The official language of the Slovak Republic is Slovakian (sometimes called Slovak). Slovakian and Czech are very closely related but are not entirely identical languages. Hungarian is also widely spoken. In areas of southern Slovakia where the population of Hungarian-speakers exceeds 20%, a 1994 law allows Hungarian to replace Slovakian as the official language in certain instances.

Learning to speak Slovakian is not particularly easy for those who do not have a thorough grounding in another Slavic language. However, since each letter in the alphabet is spoken as it is written, with some perseverance it is possible to learn the basics. It also helps that the alphabet is the Latin alphabet, with some unique characters/accents added.

German is the most commonly spoken second language, followed by English. Most restaurants in Bratislava provide English translations of their menus.