Srpskohrvatske

Srpskohrvatske, commonly called Serbo-Croatian in English, refers to the South Slavic language variety historically spoken in the Western Balkans, notably in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. In the Yugoslav era it was treated as a single official language. In contemporary linguistics the term is mainly used to describe a pluricentric language with closely related standards, which are now generally regarded as separate languages: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin.

Most linguists trace srpskohrvatske to the Shtokavian dialect, from which the standard forms of the four modern languages arise. Phonologically, the varieties differ in vowel reflexes and stress patterns, leading to three traditional systems—Ekavian, Ijekavian and Jekavian—that affect common words and names. Lexical and syntactic differences are moderate, reflecting historical, religious and national divergences, but mutual intelligibility remains high among the standard varieties.

Grammar is largely shared, with a seven-case noun system, two numbers, three genders, and a rich verbal aspect system that distinguishes imperfective and perfective actions. Tenses are formed with auxiliary verbs, participles, and a combined present and future. Word order is relatively flexible due to inflection, though neutral clauses typically favor subject–verb–object in Serbian and Croatian standards.

Today srpskohrvatske is usually described as four separate standard languages: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin. Both Latin and Cyrillic scripts are used, with script choice often reflecting national tradition and formality. The modern lexicon includes Balkan and global borrowings, and the languages share extensive literary and media traditions despite political separation since the 1990s.