SerboCroat

Serbo-Croatian is a South Slavic pluricentric language. It was the official language of Yugoslavia and is still spoken by millions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia. It is also recognized as a minority language in Austria, Hungary, Italy, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.

The term "Serbo-Croatian" has been debated. In socialist Yugoslavia, it was promoted as a unified language to foster brotherhood and unity among the South Slavic peoples. However, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the standard languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia were officially established, each with its own name and orthography.

Despite the official distinctions, the languages are mutually intelligible to a very high degree. Differences are primarily in vocabulary, certain phonetic features, and preferred spellings. There are two main scripts used: the Latin alphabet, predominantly in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, and the Cyrillic alphabet, mainly in Serbia.

Linguistically, Serbo-Croatian is characterized by its rich inflectional system and its phonological system, which includes distinct vowel and consonant sounds. Its vocabulary has been influenced by various languages throughout history, including Turkish, German, and Italian, due to geographical and historical contact. The modern standard languages are based on the Shtokavian dialect, which is spoken by the majority of speakers in all four countries.