What Language Do They Speak in Croatia?

If you’re planning a trip to Croatia, you might be wondering: What language do they speak in Croatia? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

Croatia is a beautiful country located in southeastern Europe, known for its stunning coastline, medieval cities, and rich culture. The official language of Croatia is Croatian, which is a member of the Slavic language family.

As with any foreign language, being familiar with the language of the country you’re visiting can enhance your travel experience and create a deeper connection with the local culture.

As someone who has been living in Croatia since 2014, I’ve gotten to know the language pretty well and even speak it fluently now. That’s not to say it was easy, but it’s possible! Learning the language has seriously transformed my life in Croatia in a positive way and I highly recommend getting comfortable with a few basic phrases before traveling here.

Now that we’ve answered the question “What language is spoken in Croatia?”, in the rest of this blog post, we’ll explore the history of Croatian language, its dialects, usage, and resources for learning the language.

What Language Do They Speak in Croatia?

History of the Croatian Language

The Croatian language (called Hrvatski in Croatian) has a rich and fascinating history that stretches back over a thousand years. It belongs to the South Slavic language family, which is a group of languages spoken across a large part of Eastern Europe.

The earliest known records of Croatian date back to the 9th century, when Old Church Slavonic (the first Slavic literary language) appeared. during the time of the Great Moravia empire. At this time, Croatian was written in the Glagolitic alphabet, which is thought to have been invented by the monks Cyril and Methodius specifically for the Slavic languages. This alphabet was used until the 12th century, when it was gradually replaced by the Latin alphabet.

Fun Fact: You can still see one of the first monuments containing Glagolitic script in Croatia today! The Bašćanska ploča (or Baška Tablet), discovered in 1851 on the island of Krk, is a stone slab on which the Glagolitic text appears. The text records King Zvonimir’s (king of Croatia and Dalmatia from 1076 to 1089) donation of land to a Benedictine abbey. The Baška Tablet is an extremely important piece of Croatian history as it is the first evidence of Croatia and King Zvonimir being mentioned in Croatian.

Source: Enciklopedija.hr

Later, the Croatian language underwent significant changes due to contact with other languages such as German, Italian, and Turkish. For this reason, it is common to hear words used in everyday Croatian that have been adopted from other languages. Although it is not something you will notice until you have been learning Croatian for a while (more on that later).

It wasn’t until the 19th century that linguists reformed the Latin alphabet (including the Cyrillic alphabet used by Serbs). The goal was to create a correspondence between the language’s sounds and letters, as well as a correspondence between the symbols in the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.

Today, Croatian is the official language in Croatia and is spoken by around 5 million people worldwide. It is also recognized as one of the minority languages in Austria, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, and Slovakia, and is one of 24 official languages of the European Union. Despite its complex history, the Croatian language has remained an important part of Croatian culture and identity, and continues to evolve and adapt to the modern world.

Linguistic Characteristics of Croatian

Croatian is a Slavic language that shares many linguistic characteristics with other languages in the South Slavic group such as Russian, Czech, and Polish.

Croatian is very similar to to Serbian and Bosnian, which leads many to consider them one language (Serbo-Croatian). However, these three languages have been identified as separate in various historical contexts.

Here are some of the key linguistic characteristics of Croatian:

• Alphabet: Croatian uses the Latin (or Roman) alphabet, which consists of 30 letters. Some letters contain accent marks which signify the letter’s pronunciation which you can see in the table below.
• Phonetics: Croatian has five vowel sounds and 25 consonant sounds. It also has several unique sounds, such as the “lj” and “nj” sounds, which are formed by combining a consonant and a vowel sound.
• Grammar: Croatian is an inflected language, which means that the endings of words change depending on their grammatical function. It has seven cases, which are used to indicate the function of nouns and adjectives in a sentence.
• Verb conjugation: Croatian verbs are conjugated to show tense, mood, and aspect. It has three tenses (present, past, and future), three moods (indicative, imperative, and conditional), and two aspects (perfective and imperfective). This right here is the most difficult part of the Croatian language!
• Word order: Croatian generally follows a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order, but it can be flexible depending on the emphasis or importance of certain words in a sentence.
• Vocabulary: Croatian has borrowed words from many other languages, including Italian, German, and Turkish. However, it also has many unique words and expressions that reflect the history and culture of the Croatian people.

Overall, Croatian is a complex and nuanced language that requires attention to detail and practice to master. However, its rich history, unique sounds, and expressive vocabulary make it a rewarding language to learn and explore.

Dialects of Croatian

Croatian has several regional dialects, which vary in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Here is an overview of the main Croatian dialects:

Čakavian (Čakavski)

Čakavian is spoken along the Adriatic coast, on the islands, and in the western parts of Croatia (including the entire Istrian peninsula). This dialect is characterized by its soft pronunciation and the use of the “č” sound instead of “ć”. Čakavian has influenced the Croatian literary language and is used in many works of literature.

Kajkavian (Kajkavski)

Kajkavian is spoken in the northern and central parts of Croatia. It is known for its sing-song intonation and the use of the “kaj” question word. Kajkavian has a large number of regional sub-dialects, which can differ significantly from each other.

If you stay in Zagreb for a while, you may be able to pick up on the locals speaking in the Kajkavian dialect!

Štokavian (Štokavski)

Štokavian is the most widespread Croatian dialect and is spoken in the central and eastern parts of Croatia, as well as in parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia. It is known for its hard pronunciation and the use of the “š” sound instead of “s”. Štokavian is the basis of the standard Croatian literary language and is the dialect television reporters and radio hosts use.

Each dialect has its own unique characteristics and cultural traditions, and they all contribute to the rich and diverse culture of Croatia. However, despite these differences, all Croatian dialects are mutually intelligible. Mutual intelligibility refers to the relationship between languages, meaning that speakers of one dialect can generally understand speakers of other dialects.

Usually only native speakers will be able to identify the differences between Croatian dialects. Although I can now speak near fluently, it is still difficult for me to understand certain dialects (especially when someone is speaking quickly). Sometimes, it even sounds like they are speaking a completely different language from Croatian!

Other Languages in Croatia

While Croatian is the main language in Croatia, other languages are spoken in the country as well. The second most common language spoken in Croatia is Bosnian, closely followed by Serbian. This is because all three languages come from the same language family.

If you are visiting Croatia for the first time, you may be wondering: Can Croatians speak English? The answer is yes! English is widely spoken in Croatia, especially in tourist areas like Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, and Zagreb. English is taught as a second language in elementary schools, beginning in the first grade. Additionally, many Croatians grow up watching US or UK television shows and movies, and therefore have a good understanding of the English language.

Conclusion: What Language Do They Speak in Croatia?

To wrap it up, Croatian is the official language spoken in Croatia and is spoken by around 7-8 million Croats, both within and outside of Croatia.

It can be a difficult language to learn for native English speakers, but with resources like immersive university courses and free online classes, it’s possible to gain a strong foundation in the language. For those who are only visiting Croatia for a short time, learning just a few basic phrases will go a long way in helping to enrich your time in the country.

All in all, Croatian is an exciting and vibrant language that is sure to open doors into many parts of everyday life in Croatia!

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