HOME | DD

Description
Slovak is a Western Slavic language diverse in dialects, out of all Slavic languages only outmached by Slovene. Theyre often divided into 3 major groups, Western (1.1), Central (1.2) and Eastern (1.3) Slovak. Western and Eastern Slovak are both exclusively Western Slavic, their major differences being their rhythm, vocabulary and accent, with Western Slovak being closer to Czech and Eastern Slovak to Polish. Central Slovak dialects, while overall serving as a bridge between the two groups, also have a fair share of "alien" linguistic features, closely resembling South Slavic languages, especially Slovene and Kajkavian, the language spoken in Croatia proper. These are thought to have entered the dialects with South Slavic refugees fleeing either the Avars or the Old Hungarians.

While ancestors of Slovaks, the early Slavs, had been living in Slovakia since the late 5th century AD, and formed multiple polities prior to the Hungarian invasion, like the principality of Nitra or Great Morava, the earliest complete texts in various Slovak dialects date to the 15th century, when Slovak and Slovakized Czech had begun replacing Latin as the cultural language of Slovaks, although Slovak toponyms, personal and family names and short words and phrases had been recorded substantially earlier. The earliest (late 18th century) attempts at codifying Slovak were based mostly on the Trnava (1.1.2) dialect, as Trnava was an important religious and cultural centre of Slovakia, but modern Standard Slovak, codified in 1846 and highly revised in 1852, is based mostly on the Turiec (1.2.2) dialect, whith some influence from Western and other Central Slovak dialects.

The largest minority in Slovakia are the Hungarians, who speak a Ugro-Finnic language, Hungarian (6). They arrived in the Carpathian basin in the late 8th and early 9th centuries, and had completely conquered inhabited territories in Slovakia by the 11th century AD. Originally a nomadic culture, they quickly adopted the "civilized" way of life, settling down, absorbing a significant amount of Slavic, and, to a lesser extent, Germanic vocabulary in the process.

Germans (5) started colonizing Slovakia in the mid-13th century, after the Mongols has destroyed a large share of Slovak territories, notably Bratislava and its vicinity, and some parts of Spiš, which were fully decimated. They were expelled after WW2 by the Czechoslovak government, supposedly for cooperating with the Nazis. As to how an entire ethnic group composed of more than a hundred thousand people, each with their own ambitions, experiences and opinions, can all collectively be responsible for the actions of some individuals, I'm unable to explain.

Goral (2) and Rusyn (3) dialects, both Slavic, entered Slovakia during the 14th to 17th centuries with the Wallachian migrations, when shepherds were settled in areas unconductive to farming. Goral dialects are most often classified as Polish or transitional Polish-Slovak, while Rusyn is considered a distinct language in Slovakia and other countries where it's spoken, except for Ukraine, where it's considered a Ukrainian dialect.

The last language to gain a majority anywhere in Slovakia was Croatian (4). As a consequence of constant Turkish raids in Croatia in the 16th century, a countless number of Croats migrated to Slovakia and other neighboring countries. Most Croat villages, like Chorvátsky Grob or Devínska Nová Ves had already been assimilated by Slovaks in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, with only Jarovce and Čunovo retaining a lively Croatian minority to this day.

Description
Slovak is a Western Slavic language diverse in dialects, out of all Slavic languages only outmached by Slovene. Theyre often divided into 3 major groups, Western (1.1), Central (1.2) and Eastern (1.3) Slovak. Western and Eastern Slovak are both exclusively Western Slavic, their major differences being their rhythm, vocabulary and accent, with Western Slovak being closer to Czech and Eastern Slovak to Polish. Central Slovak dialects, while overall serving as a bridge between the two groups, also have a fair share of "alien" linguistic features, closely resembling South Slavic languages, especially Slovene and Kajkavian, the language spoken in Croatia proper. These are thought to have entered the dialects with South Slavic refugees fleeing either the Avars or the Old Hungarians.

While ancestors of Slovaks, the early Slavs, had been living in Slovakia since the late 5th century AD, and formed multiple polities prior to the Hungarian invasion, like the principality of Nitra or Great Morava, the earliest complete texts in various Slovak dialects date to the 15th century, when Slovak and Slovakized Czech had begun replacing Latin as the cultural language of Slovaks, although Slovak toponyms, personal and family names and short words and phrases had been recorded substantially earlier. The earliest (late 18th century) attempts at codifying Slovak were based mostly on the Trnava (1.1.2) dialect, as Trnava was an important religious and cultural centre of Slovakia, but modern Standard Slovak, codified in 1846 and highly revised in 1852, is based mostly on the Turiec (1.2.2) dialect, whith some influence from Western and other Central Slovak dialects.

The largest minority in Slovakia are the Hungarians, who speak a Ugro-Finnic language, Hungarian (6). They arrived in the Carpathian basin in the late 8th and early 9th centuries, and had completely conquered inhabited territories in Slovakia by the 11th century AD. Originally a nomadic culture, they quickly adopted the "civilized" way of life, settling down, absorbing a significant amount of Slavic, and, to a lesser extent, Germanic vocabulary in the process.

Germans (5) started colonizing Slovakia in the mid-13th century, after the Mongols has destroyed a large share of Slovak territories, notably Bratislava and its vicinity, and some parts of Spiš, which were fully decimated. They were expelled after WW2 by the Czechoslovak government, supposedly for cooperating with the Nazis. As to how an entire ethnic group composed of more than a hundred thousand people, each with their own ambitions, experiences and opinions, can all collectively be responsible for the actions of some individuals, I'm unable to explain.

Goral (2) and Rusyn (3) dialects, both Slavic, entered Slovakia during the 14th to 17th centuries with the Wallachian migrations, when shepherds were settled in areas unconductive to farming. Goral dialects are most often classified as Polish or transitional Polish-Slovak, while Rusyn is considered a distinct language in Slovakia and other countries where it's spoken, except for Ukraine, where it's considered a Ukrainian dialect.

The last language to gain a majority anywhere in Slovakia was Croatian (4). As a consequence of constant Turkish raids in Croatia in the 16th century, a countless number of Croats migrated to Slovakia and other neighboring countries. Most Croat villages, like Chorvátsky Grob or Devínska Nová Ves had already been assimilated by Slovaks in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, with only Jarovce and Čunovo retaining a lively Croatian minority to this day.