The Pirdop dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, which is part of 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 ...

group of the Eastern Bulgarian dialects. Its range includes the towns of

Pirdop Pirdop ( bg, Пирдоп ) is a town located in South-West Bulgaria in Pirdop Municipality of Sofia Province in the southeastern part of the Zlatitsa - Pirdop Valley at 670 m above sea level. It is surrounded by the Balkan Range (also known a ...

Zlatitsa Zlatitsa ( bg, Златица ) is a town and the seat of the Zlatitsa Municipality in southern Bulgaria located in the Zlatitsa-Pirdop valley. It lies between Stara Planina to the north and Sredna Gora to the south at above sea level. It is si ...

and

Koprivshtitsa Koprivshtitsa ( bg, Копривщица, pronounced , from the Bulgarian word , ''kopriva'', meaning "nettle") is a historic town in the Koprivshtitsa Municipality in Sofia Province, central Bulgaria, lying on the Topolnitsa River among the ...

, as well as several neighbouring villages. The most significant feature of the dialect, as in all

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 ...

, is the pronunciation of Old Church Slavonic ѣ (yat) as or , depending on the character of the following syllable. However, the Pirdop dialect also features a number of characteristics which bring it closer to the neighbouring

Western Bulgarian dialects Bulgarian (, ; bg, label=none, български, bălgarski, ) is an Eastern South Slavic language spoken in Southeastern Europe, primarily in Bulgaria. It is the language of the Bulgarians. Along with the closely related Macedonian la ...

, and especially to 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 ...

and which, in turn, separate it from the rest of the

Phonological and morphological characteristics

* Vowel a for Old Church Slavonic ѫ (yus) and ъ (back yer) in a stressed syllable and ъ () in an unstressed syllable: ''маж'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''мъж'' (man), ''сан'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''сън'' (sleep), but ''мъ'жа'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''мъ'жът'' (the man) * Verb ending -a instead of formal Bulgarian -ъ in a stressed syllable and a half-reduced -a in an unstressed syllable in verbs of the first and second conjugation: ''чет'а'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''чет'ъ'' (I read) * ръ () and лъ() for Old Church Slavonic groups ръ/рь and лъ/ль versus formal Bulgarian ръ/ър (/) and лъ/ъл (/): ''дръво, слъза'' instead of formal Bulgarian ''дърво, сълза'' (tree, tear). * Ending e instead of formal Bulgarian i for multi-syllable masculine nouns (''българе'' instead of ''българи'') * The masculine definite article is -a in a stressed syllable and a half-reduced -a in an unstressed syllable - ''кра'ка'' (the leg) Most of the other phonological and morphological characteristics of the Pirdop dialect are similar to the general features typical for all

, cf. article.

Sources

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

{{Bulgarian dialects Dialects of the Bulgarian language