bulgarian language Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Southern branch of the Slavic languages. ...

Macedonian dialects

Main article: Macedonian language The Macedonian language (Македонски, Makedonski) is a language in the Eastern group of South Slavic languages and is the official language of the Republic of Macedonia. ...

Torlakian dialects

Main article: Torlakian dialect Torlakian is the name used for the dialects spoken in Southern and Eastern Serbia (Serbia and Montenegro), Northwest Republic of Macedonia and Northeast Bulgaria. ...

There also exists a fourth dialect, called torlački or torlak, which is spoken in southern and eastern parts of Serbia, and it is often referred to as a transitional phase between Central and Eastern group of South Slavic languages. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

It is even thought to fit into the so-called Balkan Sprachbund, an area of linguistic convergence among languages due to long-term contact rather than being related. Balkan linguistic union or Balkan sprachbund is a name given to the similarities in grammar, syntax, vocabulary and phonology found in the languages of the Balkans. ... In the absence of a more specific context, convergence denotes the approach toward a definite value, as time goes on; or to a definite point, a common view or opinion, or toward a fixed or equilibrium state. ...

Central or Eastern Western group of South Slavic languages

History

Each of these primary and secondary dialectical units breaks down into subdialects and accents by region. In the past, it was not uncommon for individual villages to have some of their own words and phrases. However, throughout the twentieth century the various dialects have been strongly influenced by the Štokavian standards through mass media and public education, and much of the "local color" has been lost.

With the breakup of Yugoslavia, nationalism has also caused many, especially in Bosnia and Hercegovina, to modify their speech, or even attempt to change dialects entirely. The various wars have also caused mass migrations, and changed the ethnic makeup of some areas, especially in Bosnia, but also in Croatia and Serbia, especially in Vojvodina. In some areas it is unclear whether location or ethnicity is now the dominant factor in the dialect of the speaker. Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages, in Cyrillic Југославија) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ...

Because of these forces, the speech patterns of some communities and regions are in a state of flux, and it is difficult to determine which dialects will die out entirely. Further research over the next few decades will be necessary to determine the changes made in the dialectical distribution of the language.

Rendering of yat

The Proto-Slavic vowel jat has changed over time and is now being rendered in three different ways: Yat or Jat (, ) is the 32nd letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet and name of the sound represented by it. ... Yat or Jat (, ) is the 32nd letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet and name of the sound represented by it. ...

• In Ekavian (ekavski), jat has morphed into the vowel e.
• in Ikavian (ikavski), the vowel i.
• in Ijekavian or Jekavian (ijekavski or jekavski), the diphthong ie (written/pronounced as ije or je), depending on whether the vowel was long or short or what the dialect is: in Eastern Herzegovina, Northern Montenegro and Dubrovnik area long diphthong is pronounced as ije, but in Sarajevo or Zagreb, long diphthong is pronounced as je [where 'e' is long]). All standard languages follow pronounce from Eastern Herzegovina, Northern Montenegro and Dubrovnik.

The following are some examples: Herzegovina (natively Hercegovina/Херцеговина) is a historical region in the Dinaric Alps that composes the southern part of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Serbia and Montenegro  â€“ Serbia    â€“ Kosovo and Metohia        (UN administration)    â€“ Vojvodina  â€“ Montenegro Official language Serbian Capital Podgorica Former Royal Capital Cetinje President Filip Vujanović Prime Minister Milo Đukanović Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % water  13,812 km²  n/a Population  â€“ Total (2003)  â€“ Density  616,258  48. ... A view of Dubrovnik from the south Dubrovnik (Latin Ragusa) is an old city on the Adriatic Sea coast in the extreme south of Croatia, positioned at 42°39′N 18°04′E at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. ... Downtown Sarajevo and the Miljacka river. ... Zagreb (pronounced: ) is the capital city of Croatia. ...

The first two examples involve long vowels. For instance, the first e in vreme and the i in vrime are long, so the long diphthong ije is found in the Ijekavian form. In the third and fourth examples, the corresponding ekavian and ikavian vowels are short, so the short diphthong je is found in the Ijekavian form.

However, there are some cases where that pattern of correspondence is altered. The fifth example, selo, is there as an example of a word in which the e did not derive from jat, and hence the word is the same in all three dialects. In other cases, especially when the jat follows an r, Ijekavian also formed out an e, as we see in the sixth example, or an i as in the seventh example.

The example sentence in the following sections means approximately "What is, is; it's how it always was, what will be, will be, and it'll be somehow!"

Štokavian dialects and languages

Štokavian dialects

Main article: Štokavian dialect Shtokavian (Å tokavian, Å¡tokavski) is the primary dialect of the Central South Slavic languages system, Serbian, Bosnian, Zlatiborian, and Croatian. ...

The Štokavian dialect is spoken in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and the greater part of Croatia. The Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian standard languages are all based on the štokavian dialect. A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ...

The primary subdivisions of Štokavian are based on the different ways the jat vowel has been changed. There are other differences between the standard dialects, including vocabulary, some syntax, and orthography. See Differences in official languages in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia. The official languages in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro differ in various aspects as outlined below. ...

Example:

• Serbian
  • Ekavian
    • Cyrillic: Што јест, јест; тако је увек било, што ће бити, биће, а некако већ ће бити!
    • Latin: Što jest, jest; tako je uvek bilo, što će biti, biće, a nekako već će biti!
  • Iyekavian
    • Latin: Što jest, jest; tako je uvijek bilo, što će biti, biće, a nekako već će biti!
    • Cyrillic: Што јест, јест; тако је увијек било, што ће бити, биће, а некако већ ће бити!
• Croatian (Iyekavian, Latin): Što jest, jest; tako je uvijek bilo, što će biti, bit će, a nekako već će biti!
• Bosnian (Iyekavian):
  • Latin: Što jest, jest; tako je uvijek bilo, što će biti, bit će, a nekako već će biti!
  • Cyrillic: Што јест, јест; тако је увијек било, што ће бити, бит ће, а некако већ ће бити!

Note that all variants were correct in Serbo-Croatian standard language. The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian (srpskohrvatski or hrvatskosrpski), earlier also Serbo-Croat, was an official language of Yugoslavia (along with Slovenian and Macedonian). ...

Molise Croatian

Main article: Molise Slavic language Molise Slavic language is actually a distinct dialect of Croatian language spoken in the Molise region in Italy. ...

The so-called Molise Slavic language is a dialect spoken in three villages of the Italian region of Molise by the descendants of South Slavs who migrated there from the eastern Adriatic coast in the 15th century. Because these people have migrated away from the rest of their kinsmen so long ago, their diaspora language is rather distinct from the standard language, and rather influenced by Italian. Molise Slavic language is actually a distinct dialect of Croatian language spoken in the Molise region in Italy. ... Molise is a region of central Italy, the second smallest of the regions. ... A diaspora language is an evolution of the language originally used by a diaspora of a group of people or peoples. ...

In addition, they have not been influenced by romantic nationalism of the 19th century (unlike the people in Burgenland, who were separated but still within the same empire) so they have come to refer to their language merely as "Slavic". There has been some controversy as to whether they are Molise Croats or Molise Serbs. Currently they are generally considered to be Croatian rather than Serbian. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Molise Croats are Croatian subgroup, found in the Molise region of Italy. ... ...

Dialects and official languages

The Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian standard languages (as well as former Serbo-Croatian standard language) are all mainly based on the Štokavian dialect, although if they are considered as systems of dialects, one might observe that: A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ... Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian (srpskohrvatski or hrvatskosrpski), earlier also Serbo-Croat, was an official language of Yugoslavia (along with Slovenian and Macedonian). ...

• Serbian language is a system of two dialects: Štokavian and Torlakian.
• Croatian language is a system of three dialects: Čakavian, Štokavian and Kajkavian.
• Bosnian language is based solely on Štokavian dialect.
• Serbo-Croatian language was a system of four dialects: Kajkavian, Čakavian, Štokavian and Torlakian.

The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... The Croatian language is a language of the western group of South Slavic languages which is used primarily by the Croats. ... The Bosnian language (bosanski jezik) is one of the standard versions of the Central-South Slavic diasystem, based on the Å tokavian dialect. ... Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian (srpskohrvatski or hrvatskosrpski), earlier also Serbo-Croat, was an official language of Yugoslavia (along with Slovenian and Macedonian). ...

Čakavian dialects and languages

Čakavian dialects

Main article: Čakavian dialect Chakavian (Čakavian, čakavski) dialect is one of the three dialects of Croatian language. ...

Čakavian is spoken in the western and southern parts of Croatia, mainly in Istria and Dalmatia. The Čakavian renders jat as i as well as e, or even mixed Ekavian-Ikavian. Many dialects of Čakavian have a lot of loan words from Venetian and Italian. Istria (Istra, pronounced in Croatian and Slovenian; Istria, pronounced in Italian), is the biggest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. ... Dalmatia (Croatian Dalmacija, Italian Dalmazia) is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, (mostly) in modern Croatia, spreading between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. ... Venetian is a Romance language spoken by over two million people in and around Venice. ...

Example: Ča je, je, tako je navik bilo, ča će bit, će bit, a nekako već će bit!

Burgenland Croatian

This dialect is spoken primarily in the federal state of Burgenland in Austria, but also in nearby areas in Vienna, Slovakia, and Hungary by descendants of Croats who migrated there in the 16th century. This dialect or possibly family of dialects is quite different from standard Croatian. It has been heavily influenced by German and also Hungarian. In addition, it has some properties from all three of the major dialectical groups in Croatia, as the migrants did not all come from the same areas of Croatia. The "micro-literary" standard is based on a chakavian dialect, and, like all chakavian dialects, is characterized by very conservative grammatical structures: it preserves, prominently, case endings lost in the shtokavian base of standard Serbo-Croatian. Burgenland (Hungarian Őrvidék, Lajtabánság, Felsőőrvidék, Croatian Gradišće, Slovenian Gradiščansko) is the easternmost state or Land of Austria. ...

At most 100,000 people speak Burgenland Croatian and almost all are bilingual in German. Its future is uncertain, but there is some movement to preserve it. It has official status in six districts of Burgenland, and is used in some schools in Burgenland and neighboring western parts of Hungary.

Western group of South Slavic languages

Kajkavian dialects

Main article: Kajkavian dialect Kajkavian (kajkavski) dialect is one of the three dialects of Croatian language. ...

Kajkavian is mostly spoken in northern Croatia, in and around Zagreb and near the Hungarian and Slovenian borders. It renders jat mostly as e, but note that this rendering cannot be equated to that of the ekavian štokavian dialects, as many kajkavian dialects distinguish a closed e (from jat) and an open e (from original e). Zagreb (pronounced: ) is the capital city of Croatia. ...

It also lacks several phonemes found in other dialects and has loanwords from the nearby Slovenian dialects as well as Russian.

Example: Kak je, tak je; tak je navek bilo, kak bu tak bu, a bu vre nekak kak bu!

Slovene dialects

See also

• Differences in official languages in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia

The official languages in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro differ in various aspects as outlined below. ...

External links

• Burgenland Croat Center (in English, German and Croatian)