Croatia
A 2011 survey revealed that 78% of Croatians claim knowledge of at least one foreign language. According to a survey ordered by the European Commission in 2005, 49% of Croatians speak English as the second language, 34% speak German, 14% speak Italian, and 10% speak French. Russian is spoken by 4% each, and 2% of Croatians speak Spanish. However, there are large municipalities that have minority languages that include substantial populations that speak these languages. An odd-majority of Slovenes (59%) have a certain level of knowledge of Croatian. The country is a part of various language-based international associations most notably the European Union Language Association.
Međimurje County
The official language of Međimurje County, as in the whole of Croatia, is the Shtokavian dialect of Croatian. However, the local dialect is Kajkavian, which is commonly spoken and understood among the people native to the region. In Kajkavian there is a number of Hungarian and German loanwords, but the Međimurian Kajkavian dialect sees the strongest Hungarian and German influence. The Međimurian dialect forms dialect continuum to the Prekmurje dialect (Southern Dolinsko dialect near Lendava) and the dialect of Prlekija. The artists of the Međimurje seek to cultivate the local dialect, including Franjo Mesarić–Frenki writer and poet, and Vlado Mihaljević, writer, singer, cantor and searcher.