Languages of the Balkans

This is a list of languages spoken in regions ruled by Balkan countries. With the exception of several Turkic languages, all of them belong to the Indo-European family. A subset of these languages is notable for forming a well-studied sprachbund, a group of languages that have developed some striking structural similarities over time.

Indo-European languages

Germanic

• Yiddish (Slovenia, Romania)
• Austrian German (Slovenia)

Albanian

• Arvanitika
  • Northwestern Arvanitika
  • Southcentral Arvanitika
  • Thracean Arvanitika
• Gheg
• Standard Albanian
• Arbëresh
• Tosk
• Istrian

Hellenic languages

• Cappadocian Greek
• Pontic Greek
• Standard Greek
• Tsakonian

Indo-Aryan languages

• Romani

Slavic languages

Eastern South Slavic

• Bulgarian
• Macedonian

Transitional dialects

• Transitional Bulgarian dialects
• Transitional Serbo-Croatian dialects (Našinski/Torlakian)

East Slavic

• Pannonian Rusyn

Western South Slavic

• Slovene
• Serbo-Croatian with standardized varieties based on the Shtokavian dialect:
  • Bosnian
  • Croatian
  • Montenegrin
  • Serbian

Regiolects

• Chakavian
• Kajkavian

Romance languages

• Aromanian
• Istriot (in western Istria)
• Istro-Romanian (In eastern Istria)
• Italian (on the Adriatic coast)
• Ladino (in Greece, Turkey, Bosnia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania)
• Megleno-Romanian (Meglenenitic)
• Romanian

Turkic languages

• Crimean Tatar
• Gagauz
• Tatar
• Turkish

Extinct languages

These are the extinct languages that were once spoken in the Balkans:

• Ancient Macedonian
• Dacian
• Dalmatian
• Eteocretan
• Eteocypriot
• Illyrian
• Lemnian
• Liburnian
• Ottoman Turkish
• Paeonian
• Pelasgian
• Phrygian
• Thracian

See also

• Balkan sprachbund
• Paleo-Balkan languages

• v
• t
• e

Countries on the Balkan Peninsula

Geographically fully located

• Albania
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Kosovo
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia

Significantly located

• Greece (mainland)
• Serbia (Central Serbia)

Partially located

• Croatia (southern mainland)
• Slovenia (south-western part)

Mostly outside the peninsula

• Italy (Monfalcone and Trieste)
• Romania (Northern Dobruja)
• Turkey (East Thrace)

See also

• Balkan languages (Sprachbund)
• Balkanization
• History of the Balkans
• Southeast Europe