Serbs
Срби, Srbi

Stefan Nemanja Saint Sava Dušan the Mighty Tsar Lazar Karađorđe Njegoš Vuk Karadžić Nikola Tesla Mihajlo Pupin N. Petrović Stevan Mokranjac Jovan Cvijić Vidić Divac Kusturica Đoković
Total population
10.5 milliona
Regions with significant populations
Serbia 6,212,838b [1]  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,484,530 - 1,711,577 [2][3]
Rest of the Balkansc  Croatia 201,631 (2001) [4]  Montenegro 178,110 (2011) [5]  Slovenia 38,964 (2002) [6]  Macedonia 35,939 (2002) [7]  Romania 22,518 (2002) [8]  Greece 10,000 (2001) [9]  Albania 4,000 (2000) [10] Rest of Europe  Germany 568,240 (2004) [11]  Austria 350,000 (2008) [12]  Switzerland 186,000 (2008) [13]  Sweden 120,000 (2008) [14]  France 70-100,000 (2008) [15]  United Kingdom 70,000 (2005) [16]  Denmark 64,000 (2008) [17]  Italy 53,000 (2010) [18]  Belgium 19,857 (2008) [19]  Spain 10,000 (2008) [20]  Norway 9,064 (2007) [21]  Luxembourg 7,581 (2008) [22]  Hungary 7,350 (2002) [23]  Turkey 4,600 (2007)d [24]  Russia 4,156 (2002) [25] North America  United States 172,874 (2007)e [26]  Canada 72,690 (2006) [27] Africa, Asia and Oceania  Australia 95,364 (2009) [28]
Languages
Serbian
Religion
Predominantly Serbian Orthodox
Related ethnic groups
Other South Slavic peoples[29]
Footnotes
A Higher estimations exist. B excluding Kosovo. C Besides Serbia, at least 2,120,000 Serbs live in other Balkan countries according to the Diaspora ministry.[30] D An estimated 315,000 can claim Serbian descent.[31] E 328,547 declared as Yugoslavs.[32]

The Serbs (Serbian: Срби, Srbi, pronounced [sr̩̂bi]) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs live mainly in Serbia and the disputed territory of Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form significant minorities in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in Romania, Hungary, Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.^[33] There is also a large Serbian diaspora in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. More than a million people of Serbian origin live in German-speaking countries,^[34] including Luxembourg (1%),^[35] Austria (1.8%),^[12] Switzerland (1%), and Germany (~1%).^[36] Outside Europe, there are significant Serbian communities in the United States (198,000 Serbian plus additional 326,000 "Yugoslav" nationals),^[37][38] Canada (72,690 in 2006)^[39] and Australia (95,000 in 2006).^[40]

Ethnology[link]

The Serbs are a Slavic people, specifically of the South Slavic subgroup, which has its origins in the 6th and 7th century communities developed in Southeastern Europe (see Great Migration). Slav raids on Eastern Roman territory are mentioned in 518, and by the 580s they had conquered large areas referred to as Sclavinia (transl. Slavdom, from Sklavenoi – Σκλαυηνοι, the early South Slavic tribe which is eponymous to the current ethnic and linguistic Indo-European people).^[41] In 649, Constantine III relocates conquered Slavs "from the Vardar" to Gordoservon (Serb habitat). Among communities part in the Serb ethnogenesis are the Romanized Paleo-Balkan tribes of Illyrians, Thracians and Dacians, Celts, Greek colonies and Romans.

In 822, the Serbs are mentioned as "inhabiting the larger part of Dalmatia" (Serbian lands), and Emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959) writes in his work "De Administrando Imperio"^[42] about the Serbs, mentioning the White Serbs that "migrated from Βοϊκι" and formed a principality, as well as an early chronological list of Serbian monarchs starting from the 7th century. The Serbs subsequently developed a Byzantine-Slavic culture, like the neighbouring Bulgarians (who derive their ethnonym from the Turkic Bulgars, founders of their nation). The establishment of Christianity as state-religion took place around 869 AD, during the rule of Emperor Basil I (r. 867–886). The Serbian Orthodox Church was established in 1219. By the time of the Serbian Empire, the Serbo-Byzantine cultural sphere had besides the initial territories in Central Balkans, much of the Macedonia region and Epirus.

The loss at Battle of Kosovo in 1389 (see Ottoman wars in Europe and Serbian–Ottoman wars) marks the beginning of the fall of the Serbian monarchies, and prompts the migration of Serbs from their lands in the south towards the Christian lands i.e. north of the Ottoman borders, crossing rivers Danube and Sava settling in Central Europe (today's Vojvodina, Slavonia, Transylvania and Hungary proper). The Great Serbian Migrations refers to the relocation of peoples in two waves in the 17th century of tens of thousands Serbian families. Apart from the Habsburg Empire, thousands were attracted to Imperial Russia (Nova Serbia and Slavo-Serbia).

Exiled Serb military became mercenaries in European armies; Hussars (light cavalry in Hungary and Poland), Seimeni (infantry in Moldavia and Wallachia). Serbs organized several revolts and guerilla units, planned both inside and outside the Ottoman borders. The Hajduks and Uskoks were groups of freedom fighters, the Serbian Militia was a branch of the Austrian army under Leopold I. The Serbian revolution began in 1804.

Related[link]

Although the Serbs and Bulgarians share Slavic kinship, Orthodox Christianity and cultural traits, the two peoples have been relatively hostile against each other in history and were early on understood as distinct ethnic groups. The two are divided by the Southeastern versus Southwestern dialectal groups, although a large transitional dialectal area covers Southeastern Serbia, Western Bulgaria and Macedonia.

The Croats, who are mentioned in De Administrando as living adjacent to the Serbs, have a distinction of predominant sphere of influence; Croats are Roman Catholic, and are historically linked with the Holy Roman Empire from the early stage (Western Roman Empire); Italy, Austria and Hungary. A majority of the two ethnic groups have co-existed in the Habsburg Empire and Venetian territories throughout centuries, so links between the two nations have been maintained in that respect through common history.

The Bosniaks, whose ethnonym initially referred to Slavic Christians (Orthodox, Catholic and Bogomils) which co-existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Middle Ages, are today exclusively Muslims, since the Ottoman occupation.

The dialects of Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro are virtually the same language (see Serbo-Croatian).

Genetics[link]

Y-chromosomal haplogroups identified among the Serbs from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are the following:

• I2a-P37.2, with frequencies of 29.20% and 30.90%, respectively. The frequency of this haplogroup peaks in Herzegovina (64%), and its variance peaks over a large geographic area covering B-H, Serbia, Hungaria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. It is the second most predominant Y-chromosomal haplogroup in the overall Slavic gene pool.^[43]
• E1b1b1a2-V13, 20.35% and 19.80%. The frequency of this haplogroup peaks in Albania (24%), and is also high among Greeks, Romanians, Macedonian Slavs, Bulgarians, and southern Italians.^[43][44]
• R1a1-M17, 15.93% and 13.60%. The frequency of this haplogroup peaks in Poland (56.4%) and Ukraine (54.0%), and its variance peaks in northern Bosnia. It is the most predominant Y-chromosomal haplogroup in the overall Slavic gene pool.^[43][45]
• R1b1b2-M269, 10.62 and 6.20%. Its frequency peaks in Western Europe (90% in Wales).^[43]
• K*-M9, 7.08% and 7.40%
• J2b-M102, 4.40% and 6.20%
• I1-M253, 5.31% and 2.5%
• F*-M89, 4.9%, only in B-H
• J2a1b1-M92, 2.70%, only in Serbia

There are also several other uncommon haplogroups with lesser frequencies.^[43][44][45]

Name and etymologies[link]

Part of a series of articles on
Serbs
In the Balkans Former Yugoslavia Serbia Kosovo Vojvodina Bosnia & Herzegovina RS Croatia Republic of Macedonia Montenegro Slovenia Other Albania Greece Romania
Diaspora Europe Austria France Germany Hungary Italy Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom North America Canada United States Oceania Australia New Zealand South America Argentina Brazil Chile
By town or city Europe Budapest Dubrovnik Istanbul London Mostar Osijek Paris Sarajevo Szentendre Trieste Vienna Zagreb North America Chicago Los Angeles Toronto
Culture Religion Slava Christmas traditions Kinship Clans Costume Symbols Literature Epic poetry Cultural Heritage sites Art Architecture Music Cinema Sport Cuisine Dances
History Name History of Serbs History of Serbia Serbian lands Serbian rulers
Language Serbian Shtokavian South Slavic Church Slavonic Old Serbo-Croatian Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian
Related nations South Slavs Croats Bosniaks Montenegrins Yugoslavs Slovenes Macedonians Bulgarians
v t e

The ethnonym Serbs is thought to be first mentioned by Tacitus in 50 AD, Pliny the Elder in 77 AD (Naturalis Historia) and Ptolemy in his Geography 2nd century AD, who mention the Sarmatian tribe of Serboi of the North Caucasus and Lower Volga.^[46] Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (325–391) referred to the Carpathians as "Montes Serrorum" in his works, according to some, connected to the Serbs.^[47] The works of Vibius Sequester also mention the Serbs.^[48] Procopius uses the name Sporoi as an umbrella term for the Slavic tribes of Antes and Sclaveni, it is however not known whether the Slavs used this designation for themselves or he himself coined the term, it has been theorized however that the name is corruption of the ethnonym Serbs.^[48][49]

The Serb ethnonym is written as Σερβοι (Servoi), Sorabos, Surbi, Sorabi in early medieval sources.^[50] De Administrando Imperio mentions the realm of the Unknown Archont and his descendants (Vlastimirović dynasty) as Servlia.^[42][46] A mythological homeland was written as White Serbia or Boiki (derived from Proto-Slavic *bojь. = battle, war, fight), also, the town of Servia received its name from its temporary inhabitants – the Serbs.^[42][46] According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the first Russian chronicle, Serbs are among the first five Slav peoples who were enumerated by their names.^[51]

(< *serb-) is in the root of the Slavic word for "same" (modern исто - isto) in following languages: сербать - in Russian, Ukrainian, сербаць - in Belarussian, srbati - in Slovak, сърбам - in Bulgarian. серебати in Old Russian.^[52] Scholars have suggested that the Indo-European root *ser- 'to watch over, protect', akin to Latin servare 'to keep, guard, protect, preserve, observe',^[53] Old English searu 'weapons, armor, skill', Lithuanian sárgas 'watchman', are connected with the ethnonym.

Among other autonyms are Slavs, or the common historical demonyms Rascians (from Rascia^[54]) or Docleans (from Doclea).^[55] Historical exonyms include: Triballians and Dalmatians^[56] used by medieval Byzantine writers, and Illyrians^[57] in the Austrian Empire (term for South Slavs). Among deemed derogatory terms are Vlachs, referring to the Orthodox Serbs in Habsburg and Austro-Hungarian proximity.

History[link]

History of Serbia
This article is part of a series
By century
9th · 10th
Prehistory
Starčevo · Vinča · Vatin · Bosut · Scordisci · Triballi
Roman
(Illyria; Moesia · Pannonia · Dacia)
Middle Ages
Principality (768-969)
(Rascia · Doclea · Zachlumia · Travunia · Pagania)
Catepanate · Theme (969–1043)
Vojislavljević Doclea (998–1101)
Grand Principality (1101–1217)
Kingdom (1217–1346)
Kingdom of Syrmia (1282–1325)
Empire (1346–1371)
Fall · Lazar's Serbia (1371–1402)
Despotate (1402–1459)
Early modern
Ottoman (1402–1912)
State of Jovan Nenad (1526-1527)
Duchy of Radoslav Čelnik (1527-1530)
Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia (1718–1739)
Great Serb Migrations
Serbia (1804-1918)
Revolution (1804–1815)
Principality of Serbia (1817–1882)
Serbian Vojvodina (1848-1849)
Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (1849-1860)
Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918)
Serbia after 1918
Yugoslavia (1918–1992/2006)
German occupation (1941–1944)
Socialist Republic (1944–1990)
Federal Republic, then State Union (1990–2006)
Republic of Serbia (since 2006)
Timeline
Serbia Portal v t e

Origin[link]

The Slavs invaded Balkans during Justinian I rule (527–565), when eventually up to 100,000 Slavs raided Thessalonica. The Western Balkans was settled with "Sclaveni", the east with Antes.^[58] Archaeological evidence in Serbia and Macedonia conclude that the White Serbs may have reached the Balkans earlier, between 550–600, as much findings; fibulae and pottery found at Roman forts, point at Serb characteristics.^[59] The "White Serbs" mentioned by Porphyrogenitus could thus have been a fraction of these early Slavs.

Serb migration 610–641

According to Byzantine tradition, the Serbs (Σερβlοι) are recorded in the Empire with the arrival of the "Unknown Archont" and his White Serbs, who most likely hailed from Poland. The archon had led half of his people after the death of his father, a King, to the Balkans and asked Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641) of protection. The Serbs lived briefly in the West Macedonian town of Servia (which has retained its name from the Serbs), then in Belgrade they requested a portion of land and were given the desolate lands of Western Balkans. The mentioned horions of the Serbs were: Rascia, Travunia, Zachlumia, Bosnia, Pagania and Doclea.^[42]

The Slavs of the Empire lived in so-called Sklavinia, i.e. Slav lands. The Serbian Sklavinia is known to have stretched over modern south Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina and a large part of Dalmatia. The Slavs were administered into župe, a confederation of village communities headed by the local župan, a magistrate or governor. The power of the župan would subsequently emerge, and inherit an office similar to that of the strategoi.

The cultural ties with the Byzantine Empire contributed greatly to the Serbian ethnogenesis.

Middle Ages[link]

The first Serbian ruler, the same archon, died long before the Bulgar invasion (680). In 649 or 667, Emperor Constans II relocated Serbs from "around river Vardar" to Asia Minor (see Asia Minor Slavs). Some 30,000 soldiers in the city of Gordoservon (City of the Serbs), were to fight the Umayyad Caliphate, however they deserted the battlefield in 692 due to harsh treatment.^[62] There is a gap in rulers until the coming of the first Serbian Prince known by name, Višeslav, who was a contemporary with Charlemagne (768–814). Višeslav's son, or grandson, ruled during the uprisings of Ljudevit Posavski against the Franks in 819–822. According to the Royal Frankish Annals, in 822, Ljudevit went from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs somewhere in western Bosnia – the Serbs are mentioned as controlling the greater part of Dalmatia ("Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur").^[60][61]

Basil I with a delegation of Serbs and Croats

The Serbs and neighbouring Bulgars are known to have co-existed peacefully until the Bulgaro-Serbian Wars 839–842. The Bulgars had earlier conquered Timok, Braničevo and parts of Macedonia, and this prompted Prince Vlastimir to unite several tribes, which may have in turn prompted the Bulgars to invade. The invasion led to a three-year-war in which Serbia decisively won, the war ended with the death of the Emperor, which released Serbia from its obligations to the Empire.^[63] Vlastimir was succeeded by his son, Mutimir, of which reign is characterized by yet another victory against the Bulgars, and most importantly – the Christianization of Serbs.^[64][65] The Serbian fleet aided Basil I in his operation against the Saracens who sacked Ragusa in 869.^[66] Mutimir had feuded with his two brothers, and the many succession wars of the throne were to be crucial in Serbia's fate as either a Byzantine or Bulgarian vassal.

In the 960s, Serbia was conquered by the Byzantines, the Catepanate of Serbia was established, ruled by John, protospatharios and katepano of Ras. In 1018, the Theme of Sirmium was established, at the same time, Serbian statehood was continued in Duklja.

In the time of the Comnenos, 1081–1180, Serbs served in the Byzantine Army.^[67]

The most powerful Serbian archont, Emperor Stefan Dušan.

Serbia reached its golden age under the House of Nemanjić, with the Serbian state reaching its apogee of power in the reign of Tsar Stefan Uroš Dušan. The Serbian Empire lost its powers following Stefan's death and the contemporary incursion of the Ottoman Empire into south-eastern Europe frightened the Balkans. With Ottoman expansion into Europe with the fall of Adrianople and Thrace, Serbs together with Hungarians, Bulgarians, Greeks and others, tried their best for the Balkans integrity. The Turks gained more power, and in 1389, the Serbs fought them in the historical Battle of Kosovo, which is regarded as the key event in the loss of Serbia to the Ottoman Empire. By 1459, Serbia was beaten by the Turks, the small Serbian territories of Bosnia and Montenegro were lost by 1496.

Ottoman and Habsburg administration[link]

This section requires expansion.

As Christians, the Serbs were regarded as a "protected people" under Ottoman law, but were however referred to as Giaour (Serbian: kaurin, infidel). Many converted to Islam in viyalets where Islam was more powerful, notably in the Sandzak and Bosnia region, other converted in order to be more successful in the Ottoman Empire society and many were forced as part of Turkification or Islamisation and avoided persecution. The janissaries were infantry units that served directly under the Sultan in the households and bodyguarding the higher people within the Ottoman Turkish government, they were composed of Islamicized Christian boys taken from the conquered countries through the Devşirme (Blood tribute) system, trained and schooled to serve the Ottoman Empire. Serbs, together with Greeks and Bulgarians were favored by the Sultans.

The Serbs opposed the Ottoman rule, which resulted in several major battles and rebellions against the Turks and de-population of Serbian lands through mass migrations ("Great Serb Migrations"). Serbs in the south migrated to the north and sought refuge in Croatia and Hungary. The Serbs in the Austro-Hungarian areas came under the direct rule of the Emperor, and were allowed to elect their own leaders, in exchange for military service. Some Serbian commanders even retained brief independence in the Austro-Hungarian areas, such as Jovan Nenad, who proclaimed himself Emperor of Serbia after defeating several Hungarian armies. The Serbs of Montenegro retained independence in the mountains under the Orthodox metropolitans, and the clans would constantly battle the Ottomans, also in Venetian and Russian assistance. The Austro-Hungarian Empire held control in the north, which also threatened the dreams of a free state of the Serbs. Notable early revolutionaries include Starina Novak, who fought the Ottomans in the 16th century in Eastern Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, and Teodor of Vršac, who led an uprising in Banat.

Serbian Revolution and First World War[link]

Karadjordje Petrovic (Black George) leader of the First Serbian Uprising

The Serbs and Croats rebelled in Dalmatia and Slavonia in guerilla formations of Uskoks and Hajduks during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries (prior to Independence). The Serbian revolution took place 1804–1835. The first part of the period, from 1804 to 1815, was marked by a violent struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire, with two armed uprisings taking place. The later period (1815–1835) witnessed a peaceful consolidation of political power of the newly autonomous Serbia, culminating in the recognition of the right to hereditary rule by Serbian princes in 1830 and 1833 and the adoption of the first written constitution in 1835. These events marked the foundation of Modern Serbia. In 1852, the Principality of Montenegro was proclaimed, a nation-state of the Serbs.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the First Serbian Uprising succeeded in liberating at least some Serbs for a limited time. The Second Serbian Uprising was much more successful, resulting in Ottoman recognition of Serbia as autonomous principality within the Empire. Serbia acquired international recognition as an independent kingdom at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. However, many Serbs remained under foreign rule– that of the Ottomans in the south, and of the Habsburgs in the north and west. The southern Serbs were liberated in the First Balkan War of 1912, while the question of the Habsburg Serbs' independence was the spark that lit World War I two years later. During the war, the Serbian army fought fiercely, eventually retreating through Albania to regroup in Greece, and launched a counter-offensive through Macedonia. Though they were eventually victorious, the war devastated Serbia and killed a huge proportion of its population– by some estimates, over half of the male Serbian population died in the conflict, influencing the region's demographics to this day.

Yugoslavia[link]

After the war, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later called Yugoslavia) was created. Almost all Serbs finally lived in one state, in majority. The Kingdom had its capital in Belgrade and was ruled by a Serbian king; it was, however, unstable and prone to ethnic tensions.

During the Second World War, the Axis Powers occupied Yugoslavia and the German puppet states of Nedić's Serbia and the Independent State of Croatia were established. Serbs and Jews were subjected to systematic genocide in the territory of the Independent State of Croatia with 307,000 Serb deaths and 35–36,000 deaths of Jews.^[68] In addition, an estimated 120,000 Serbs were deported from the Independent State of Croatia into Nedić's Serbia while an estimated 300,000 fled in 1943.^[69] In Kosovo, between 70,000 and 100,00 Serbs were sent to concentration camps in an effort to Albanize the area.^[69] Serbs largely fought in the resistance movements of the royalist Chetnik movement and the communist Yugoslav Partisan movement. The Chetniks, which increasingly collaborated with the Germans and Italians throughout the war, carried out massacres against the Croat and Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sandžak.^[70] The Yugoslav Partisans established a multi-ethnic army that managed to seize control of Yugoslavia and create the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the entirety of the war the Partisans in Bosnia were 64.1 percent Serb.^[71] Overall, from 1941 to 1945, the Partisans in Croatia were 28% Serb.^[72] It is estimated that a total of between 487,000 and 530,000 Serbs were killed in the war.^[73]

After the war, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed. As with pre-war Yugoslavia, the country's capital was at Belgrade. Serbia was the largest republic and the Serbs were the largest ethnic group, existent in all republics. There were also two established autonomous provinces within Serbia – Kosovo (with an Albanian majority) and Vojvodina (with an Hungarian minority). Besides Serbia, the large Serb populations were concentrated in Bosnia and Herzegovina (where they were the largest ethnic group until 1971) and Croatia, as well as Montenegro (where they were majority until World War II).

Socialist Yugoslavia collapsed in the early 1990s, with four of its six republics becoming independent states. This led to several bloody civil wars, as the large Serbian communities in Croatia and Bosnia attempted to remain within Yugoslavia, then consisting of only Serbia and Montenegro. Serbs in Croatia formed the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) in 1991, and Bosnian Serbs formed Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, subsequently expelling and killing the Croats and Muslims who lived within the self-declared borders and destroying Catholic Churches and mosques.^{[74][75][76][77]} In 1995 the wars ended, with the Croatian army successfully launched two offensives to retake parts of the RSK resulting in a mass exodus of an estimated 150,000–200,000 Serbs, and the Bosnian army working with NATO to capture territory in Republika Srpska, resulting in the Dayton Peace Accords.^[78]

Another war broke out in Kosovo (see Kosovo War) after years of tensions between Serbs and Albanians. Up to 250,000 Serbs fled from Croatia during the "Operation Storm" in 1995, and 300,000 left until 1993, and another 200,000 were expelled from Kosovo after the Kosovo War, and settled mostly in Central Serbia and Vojvodina as refugees.

Culture[link]

Serbian folk attire of Šumadija, with the Šajkača hats

Serb culture has a wide spectra; besides the main [South] Slavic traits, the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) cultural heritage and Christianity (Serbian Orthodox Church) being prevalent. Western-Central European (Austro-Hungarian) cultural influence is higher in Vojvodina, Croatian Serbs and Bosnian Serbs, while the Serbs living in maritime regions (e.g. Bay of Kotor) have been influenced by Italian culture (Republic of Venice). The centuries under Ottoman rule have highly influenced with Oriental elements.

Following autonomy in 1817 and latter formal independence, there was a reawakening of Serbdom (Serbian identity/culture) followed by the emerging South-Slavic unity. Prior to that, Habsburg Vojvodina was the cultural bastion of the Serbian national identity. Socialist Realism was predominant in official art during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia but recent decades have seen a growing influence from the West as well as traditional culture.

Language[link]

Serbian Cyrillic and Serbian Latin, from Comparative orthography of European languages. Source: Vuk Stefanović Karadžić "Srpske narodne pjesme" (Serbian folk poems), Vienna, 1841

Serbian language in yellow.

Serbs speak the Serbian language, a member of the South Slavic group of languages, specifically in the Southwestern Slavic group, with the Southeastern group containing Bulgarian and Macedonian. It is mutually intelligible with the standard Croatian and Bosnian languages (see Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian) and some linguists still consider it a sub-set of the Serbo-Croatian language, as they are all standardized on the Shtokavian dialect.

It is an official language in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina (Republika Srpska), Montenegro and Romania, and a minority language in Croatia, Macedonia, Hungary and Slovakia.

Older forms of Serbian are Old Serbian, the redaction of Old Church Slavonic, and the Russo-Serbian variant, a version of the Church Slavonic language.

Vuk Karadžić, reformer of Modern Serbian

Serbian is the only European language with active digraphia, using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic was devised in 1814 by Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles, the Cyrillic itself has its origins in Cyril and Methodius' transformation of the Greek script in the 9th century.

Loanwords in the Serbian language besides common internationalisms are mostly from Turkish, German and Italian, words of Hungarian origin are present mostly in the north and Greek words are predominant in the liturgy.

Two Serbian words that are used in many of the world's languages are "vampire" and "paprika". Common words of Serbian cuisine are "Slivovitz" and "ćevapčići". Paprika and Slivovitz are borrowed via German; paprika itself entered German via Hungarian. Vampire entered most West European languages through German-language texts in the early 18th century.

Naming system[link]

Stefan Lazarević
(Lazarević) – son of Lazar of Serbia.

Given names[link]

A child is given a first name chosen by their parents but approved by the godparents of the child (the godparents rarely object to the parents' choice). The given name comes first, the surname last, e.g. "Željko Popović", where "Željko" is a first name and "Popović" is a family name. Female names end with -a, e.g. Dragan -> Dragana.

Popular names are mostly of Serbian (Slavic), Christian (Biblical), Greek and Latin origin.

• Serbian: Nenad, Dragan, Zoran, Goran and Slobodan.
• Greek: Nikola, Dimitrije, Đorđe, Aleksandar and Filip.
• Biblical: Jovan, Danilo, Petar, Pavle, Mihailo and Gavrilo.
• Latin: Marko, Srđan, Antonije and Miljan.

Surnames[link]

Most Serbian surnames (like Bosniak, Croatian and Montenegrin) have the surname suffix -ić (pronounced [itɕ], Cyrillic: -ић). This is often transliterated as -ic or -ici. In English-speaking countries, Serbian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch. This form is often associated with Serbs from before the early 20th century: hence Milutin Milanković is usually referred to as Milutin Milankovitch.

The -ić suffix is a Slavic diminutive, originally functioning to create patronymics. Thus the surname Petrić signifies little Petar, similar to Mac ("son of") in Scottish & Irish, and O' (grandson of) in Irish names. It is estimated that some two thirds of all Serbian surnames end in -ić and some 80% of Serbs carry such a surname.

Other common surname suffixes are -ov or -in which is the Slavic possessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. Those are more typical for Serbs from Vojvodina. The two suffixes are often combined.