Slovak is the official language and belongs to the West Slavic subgroup of the Indo-European language family, and uses the Roman script. It does not differ significantly from Czech, and comprehension in both languages is rather common. The majority of the population (86 %) speaks Slovak as their mother tongue. The second most widely spoken mother tongue is Hungarian.

The most widely spoken foreign languages are English, German, Russian, Hungarian and French. The young urban population is generally considered to be the most linguistically proficient. Foreign languages are sometimes taught at kindergarten, usually at primary school in lower grades and always in the upper ones (5^th till 9^th) and at secondary schools. There are some primary and secondary schools that conduct classes in foreign languages such as English, German, French, Italian, Spanish. Private language schools offer many possibilities for children, young people and adults to learn foreign languages.

Improving your Slovak

Foreigners can attend courses in Slovak language at several language schools that provide instruction at all levels of language proficiency: beginner, intermediate, advanced. They offer group instruction or individual courses tailored to the clients’ individual needs. The courses are aimed at mastering all four language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. The courses are usually held twice a week, 2 standard lessons (90 min. in total) per day.

Slovak courses are offered e.g. by The Institute for Language and Academic Preparation for Foreign Students of the Comenius University (www.ujop.sk), Institute for Foreign Language Studies of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (www.inja.sav.sk, only in Slovak), Centre  for Language and Academic Preparation of Bratislava Law College (www.uninova.sk/clap), the Caledonian School (www.caledonianschool.sk), Eurolingua (www.eurolingua.sk, only in Slovak) or Berlitz (www.berlitz.com). Some universities organise Slovak language courses for their international students. For more information contact the International Relations Office of the respective university.

Summer School of Slovak Language and Culture – Studia Academica Slovaca (SAS) is the oldest summer school of Slovak language and culture and has been taking place in Bratislava since 1965.

SAS is aimed at all those studying Slovak language and culture, and towards all Slavists in general. This intensive programme is principally aimed at university professors, experienced teachers, postgraduates of Slovak and Slavonic studies, writers, translators and all others interested in Slovak language and culture. Further information is available on http://www.fphil.uniba.sk/sas.