Croaticum

Croaticum, also known as Croatian, is a South Slavic language spoken primarily in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and parts of Italy, Slovenia, and Hungary. It is one of the official languages of the European Union and is recognized as a co-official language in the United Nations. Croatian is written in the Latin alphabet, which includes several diacritical marks to represent specific sounds. The language has a rich literary tradition, with notable works by authors such as Marko Marulić, Petar Hektorović, and Ivan Gundulić. Croatian grammar is characterized by its inflectional nature, with nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs changing form to indicate grammatical categories such as case, number, and gender. The language has several dialects, including Štokavian, Kajkavian, and Čakavian, each with its own unique features and vocabulary. Croatian is closely related to other South Slavic languages such as Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin, and it shares many similarities with Slovene and Bulgarian. Despite its similarities, Croatian has distinct features that set it apart from these languages. The language has been influenced by various factors, including Latin, Greek, and Turkish, as well as by the cultural and historical interactions of the Croatian people. Today, Croatian is spoken by approximately 5 million people worldwide, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the Balkans.