- published: 12 Mar 2015
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The Slovaks, Slovak people, (Slovak Slováci, singular Slovák, feminine Slovenka, plural Slovenky) are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.
Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia (circa 5,050,000). There are Slovak minorities in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and sizeable populations of immigrants and their descendants in the U.S. and in Canada.
The first known Slavic states on the territory of present-day Slovakia were the Empire of Samo and the Principality of Nitra, founded sometime in the 8th century.
Great Moravia (833 - ?907) was a Slavic state in the 9th and early 10th centuries, whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. Its formation and rich cultural heritage have attracted somewhat more interest since 19th century. Important developments took place at this time, including the mission of Greek monks Cyril and Methodius, the development of the Glagolitic alphabet (an early form of the Cyrillic script), and the use of Old Church Slavonic as the official and literary language.