Slovakia Languages

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Description[edit | edit source]

The languages spoken in Slovakia are [1] [2]

  • Slovak is the official language and is part of the Slavic language family.
    • Slovak is closely related to Czech and Polish. The Slovak vocabulary has been influenced by Latin, German, and other Slavic languages.
  • Hungarian is spoken in the southern regions.
  • Rusyn is spoken in parts of the Northeast.

More than 60% of the population in Slovakia speaks two or more foreign languages. They include

  • Czech - most known in Slovakia.
  • English - most used at a conversational level.
  • German - second most used
  • Russian - third used

NOTE: In municipalities where the minority population is more than 15% in two consecutive censuses, the minority language is considered co-official.

Before 1918 the Slovak lands were part of the Kingdom of Hungary which, together with Austria, constituted the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Records written before 1918 may be in Hungarian, Latin, German, or Slovak. Slovak records often contain Hungarian, Latin, or German words.

Map of Language Distribution in 1930
Slovakia languages.png

However, except for modern records of the 1900s, records in Slovakia were written mostly in Latin and Hungarian. Many records were also written in German. Other languages sometimes used in Slovak records include Ukrainian (Ruthene dialect), Czech, Slovak, Old Church Slavonic, Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish.

Word List(s)[edit | edit source]

Alphabet and Pronunciation[edit | edit source]

Alphabet The Slovak alphabet uses several letters in addition to the 26 letters used in the English alphabet. These are á, ä, č, ď, é, í, ĺ, ľ, ň, ó, ô, ŕ, š, ť, ú, ý, ž. The letter combinations dz, dž, and ch are also considered as single letters, dz and dž is alphabetized after d and ch is alphabetized after h. Letters q, w, and x are used only in words of foreign origin.

Lemko language is described as a dialect of the Ukrainian language, a dialect of the Rusyn language and more recently sometimes described as a distinct dialect of the Slovak. In any case, the Lemko tongue and the Ukrainian language are akin but not always mutually intelligible. Rusyn (also referred to as the Ruthenian language) is similar to the Slovak language and Ukrainian language; Ukrainian scholars consider Rusyn a dialect of Ukrainian.

Lemko Script.jpg
Lemko Script 2.jpg

Pronunciation

Language Aids and Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

Dictionaries

  • Watson, Maria. My first picture dictionary. English - Slovak. Stanmore, United Kingdom: Biblio Bee Publications, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Šimko, Ján. English Slovak dictionary. Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci, 1991. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Trnka, Nina. Slovak-English, English-Slovak dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1992. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Hungarian phrasebook & dictionary. Footscray, Vic: Lonely Planet, 2012. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Kelly, Nancy J. Rusin/Rusyn -- American Dictionary. Syracuse: Hale Mary Press, 2016. Available at: WorldCat.

Slovak dictionaries and indexes use the following alphabetical order:
a,á,ä b c č d,ď dz,dž e,é f g h ch i,í j k l,ĺ,ľ m n,ň o,ó,ô p (q) r,ŕ s š t,ť u,ú v (w) ( x) y,ý z ž

Online Dictionaries

Language Aids

  • Rubach, Jerzy. The lexical phonology of Slovak. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Zybatow, Gerhild, Petr Biskup, Marcel Guhl, and Claudia Hurtig. Slavic grammar from a formal perspective. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Edition, 2015. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Pugh, Stefan. The Rusyn language : a grammar. Muenchen: Lincom Europa, 2009. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Alberti, Gábor and Tibor Laczkó. Syntax of Hungarian. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Alberti, Gábor and Tibor Láczko. Syntax of Hungarian Nouns and Noun Phrases, Volume 2. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2017. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Naughton, J. D. and Karen von Kunes. Czech : an essential grammar. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2021. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources[edit | edit source]

  • Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. Historical Dictionary of Slovakia. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2014. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. The A to Z of Slovakia. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2010. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Vaňko, Juraj. The language of Slovakia's Rusyns. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. Available at: WorldCat.

Handwriting Lessons on FamilySearch Learning Center:

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Slovakia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia#:~:text=The%20official%20language, accessed 16 May 2023.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Slovak language," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_language, accessed 16 May 2023.

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