The Balkan Republic of Montenegro, which was once part of Yugoslavia, is increasingly appearing in the requests of Russian tourists as a destination for summer holidays. The official language of Montenegro is the Iekava-Shtokava dialect of Serbian, which is officially called the Montenegrin language. This fact was attested in 2007 in the Basic Law of the country.
Some statistics and facts
- Despite the official status of the state, Montenegrin serves as a native for only 21% of the country's population.
- The widespread use of Serbian proves the existence of 63.5% of the inhabitants of Montenegro who speak it at home and at work.
- Albanian is also the official language in Ulcinj Municipality.
- The Bay of Kotor is home to up to 500 ethnic Italians who communicate in their native language.
- Bosnian and Albanian in Montenegro are spoken by 5.5% of its inhabitants.
In and around Podgorica
Most of the Montenegrin speakers live in the old historical area near Podgorica. This dialect differs from the standard variants of Serbian and Croatian only in some morphological features. In other words, residents of different former Yugoslav republics are able, in principle, to understand each other.
The literary standard for the state language of Montenegro has not yet been established, since the separation of the Iekava-Shtokava dialect from Serbian as an independent dialect took place only a few years ago. However, the percentage of those who speak it and consider Montenegrin as a native is steadily increasing every year.
Tourist notes
Russian was still taught in the republics of the former Yugoslavia several decades ago, and therefore it is quite possible to meet a representative of the older generation who still understands it in Montenegro. Young people are learning English, and in tourist places this language is the most popular in hotels and restaurants. In English, it's easy to find menus or maps with city attractions. Even residents of resorts on the Adriatic who rent out their apartments or rooms in houses to tourists speak fluent English.
In the most popular beach regions of Montenegro, Russian speech is increasingly heard among young people. Domestic tourists notice with satisfaction that in Budva, Kotor and Herzog Novi, in cafes and hotels, staff appears who speak Russian at a very decent level.
