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The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) are the languages of the Slavic peoples. They form a distinct group of Indo-European languages, with speakers in most of Eastern Europe, much of the Balkans, parts of Central Europe, and the northern part of Asia. 1 Branches
Scholars divide the Slavic languages into three branches:
- South Slavic, which further subdivides into Western and Eastern subgroups. The Western subgroup copmprises Slovenian and the group of dialects and literary languages referred to as Serbo-Croatian language (including Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian). The languages of the Western subgroup originate in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, CroatiaThe Republic of Croatia is a country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. In recent history, it was a republic of Yugoslavia. History Main article: History of Croatia The Croats are a largely Slavic, Serbia and MontenegroSerbia and Montenegro is the name of the union of Serbia and Montenegro, two former Yugoslav republics joined together into a loose union. It is located on the west-central Balkan Peninsula. Serbia and Montenegro came to an agreement only to cooperate in, and adjacent regions. The Eastern subgroup consists of BulgarianBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the South branch of the Slavic languages, along with Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, and Slovenian. The Bulgarian language is closely related to the Macedonian language. Some linguists, however, including al in BulgariaThe Republic of Bulgaria is a republic in the southeast of Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north along the river Danube. and adjacent areas; and of MacedonianThe Macedonian language Makedonski is a language in the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. It is spoken by two million people, primarily in the Republic of Macedonia, the Macedonian Slavs. The Macedonian language is closely related to the Bulgarian in the Republic of MacedoniaThe Republic of Macedonia 1, officially known by most international organizations and foreign states as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), is an independent state on the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is often called simply Ma, GreeceGreece formally called the Hellenic Republic (in Greek: ) Hellenike Demokratia , is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It is bounded on land by Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania and AlbaniaAlbania is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro in the north, Serbia ( Kosovo) in the north-east, the Republic of Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south, has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ion.
- West Slavic, which includes Czech in the Czech Republic and Slovak in Slovakia, Upper and Lower Sorbian in Germany, and the Lekhitic ( Polish and related dialects, Kashubian, Polabian, Obodrits).
- East Slavic, including Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian.
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| Map of Slavic languages in eastern Europe |
The tripartite division of the Slavic languages does not take into account the spoken dialects of each language. Of these, certain so-called transitional dialects and hybrid dialects often bridge the gaps between different languages, showing similarities that do not stand out when comparing Slavic literary (i.e., standard) languages.
Enough differences exist between the various Slavic dialects and languages to make communication between Slavs of different linguistic backgrounds difficult, but not impossible. Within the individual Slavic languages, dialects may vary to a lesser degree, as in Russian, or to a much greater degree, as in Slovenian. Modern mass communication, however, has helped to minimize variation in all the Slavic languages.
