Serbian: The language with two writing systems

Serbian is an interesting Slavic language. It is the standardized version and most widely used variant of Serbo-Croatian. Moreover, it is the only European language that uses two different alphabets, both of which form a Serbian writing system. The Serbian language actively uses the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet designed by a Serbian linguist and a Latin alphabet designed by a Croatian linguist.

Check
Serbian

3 interesting facts about the Serbian Language

01
It is estimated that the total number of Serbian speakers in the world is more than 12 million.
02
Serbian consists of Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian roots.
03
Serbian is the only European language that uses two writing systems: the Cyrillic and Latin scripts.

Learn more about the Language

Financing Management

Origin of the language

The Serbian language belongs to the Slavic language family, sharing ties with Bulgarian, Slovenian, Russian, and Croatian. The earliest Serbian texts appeared in the Old Church Slavonic language which was the liturgical language of the Serbian Orthodox Church. These date from the 10th century.

The evolution of Serbian was influenced by diverse cultures and languages over the centuries. This is reflected in the usage of both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The two scripts were promoted and orthographies were established even as the Serbian language was standardized and modernized using the dialect of Belgrade in the 1800s. Today, the Serbian language is the official language of Serbia as well as one of the official languages in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. It is a recognized minority language in other countries, such as Croatia, Romania, and the Czech Republic.

Regenerating

History of the language

The emergence of the Serbian language is a rich history that spans several thousand years beginning with its origins in Old Church Slavonic spoken by Slavic missionaries visiting the Balkans. Significant evolutionary influences on the language began in the Medieval period when it encountered Hungarian and Turkish and while under the rule of the Byzantine Empire.

By the 19th century, the Serbian language began a modernizing process under the influence of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, who was standardizing the language using the Belgrade dialect, laying the grounds for present-day Serbian. Finally, in the 20th century, major orthographic reforms began in the language, with the latest occurring in the 1990s.

Creative Strategy

Learning the language

It takes about 1100 hours to learn Serbian as an English speaker.

How to say 10 popular words and phrases in the Serbian language

Becoming familiar with some common words and phrases is a quick introduction to learning the Serbian language. It could be useful to know how to say “Happy birthday” or “Happy new year” in the Serbian language. However, if you need content writing in Serbian, you might need a professional to help you out!

Here is what you can get

Get access to our streamlined content platform with proven writers and translators available 24/7 at an affordable rate!

Blogs Posts & Articles

to show expertise to your target audience

Product Descriptions

to help make informed decisions

Reviews

to convince your customers

Newsletters  

to keep your readers updated

Ebooks and Guides

to educate your readers

Press Releases

To engage with wider circle

Whitepapers

to offer comprehensive insights

Translations

to reach global audiences

fun facts

Fun facts about the Serbian language

Financing Management

Three Serbian dialects

The language has three variants, but, on Serbian territory, only two are found which are known as Ekavian and Ijekavian (the third variant, Ikavian, is only found in Croatia).

Regenerating

Learning Serbian

A tried and tested, basic principle for learning the Serbian language to keep in mind is “Write as you speak and read as it is written.”

Creative Strategy

Complete language makeover

Serbian was completely re-structured in the mid-1800s by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić when “Old Serbian” was modernized.

quotes
Quote

Word Of Wisdom!

Time is an illusion. Time only exists when we think about the past and the future. Time doesn't exist in the present here and now.

Marina Abramovic

Performance artist

quotes
Quote

Word Of Wisdom!

Imagine a part of the USA, from which the USA started - where is the cradle of your history? This is Kosovo for Serbia.

Novak Djokovic

Tennis Player

quotes
Quote

Word Of Wisdom!

Let us turn to the future and not deal with the past.

Ivica Dacic

President of the National Assembly of Serbia

Frequently Asked Questions