languagesCroatian

Croatian is a South Slavic language spoken primarily in Croatia and by Croat communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in diaspora communities worldwide. It forms the standard variety of the Shtokavian dialect and is one of the standard varieties within the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian linguistic continuum. In contemporary usage, it is recognized as a distinct language with its own standard norms.

The language comprises three traditional dialect groups: Kajkavian (northwest), Čakavian (coastal and island areas), and Shtokavian (central and eastern areas). The modern standard Croatian used in education and media is based on the Shtokavian dialect, typically with Ijekavian pronunciation. Croatian is closely related to Bosnian and Serbian, and the three languages are largely mutually intelligible, though standard norms, vocabulary, and orthography differ.

Croatian uses the Latin alphabet. The standard Croatian alphabet consists of 30 letters, including diacritics such as Č, Ć, Đ, Š, Ž, and the digraphs Lj and Nj along with the letter Dž. Cyrillic script is not used in standard Croatian writing today, though historical and regional contexts have involved Cyrillic in related areas.

In Croatia, Croatian is the official language. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is one of the official languages used by Croat communities within the Federation. Croatian has a long literary tradition and a formal standard maintained by linguistic bodies and educational institutions.