Always expecting something is part of our nature. When we dress nicely for work, we expect someone to notice. When we post a photo in which we look good, we expect at least 50 likes. When we go out, we expect to have a blast. Life, however, often presents us with unexpected things.
The same applies to learning Croatian. What can you expect if you’ve embarked on a lifelong adventure called I have to learn Croatian!? Let’s check!
1. Expect the unexpected
If you’re an absolute beginner when it comes to learning Croatian, you’re in for a surprise. Good news is that the Croatian alphabet consists of only 30 letters and they’re all pronounced the exact same way that they’re written. Bad news is that, well… pronouncing some of those letters will be quite a challenge.
How can you pronounce đ, dž, nj or č without breaking your tongue? How can you pronounce the important words život (life) or ljubav (love) all in one breath?
First Croatian lessons are mostly dedicated to topics similar to these.
2. Everything changes… Especially in Croatian.
As the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said a long time ago, There is nothing permanent except change.
Sometimes I think he was referring to the Croatian language.
There are three genders in Croatian: female, male and neuter. That’s ok, a new and enthusiastic Croatian language student might foolishly think. It sounds fairly simple.
Ovo je kuća. /This is a house. – female.
Ovo je dijete /This is a child./ – neuter
Ovo je pas. /This is a dog. – male
Piece of cake, right?
Well, not really.
Just like in English, a dog is always a dog. This is a dog, I have a dog… with a dog…
Or is it? Let’s see what the situation’s like in Croatian.
Ovo je pas. /This is a dog.
That’s ok.
But!
Ja imam psa. / I have a dog.
Hodam sa psom / I am walking with a dog.
Hodam bez psa... / I am walking without a dog.
Hodam prema psu. /I am walking towards the dog.
Shall I continue?
3. Expect that you’ll sound like an old typing machine.
Long time ago, when I was a new and fresh Croatian teacher, a student of mine at a secondary school asked “Teacher, what do you think the Croatian language sounds like to foreigners?”
And I’ve been trying to come up with an answer for years now. You know how anything you say in Italian, even a dull report, sounds like a nostalgic love song? Or how everything sounds romantic in French? What does Croatian sound like?
I sometimes think it sounds like an old typing machine, brusque, resonant and fast. Deciphering that sound, even once you’ve learnt some Croatian, can be very challenging. Let’s say you’ve been learning Croatian for several years now and you feel you can manage any conversation.
So, one day you step into the tram and you hear two people from Zagreb speak. How is it possible that you can’t understand anything?
Don’t lose heart! It’s not you – Croats speak fast and they use many words to describe a single thing. The trouble is that these words are mostly short words like čim, čak, pa, ako, već, barem (as soon as, even, so, if, at least), and the important ones, such as gdje? (where?), often get shortened, so a question that you’ve learnt from a Croatian language textbook:
Gdje si ti sad? becomes Di si? in reall life.
4. Expect the exception to prove the rule. Without exception.
– But this makes no sense! – is something I’ve heard my students say numerous times.
– Well, it does make sense if you apply Croatian rules, and there are sometimes fewer rules than exceptions.
– Everything’s an exception in Croatian! – would always be my students’ reply.
People often compare Croatian to other languages when they start learning it.
Why do we say silly things like
Nikad ne idem van (I never not go out),
or even better,
Nikad nećeš ništa napraviti (You’ll never not do nothing).
There are many rules when it comes to Croatian, but there are even more exceptions.
Once you’ve accepted all the exceptions, however absurd they might seem, that’s when you’ll really start to learn – and love – Croatian.
5. Expect an adventure like no other!
So, to finish, or better yet, to start – What can you expect from Croatian?
Expect and adventure and a never ending story because each new and exciting chapter in your Croatian adventure is followed by another chapter, just a tiny bit more exciting and unusual.
And expect to have a good time learning Croatian!
Even though it might not sound like a romantic song or a soft lullaby, and it’s definitely not a simple language to learn, it’s without a doubt one of the most unusual ones!
So, enjoy Croatian!
(Mihaela Šego, prof., Croatian language teacher)
If you find the article intriguing and you’re interested in learning Croatian, why not join us at CRO to go?
It’s a small educational center located in Zagreb, specialized in Croatian as foreign language.
In addition to the standard individual and online courses, CRO to go offers CROwalk – a fun and short 3 day walk through the Croatian language! It is intended for tourists who want to learn:
• Croatian greetings and expressions
• how to order coffee and food in a cafe or a restaurant
• how to buy something at a store or a market
• what to ask if they get lost in Zagreb
• how to sing in Croatian, or learn about Croatian customes
• … and of course – have fun doing it!
CROwalk course consits of three 75 minute lessons, three days in a row. Courses take place in Tkalčićeva street. Visit www.crotogo.hr to find out more.
Dobro došli!
