The relatively large amounts of Italian and Spanish speakers is accounted for by the fact that Italy and Spain are the two largest countries in the region by population. Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Albanian, and Turkish are common languages all throughout the Balkan countries, and Greece’s 10 million people account for the large majority of Greek speakers. Catalan is widely spoken in parts of Spain, and Portugal’s population explains the Portuguese speakers.
Major Languages per Country*:
Albania: Albanian, Greek, Macedonian, Roma, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, Serbo-Croatian
Andorra: Catalan, French, Castilian, Portuguese
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian
Croatia: Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Albanian
Greece: Greek, English, French
Italy: Italian, German, French, Slovene
Kosovo: Albanian, Bosnian, Serbian, Turkish
Macedonia: Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Roma, Serbian
Malta: Maltese, English
Montenegro: Serbian, Montenegrin, Bosnian, Albanian, Serbo-croatian
Portugal: Portuguese, Mirandese
San Marino: Italian
Serbia: Serbian, Hungarian, Bosnian, Romany
Slovenia: Slovenian ,Serbo-croatian, Italian, Hungarian
Spain: Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Aranese
Vatican City: Italian, Latin, French
*order of languages represent their commonality in that country, with first being the greatest
Albania: Albanian, Greek, Macedonian, Roma, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, Serbo-Croatian
Andorra: Catalan, French, Castilian, Portuguese
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian
Croatia: Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Albanian
Greece: Greek, English, French
Italy: Italian, German, French, Slovene
Kosovo: Albanian, Bosnian, Serbian, Turkish
Macedonia: Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Roma, Serbian
Malta: Maltese, English
Montenegro: Serbian, Montenegrin, Bosnian, Albanian, Serbo-croatian
Portugal: Portuguese, Mirandese
San Marino: Italian
Serbia: Serbian, Hungarian, Bosnian, Romany
Slovenia: Slovenian ,Serbo-croatian, Italian, Hungarian
Spain: Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Aranese
Vatican City: Italian, Latin, French
*order of languages represent their commonality in that country, with first being the greatest
Language Origins: Many of the languages of languages spoken in Southern Europe are considered Romance languages, as in descended from the Roman Empire, which is one of the major branches of the Indo-European family of languages present in Southern Europe. This includes Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan. The second branch is the Slavic Branch. It includes languages spoken by the ethnic Slavs which originally settled in the area, and includes languages like Serbo-Croatian (a generic term for several smaller languages like Bosnian, Montenegrin and Serbian), Slovene, and Bulgarian. While close to the Slavic Branch, Albanian is separate, and has its own branch. Similarly, Greek developed independently before the others, and has simply evolved since its initial development in Ancient Greece. Finally, Turkish is in an entirely different language family, the Turkic family of languages which is found generally in Asia minor and central Asia.
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