While many

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...

officially use Latin-derived names for the

months A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words ''month'' and ''Moon'' are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar m ...

of the year in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

, there is also a set of older names for the twelve months that differs from the Latin month names, as they are of Slavic origin. In some languages, such as the

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...

these traditional names have since been archaized and are thus seldom used. The original names of the months of the year in the Slavic languages closely follow natural occurrences such as weather patterns and conditions common for that period, as well as agricultural activities. Many months have several alternative names in different regions; conversely, a single "Slavic name" may correspond to different "Roman names" (for different months, usually following each other) in different languages.

Comparison table

The Slavic names of the months have been preserved by a number of Slavic people in a variety of languages. The conventional month names in some of these languages are mixed, including names which show the influence of the

Germanic calendar The early Germanic calendars were the regional calendars used among the early Germanic peoples before they adopted the Julian calendar in the Early Middle Ages. The calendars were an element of early Germanic culture. The Germanic peoples had name ...

(particularly Slovene, Sorbian, and Polabian) or names which are borrowed from the

(particularly Polish and Kashubian), but they have been included here nonetheless. In Latvian and Lithuanian, the Baltic names of the months are preserved, which partially coincide with the Slavic ones, which suggests that some of these names may date back to the time of

Balto-Slavic The Balto-Slavic languages form a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family of languages, traditionally comprising the Baltic languages, Baltic and Slavic languages. Baltic and Slavic languages share several linguistic traits ...

linguistic unity. Latvian and Lithuanian names are also shown in this table for comparison. Words are colored according to etymology. * word of non-Slavic or non-Baltic origin

Croatian months

The Croatian months used with the

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 ...

differ from the original

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

month names. While subject to variation over the earlier centuries, their names and order have been standardised in 1830s through the efforts of the

Illyrian movement The Illyrian movement (; ) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of the 19th century, around the years of 1835 t ...

and its chief linguist Vjekoslav Babukić.

Czech months

The names of Czech months are, as in Belarusian, Croatian, Kashubian, Polish, and Ukrainian, not based on the Latin names used in most European languages. The

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

''-en'' is added to most of the months' names.

Macedonian months

The

Macedonian language Macedonian ( ; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch. Sp ...

has two sets of names of the months of the

. The most commonly used set of names is derived from the

month names and these are used by the vast majority of the Macedonian population. However, there is also a set of older names for the twelve months of Slavic origin that differ from the Latin month names, although their usage is archaized and largely restricted to folk literature and religious calendars issued by the

Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; ), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese of Ohrid (AO), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church ...

. The origin of the Macedonian month names is closely related to the

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

activities that occur in the corresponding period, or to the

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmo ...

conditions common for that period. Some months have alternative names in different regions. The usage of modern Latin month names among Macedonians started towards the end of the

19th century The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was Abolitionism, ...

, as a result of mass education.

Polish months

The names of Polish months are, as in Belarusian, Croatian, Czech, Kashubian, and Ukrainian, not based on the Latin names used in most European languages, with the exception of March and May, which were borrowed from the

Russian months

The names of Russian months used with the

by vast majority of the Russian population. The most of names for the twelve months of Slavic origin that is differ from the

month names and standardized set of archaic that issued by

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...

Slovene months

Many of the names in the standardized set of archaic Slovene month names first occur in the Škofja Loka manuscript, written in 1466 by Martin of Loka.

Ukrainian months

The names of Ukrainian months are not based on the Latin names used in most European languages. Latin names are not used at all, though it's possible to hear distorted versions of Russian or Polish names in

surzhyk Surzhyk ( Ukrainian and Russian: , ) is a Ukrainian– Russian pidgin used in certain regions of Ukraine and the neighboring regions of Russia and Moldova. The vocabulary mix of each of its constituent languages (Ukrainian and Russian) varies ...

sometimes. The

''-en'' is added to most of the months' names.

Notes

References

External links

* http://projetbabel.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7222 – A comprehensive table of Slavic and Baltic month names, explanation in French * http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages\M\O\Monthsoftheyear.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Slavic calendar

Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

Church Slavonic language Specific calendars Liturgical calendars Months Calendars