Serbian and Croatian are South Slavic languages spoken in what is now known as the Former Yugoslavia. This includes the four new countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Together, these countries have over 17 million speakers. The grammars of the two languages are very similar, and most differences are in vocabulary. In addition, Croatian exclusively uses the Latin alphabet while Serbian uses both Latin and the Cyrillic alphabet (similar to the Russian alphabet).

At UT, we teach both languages in the same course and point out pertinent differences between the two as we pursue our studies of them. Serbian/Croatian is offered every year as a first year (SC 506/507) and a second year (SC312K/312L) course, through the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies.

When you master these courses, you will be able to communicate effectively throughout the South Balkan area. Knowledge of Serbian/Croatian would enable you to access the diverse culture and rich history of the Balkan region. This region produced great writers such as Ivo Andric, a Nobel Prize laureate, great scientists such as Nikola Tesla, famous movie directors such as Emir Kusturica, and of course, great basketball and tennis stars.