Serbianlanguage

Serbian language is a South Slavic language spoken primarily in Serbia and by Serbs in neighboring countries and diaspora communities. It belongs to the Western subgroup of the South Slavic branch and is closely related to Croatian and Bosnian, with high mutual intelligibility among standard forms. Historically, Serbian formed part of the broader Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language; after the breakup of Yugoslavia, distinct standard varieties emerged for Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia.

Serbian is written in two alphabets, Cyrillic and Latin, and both are used in education, media, and everyday life. Cyrillic is often associated with national and official contexts, while Latin is widely used in commerce, technology, and international communication. The language’s standard form is based on the Shtokavian dialect and incorporates two major pronunciation traditions, Ekavian and Ijekavian, which reflect regional differences in the realization of the historical yat vowel.

Dialects include the Shtokavian core, with Torlakian as a transitional southwestern group. The standard language has been shaped by linguistic reformers and institutions, most notably Vuk Karadžić in the 19th century, who codified orthography and grammar and promoted Cyrillic literacy. Modern Serbian continues to evolve through education, media, and literature, while maintaining its role as a primary means of communication for ethnic Serbs in Serbia and in Serb communities across the region.