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

Albanian

• Arvanitika
  • Northwestern Arvanitika
  • Southcentral Arvanitika
  • Thracean Arvanitika
• Gheg
• Tosk

Hellenic languages

• Cappadocian Greek
• Standard Greek
• Pontic Greek
• Tsakonian

Romance languages

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

Slavic languages

Western South Slavic

• Serbo-Croatian (with its standard languages Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Montenegrin)
  • Shtokavian dialect
  • Chakavian dialect
  • Kajkavian dialect
• Slovenian

Transitional dialects

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

Eastern South Slavic

• Bulgarian
• Macedonian

Indo-Aryan languages

• Romani

Turkic languages

• Crimean Tatar
• Gagauz
• Tatar
• Turkish

Caucasian languages

• Circassian

Extinct languages

These are extinct languages that were once spoken in the Balkans

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

See also

• Balkan language area
• Paleo-Balkan languages