Culture Shock

After spending two posts on Croatian cases, it's time to get into the most used word in Croatian* - može . Može can be used to say "yes". Može can be used to say "I can". Or, as I found out early in my Croatian learning experience, može  and a nod can mean "I don't really understand, but I'll act like I do so we can keep the conversation moving." Može can also be the way to begin a question. In this scenario, the word  li  must follow.  Let's get into the song for today, Može li?  by a band from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dubioza kolektiv .  As we usually do, I'd suggest listening to the whole song before analyzing anything. Listen for the question " Može li? " and see if you can find anything resembling an answer to all the questions.  The song begins with the question: Može li Bosanac biti vegeterijanac? If you're just beginning to learn Croatian (or Bosnian or Serbian for that matter), take a minute or two to try to fi...

Photo by  marianne bos  on  Unsplash We're continuing our series on learning Croatian through songs. Go celebrate the nominative case if you haven't done so already.  This week's song is not nearly as well-known as the last one. But what it lacks in popularity, it makes up for in musicality. And we're going to need something to take the sting out of moving into what, at least for me, is the most complicated of the seven Croatian cases - the accusative.  Song:   Noć u dan by Démodé featuring Tina Vukov and Poncije. My suggestion is that you take a listen before we get into the grammar. Regardless of how much Croatian you know, try to figure out what this song is about. What's the main theme? And see if you can find the fun reference to a 90's NBA dynasty.  Ok, now that you've listened through once, let's talk about the little word " u " that is used a lot.  Question:  The prepostion " u " is one of the most common words in Croatian...

Photo by  Al Elmes  on  Unsplash As an American who moved to Croatia more than 15 years ago, I've attended various Croatian classes. Some have been really helpful, others not so much.  Experience has taught me that if you are planning on living in Croatia for awhile, the best language practice is through conversation, making mistakes and engaging in everyday situations. That's how kids learn languages.  (I've also had the benefit of asking my wife and members of her family numerous questions throughout the years.) For example, I don't remember ever learning the difference between accusative and locative. But I do remember learning how to say phrases in both cases without even realizing it.  So, as a way of helping myself solidify various aspects of the Croatian language and hopefully helping others who are learning Croatian as a second language, I've decided to do a series on learning Croatian through songs.  An added benefit is that if you're fairly n...