Going to Croatia on business or holiday or study? Learn some Croatian!

Croatia has offered its services to help Kosovo and Serbia come up with a common language which citizens of both countries can use. Due to the Balkan conflict, countries split up and in trying to forge their national identities they chose their own official languages. This sometimes led to problems as it created a language barrier between citizens of different countries who were previously living closely together. To solve this problem, Kosovo and Serbia are trying to come up with a common language. Though he did not exactly pinpoint how, the prime minister of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, promised that Croatia would act as a mentor to see that the situation is resolved. This is the same problem that Croatia faces sometimes. Croatian has four dialects, Kajkavian, Chakavian, Shotokavian and Torlakian. However, most natives do not like it when these four dialects are summarily referred to as Serbo-Croatian and would rather prefer such terms as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian be used, especially in diplomatic situations.

Croatian is a southern variant of Slavonic languages. Slavonic languages include Serbian, Slovene  and Bosnian. Croatian and Serbian are very similar and share many vocabularies, making the languages mutually understandable. Croatian was referred to as Serbo-Croat in the past. Croatian is the official language of Croatia. It is also spoken in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is estimated that a total of 21 million people speak a variation of the Serbo-Croat language. Sounds produced while speaking Croatian can be compared to sounds used in American or British English and a few other European languages. Croatian has 6 vowels. It is written using Latin script.

If you are visiting Croatia for the first time, you can learn the language in a number of institutions that are located throughout the country. This includes institutions of higher learning or language schools. You will be expected to take courses depending on your level of mastery of the language. This can be from beginner, intermediate or advanced classes. You will be expected to sit an exam at the end of the semester. These courses are especially recommended for foreign students or businessmen who will be living in the country in the short or long term.

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