The Zlatograd dialect is a

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 ...

dialect, member of the Rup or Southeastern Bulgarian dialects. The Zlatograd dialect is spoken in the southwestern part of the Eastern

Rhodopes The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

, i.e. in the town of

Zlatograd Zlatograd ( bg, Златоград, , ) is a town in Smolyan Province, southern-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Zlatograd Municipality. In December 2009, the town had a population of 7,110.

, as well as a number of neighbouring villages and towns, e.g.

Nedelino Nedelino ( bg, Неделино ) is a town and municipality in the Rhodope Mountains of the Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Sout ...

Kirkovo Kirkovo ( bg, Кирково) is a village in Kardzhali Province, southern Bulgaria, near the Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a br ...

, etc. The Zlatograd dialect is most closely related to the eastern and western Rup dialects, but also shares a number of phonological and morphological characteristics with the Rhodopean dialects. Thus, it is usually considered to be transitional between the two groups.

Phonological and morphological characteristics

* The reflex of Old Church Slavonic yat is usually before a hard syllable and broad e () before a soft syllable: ''бял/бли'' instead of formal Bulgarian ''бял/бели'' (white). However, there are also a number of cases where the reflex of yat is even before a soft syllable: ''врме'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''време''. This a feature the Zlatograd dialect shares with the

Serres-Nevrokop dialect The Ser-Drama-Lagadin-Nevrokop dialect is a dialect currently treated both in the contexts of the southeastern group of Bulgarian dialects and the southeastern subgroup of dialects of the Macedonian. Prior to the codification of standard Mace ...

and certain subdialects of the

Thracian dialect The Thracian dialect is a dialect of the Bulgarian language, member of the Rup dialects, Rup or Southeastern Bulgarian dialects. The present range of the dialect includes the regions of Haskovo, Parvomay, Elhovo, Harmanli, Svilengrad, Topolovgrad ...

* a is not transformed into before a soft syllable: ''жаба-жаби'' as in Standard Bulgarian. This is a Western Bulgarian feature separating the Zlatograd dialect from the rest of the Rup dialects * Individual development of the Old Church Slavonic jers and nasal vowels (as in 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 ...

): :ъ () for Old Church Slavonic ѫ (yus) and ъ () (as in Standard Bulgarian) – ''мъш, сън'' (man, sleep) : for both Old Church Slavonic

little yus Little yus (Ѧ ѧ) and big yus (Ѫ ѫ), or jus, are letters of the Cyrillic script representing two Common Slavonic nasal vowels in the early Cyrillic alphabet, early Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabet, Glagolitic alphabets. Each can occu ...

(ѧ) and ь * Articulation of unstressed o as a (as in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

): ''кабила'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''кобила'' (mare). This feature is also typical for the

Smolyan dialect The Smolyan dialect or Central Rhodope dialect is a Bulgarian dialect of the Rhodopean group of the Rup dialects. Its range includes most of the Central Rhodopes, i.e. the region of Smolyan. Its immediate neighbours are the Rhodopean Hvoyna dialect ...

For other phonological and morphological characteristics typical for all Rup or Rhodopean dialects, cf.

Sources

Стойков, Стойко: Българска диалектология, Акад. изд. "Проф. Марин Дринов", 200

{{Bulgarian dialects Dialects of the Bulgarian language