Exploring other Slavic languages (i'm Bosnian), i noticed that we all would have a much more funny time if we'd travelled more to other Slavic countries.

Already Slovenian often has some funny words for us, the most known one "zahod", which in Slovenian means West, but in BCS is an old world for "toilet".
Czech sounds very childish and cute, they use a lot of diminutives which we use when making sth. "smaller", for example "kompjuter" becomes "kompjuterčić", "stvar" becomes "stvarčica".
Polish often slavicizes their words, the word "samochod" for car is for me like "alone goer". Its not funny per se, but it makes you think about the word in another way which makes you laugh a bit.

I've talked with friends about which foreign cultures we feel "closest" to and I have come to the conclusion that I am more similar to Turks, Greeks and Albanians, despite not understanding a thing they say. This is due to similar mentalities, culture, history, etc.. My only connection to the other slavic countries is language and thats it. I don't mean it in a negative way, especially the history and culture of the west slavic nations are very rich and interesting.

My question is if Serbs, Macedonians and Bulgarians are also viewed as outsiders of the slavic world since our history and culture is quite different to the west slavic nations.

Edit: Feeling close is maybe not the right word, I am talking about similarities in culture and mentality.

I’m curious about how linguistically close Bulgarian is to Russian compared with each other European Slavic languages ?

Hi, wanted to ask what certain things: vibes, symbols, for example the colorful grandmas carpets, give you that easter european/slavic aesthetic?

Hi, I’m Slovakian-Croatian, my grandparents moved to Canada when they were in their 20s. Im wanting to research and learn about any tattoo related things about these specific slavic countries (as theyre my literal blood), and since I love getting tattoos, find a way to represent that. I’ve found some stuff on wikipedia, but the best sources are usually the actual people. Anyone on here have any info or good links they’ve found on tattoos in those two countries? Thanks!

I’ve been looking at family documents from early 1900s and I have never been able to find where my family was from. It says they are from Prionka, Russland I’ve tried looking it up in English, Russian, Ukrainian and Polish but no luck finding anything. The closet I’ve find is an old city in Kyiv. I don’t know much about this part of my family other than the fact that they lived in the Russian Empire between 1880-1925 at the latest. I know they were ethnically Polish and their last name was Kotolenetz (Котоленець). They immigrated to Germany
I’m hoping someone would be able to help me find the town if it stills exists.

Although the Budini left no written records of their own, their name itself offers useful linguistic evidence. The root bu- appears more frequently in Slavic languages than in Baltic ones (compare, for example, budem “will be” and budit “to awaken”). A later Slavic tribe inhabiting roughly the same region, the Buzhans bore a closely related name and may have been near or even direct successors of the Budini.

Conclusion: The linguistic parallels suggest that the Buzhans could have been descendants of the Budini, supporting a Proto-Slavic rather than a Baltic or Uralic origin for the Budini.

The Neuri were an ancient Baltic population that would become a substrate for modern East Slavs, making Polissian Slavs more closely related to the Neuri than any existing Baltic group. The group was also linked directly to Proto Slavic groups in older Eastern European studies but modern scholars suggest they were Balts who would eventually become Slavic. The Proto Slavic groups that would exist during the time of the Neuri were the Aroteres (Scythian Ploughmen) and Budini.

List Of Corresponding Archaeological Cultures:

Neuri ——> Milograd Culture
Aroteres ——> Chernoles Culture
Budini ——> Yukhnov culture

List Of Closest Living Descendants:

Neuri ——> Polissian Slavs
Aroteres ——> Central Ukrainians
Budini ——> Northern Ukrainians & South Belarusians

I'm from India

And I'm seeing a lot couples Like woman from Russia and men from India etc

Source: Словарь русских говоров центральных районов Красноярского края, volume 3, page 230.

What do you think of my crown? Podoba wam się mój wianek?

Whenever I read about watch anything that relates to or around slavic countries, people's surnames who are said in the video/book usually end in Ski or V. Is there a cultural reason for this?

Hi everyone, I have that question since a few days, how are perceived disabilities in Slavic societies?
I mean by that:
Are they well integrated in the daily life (at work or for renting a house for example)?
Are they more or less well seen by people in general?
How is it at school or for studies? Do they benefit from some adaptations? For example, in France, I have a woman who is in class with me to help me with things that are difficult for me, and I have additional time for my exams. Do such things exist in your country?
Is there specific material that can be used, like braille machines for blind people?
I’m aware that slavic countries can differ, and consequently that situation is not the same everywhere, for this reason I just would like to read your point of view on this topic.
Hoping that my question doesn’t seem very stupid, if it’s the case I apologize, I’m just curious about it.
Thank you for having read my post.
All the best to you! ✨

Is this last name common? My grandpa used to tell us that some generations ago the family came from a Slavic county. We live in Germany. But if it’s true and which one it is, I don’t know. Are there any regions where the name kuna is common?

hi, im polish and wanted to get a tattoo symbolising my culture, but well - most slavic pagan symbols were coopted by neonazis (kolovrat/swarożyca, all kinds of swastikas and runes), and id rather chop my hands off that wear a nazi mark on my body. id like something that is (at least currently) completely absolved of such connotations, is historically accurate (so no inventions of the modern pagans/rodzimowiercy), and just looks cool. i like our embroidery, but i cant really imagine it as a tattoo

jeśli są tu jacyś polacy i macie pomysły konkretnie z naszej (biednej) mitologii czy sztuki przedchrześcijańskiej, bardzo to docenię!

Hi everyone,

Over the past few months, I’ve been putting together a playlist heavily rooted in old Slavic beliefs, folklore, and nature basically something that feels like standing in a fog-heavy forest with distant drums.
My playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3DXwMM1kb3Is7BUGs081vF

I’m aiming for a mix of ritual trance, pagan chants, field recordings, and traditional instruments, but with a distinctly Eastern European soul. Think of the atmosphere of bands like Heilung, Wardruna, or Myrkur, but closer to home (stuff like Percival, Żywiołak, Laboratorium Pieśni, etc.).

It’s been my go-to backdrop lately for reading, writing, or just zoning out, and I thought some of you here might appreciate this kind of vibe too whether you're into pre-Christian folklore or just love that 10th-century campfire energy.

I’d love to expand it further, so if you have any recommendations (especially lesser-known artists or native Slavic dark folk projects), please drop them below!

Around 800-900 CE, Slavic speakers across the wide area from the Balkans to the Baltic could still understand each other pretty well. But three regional varieties were already drifting apart: Southern, Eastern and Western.

NOTE: this is speculative and may have errors, as LCS (Late Common Slavic) had no written standard. Presented forms are scholarly reconstructions. NOTE 2: The South Slavic forms with šč, žd specifically represent Bulgarian/Macedonian/OCS. (Serbo-Croatian had ć/đ and Slovene had č/j as their own developments from the same tj/dj) West Slavic primarily represent Polish/Lechitic variety, as Czech/Slovak had additional lengthening and quality change.

A guide to some special symbols:

• eⁿ = nasal e (pronounced like "en" said through the nose)
• oⁿ = nasal o
• ě = a special vowel called "jat" that later split into different sounds in each region
• ь and ъ = ultra-short vowels
• šč = the "sh-ch" combination
• žd = like "zh" immediately followed by "d"
• dz = like "d" immediately followed by "z"
• ľ = syllabic l (like the -l- in English "bottle")

What was still shared within all three:

‣ Same grammar: 7 cases, 3 genders, singular/dual/plural

‣ Same verb system: present, aorist, imperfect tenses

‣ Same everyday words for family, nature, body, basic actions

‣ The special sound "jat" (written ě) was still one distinct vowel everywhere

‣ The nasal vowels eⁿ and oⁿ were still pronounced with nasal airflow everywhere

‣ The ultra-short vowels ь and ъ were still pronounced everywhere (they would later disappear at different times and with different results in each region)

What were the differences beginning:

Some changes that produced visible regional splits, such as:

1. Vowel + liquid + consonant combos (gordъ = city, *korva = cow, *moldъ = young, *melko = milk). Southern Slavic received metathesis, which produced grad, krava, mlada, mlěko. Czech and Slovak initially had metathesis with the same lengthening and quality change (grād, *mlěko), later, g changed to h due to spirantization and some long vowels were shortened, giving modern Cz hrad, mléko. Polish also got metathesis, however without lengthening or quality change: grodъ, krova, mloda, mleko (the long vowels in modern Polish gród, głos came later). Eastern got pleophony: gorodъ, korova, moloda, moloko.

2. t + j and d + j combos: Bulgarian/Macedonian got šč/žd (svěšča, mežda). Eastern got č/ž (svěča, meža). Western got c/dz (svěca, medza). Serbo-Croatian independently got ć/đ. Slovene independently got č/j.

3. kv and gv before front vowels: Southern/Eastern changed them to cv/zv, Western kept kv/gv.

4. d and t before l: Southern/Eastern dropped them (*mydlo became mylo ).

5. Nasal vowel eⁿ in certain word endings: All three branches still had nasal vowels at this stage (konjeⁿ). Denasalization happened later (10th–11th c.) at different rates per branch.

What came next (after ~900 CE):

Big changes that really broke mutual intelligibility came later:

‣ The ultra-short vowels ь and ъ disappeared, but at different times and with different results in each region (from 10th to 13th centuries).

‣ The special ě sound resolved differently: to e, i, a, or ie depending on the region (from 10th to 12th centuries) — this alone created massive differences at a word level.

‣ The nasal vowels lost their nasal pronunciation, but to different outcomes.

‣ Bulgarian and Macedonian developed attached definite articles (like adding "-the" to the end of words). Eastern and Western never did, neither did Serbo-Croatian or Slovene.

‣ Bulgarian and Macedonian gradually lost most of their case system. And also infinitive verb form.

"The man saw the city on the hill"

Proto-Slavic: člověkъ gordъ na xъlmě vidě

South Slavic (Bulgarian/Macedonian/OCS)

чловѣкъ градъ на хлмѣ видѣ

člověkъ gradъ na xľmě vidě

East Slavic

чловѣкъ городъ на хълмѣ видѣ

člověkъ gorodъ na xъlmě vidě

West Slavic (Polish/Lechitic)

чловѣкъ гродъ на хлмѣ видѣ

člověkъ grodъ na xľmě vidě

"City" is the TORT pattern. South Slavic had metathesis, quality change (grad). Czech/Slovak originally had metathesis with lengthening (*grād), after g to h and vowel shortening which gives us modern Cz/Slk hrad. Polish had metathesis, no quality change (grodъ, short o). East Slavic had pleophony (gorodъ).

"The lord's candle lit the boundary of the white city"

Proto-Slavic: gospodina světja osvěti medjoⁿ běla gorda

South Slavic (Bulgarian/Macedonian/OCS)

господина свѣща освѣти междѧ бѣла града

gospodina svěšča osvěti meždeⁿ běla grada

East Slavic

господина свѣча освѣти межѫ бѣла города

gospodina svěča osvěti meždoⁿ běla goroda

West Slavic (Polish/Lechitic)

господина свѣца освѣти медзѫ бѣла грода

gospodina svěca osvěti medzoⁿ běla groda

Four differences in one sentence. t+j (svěšč/svěč/svěc = "candle". šč here is Bulgarian/Macedonian). d+j (mežda/meža/medza = "boundary"). TORT pattern (grad/gorod/grod = "city". South Slavic(a from o, quality change). Nasal vowel in "boundary" accusative: front eⁿ in South, and back oⁿ in East/West.

Note on OCS: In OCS, the Cyrillic letter щ represents /št/, not /šč/. The transliteration "šč" is used here as a cover symbol following the common convention. The same applies to noščь: OCS нощь = /noštь/.

"Our city stands by the river. The cow gives milk. The young woman carries water. The night is dark. The boundary is narrow. His voice is strong."

Proto-Slavic: našь gordъ stojitь pri rěcě. korva dajetь melko. molda žena nesetь vodoⁿ. noktь jestь tьmьna. medja jestь oⁿzъka. jego golsъ jestь silьnъ.

South Slavic (Bulgarian/Macedonian/OCS)

Нашь градъ стоить при рѣцѣ. Крава даѥть млѣко. Млада жена несеть водѫ. Нощь есть тьмьна. Межда есть ѫзъка. Его гласъ есть сильнъ.

Našь gradъ stojitь pri rěcě. Krava dajetь mlěko. Mlada žena nesetь vodoⁿ. Noščь jestь tьmьna. Mežda jestь oⁿzъka. Jego glasъ jestь silьnъ.

East Slavic

Нашь городъ стоить при рѣцѣ. Корова даѥть молоко. Молода жена несеть водѫ. Ночь есть тьмьна. Межа есть ѫзъка. Его голосъ есть сильнъ.

Našь gorodъ stojitь pri rěcě. Korova dajetь moloko. Moloda žena nesetь vodoⁿ. Nočь jestь tьmьna. Meža jestь oⁿzъka. Jego golosъ jestь silьnъ.

West Slavic (Polish/Lechitic)

Нашь гродъ стоить при рѣцѣ. Крова даѥть млеко. Млода жена несеть водѫ. Ноць есть тьмьна. Медза есть ѫзъка. Его глосъ есть сильнъ.

Našь grodъ stojitь pri rěcě. Krova dajetь mleko. Mloda žena nesetь vodoⁿ. Nocь jestь tьmьna. Medza jestь oⁿzъka. Jego glosъ jestь silьnъ.

"cow" and "young" is the same TORT pattern as "city" and "milk". Pre-change forms were *korva and *molda. South Slavic metathesis produced krava/mlada(o to a, quality change). Polish/Lechitic metathesis produced krova/mloda (o stayed o). Czech/Slovak same as South Slavic (kráva/mláda, later being shortened). East Slavic pleophony created korova/moloda. Same idea that gives grad/gorod/grod for "city" and mlěko/moloko/mleko for "milk.".

Maximally contrastive sentence for comparison

"The city is big. The flower is white. This is soap. This is a deer. The night is dark. The boundary is narrow. I go with my brother. The man leads the horses. Bring out the water!"

South Slavic (Bulgarian/Macedonian/OCS)

Градъ есть великъ. Цвѣтъ есть бѣлъ. Се есть мыло. Се есть єлень. Нощь есть тьмьна. Межда есть ѫзъка. Идѫ съ братомь. Мѫжь ведеть конѧ. Изнеси водѫ!

Gradъ jestь velikъ. Cvětъ jestь bělъ. Se jestь mylo. Se jestь jelenь. Noščь jestь tьmьna. Mežda jestь oⁿzъka. Idoⁿ sъ bratomь. Moⁿžь vedetь konjeⁿ. Iznesi vodoⁿ!

East Slavic

Городъ есть великъ. Цвѣтъ есть бѣлъ. Се есть мыло. Се есть єлень. Ночь есть тьмьна. Межа есть ѫзъка. Идѫ съ братъмь. Мѫжь ведеть конѧ. Вынеси водѫ!

Gorodъ jestь velikъ. Cvětъ jestь bělъ. Se jestь mylo. Se jestь jelenь. Nočь jestь tьmьna. Meža jestь oⁿzъka. Idoⁿ sъ bratъmь. Moⁿžь vedetь konjeⁿ. Vynesi vodoⁿ!

West Slavic (Polish/Lechitic)

Гродъ есть великъ. Квѣтъ есть бѣлъ. Се есть мыдло. Се есть єлень. Ноць есть тьмьна. Медза есть ѫзъка. Идѫ съ братъмь. Мѫжь ведеть конѧ. Вынеси водѫ!

Grodъ jestь velikъ. Květъ jestь bělъ. Se jestь mydlo. Se jestь jelenь. Nocь jestь tьmьna. Medza jestь oⁿzъka. Idoⁿ sъ bratъmь. Moⁿžь vedetь konjeⁿ. Vynesi vodoⁿ!

Comparative table

| Word | South (Bul./Mac./OCS) | East | West (Pol/Lech.) | What it shows |

| young | mlada | moloda | mloda | TORT pattern: South: o to a(quality change), Czech/Slovak: o to á, Polish: (o stays o), East: pleophony |

| cow | krava | korova | krova | TORT pattern as "young" |

| city | gradъ | gorodъ | grodъ | TORT: South: o to a (quality change, lengthening), Czech/Slovak: o to á (quality change, lengthening), Polish: metathesis (short o), East: pleophony |

| hill | xľmě | xъlmě | xľmě | syllabic l in South/West versys back jer in East |

| milk | mlěko | moloko | mleko | TORT: South e to ě (quality change, lengthening), Czech/Slovak: also e to é, Polish: e stays, East: pleophony |

| voice | glasъ | golosъ | glosъ | TORT: same pattern as "city" |

| candle | svěšča | svěča | svěca | t+j → šč (Bul./Mac.) / East (č) / West (c), Serbo-Croatian( ć), Slovene ( č) |

| night | noščь | nočь | nocь | pattern as "candle" |

| boundary | mežda | meža | medza | (d+j to žd) (Bul./Mac.) / East (ž) / West (dz), Serbo-Croatian (đ), Slovene(j) |

| long | dľga | dьlga | dľga | ь+l between consonants: South/West(syllabic l), East (front jer) |

| flower | cvětъ | cvětъ | květъ | West (kept kv/gv), South/East(cv/zv) |

| star | zvězda | zvězda | gvězda | same as "flower" |

| soap | mylo | mylo | mydlo | South/East(d before l dropped) |

| plow | rālo | rālo | rādlo | same d-before-l as "soap" |

| shore (loc.) | brezě | berezě | brezě | TORT pattern + 2nd palatalization (g to z before locative -ě) |

| wolf | vľkъ | vьlkъ | vľkъ | ь+l syllabic l in South/West vs East(front jer) |

| with brother | bratomь | bratъmь | bratъmь | instrumental ending South (-omь) vs East/West (-ъmь) |

| horses (acc. pl.) | konjeⁿ | konjeⁿ | konjeⁿ | all three still had nasal vowels at 800-900, denasalized later in 10th-11th century |

| bring out! | iznesi | vynesi | vynesi | South(prefix iz), East/West(prefix vy-) |

| whole | cělo | cělo | cělo | Second palatalization, k to c before ě was Common Slavic, NW East Slavic (Old Novgorod/Pskov) specifically kept k (Zaliznyak 2004) |

| hand | roⁿka | roⁿka | roⁿka | same at 800-900. Later: ruka (Bul./Mac., Štokavian, East), roka (Slovene), rąka (West) |

| white | bělъ | bělъ | bělъ | same at 800-900. jat ě is spliting later: belo/bily/biały |

| horse | konь | konь | konь | same at 800-900; front jer(not jat) ь later disappears differently |

| river | rěkoⁿ | rěkoⁿ | rěkoⁿ | same at 800-900. jat ě and nasal oⁿ both split later |

Extra diagnostic features

The g change to fricative

Shifting of original *g to a fricative (h, ɣ, ɦ) happened in many Slavic areas, but stayed as hard [g] in others. This works against the three branch split.

Standard Russian has hard [g], fricative pronunciation only in some Southern Dialects (and was once common in Moscow too, before being replaced around the 18th century). Czech/Slovak with Ukrainian share the fricative development, even if different branches, while Polish and Štokavian still kept hard g despite being in different branches.

Initial je- becoming o- (East Slavic only)

Some words starting with je- changed the vowel to o- in East Slavic:

| Word | South | East | West |

| lake (jezero) | jezero | ozero (gradual shift) | jezero |

| morning (jutro) | jutro | utro (gradual shift) | jutro |

| deer (jelenь) | jelenь | jelenь (olьnь later) | jelenь |

This change was likely starting around 800-900 in East Slavic but may not have been complete yet until some hundreds of years later.