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Glite Dictionary
Serbo-Croat

Serbo-Croat

1 9.6
A language once spoken across Yugoslavia, now split into Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin
  • noun
  • /ˈsɜrboʊˌkroʊt/
  • Archaic
: serbocroata
  • The novel was originally written in Serbo-Croat before being translated into English.

Examples

  • She studied Serbo-Croat at university to work as a translator.

  • Our neighbor spoke both Serbo-Croat and Hungarian fluently.

  • The Serbo-Croat language has a rich history.

  • Many people in Croatia speak Serbo-Croat fluently.

  • She studied Serbo-Croat at university to work as a translator.

  • The novel was originally written in Serbo-Croat before being translated into English.

  • Our neighbor spoke both Serbo-Croat and Hungarian fluently.

Synonyms

Serbo-Croatian
vsSerbo-Croat
  • Archaic
1 7.9

A language spoken in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro

is seen today as several separate standard languages rather than one unified speech

Surface Forms

Serbo-Croat singular
Serbo-Croats plural
Serbo-Croat languages plural
Serbo-Croat language singular

Morphology

Serbo-Croat = Serb + Croat (semi-transparent) = Serbo + Croat

The combination of 'Serb' and 'Croat' is clear, but the specific historical and linguistic context of the combined term is not immediately obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Serbo-Croat joins the names Serb and Croat, so it simply means the 'language of Serbs and Croats'. It was used for the shared language of the former country Yugoslavia, but today those varieties are often called separate languages like Serbian or Croatian.