Dalmatian Language

Dalmatian /dælˈmeɪʃən/ or Dalmatic /dælˈmætɪk/ was a Romance language spoken in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and as far south as Kotor in Montenegro. The name refers to a tribe of the Illyrian linguistic group, Dalmatae. The Ragusan dialect of Dalmatian was the official language of the Republic of Ragusa, though in later times Venetian (representing the Romance language population), then Serbo-Croatian (for the Slavophone population) came to supersede it.

Dalmatian speakers lived in the coastal towns Zadar (Jadera), Trogir (Tragur, Traù), Spalato (Split; Spalato), Ragusa (Dubrovnik; Raugia, Ragusa), and Kotor (Cattaro), each of these cities having a local dialect, and on the islands of Krk (Vikla, Veglia), Cres (Crepsa) and Rab (Arba).