Serbo-Croatian

• Serbo-Croatian /ˌsɜːrboʊkroʊˈeɪʃən, -bə-/ ( listen),[7][8] also called Serbo-

Croat /ˌsɜːrboʊˈkroʊæt, -bə-/,[7][8] Serbo-Croat-Bosnian(SCB),[9] Bosnian-Croatian-
Serbian (BCS),[10] or Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS),[11] is a South
Slavic languageand the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four[12]mutually
intelligible standard varieties.
• South Slavic dialects historically formed a continuum. The turbulent history of the
area, particularly due to expansion of the Ottoman Empire, resulted in a
patchwork of dialectal and religious differences. Due to population
migrations, Shtokavian became the most widespread dialect in the western
Balkans, intruding westwards into the area previously occupied
by Chakavian and Kajkavian (which further blend into Slovenian in the
northwest). Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs differ in religion and were historically often
part of different cultural circles, although a large part of the nations have lived side
by side under foreign overlords. During that period, the language was referred to
under a variety of names, such as "Slavic", "Illyrian", or according to region,
"Bosnian", "Serbian" and "Croatian", the latter often in combination with
"Slavonian" or "Dalmatian".