![Bgmap yat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Bgmap_yat.png)
The Southwestern Bulgarian dialects are a group of
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
dialects which are located west of the
yat
Yat or jat (Ѣ ѣ; italics: ) is the thirty-second letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet and the Rusyn alphabet.
There is also another version of yat, the iotified yat (majuscule: , minuscule: ), which is a Cyrillic character combining a ...
boundary and are part of the
Western Bulgarian dialects
Bulgarian (, ; bg, label=none, български, bălgarski, ) is an Eastern South Slavic, Eastern South Slavic language spoken in Southeastern Europe, primarily in Bulgaria. It is the language of the Bulgarians.
Along with the closely ...
. The range of the Southwestern dialects on the territory of Bulgaria includes most of west central and southwestern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. The Southwestern dialects border on the
Northwestern dialects to the north, the
Transitional dialects to the northwest and the
Balkan dialects
The Balkan dialects are the most extensive group of dialects of the Bulgarian language, covering almost half of the present-day territory of Bulgaria. Their range includes north-central Bulgaria and most of the Bulgarian part of Thrace, excluding ...
and the
Rup dialects
The Rup dialects, or the Southeastern dialects, are a group of Bulgarian dialects located east of the yat boundary, thus being part of the Eastern Bulgarian dialects. The range of the Rup dialects includes the southern part of Thrace, i.e. Stra ...
to the northeast and southeast, respectively. If the Macedonian language is regarded as a third literary form of Modern Bulgarian, then the Southwestern dialects extend west and southwest to include the Slavic dialects in
Vardar Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia ( Macedonian and sr, Вардарска Македонија, ''Vardarska Makedonija'') was the name given to the territory of the Kingdom of Serbia (1912–1918) and Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) roughly corresponding to t ...
and the western half of
Greek Macedonia
Macedonia (; el, Μακεδονία, Makedonía ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is ...
. Should the Macedonian language be counted as a separate language, then the southernmost dialect of the group, the
Blagoevgrad-Petrich or Pirin dialect, along with the corresponding variety on the Macedonian side of the border, the Maleshevo dialect, constitute a transitional dialect between Bulgarian and Macedonian. A defining characteristic of the Southwestern dialects is the gradual transition from one dialect to another, as well as to dialects which belong to other dialectal groups. For example, the
Dupnitsa dialect
The Dupnitsa dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of Dupnitsa in central western Bulgaria. It is transitional between the Samokov dialect to the east and the Blagoevgrad-Petr ...
is transitional to both the
Samokov dialect
The Samokov dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of Samokov in central western Bulgaria. Its immediate neighbours are the Sofia dialect and Elin Pelin dialect to the north, the ...
and the
Blagoevgrad-Petrich dialect, the
Botevgrad dialect
The Botevgrad dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of Botevgrad and Etropole in northwestern Bulgaria. It is located on the yat boundary and is closely related to the Eastern ...
is transitional to the Eastern Bulgarian
Balkan dialects
The Balkan dialects are the most extensive group of dialects of the Bulgarian language, covering almost half of the present-day territory of Bulgaria. Their range includes north-central Bulgaria and most of the Bulgarian part of Thrace, excluding ...
, and especially to the
Pirdop dialect
The Pirdop dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, which is part of the Balkan group of the Eastern Bulgarian dialects. Its range includes the towns of Pirdop, Zlatitsa and Koprivshtitsa, as well as several neighbouring villages. The most significant fea ...
, etc. etc.
Phonological and morphological characteristics
* Old Church Slavonic ѣ (yat) is always pronounced as vs. formal Bulgarian я/е (~) – ''бел/бели'' (white, white pl.)
* щ~жд (~) for Proto-Slavic ~ (as in Standard Bulgarian) - ''леща, между'' (lentils, between). The future tense particle is, however, different in the different dialects: ''ще'', ''ше'', ''че'', ''к҄е'', ''к҄у''
[The diacritic ◌҄ indicates palatalization.]
![Bulgarian dialects by Todor Bozhinov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Bulgarian_dialects_by_Todor_Bozhinov.png)
* The reflex of Old Church Slavonic ѫ (yus) is generally a, with the exception of the
Sofia dialect
The Sofia dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in western part of the Sofia valley by part of the Shopi. Its immediate neighbours are the Vratsa dialect to the north, the Elin Pelin dialec ...
where it is ъ (): ''каща'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''къща'' (house)
* The reflex of Old Church Slavonic ъ gradually shifts from north to south from only a to both a and o. The northern dialects (e.g. the
Vratsa dialect
The Vratsa dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of Vratsa in northwestern Bulgaria. The Vratsa dialect borders on the transitional Belogradchik dialect to the west, the Nort ...
) have only a, the central ones (e.g. the
Ihtiman dialect
The Ihtiman dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the regions of Ihtiman, Kostenets and Septemvri in central western Bulgaria. It is transitional between the Botevgrad and Samokov dialect. ...
) have mostly a with occurrences of o only in certain suffixes and prefixes, the southern ones (e.g. the
Maleševo-Pirin dialect
The term Maleševo-Pirin or Maleshevo-Pirin or Pirin-Maleshevo dialect is used in South Slavic linguistics to refer to a group of related varieties that are spoken on both sides of the border of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia. Some ...
) have only o in suffixes and prefixes and some roots and a in other roots
* Preserved transition of o into e after ж , ш , ч : ''ножеве'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''ножове'' (knives)
* Single masculine definite article -o (as in the
Moesian dialects
The Moesian dialects are a group of closely related dialects of the Bulgarian language, part of the Eastern Bulgarian dialects. The Moesian dialects are spoken in northeastern Bulgaria and in the regions of Karnobat, Aytos, Burgas and Yambol in ...
) or a (as in the
Balkan
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
Pirdop dialect
The Pirdop dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, which is part of the Balkan group of the Eastern Bulgarian dialects. Its range includes the towns of Pirdop, Zlatitsa and Koprivshtitsa, as well as several neighbouring villages. The most significant fea ...
), depending on the dialect: ''гар'бо/гар'бa'' vs. Standard Bulgarian ''гър'бът'' (the back).
* Widespread formation of past passive participles with ''-н'': ''чуен'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''чут'' (heard)
* Suffix ''-чки'' instead of ''-шки'' for formation of certain adjectives: ''човечки'' vs. ''човешки''
For the phonological and morphological characteristics of the individual dialects included in the dialectal group, cf. individual articles.
References
Sources
Стойков, Стойко: Българска диалектология, Акад. изд. "Проф. Марин Дринов", 200
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwestern Bulgarian Dialects
Dialects of the Bulgarian language