Montenegrin Alphabet at a Glance
- 30 letters: 5 vowels and 25 consonants, including two unique letters not found in Serbian [1]
- Spoken by approximately 230,000 native speakers in Montenegro [2]
- Official language of Montenegro since the country gained independence in 2006 [2]
- Uses the Cyrillic script with two unique letters: Ś (З́) and Ź (С́) [1]
- Closely related to Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian, collectively known as Serbo-Croatian [2]
- Standardized in 2009 with the addition of Ś and Ź to distinguish Montenegrin from Serbian [1]
- Also written in Latin script with 30 letters, including special diacritics for ś and ź
The Montenegrin alphabet consists of 30 letters, comprising 5 vowels and 25 consonants [1]. Based on the Cyrillic script, the Montenegrin alphabet is distinguished by two unique letters not found in Serbian: Ś (З́) and Ź (С́), which represent specific sounds in Montenegrin dialects. The five vowels are А (a), Е (e), И (i), О (o), and У (u). The alphabet was officially standardized in 2009 after Montenegro gained independence in 2006. These two additional letters were added to reflect pronunciation features unique to Montenegrin speech, particularly in coastal and northern dialects. Montenegrin is spoken by approximately 230,000 native speakers [2], primarily in Montenegro, and is closely related to Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian.
Montenegrin Vowel Letters
The Montenegrin alphabet includes 5 vowels: А, Е, И, О, У, which are the same as in Serbian and other South Slavic languages using Cyrillic script.
Montenegrin Vowels (Uppercase)
Montenegrin Vowels (Lowercase)
Montenegrin Consonant Letters
The Montenegrin alphabet contains 25 consonants, including the unique Ś (З́) and Ź (С́) that distinguish Montenegrin from Serbian.
For example:
In the word "зѐмља" (zemlja), meaning "land" or "country", the vowels Е (e) and А (a) combine with the consonants З (z), М (m), Љ (lj) to form the word.
Montenegrin Consonants (Uppercase)
Montenegrin Consonants (Lowercase)
All Alphabet
The complete Montenegrin alphabet with all 30 letters in both uppercase and lowercase forms, from А (a) to Ш (š).
Digits
Montenegrin uses standard Arabic numerals (0-9) for writing numbers, just like Serbian and other South Slavic languages.
Punctuation and Symbols
Montenegrin uses standard punctuation marks including periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points, similar to other European languages.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
References:
- [1] Unicode Consortium. "Cyrillic Unicode Block (U+0400-U+04FF)". Retrieved from Unicode Cyrillic Block
- [2] Ethnologue. "Montenegrin Language (CNR) - L1 & L2 Speakers, Status, Map". Retrieved from https://www.ethnologue.com/language/cnr/
Sambhu Raj Singh ·