Slovakia Languages

Description
The languages spoken in Slovakia are
 * Slovak is the official language and is part of the Slavic language family.
 * Slovak is closely related to Czech and Polish. The Slovak vocabulary has been influenced by Latin, German, and other Slavic languages.
 * Hungarian is spoken in the southern regions.
 * Rusyn is spoken in parts of the Northeast.

More than 60% of the population in Slovakia speaks two or more foreign languages. They include
 * Czech - most known in Slovakia.
 * English - most used at a conversational level.
 * German - second most used
 * Russian - third used

NOTE: In municipalities where the minority population is more than 15% in two consecutive censuses, the minority language is considered co-official.

Before 1918 the Slovak lands were part of the Kingdom of Hungary which, together with Austria, constituted the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Records written before 1918 may be in Hungarian, Latin, German, or Slovak. Slovak records often contain Hungarian, Latin, or German words.

Map of Language Distribution in 1930

'''However, except for modern records of the 1900s, records in Slovakia were written mostly in Latin and Hungarian. Many records were also written in German.''' Other languages sometimes used in Slovak records include Ukrainian (Ruthene dialect), Czech, Slovak, [[Media:Old_Church_Slavonic_Numbers%2C_Dates%2C_and_Months_by_Matthew_Bialawa.pdf|Old Church Slavonic]], Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish.

Word List(s)

 * Slovak phrasebook. Bratislava: Lingea, 2016. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Gálová-Lorinc, Sylvia and John M. Lorinc. Slovak-English, English-Slovak dictionary and phrasebook. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1999. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Hungarian phrasebook & dictionary. Carlton, Victoria: Lonely Planet Global Limited, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Useful Slovak phrases - Omniglot
 * Family words in Slovak - Omniglot
 * Useful Hungarian phrases - Omniglot
 * Useful phrases in Carpatho-Rusyn - Omniglot
 * Useful Czech phrases - Omniglot
 * Slovak Genealogical Word List
 * Czech Genealogical Word List
 * Hungarian Genealogical Word List
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Russian Genealogical Word List
 * Polish Genealogical Word List
 * Latin Genealogical Word List

Alphabet and Pronunciation
Alphabet The Slovak alphabet uses several letters in addition to the 26 letters used in the English alphabet. These are á, ä, č, ď, é, í, ĺ, ľ, ň, ó, ô, ŕ, š, ť, ú, ý, ž. The letter combinations dz, dž, and ch are also considered as single letters, dz and dž is alphabetized after d and ch is alphabetized after h. Letters q, w, and x are used only in words of foreign origin.
 * Slovak alphabet - Omniglot
 * Hungarian alphabet - Omniglot
 * Rusyn alphabet - Omniglot
 * Czech alphabet - Omniglot

Lemko language is described as a dialect of the Ukrainian language, a dialect of the Rusyn language and more recently sometimes described as a distinct dialect of the Slovak. In any case, the Lemko tongue and the Ukrainian language are akin but not always mutually intelligible. Rusyn (also referred to as the Ruthenian language) is similar to the Slovak language and Ukrainian language; Ukrainian scholars consider Rusyn a dialect of Ukrainian.

Pronunciation
 * Slovak pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Slovak pronunciation dictionary - Forvo
 * Hungarian pronunciation- Omniglot
 * Hungarian pronunciation dictionary - Forvo
 * Rusyn pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Rusyn pronunciation dictionary - Forvo
 * Czech pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Czech pronunciation dictionary - Forvo

Language Aids and Dictionaries
Dictionaries
 * Watson, Maria. My first picture dictionary. English - Slovak. Stanmore, United Kingdom: Biblio Bee Publications, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Šimko, Ján. English Slovak dictionary. Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci, 1991. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Trnka, Nina. Slovak-English, English-Slovak dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1992. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Hungarian phrasebook & dictionary. Footscray, Vic: Lonely Planet, 2012. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Kelly, Nancy J. Rusin/Rusyn -- American Dictionary. Syracuse: Hale Mary Press, 2016. Available at: WorldCat.

Slovak dictionaries and indexes use the following alphabetical order: a,á,ä b c č d,ď dz,dž e,é f g h ch i,í j k l,ĺ,ľ m n,ň o,ó,ô p (q) r,ŕ s š t,ť u,ú v (w) ( x) y,ý z ž

Online Dictionaries
 * Dictionary English - Slovak - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Hungarian - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Rusyn - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Czech - Glosbe

Language Aids
 * Rubach, Jerzy. The lexical phonology of Slovak. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Zybatow, Gerhild, Petr Biskup, Marcel Guhl, and Claudia Hurtig. Slavic grammar from a formal perspective. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Edition, 2015. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Pugh, Stefan. The Rusyn language : a grammar. Muenchen: Lincom Europa, 2009. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Alberti, Gábor and Tibor Laczkó. Syntax of Hungarian. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Alberti, Gábor and Tibor Láczko. Syntax of Hungarian Nouns and Noun Phrases, Volume 2. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2017. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Naughton, J. D. and Karen von Kunes. Czech : an essential grammar. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2021. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

 * Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. Historical Dictionary of Slovakia. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2014. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. The A to Z of Slovakia. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2010. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Vaňko, Juraj. The language of Slovakia's Rusyns. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. Available at: WorldCat.

Handwriting Lessons on FamilySearch Learning Center:
 * German Paleography Seminar - 10 classes
 * German Paleography Seminar - Lessons on German Handwriting
 * Old German Script
 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Part 3 (German Church and Civil Records)
 * Latin in German Church Records
 * Latin for Genealogists