What language is spoken in the Balkans?

The Balkan languages are traditionally defined as Albanian, Modern Greek, Balkan Romance (Romanian, Aromanian, and Meglenoromanian), and Balkan Slavic (Bulgarian, Macedonian, and the southernmost dialects of the former Serbo-Croatian, which dialects are called Torlak).

How different are the Balkan languages?

(Macedonian and Slovenian languages remain different.) Before the fragmentation of Yugoslavia, citizens of the region generally spoke a language known as Serbo-Croatian. As each country gained independence, the local version of the language was renamed.

Is Russian a Balkan language?

From their homeland in east-central Europe (Poland or Ukraine), the Slavic languages have spread to the territory of the Balkans (Bulgarian; Macedonian; Slovene; and Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, and Montenegrin [sometimes grouped together as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian]), central Europe (Czech and Slovak).

How did the South Slavic languages spread throughout the Balkans?

Old Church Slavonic spread throughout the Balkans before making its way north and east to other Slavic lands, but it was definitely a Balkan language first, and served to bring the South Slavs together. Prior to this, there wasn’t much to connect a Croat and a Serb; they lived in different kingdoms, had different lives.

What languages do they speak in the Balkans?

Most Europeans speak languages which are members of the Indo-European language family. However, there are certain branches, such as the Germanic branch, that have no representation currently in the Balkans. The Balkan people speak mostly Romance, Albanian, Greek and many Slavic branches.

What does the term Balkans mean?

The term Balkans defines not only the region and the countries that make up a geographical region, but also the language family that these countries are a part of.

When did the Roman Empire conquer the Balkan Peninsula?

The Balkan provinces in the Western Roman Empire Starting in the 2nd century BC the rising Roman Republic began annexing the Balkan area, transforming it into one of the Empire’s most prosperous and stable regions.