tokavian

Tokavian is a major subbranch of the Štokavian dialect group within the South Slavic language family. It forms the most widespread branch of the Serbo-Croatian dialect continuum and underpins the standard varieties used in several Western Balkan languages. Tokavian dialects are spoken across large parts of Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, and serve as the linguistic foundation for the literary and formal varieties of Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin.

Linguists describe tokavian as a broad umbrella for numerous regional dialects that share certain core phonological and morphological features, while exhibiting substantial local variation. The set of sounds, word forms, and vocabulary can differ from one subdialect to another, reflecting historical layers of contact with neighboring languages and macro-areal shifts. A common point of reference in dialect classification is the yat or jat reflex, which varies within tokavian.

Historically, tokavian speech gained prominence in standardization efforts during the 19th and 20th centuries. National language planners promoted a Štokavian basis for Serbo-Croatian, which later evolved into the independent standard languages of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro. Although standard forms converge, regional tokavian speech remains a living, evolving component of everyday speech in the region.