Context: The topic of language for writers from Dalmatia and Dubrovnik prior to the 19th century made a distinction only between speakers of Italian or Slavic, since those were the two main groups that inhabited Dalmatian city-states at that time. Whether someone spoke Croatian or Serbian was not an important distinction then, as the two languages were not distinguished by most speakers. This has been used as an argument to state that Croatian literature Croatian per se, but also includes Serbian and other languages that are part of Serbo-Croatian, These facts undermine the Croatian language proponents' argument that modern-day Croatian is based on a language called Old Croatian.

Question: Which language groups lived in Dalmation city-states prior to the 19th century?
Answer: Italian or Slavic

Question: Today's Croatian language has its roots in what other language?
Answer: Old Croatian

Question: Prior to the 19th century, why was it irrelevant whether a person spoke Croatian or Serbian?
Answer: two languages were not distinguished by most speakers

Question: What language is modern day Dalmatian based on?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What did writers from Croatian literature make a distinction between prior to the 19th century?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: Prior to the 19th century where did Croatians and Serbians live?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What two city states were not distinguished by most speakers prior to the 9th century?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What is undermined by facts about Dalmatia and Dubrovnik?
Answer: Unanswerable