Plzeň Dialect

Plzeň dialect ( or colloquially ''plzeňština'') is a dialect of Czech language spoken in western Bohemia, in and around Plzeň. It belongs to southwest subgroup of Bohemian dialects and has some features that are also present in common Czech. This dialect contains many germanisms, precisely from Northern Bavarian dialects. Chod dialect is sometimes considered a subgroup of Plzeň dialect, as it has many common features. The dialect has a typical style of intonation, called ''Plzeň singing'' (Czech: ''plzeňské zpívání'').

Main features

Morphology

If two forms of a word are written, the first one is dialectal and second one is standard Czech form.

* Masculine animate nouns end with -í in nominative plural, instead of standard -é, even corresponding numerals and pronouns are pronounced longer: ''dvá klucí/dva kluci'' (two boys), ''vobá hokejistí''/oba hokejisté (both hockey players), ''tří chlapí/tři chlapi'' (three men), ''hostí/hosté'' (guests).
* Sound ''a'' is lengthened in last syllables of some genitive plural nouns (, ).
* Nouns in other cases are often shortened. Plural locative of nouns of hard patterns ends with ''-ach'': ''vo klukach''/''o klucích'' (about boys), ''vozach/vozech''(wagons), ''kozach/kozách'' (goats), ''prknach/prknech'' (boards).
* Soft-declined masculine and feminine nouns have plural locative ending ''-ech'': ''vo pekařech/o pekařích'' (about bakers), ''nožech/nožích'' (knives), ''nohavicech, nohavicích'' (trouser legs), ''kostěch, kostích'' (bones).
* Dative plural ending is ''-om'', especially in masculine nouns (''k učitelom/učitelům'' (to teachers), ''stromkom/stromkům'' (little trees), ''kravom, kravám'' (cows), ''kuřatom/kuřatům'' (chickens).
* Case endings of ''kost'' and''růže'' feminine nouns are same, e.g. in genitive singular: ''do práci/do práce'' (to the work), ''pytel pšenici/pytel pšenice'' (sack of wheat), ''bez mrkvi/bez mrkve'' (without carrot), nominative plural: ''kostě/kosti'' (bones), ''zdě/zdi'' (walls), ''noce/noci'' (nights).
* The ''-u'' ending in dative singular of ''pán'' masculine pattern is more common than in other dialects or standard Czech: ''k doktoru''/''k doktorovi'' (to a doctor).
* Names of families end with ''-ojc'' (''Novákovojc/Novákovi''), they are often indeclinable and used as surnames coined with names (''Jirka Bláhojc'').
* Possessive adjectives end, in all genders and cases, with -ovo: ''tátovo/tátova košile'' (dad's shirt), ''v dědovo domě/v dědově domu'' (in granddad's house), or -ino (''sestřino děti/sestřiny děti'' - sister's children).
* The ''sk'' suffix of adjectives changes to ''ck'' after ''n'', ''l'' and sometimes also after another consonants: ''panský > pancký'' (atristocratic), ''selský > selcký'' (rural).
* Genitive and a dative/feminine singular forms of nouns of hard patterns have different endings: ''z tý druhý stran/z té druhé strany'' (from the other side), ''na tej druhej straně/na té druhé straně'').
* Pronouns ''já'' (I) and ''ty'' (you, informal singular) exchanges genitive/accusative and dative forms: ''nezlob mi/nezlob mě'' (don't play me up), ''dám tě to/dám ti to'' (I will give it to you), ''já se ti bojim/já se tě bojím'' (I'm afraid of you), sometimes even reflexive pronouns ''si'' and ''se'' undergo this exchange.
* Endings of locative singular of masculine and neuter hard-declined pronouns merge into each other: ''vo tom našom/o tom našem'' (about the ours), ''v čom/v čem'' (in what), ''vo ňom/o něm'' (about him), ''vo všom/o všem'' (abuout everything).
* Demonstrative pronouns and adverbs, that express closeness of things, start with ''tu-/tů-'': ''tůten, tůta, tůto/tento,tato,toto'' (this - masculine, feminine, neuter), ''tudlecto/tohle'' (this one), ''tůtady/tady, zde'' (here).
* Interrogative expressions take -pa postfix: ''copa/co'' (what), ''kudypa/kudy'' (which way), in the ''kd-'' prefix, ''k'' is omitted (''depa/kde'' = where), or pronounced as ''h'' (''hdopa'').
* Infinitive of class I verbs with ''-t-'' or ''-d-'' stem ends with ''-ect'': ''ject/jet'' (to go by something), ''vect/vézt'' (to lead/transport), ''pect/péct'' (to bake), or ''-est'': ''nest/nést'' (to carry/bear).
* Infinitive of some verbs shows change of ''á'' to ''í'' in the middle of the word: ''hřít/hřát'' (to give warmth), ''zapříst/zapřáhnout'' (to hitch), ''tříst/třást'' (to shake/shiver), ''zíbst/zábst'' (to chill somebody).

In some villages around Plzeň, but not in Plzeň itself, some prepositions were used in doubled forms (zez/z = from, vev/v = in). This feature mostly disappeared in the 1960s and 1970sHlubinková, Z. (2004): Spojování předložek v českých nářečích a ve spisovném jazyce. In: Spisovnost a nespisovnost. Zdroje, proměny a perspektivy. Brno: Masaryk University, pp. 76–80. but many people associate the preposition ″zez″ with the form of speech used in Plzeň and use, mostly derisively, it in the phrase ″zez Plzně″ (from Plzeň, which is ″z Plzně″ in standard speech).

Phonology

* Broader pronunciation of ''á'' ().
* Reduced pronunciation of ''i, y''neighboring with ''l, n, ň'', often in ''-il'' participles of IV class verbs: ''mlynář > mlnář'' (miller), ''zednik > zedňәk'' (bricklayer), ''obecní > obecňә'' (municipal), ''učil > učәl'' (he taught).
* The ''í'' sound after sharp sibilants is retained, diphthongisation of common Czech does not occur, : ''cítit''/''cejtit'' (to feel), ''sítko''/''sejtko'' (sieve), ''vozík''/''vozejk'' (cart).
* The ''e'' sound is changed to ''a'' in the middle of some words, especially after soft consonants preceding the hard ones: ''čep > čap'' (pivot), ''jehla > jahla'' (needle), ''sršeň > sršán'' (hornet), ''vřes > břasa'' (heather).
* The ''o'' vowel is changed to ''u'' inside some words: ''poklička > puklička'' (lid), ''kolík > kulík'' (peg), ''bota > bůta'' (shoe), ''potřebovat > potřebuvat'' (to need).
* The ''ů'' sound (old Czech ó) is sometimes changed to ''o'': ''kůlna > kolna'' (shed), ''kůzle > kozle'' (baby goat), ''lůj > loj'' (tallow), ''růst > rost'' (to grow).
* Excessive diphthongisation of ''ou'' instead of ''ó'' in soe words: ''tůň > touně'' (water hole), ''pluh > plouh'' (plough); even in past particple form: ''usnul > usnoul'' (he fell asleep).
* ''Au'' in some foreign words is replaced with ''ou'': ''auto > outo'' (car).
* Some monosyllabic pmasculine nouns have a lengthened ''a'' sound: ''kráj/kraj'' (region), ''spláv/splav'' (weir), ''hád/had'' (snake), this feature can be also found in some adverbs (''tám/tam'', there).
* Some two syllable feminine nouns contain ''í'' in their first syllables, which arose by lengthening: ''slína/slina'' (saliva), ''kníha/kniha'' (book), ''vína/vina'' (guilt) or by umlaut: ''řepa > řípa'' (beet), ''pěna > pína'' (foam).
* Prothetic ''h'' before ''ň, r, ř,'': ''almara > halmara'' (wardrobe), ''udit > hudit'' (to smoke a food), ''jíva > híva'' (great sallow), ''nízký > hnízký'' (low), ''ryzec > hryzec'' (milkcap).
* Epenthesis of ''j'' before ''ť, ď'' in closed syllables: ''ať > ajť'' (so that), ''teď > tejď'' (now), ''paměť > pamějť'' (memory), ''buď > bujď'' (either).
* Prothetic ''stř'' sis simplified to ''tř'': ''střída > třída'' (crumb), ''střecha > třecha'' (roof), ''střapec > třapec'' (tassel), ''stříká > tříká'' (he/she/it is splashing).
* The ''g'' sound is replaced by ''k'' in some foreign words: ''brigáda > brikáda'' (temporary job), '' guláš > kuláš'', ''guma > kuma'' (rubber).
* The regresive assimilation of voiced consonants: ''s matkou > z matkou'' (with mother), ''s vodou > z vodou'' (with water).

Sentence structure

* The word ''než'' (meaning usually ''than'' in standard Czech) is also used to express exclusiveness (which is expressed by ''jen'' or ''jenom'' in standard Czech), for example: ''tady roste než/jen(om) křoví'' (only bushes grow there).
* Constructions like ''mrznout nemrzne'' (it's not freezing here, literally ''to freeze, it freezes not'').

Intonation

Plzeň dialect features a type of intonation called ''Plzeň singing'' (Czech:''plzeňské zpívání''), which is a strong accent at the end of imperative and exclamative clauses and Wh questions. The accent rises and then falls to a main part of utterance: Dejte to na stůl! (Give it on the table!); Kdepa jsi byla? (Where were you?). The highewst point of an accent is at the penultimate syllable.

Vocabulary

Some words feature alternation of sounds or word formation: ''cibule > cibul'' (onion), ''nůžky > nožíky'' (scissors), ''hřbet > hřibet'' (back of an animal), ''míč > mlíč'' (ball), ''lžíce > žíce'' (spoon). For family members, short forms are used: ''maminka/mami'' (mom), ''babička/babi'' (grandmom) and ''tatínek/tatí'' (dad). This table contains some other examples:

References

Literature

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* {{cite book , last = Voráč , first = Jaroslav , date = 1955 , title = Česká nářečí jihozápadní. Studie jazykově zeměpisná , location = Prague, publisher = Academia

External links

Česko-plzeňský slovník
(Czech-Plzeň dictionary)

Plzeňákovo slovníček pojmů
(Dictionary of words of Plzeň dweller

Czech dialects
dialect
City colloquials