Languages of Slovenia
Encyclopedia
Slovenia
has been a meeting area of the Slavic
, Germanic
, Romance
, and Uralic
linguistic and cultural regions. The official
and national
language of Slovenia is Slovene, which is spoken by a large majority of the population. It is also known, in English, as Slovenian. Two minority languages, namely Hungarian
and Italian
, are recognised as co-official languages and accordingly protected in their residential municipalities. Other significant language is Croatian
and its variants, spoken by most immigrants from former Yugoslavia
and their descendants. Slovenia is ranked among the top European countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages. The most often taught foreign languages are English
, German
, Italian, French
and Spanish
.
The population of Slovenia has become more diverse in regard to its language through recent decades but is still relatively homogenous — Slovene was in 2002 the first language of 87.8% of the inhabitants. It was followed by Croatian
(2.8%) and Serbian
(1.6%). Italian and Hungarian language, protected by the Constitution of Slovenia, had lower numbers of native speakers.
In its Article 11, the Constitution of Slovenia
stipulates that Slovene is to be the sole official and national language throughout the country. The Public Use of the Slovene Language Act of 2004 further defines the legal status of Slovene, by mandating that national and local authorities are compelled to use it in communication and legislation. As a national language, it is used on the obverse side of Slovenian euro coins
, in Slovenian national anthem
, by The Slovenian President, and uniquely represents Slovene culture on the international stage.
Television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, commercials, user manuals, and other printed or broadcast material must be in Slovene. Usage of material in another language is permitted, if it is accordingly subtitled, dubbed or translated. Publishing or broadcasting untranslated material, as well as selling goods without instructions and declaration in Slovene, is punishable and banned by law. Also, names of corporations and trademarks registered in Slovenia must be in Slovene; however, they may be used along with the translated name in another language if its aimed at foreign markets.
Slovene is the language of instruction at all levels of schooling, from primary to tertiary education. There is an international high school in Ljubljana
with English as the language of instruction, but it admits only students from foreign diplomats and Slovenes who had been schooled abroad for several years. Undergraduate courses are run in Slovene, therefore applicants from foreign countries must prove an adequate level of knowledge of Slovene to be eligible to enroll. Graduate courses for foreign exchange students are offered in English, as well.
The Centre for Slovene as a Second/Foreign Language encourages the learning of Slovene as foreign language, offers different courses in Slovene, and grants certificates of language proficiency. One may sit for the Slovene Language Exam at three levels: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. After having passed the exam, the applicant receives the certificate of knowledge of the Slovene language, issued by the Faculty of Arts of University of Ljubljana
, which is valid throughout the European Union, and makes the holder eligible to apply to any school or university in Slovenia.
With the accession of Slovenia to the European Union on May 1, 2004, Slovene became an official language of the European Union
, requiring that all Acts and Directives be translated into Slovene. Additionally, Slovenian citizens may write to any EU institution in Slovene and expect a response in the same language.
is currently negotiating the possibility of having a language code for Prekmurian (code: pkm 1). This is the only Slovene dialect that has ever been attempted to be declared an official language in the Prekmurje region. Its literary language is partially preserved, in fact still standardized language: the Churches is using it in liturgy, the Porabje newspaper in Hungary is writte in it. There is much more modern literary experimentation and films in Prekmurian than in any other dialects.
near the Slovenian-Italian border and at the Slovenian coastline. Public usage of Italian is permitted and protected by minority protection laws. Members of the Italian minority are entitled to primary and secondary education in their native language, as well as to radio and television programmes in Italian, and to communicating in Italian with the authorities.
region near the Slovenian-Hungarian border. Public usage of Hungarian is permitted and protected by minority protection laws. Members of Hungarian minority are entitled to primary and secondary education in their native language, as well to radio and occasional television broadcast in Hungarian, and to communicating in Hungarian with the authorities.
and Bavarian dialects have been autochthonous since present-day Slovenia came under the rule of Bavaria
in the 8th century. Whereas many immigrants from German-speaking areas adopted Slovene over the centuries, others retained their language. Until the 20th century, the most numerous German-speaking communities were found in the urban centers of Lower Styria
. Alma Karlin
, who is considered one of the most famous writers from Celje
, wrote her books in her mother tongue German. Another German-speaking region was around Apače
(Apaško polje) near the Mur river.
Around Zgornja Sorica
and Spodnja Sorica
, a German language island (Zarz) persisted until the beginning of the 20th century.
Since World War I
, there have been no schools in Slovenia with German as language of instruction. After World War II
, ethnic Germans were expelled after many of them had collaborated with Nazi Germany, and only few of them remained. In the census of 2002, just 1628 persons (0,1 % of the population) declared German as their mother tongue.
or Granish is a Bavarian dialect of the German language
and has been spoken in the Gottschee County
around Kočevje
(Gottschee) since 1330. For over 600 years, it was the predominant oral language of the Gottscheers in that area, whereas Standard German
was their written language. Most Gottschee Germans were resettled by the German occupation forces in 1941 during World War II
. Only a few hundred Gottscheers remained, most of them supporting the partisan movement. After the war, Gottscheerish was forbidden. Today there are only a few speakers left, most of them in Moschnitze valley (Črmošnjiško-Poljanska dolina) between Kočevske Poljane
and Črmošnjice
. Gottscheerish and German have no official status and are not protected by law.
, Macedonian
, and Albanian
. However none of those other languages have been granted any legal status; though officials can be seen to unofficially accommodate them as their knowledge allows.
of Central Europe
an space and was perceived as the language of commerce, science and literature in Slovenia. Consequently, German used to be the first foreign language taught in schools.
Nowadays, English has superseded it and is taught as the first foreign language throughout the country from pre-school onwards. German has, however, retained its strong position as an important language and is the most common second foreign language in high schools. Other second foreign languages are Italian, Spanish
, French
and Hungarian. Among the five subjects in the Slovenian finishing exam (Matura
), one foreign language—most commonly English—is compulsory.
As a consequence of different foreign languages having been taught at different times, there is no prevailing foreign language knowledge in Slovenia. Younger generations know English and Croatian well enough to communicate, whereas elder generations speak Croatian better. There are also regional differences, especially among the knowledge of a second foreign language, with German being more frequently taught and used in Styria
region, whereas residents of the Littoral
region have better familiarity with Italian.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
has been a meeting area of the Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
, Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
, and Uralic
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
linguistic and cultural regions. The official
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
and national
National language
A national language is a language which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country...
language of Slovenia is Slovene, which is spoken by a large majority of the population. It is also known, in English, as Slovenian. Two minority languages, namely Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, are recognised as co-official languages and accordingly protected in their residential municipalities. Other significant language is Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
and its variants, spoken by most immigrants from former Yugoslavia
Former Yugoslavia
The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
and their descendants. Slovenia is ranked among the top European countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages. The most often taught foreign languages are English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
The population of Slovenia has become more diverse in regard to its language through recent decades but is still relatively homogenous — Slovene was in 2002 the first language of 87.8% of the inhabitants. It was followed by Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
(2.8%) and Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
(1.6%). Italian and Hungarian language, protected by the Constitution of Slovenia, had lower numbers of native speakers.
Slovene
Constitution of Slovenia
The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia was adopted by the Slovenian National Assembly on December 23, 1991. The document is divided into ten chapters:# General Provisions# Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms# Economic and Social Relations...
stipulates that Slovene is to be the sole official and national language throughout the country. The Public Use of the Slovene Language Act of 2004 further defines the legal status of Slovene, by mandating that national and local authorities are compelled to use it in communication and legislation. As a national language, it is used on the obverse side of Slovenian euro coins
Slovenian euro coins
Slovenian euro coins were first issued for circulation on 1 January 2007 and a unique feature is designed for each coin. The design of approximately 230 million Slovenian euro coins was unveiled on 7 October 2005. The designers were Miljenko Licul, Maja Licul and Janez Boljka...
, in Slovenian national anthem
Zdravljica
Zdravljica or Zdravica, written in 1844, is a poem by the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren, considered the national poet of Slovenes. Since 27 September 1989, its 7th stanza has been the national anthem of Slovenia....
, by The Slovenian President, and uniquely represents Slovene culture on the international stage.
Television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, commercials, user manuals, and other printed or broadcast material must be in Slovene. Usage of material in another language is permitted, if it is accordingly subtitled, dubbed or translated. Publishing or broadcasting untranslated material, as well as selling goods without instructions and declaration in Slovene, is punishable and banned by law. Also, names of corporations and trademarks registered in Slovenia must be in Slovene; however, they may be used along with the translated name in another language if its aimed at foreign markets.
Slovene is the language of instruction at all levels of schooling, from primary to tertiary education. There is an international high school in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
with English as the language of instruction, but it admits only students from foreign diplomats and Slovenes who had been schooled abroad for several years. Undergraduate courses are run in Slovene, therefore applicants from foreign countries must prove an adequate level of knowledge of Slovene to be eligible to enroll. Graduate courses for foreign exchange students are offered in English, as well.
The Centre for Slovene as a Second/Foreign Language encourages the learning of Slovene as foreign language, offers different courses in Slovene, and grants certificates of language proficiency. One may sit for the Slovene Language Exam at three levels: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. After having passed the exam, the applicant receives the certificate of knowledge of the Slovene language, issued by the Faculty of Arts of University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
, which is valid throughout the European Union, and makes the holder eligible to apply to any school or university in Slovenia.
With the accession of Slovenia to the European Union on May 1, 2004, Slovene became an official language of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, requiring that all Acts and Directives be translated into Slovene. Additionally, Slovenian citizens may write to any EU institution in Slovene and expect a response in the same language.
Dialects
Slovene is divided into seven regional dialectal groups, further subdivided into local dialects. Mutual comprehension between certain dialects is limited.Prekmurian
The SIL InternationalSIL International
SIL International is a U.S.-based, worldwide, Christian non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy, translate the Christian Bible into local languages,...
is currently negotiating the possibility of having a language code for Prekmurian (code: pkm 1). This is the only Slovene dialect that has ever been attempted to be declared an official language in the Prekmurje region. Its literary language is partially preserved, in fact still standardized language: the Churches is using it in liturgy, the Porabje newspaper in Hungary is writte in it. There is much more modern literary experimentation and films in Prekmurian than in any other dialects.
Italian
Italian is officially recognised as the mother tongue of the protected Italian minority and co-official language in Slovenian IstriaIstria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
near the Slovenian-Italian border and at the Slovenian coastline. Public usage of Italian is permitted and protected by minority protection laws. Members of the Italian minority are entitled to primary and secondary education in their native language, as well as to radio and television programmes in Italian, and to communicating in Italian with the authorities.
Hungarian
Hungarian is officially recognised as the mother tongue of protected Hungarian minority in PrekmurjePrekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
region near the Slovenian-Hungarian border. Public usage of Hungarian is permitted and protected by minority protection laws. Members of Hungarian minority are entitled to primary and secondary education in their native language, as well to radio and occasional television broadcast in Hungarian, and to communicating in Hungarian with the authorities.
German
GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Bavarian dialects have been autochthonous since present-day Slovenia came under the rule of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in the 8th century. Whereas many immigrants from German-speaking areas adopted Slovene over the centuries, others retained their language. Until the 20th century, the most numerous German-speaking communities were found in the urban centers of Lower Styria
Lower Styria
Lower Styria or Slovenian Styria is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of Lower Styria in its historical boundaries amounts to around 705,000 inhabitants, or 34.5% of the population of Slovenia...
. Alma Karlin
Alma Karlin
Alma Vilibalda Maximiliana Karlin , was a Slovene-Austrian traveler, writer, poet, collector, polyglot and theosophist....
, who is considered one of the most famous writers from Celje
Celje
Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna...
, wrote her books in her mother tongue German. Another German-speaking region was around Apače
Apace
Apače is small town and a municipality in Slovenia. It lies in the traditional region of Styria in northeastern Slovenia and belongs to the Mura statistical region. The municipality borders on the municipalities of Šentilj, Sveta Ana, and Gornja Radgona. The Mura River represents the border...
(Apaško polje) near the Mur river.
Around Zgornja Sorica
Zgornja Sorica
Zgornja Sorica is a village in the Municipality of Železniki in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.-External links:*...
and Spodnja Sorica
Spodnja Sorica
Spodnja Sorica is a village in the Železniki municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.It is the birthplace of the Slovene Impressionist painter Ivan Grohar. The house in which he was born stands in the middle of the village and holds a small collection of items associated with Grohar...
, a German language island (Zarz) persisted until the beginning of the 20th century.
Since World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, there have been no schools in Slovenia with German as language of instruction. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, ethnic Germans were expelled after many of them had collaborated with Nazi Germany, and only few of them remained. In the census of 2002, just 1628 persons (0,1 % of the population) declared German as their mother tongue.
Gottscheerish
GottscheerishGottscheerish
Gottscheerish, also called Granish is a German dialect which was the main language of communication in Gottschee County in Slovenia before 1941. Today there are only a few speakers left in Slovenia and around the world.- Language history :Gottscheerish belongs to Southern Bavarian within the...
or Granish is a Bavarian dialect of the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and has been spoken in the Gottschee County
Gottschee County
Gottschee County refers to the former German speaking region in the Duchy of Carniola , a crownland of the Habsburg Empire, located in modern day Slovenia...
around Kočevje
Kocevje
Kočevje is a city and a municipality in southern Slovenia. In terms of area it is the largest municipality in Slovenia. It is located between the rivers Krka and Kolpa and is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is now included in the Jugovzhodna Slovenija statistical region...
(Gottschee) since 1330. For over 600 years, it was the predominant oral language of the Gottscheers in that area, whereas Standard German
Standard German
Standard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...
was their written language. Most Gottschee Germans were resettled by the German occupation forces in 1941 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Only a few hundred Gottscheers remained, most of them supporting the partisan movement. After the war, Gottscheerish was forbidden. Today there are only a few speakers left, most of them in Moschnitze valley (Črmošnjiško-Poljanska dolina) between Kočevske Poljane
Kočevske Poljane
Kočevske Poljane is a village in the Dolenjske Toplice municipality in Slovenia. The area is part of the historical region of Lower Carniola. The municipality is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region....
and Črmošnjice
Črmošnjice, Semič
Črmošnjice is a village in the municipality of Semič in Slovenia. It lies on the eastern edge of the area that used to be inhabited by Gottschee Germans expelled in 1941 during the Second World War. The area is part of the historical region of Lower Carniola...
. Gottscheerish and German have no official status and are not protected by law.
Other immigrant languages
Other languages, spoken by immigrants, include: RomaniRomani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
, Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
, and Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
. However none of those other languages have been granted any legal status; though officials can be seen to unofficially accommodate them as their knowledge allows.
Foreign languages
Historically, German was the lingua francaLingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
of Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
an space and was perceived as the language of commerce, science and literature in Slovenia. Consequently, German used to be the first foreign language taught in schools.
Nowadays, English has superseded it and is taught as the first foreign language throughout the country from pre-school onwards. German has, however, retained its strong position as an important language and is the most common second foreign language in high schools. Other second foreign languages are Italian, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Hungarian. Among the five subjects in the Slovenian finishing exam (Matura
Matura
Matura or a similar term is the common name for the high-school leaving exam or "maturity exam" in various countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia,...
), one foreign language—most commonly English—is compulsory.
As a consequence of different foreign languages having been taught at different times, there is no prevailing foreign language knowledge in Slovenia. Younger generations know English and Croatian well enough to communicate, whereas elder generations speak Croatian better. There are also regional differences, especially among the knowledge of a second foreign language, with German being more frequently taught and used in Styria
Lower Styria
Lower Styria or Slovenian Styria is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of Lower Styria in its historical boundaries amounts to around 705,000 inhabitants, or 34.5% of the population of Slovenia...
region, whereas residents of the Littoral
Slovenian Littoral
The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
region have better familiarity with Italian.