Let’s learn about Bosnian! We’ve gathered some background information and interesting facts about the language. Check out our newest children’s books available in Bosnian.
Where Is Bosnian Spoken?
Bosnian is spoken primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina by about 2.5 million people. Bosnian is one of the country’s three official languages, along with Croatian and Serbian.
Located in Southeast Europe on the Balkan Peninsula, Bosnia and Herzegovina borders Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. It also has a 12-mile coastline along the Adriatic Sea. The capital and largest city is Sarajevo, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984. In 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from the former Yugoslavia.
Bosnian in the United States
Approximately 270,000 Bosnian speakers live in the United States, with the largest concentration in St. Louis, MO. Other sizable concentrations are in Chicago and New York City as well as Utica, New York, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Interesting Facts About Bosnian
Although the name Bosnian became officially recognized in the 20th century, the language has a much longer history. It has been influenced by the many political and cultural events that have shaped the region.
The Bosnian language belongs to the South Slavic group within the larger Slavic language family and is very closely related to Serbian and Croatian. Speakers of these languages can understand one another as they share a common linguistic foundation. However, Bosnian has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, regional dialects, and linguistic features that give it a distinct identity.
Bosnian has also been written using different writing systems throughout history. Today, the Latin alphabet is more commonly used in daily life. However, Bosnian can also be written in Cyrillic. Although less common, it remains an important link to the past.
Another interesting feature of Bosnian is its stress and pitch system. The language has five basic vowel sounds, and vowels can be either long or short. Bosnian also uses pitch accent, meaning that the pitch of the voice can rise or fall on a stressed syllable. How these accents are used can vary by region and speaker.
Bosnian Bilingual Children’s Books
Looking for fun, bilingual ways to connect with kids who speak or are learning Bosnian? Language Lizard offers a fantastic selection of dual-language books featuring both English and Bosnian text that readers of all ages will love.
To discover even more world languages, check out our Language Spotlight series. You can dive into resources for many languages, including Kinyarwanda, Tigrinya, Hmong, Cherokee, Hindi, Dari, Pashto, and Ukrainian.