As a linguistic expert with a deep understanding of language families and their similarities, I can provide a comprehensive analysis on the question of which language is most similar to Croatian. To begin with, it's important to understand the linguistic classification of the Croatian language.

Croatian is a member of the Indo-European family, which is one of the largest and most widespread language families in the world. Within the Indo-European family, Croatian is further classified under the Balto-Slavic branch, indicating a close relationship with other Slavic languages. Specifically, it falls under the Slavic group, which is divided into three main sub-branches: East Slavic, West Slavic, and South Slavic. Croatian is a part of the South Slavic sub-branch.

Within the South Slavic sub-branch, there are several languages, including Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin, which are often considered to be mutually intelligible with Croatian to varying degrees. This is due to the historical, cultural, and geographical proximity among these nations. The Serbo-Croatian language, a former standardized variety that was used in the former Yugoslavia, was a precursor to the modern standard languages that emerged after the breakup of the country.
Shtokavian is the dialect base for the standard forms of Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian, and it is within this dialect that the Neo-Shtokavian variety, which is the basis for the modern standard Croatian, is found.

The writing system for Croatian is the Latin script, specifically using the Gaj's alphabet, which is a modification of the Latin script that includes additional diacritics to accommodate the phonetic features of the language. This writing system is also shared with other South Slavic languages, further contributing to their mutual intelligibility.

Given this linguistic classification and the historical context, the language most similar to Croatian is arguably Serbian. Both languages share a high degree of mutual intelligibility, especially in their standard forms. However, it's worth noting that there are differences in the official status and writing systems of the two languages. Serbian can be written in both the Latin script and Cyrillic script, which is more commonly associated with East Slavic languages, while Croatian uses exclusively the Latin script.

It's also important to consider the Eastern Herzegovinian dialect, which is a part of the Shtokavian dialect continuum and is spoken in the region of Herzegovina. This dialect shares many features with both Croatian and Serbian, and speakers of these languages may find it relatively easy to understand.

In conclusion, while there are several languages that are closely related to Croatian, Serbian stands out as the most similar due to its shared historical, cultural, and linguistic roots. However, the degree of similarity and mutual intelligibility can vary depending on the specific dialects and registers being used.

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Croatian languageCroatianLanguage familyIndo-European Balto-Slavic Slavic South Slavic Western Serbo-Croatian Shtokavian Neo-Shtokavian Eastern Herzegovinian CroatianWriting systemLatin (Gaj's alphabet) Yugoslav BrailleOfficial status15 more rowsread more >>