Šokac (''šokački jezik'') was a language listed in Austro-Hungarian censuses. Population censuses performed in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

recorded the native language of the citizens, whereby Šokac was declared as native language to one part of the population, presumably members of the

Šokci Šokci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Šokci, Шокци, , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Šokac, Шокац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Šokica, Шокица; ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native t ...

ethnic group. According to the 1910 census, the speakers of Šokac were recorded in the Bačka-Bodrog County, in the municipalities of

Apatin Apatin ( sr-Cyrl, Апатин, , ) is a town and municipality located in the West Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022 census, the population of the town is 14,613, while the municipality has 23,155 inhabita ...

, Baja,

Odžaci Odžaci ( sr-cyrl, Оџаци, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the West Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town of Odžaci has a population of 7,556 people, while the population of the municipality of ...

, and Palanka. Although, not very different from Croatian or Serbian

Shtokavian Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige supradialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin stand ...

speech, Šokac could be identified along with Slavonian dialect of the Old-Shtokavian speech. Today, most of the members of the Šokci community declare themselves as

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

in the census, and their language as Croatian or Serbian.

Distribution

The Slavonian dialect is spoken by Šokci who live in some parts of

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

, Baranja,

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

, in eastern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, northern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

(

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

), and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, as well as in northern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. The Slavonian dialect has mixed

Ikavian Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige supradialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin standa ...

and

Ekavian Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige supradialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin standa ...

pronunciation. Ikavian accent is predominant in the

Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning fro ...

, Baranja, Bačka, and in the Slavonian enclave of

Derventa Derventa ( sr-cyrl, Дервента) is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Posavina region, northwest of the city of Doboj. As of 2013, the town has a total of 11,631 inhabitants, while the municipality has ...

and ''Orašje'', while Ekavian accent is predominant in Podravina. There are also enclaves of one accent in the territory of the other, as well as mixed Ekavian–Ikavian and Jekavian–Ikavian areas. In some villages in

, the original ''yat'' is preserved. Local variants can widely differ with the degree of Neo-Shtokavian influence. The oldest variant of this dialect persisted in some settlements of Sava river valley between Gradiška and Brod: chiefly in Davor, Orubica, ''Siče'', and ''Magić-Mala''. There the terminal ''l'' e.g. in the verb ''nosil'' has been retained (instead of modern ''nosio'' = ''carried''), and ''pepel'' instead of new ''pepeo'' (ash). The old group ''"šć"'' is conserved instead of modern ''št'' e.g. ''šćap'' (not modern ''štap'' = stick), and the archaic accents are often ''terminal'' or penultimate, rarely initial in polysyllabic words. In some villages in the Podravina ''čr'' instead of the usual ''cr'' is preserved, for example in old ''črn'' instead of new ''crn'' (''black''). All these features are usual in

Chakavian Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic supradialect or language spoken by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmatia, Istria, Croatian L ...

and

Kajkavian Kajkavian is a South Slavic languages, South Slavic supradialect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia and Gorski Kotar. It is part of the South Slavic dialect continuum, being transitional to the supradialects of Č ...

, but rare Old-Shtokavian dialects also have these features.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokac language Languages of Vojvodina Languages of Croatia Croatian language Dialects of Serbo-Croatian

Distribution

See also

References