20 fun facts about the Croatian language
- by croatiaweek
- in Entertainment
The Month of the Croatian Language kicks off today on 21 February—International Mother Language Day.
The Month of the Croatian Language marks the 1967 Declaration on the Name and Status of the Croatian Literary Language. To celebrate the day, we look at 20 interesting facts about the Croatian language.
1. It’s Got Roots
Croatian dates back to at least 1275, with its first mention in the “Istarski razvod,” a land register from Istria. That’s centuries of chatter.
2. Grammar Got Official
The first Croatian grammar book popped up in 1604, thanks to Bartol Kašić. It’s called “Institutionum linguae illyricae libri duo”—a mouthful, but a milestone.
3. Goodbye Latin
By 1847, Croatian kicked Latin out as the official language of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia, and Slavonia.
4. EU Status
Since Croatia joined the EU in 2013, Croatian has been one of the bloc’s official languages. It’s gone global.
5. Millions Speak It
Around 5.1 million people call Croatian their first language, with another 1.3 million using it as a second tongue.
6. Not Just Croatia
It’s an official language in Bosnia and Herzegovina, parts of Serbia, Montenegro, and even pockets of Austria and Italy. Croatian gets around.
7. 30 Letters
The alphabet has 30 letters, including quirky ones like č, ć, đ, š, and ž. Digraphs like lj and nj count as one letter—handy for Scrabble fans.
8. Seven Cases
With seven grammatical cases (nominative, genitive, you name it), Croatian keeps your brain on its toes.
9. Tense Times
Verbs come with present, past, and future tenses, plus perfective and imperfective aspects. It’s a workout for learners.
10. Three Dialects
Štokavian, Kajkavian, and Čakavian are the big three dialects. Each has its own vibe—Štokavian’s the standard, though.
11. Oldest dialect
The oldest Croatian dialect is believed to be spoken in Bednja in the Hrvatsko Zagorje region.
12. Blonde is Blue?
Here’s a twist: “plava” means “blue,” but it’s used for blonde hair.
13. A Record Breaker
The longest word is “prijestolonasljednikovičičinima”—31 characters meaning “of little heiress apparent to the throne.” Try saying that fast.
14. Short and Sweet
On the flip side, words like “a” (but), “u” (in), and “i” (and) are just one letter. Croatian has a number of one letter words.
15. Literary Beginnings
Marko Marulić’s “The History of the Holy Widow Judith” from 1501 was the first literary work in Croatian. A classic start!
16. Toki pona
Croatian is one of the sources for the minimal language “toki pona”, created in Toronto and based on natural languages according to tao principles.
17. Creative cursing
Croatians are one of the most creative when it comes to swear words in Europe, largely due to a rich dialect and an abundance of synonyms.
18. Paprika Power
The word “paprika” comes from Croatian and has spiced up languages across Europe—no translation needed.
19. Phonetic
Croatian is pronounced exactly as it’s written—each letter has only one pronunciation.
20. Unique words for months of the year
Unlike most European languages, Croatian months don’t come from Latin. Instead, they describe seasonal changes. For example Siječanj (January) – from “sjeći” (to cut) because trees were cut in winter. Travanj (April) – from “trava” (grass) because grass starts growing. Listopad (October) – from “list” (leaf) and “padati” (to fall) = “falling leaves”.
