The languages of Slovenia, explained

What language is spoken in Slovenia?

The government describes it as a South Slavic language, with six cases, three genders and an alphabet of 25 letters for 29 sounds. The striking thing is that it keeps the dual, a grammatical form for talking about exactly two of something, alongside singular and plural. It has more than 40 dialects, which is remarkable for a country of two million people, and it has been an official EU language since accession in 2004. Around 1.85 million of its native speakers live in Slovenia.

Italian and Hungarian are official too

Where communities are mixed, two more languages share official status, Italian along the coast and Hungarian over in Prekmurje. You’ll see it in municipality names, which SURS gives with a slash, Piran/Pirano by the sea or Lendava/Lendva near Hungary, for instance. Here I write the Slovenian name first and add the other in brackets on first mention, and I’d keep both in mind when reading a map. If you drive from Koper to Piran, an Italian-language map will call them Capodistria and Pirano. The full list is in the municipalities of Slovenia.

The history of Slovenian

Written Slovenian has a birthday. In 1550 Primož Trubar published the first printed books in the language, a catechism and a primer, and in 1584 came Jurij Dalmatin’s Bible and Adam Bohorič’s grammar. Those books were born of the Reformation, which is why 31 October, Reformation Day, is still a work-free day across the country. The national anthem is the seventh stanza of «Zdravljica», a poem by France Prešeren (1800-1849), and 8 February, Prešeren Day, is the national day of culture. How it all fits into the country’s story is in the history of Slovenia.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Piran before prices climb.

Do people speak English in Slovenia?

There’s no official figure for how many people speak English or German, so I won’t give you a percentage. What’s verifiable is that the Tourist Board and the headline attractions, such as Postojna Cave or the castles at Bled and Ljubljana, all have English websites. I’d still take a few words of Slovenian for everything else, because it’s a courtesy that costs nothing.

The words I’d learn

Hello, thank you, please and goodbye. With those and a smile you’ll get by anywhere in the country, and once you know how they sound, place names with č, š and ž stop being intimidating. A short list of greetings and courtesies, each with its stressed syllable, is in Slovenian phrases for travellers. More of the country’s oddities, from Guinness records to old dates, are in facts about Slovenia.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Piran and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Piran before prices climb.