Croatian Language

History

     Croatian is a Slavic language that arrived in the Balkans region with the migration of the Slavs in the 6th or 7th century. The language eventually evolved into two branches: East South Slavic and West South Slavic. Bulgarian and Macedonian derive from the East South Slavic group and Slovene, Serbian and Croatian are derived from the West South Slavic group. Later in Croatia's eventful history a series of occupying powers--Ottoman, Venetian, Hapsburg, Italian--enriched the language with new German, Turkish and Italian words.

Serbian and Croatian: The Same Language?

     The primary difference between Croatian and Serbian is that Croatian is written in the Roman alphabet while Serbian is written in Cyrillic. Linguists consider Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian the same language but political difference among the groups makes this a controversial point. Croatians, Serbians and Bosnians generally do understand each other when they speak--if they want to.

Do Croatians Speak English?

     Nearly all Croatians speak at least one other language. In the north, the second language is likely to be German while along the coast, it is likely to be Italian. Tri-lingual Croatians are not rare. English is widely although not universally spoken. Anyone working in the tourist business in any way will have mastered some English and for young people English is now the second language of choice.       

Learning Croatian 

     Mastering at least a few words of Croatian is sure to enhance your trip even though speaking Croatian is not a simple matter. Croatian grammar is complicated, with declensions for every noun (you remember declensions from Latin, right? Right?) The pronunciation is fairly straightforward at least. Every letter is pronounced and the accent usually falls on the first letter of every word. See more on pronunciation.

     Even if you have little time or inclination to go deeply into learning Croatian, I highly recommend learning a few simple phrases. In fact, I think it's only polite to at least learn how to meet, greet and thank in Croatian. Here are a list of 10 Croatian phrases every traveller should know. And to extend your knowledge, here are more useful phrases. If you'll be shopping or negotiating the price of rooms, you will certainly need to know Croatian numbers.

     Independent travellers will want to go further in Croatian to get under the skin of Croatian culture. Fortunately there are a lot of learning aids, electronic dictionaries and language courses to help you learn to speak Croatian.

Croatian BYKI 3.6 For beginners to advanced learners, Croatian Before You Know It is a simple and effective way to master Croatian using a CD-ROM that corrects your pronunciation and improves your comprehension, EASILY. Plus, there's even an audio program you can download onto your MP3 player.

Related Pages

Top Ten Croatian Phrases

More Useful Phrases

Days, Months and Time in Croatian

Croatian Numbers

Croatian Pronunciation

Learn to Speak Croatian

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