The Samokov dialect is a
Bulgarian dialect, member of the
Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of
Samokov
Samokov ( bg, Самоков ) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a basin between the mountains Rila and Vitosha, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Sam ...
in central western Bulgaria. Its immediate neighbours are the
Sofia dialect and
Elin Pelin dialect to the north, 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 dia ...
to the east, the
Dupnitsa dialect to the west and the
Razlog dialect
The Razlog dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Rup dialects. Its range includes the valley of Razlog in southwestern Bulgaria and its immediate neighbours are the Rup Serres-Nevrokop dialect to the south, the Babyak dialect to the east, ...
to the south.
Phonological and morphological characteristics
* Vowel a for Old Church Slavonic ѫ (yus), ь and ъ: ''маж'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''мъж'' (man), ''сан'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''сън'' (sleep).
* Limited number of o reflexes of Old Church Slavonic ъ in the suffix ''-ък'', the prefixes ''въз'' and ''съ'' and the prepositions ''във'', ''въз'' and ''със'': ''сос него'' vs. Standard Bulgarian ''със него'' (with him), ''напредок'' vs. Standard Bulgarian ''напредък'' (progress).
* Limited number of u reflexes of yus: ''мука'' vs. Standard Bulgarian ''мъка'' (sorrow)
* Schwa () for Old Church Slavonic лъ/ль before non-labial consonants and u before labial consonants (as in 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 dia ...
): ''съза'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''сълза'' (tear), ''вуна'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''вълна'' (wool)
* щ/жд (/) for Proto-Slavic / (as in Standard Bulgarian) - ''леща, между'' (lentils, between). The reflex in sevеral villages and partially in the town of Samokov is, however, шч , i.e. ''лешча''
* Presence of soft consonants at the end of the word
* Single masculine definite article -o: ''гар'бо'' vs. Standard Bulgarian ''гър'бът'' (the back).
* Ending -м in verbs of all conjugations (as in the
Sofia dialect): ''че'тем'' vs. formal Bulgarian ''чет'ъ'' (I read)
For other phonological and morphological characteristics typical for all Southwestern dialects, cf.
Southwestern Bulgarian dialects.
Sources
Стойков, Стойко: Българска диалектология, Акад. изд. "Проф. Марин Дринов", 200
{{Bulgarian dialects
Dialects of the Bulgarian language
Samokov