Languages of Montenegro are languages that are spoken in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. According to the

Constitution of Montenegro The current Constitution of Montenegro was ratified and adopted by the Constitutional Parliament of Montenegro on 19 October 2007 in an extraordinary session by achieving the required two-thirds supermajority of votes. It was officially proclaimed ...

, adopted in 2007, Montenegro has only one

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

, specified as Montenegrin. However, at the 2011 census, 42% of the population declared Serbian to be their native language, while Montenegrin was the second most common at 37%. Both Montenegrin and Serbian are standardized varieties of the

Serbo-Croatian language Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia a ...

, alongside Bosnian and Croatian. However, an official

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

for Montenegrin is still in the process of being formulated. The Montenegrin language is written in the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and Cyrillic alphabets, but there is a growing political movement to use only the Latin alphabet. Legally recognized minority languages are Albanian, Bosnian, and Croatian. As of 2017, Albanian is an official language of the municipalities of

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...

Ulcinj Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic co ...

, Bar, Pljevlja, Rozaje and

Tuzi Tuzi ( cnr, Tuzi/Тузи, ; sq, Tuz or ''Tuzi'') is a small town in Montenegro and the seat of Tuzi Municipality, Montenegro. It is located along a main road between the city of Podgorica and the Albanian border crossing, just a few kilometers ...

. Additionally, there are a few hundred Italians in Montenegro, concentrated in the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the hi ...

(''Cattaro'').

Minority languages of Montenegro

The

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, th ...

entered into force in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

in June 2006, following the independence of Montenegro from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro on 3 June 2006. The

from 2007 states that Montenegrin is the

of the country, while Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Albanian are languages in official use. The Constitution states that languages in official use are those of groups that form at least 1% of the population of Montenegro, as per the 2003 population census. The Law on National Minorities specifies that the percentage of members of national minorities in total population of the local government should be 15% in order for their language and script to be introduced in official use. Media founded by the Montenegro government are obliged to broadcast news, cultural, educational, sports and entertainment programs in minority languages. Minorities and their members have the right to education in their language in regular and vocational education.

Dialects

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Languages Of Montenegro

Minority languages of Montenegro

Dialects

See also

References