The Prlekija dialect ( sl, prleško narečje, ''prleščina'') is a
Slovene dialect in the
Pannonian dialect group
The Pannonian dialect group (''panonska narečna skupina''), or northeastern dialect group, is a group of closely related dialects of Slovene. The Pannonian dialects are spoken in northeastern Slovenia ( Prekmurje, in the eastern areas of Sloven ...
. It is spoken in the
Prlekija
Prlekija is a region in northeastern Slovenia between the Drava and Mura rivers. It comprises the eastern part of the Slovene Hills ( sl, Slovenske gorice), stretching from the border with Austria to the border with Croatia. It is part of the tra ...
region, southwest of the
Mura River, bounded on the north by a line from
Radenci
Radenci (; german: Bad Radein) is a town on the right bank of the Mura River in the Mura Statistical Region of northeastern Slovenia. It is a well-known spa town and was first mentioned in written documents dating back to 1436. After 1833, when a ...
to
Zlatoličje
Zlatoličje () is a village on the right bank of the Drava River southeast of Maribor in northeastern Slovenia. It lies in the Municipality of Starše in an area that is part of the traditional region of Styria. The municipality is now included i ...
to
Spodnja Polskava
Spodnja Polskava () is a settlement in the Municipality of Slovenska Bistrica in northeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Drava Statistical Region.
The ...
, on the west from there to
Majšperk
Majšperk (, in older sources ''Majšperg'', german: Monsberg) is a settlement in the Municipality of Majšperk in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the municipality. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The municipality i ...
, and then on the south along the
Dravinja
The Dravinja (german: Drann, ) is the largest tributary of the Drava River in Slovenia. It is long. Its source is on the Pohorje Massif southwest of Mount Rogla about 1,150 m above sea level. The river passes Zreče, the town of Slovenske Konji ...
and
rivers to the
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
n border.
[Toporišič, Jože. 1992. ''Enciklopedija slovenskega jezika''. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, p. 229.]
Phonological and morphological characteristics
The Prlekija dialect often has short vowels corresponding to long acute vowels in the standard language. Accentual retraction (in comparison to standard Slovene) is common. The dialect does not have diphthongs and is characterized by ''a:'' > ''ɔ'', ''u'' > ''ü'', vocalic ''ł'' > ''u'', unaccented ''ě/i/u'' > ''i'', word-final ''m'' > ''n'', hardening of soft ''l'', ''nʲ'' > ''j'', and ''v'' > ''f'' before voiceless consonants and in word-final position. Salient lexemes in the dialect include ''dère'' (= ''ko'' 'when'), ''ka'' (= ''da'' 'that' or ''ker'' 'because'), and ''te'' (= ''tedaj'' 'then').
References
Slovene dialects
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