Thirty Years of Slovene Language Learning in Croatia

The article explores Slovene language learning among the members of the Slovene community in Croatia over the past thirty years and their efforts to preserve and revitalise the Slovene language in Croatia. Slovenes have held the status of a national minority in Croatia since 1990. Before that, they had been one of the constituent nations of the common state, i.e., the former Yugoslavia. At that time, there had been a decrease in the use of Slovene among the members of the Slovene community in Croatia who, apart from their relatives, could speak Slovene only in the two Slovene societies then operating in Croatia. Therefore, there had been no intergenerational transmission of Slovene. After 1991, the interest in learning the Slovene language grew. Various forms of learning Slovene are available and the number of learners is increasing. Slovene is no longer only the mother tongue of members of the Slovene community in Croatia, but is also gaining economic importance.