No Slovenian On Duolingo + 3 Best Alternatives For 2023

No Slovenian On Duolingo

It has come to the attention of the instructional designers at Ling that there is no Slovenian on Duolingo, which is why we have designed a course to remedy the problem. Slovenia is a fascinating country, and there are myriad reasons to learn the language.

Today, we’re going to take a look at why Duolingo might have left a Slovenian course out, as well as some alternatives.

Why Is There No Slovenian On Duolingo?

Is Slovenian a rare language? Yeah, it’s a yes.

Slovenia is often referred to as a secret language. It’s cool because it’s only spoken by around 2.1 million people worldwide. So, if there isn’t much demand for the language, Duolingo won’t create lessons for it. And here are more factors that could be why they don’t have Slovenia on their app.

How Does Duolingo Select Languages To Add To Their Roster?

  1. Each new course requires a new staff incubator team. This is highly time-consuming and uses a lot of data.
  2. Is The Script On The Duolingo System? (This isn’t a problem with Slovenian because its alphabet is Latin, but consider another language like Lao).
  3. Slovenian only has 2.5 million speakers. Interestingly, Duolingo does not always look at how many speak the language. Take Russian, for example. There are hundreds of millions of speakers, but it isn’t a growth language. Swedish has far fewer speakers, but because of the levels of immigration, the language is spiking. A similar phenomenon can be seen in the Korean language after the popularity of Squid Game.
  4. Will adding the language create a media buzz? Slovenian is not a big hitter. Compare that with high Valyrian, which had a novelty element and attracted tens of millions of Game Of Thrones fans.
  5. How many qualified volunteers are there to create the course? Some countries have higher numbers of software engineers etc. Again, the number of language speakers doesn’t necessarily correlate with the popularity of a course. Consider Arabic. People are willing to work on Klingon, but it isn’t easy to find Arabic contributors.
No Slovenian On Duolingo Reasons For Learning Slovene

Reasons For Learning Slovene (And Visiting Slovenia)

Are you interested in learning Slovenian, even if it may seem hard, especially for beginners? We got here the best reasons why you should challenge yourself to master this amazing language!

  • Tourism – Slovenia is an awesome place to visit. It is regularly voted in the top 10 countries to visit in Europe. Although I’ve never been, I’ve been told it’s great for skiing and at least half the price of places like Switzerland and Italy. There is also the awe-inspiring Lake Bled, where geothermal springs warm the water to a delightful 26 degrees.
  • Safety – This ties into tourism and relates to anyone thinking of moving there. You won’t hear any curse words in Slovenia. In fact, you’ll see very little crime or aggression. On the annual peace index, Slovenia ranks 7 out of 163 countries.
  • Cleanliness And Environmentally Friendly – Slovenia is super clean, and according to the environmental protection Index, it is the 5th best globally, only lagging behind the Scandinavian countries. This doesn’t sound like it would be a big deal, but after living in different Asian megacities, I can assure you it is. Air pollution takes, on average, 2.2 years off human life. Compare that to smoking which is 1.9 years. Since China started its war on pollution in 2013, it is estimated to have added 1.5 years to the life of its average citizen. Indicative of how seriously Slovenia takes this is that 53% of its country is protected land. Because it is so green, it is home to a diverse selection of wildlife, including the recently reintroduced brown bear.
  • Wine! – Slovenia, like Estonia, is a massive producer of wine. It is estimated that there is one vineyard for every 70 people in the country. If you visit the Karst region, you’ll find some of the best wine-tasting tours in the world.

Is It Difficult To Learn Slovenian?

Learning Slovenian is definitely not a walk in the park. It’s considered one of the most challenging languages to become fluent in, so it’s not exactly a piece of cake. According to the FSI language difficulty ranking, it’s estimated that native English speakers will need to spend around 1100 hours to progress in learning this language.

Is It Worth Learning Slovenian?

Did you know that Slovenian is actually a South Slavic language? If you become really good at it, you can use it as a starting point to learn other South Slavic languages, such as Croatian or Serbian. It can also help you understand other Slavic languages, like Russian or Czech.

What Are Alternatives To Duolingo?

Duolingo is great, but it definitely is not suitable for everyone. We all have our learning styles and preferences for learning which is why you might find it better to use these recommended alternatives below.

  1. Youtube videos. Anyone who’s read this blog before, they’ll know how highly I value Youtube. There’s something about being part of a vibrant and, most importantly, active community that ensures you stay consistent with your language learning. The best I’ve seen online to learn the Slovenian language are videos from a Youtuber called Sandra Potisek. She will talk you through your new language and has everything from lessons on the Slovenian alphabet to lockdown in Slovenia.
  2. Simply Learn. It is usually at this point that I’d recommend Simply Learn, one of the sister mobile apps of Ling. However, we currently don’t have a finished Slovenian phrasebook. In that case, I’d recommend this Slovenian phrasebook. Phrasebooks might seem a little outdated, and paper ones definitely are, but having that app on your phone is greatly helpful. I find checking into a hotel or going in a taxi so much less stressful.
  3. Learn Slovenian With Ling. You knew that was coming! Ling is your one-stop shop for learning Slovenian and 60+ other foreign languages.

Learn Slovenian With Ling

As soon as we found out there was no Slovenian on Duolingo, we knew we had to rectify the situation. So come over and speak Slovene now. If you’ve used Duolingo before, you’ll recognize many of the same features on Ling. We have focused on a sleek user interface and unique gamification elements.

Our lessons, like Duolingo’s, are designed to be consumed in 15-minute bite-sized chunks. And because you can score points and win rewards, you’ll be desperate to come back for more. There is everything from grammar practice to everyday speech.

Want to learn more about Slovenian vocabulary and phrases? Download the Ling app from the Play Store or App Store now!

That’s all from us today. I hope you’ve found this blog useful. Just know that Ling has got your back. We understand that even though a language has minimal speakers, it still deserves to have the same attention as the giants.

Until the next time!

2 Responses

  1. I just tried the first tutorial on ling about slovenian and there is at least 5 sentences on 10 which are not corresponding nor to the translation, nor to what we can hear.

    If that s how you want people to learn… i think better to remove it than having such non sense. That s only the tutorial

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