The Lower Prespa dialect , is a member of the western subgroup of the western group of dialects

Dialects of the Macedonian language

The dialects of Macedonian comprise the Slavic dialects spoken in the Republic of Macedonia as well as some varieties spoken in the wider geographic region of Macedonia. They exist as part of the dialect continuum of South Slavic languages that joins the Macedonian language with Bulgarian to the...

 of the Macedonian language

Macedonian language

Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...

. This dialect is mainly spoken on the Eastern shore of Prespa Lake and Small Prespa Lake, both in the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

 and by the Slavic-speaking community on the Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 side of the border. The Prespa dialect spoken in the Greek community has elements of Greek such as "d/δ". This area is mainly composed of villages, such as Brajčino

Brajcino

Brajčino is a village in the Resen Municipality of Macedonia. It is situated from Lake Prespa at the foot of Baba Mountain. The village is located a few miles from Greece...

, Dupeni

Dupeni

Dupeni is a village in the Resen municipality of Macedonia. The village is located right on Prespa Lake and has a very nice beach. Dupeni is divided into two mahalas, Dolno Dupeni and Gorno Dupeni .-People:...

, Štrbovo

Štrbovo

Štrbovo is a small village in the Lake Prespa region of the Republic of Macedonia. Its current population is 184. Štrbovo is divided into Gorno Štrbovo and Dolno Štrbovo....

, Ljubojno

Ljubojno

Ljubojno is a village located in the region of Prespa in the Republic of Macedonia. Ljubojno is situated some 2 km from Prespa lake with elevation of 920 m above sea level. The population of Ljubojno is 186.-Religious objects:...

, western parts of the Florina Prefecture

Florina Prefecture

Florina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Florina.-Geography:Florina borders the regional units of Pella to the east, Kozani to the south and Kastoriá to the southwest...

 and northern parts of the Kastoria Prefecture

Kastoria Prefecture

Kastoria is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Kastoria.-Geography:...

. The Lower Prespa dialect is very similar to the Upper Prespa dialect

Upper Prespa dialect

The Upper Prespa dialect is a member of the western subgroup of the western group of dialects of the Macedonian language. The dialect is spoken in the town of Resen and surrounding areas...

 and Ohrid dialect

Ohrid dialect

The Ohrid dialect is a member of the western and north western subgroup of the western group of dialects of the Macedonian language. The dialect is spoken in the region around the city Ohrid up to the southern point of the Ohrid Lake. Except in the city of Ohrid, the dialect is spoken in the...

.

Phonological characteristics

• use of E instead of YAT: цена/ cena - (price);
• use of palatal J;
• use of Ф/F and В/V instead of the Old Church Slavonic H.

Morphological characteristics

• use of the preposition OD with possessive case: внукот од брат ми/ vnukot od brat mi (Nephew through my brother)
• the plural suffix -ovi is often changed with the suffix -oj: лебови> лебој (lebovi> leboj/ bread);
• personal pronoun for third person singular and plural: тој, таа, тоа, тие (toj, taa, toa, tie/ he, she, it, they).
• shortening of words: Богројца/Bogrojca instead of Богородица/Bogorodica (Virgin Mary)
• loss of V in Hers / His: Nivno> Nino / Nivna> Nina

Typical Words

• Брго/brgo or bărgho instead of рано/rano - (early)
• Мисур/misur instead of пајнца/pajnca - (plate/dish)
• Планучки/planučki instead of јаготки/jagotki - (strawberries)
• Кртол/krtol instead of компир/kompir - (potato)
• Δаскал/daskal instead of учител/učitel - (teacher)
• Луканец/lukanec instead of колбас/kolbas - (sausage)
• Думан/duman instead of прашина/prašina - (dust)
• Пепун/pepun instead of диња/dinja - (rockmelon)
• Пупки/pupki instead of ќофти/kjofti - (meatball)
• Лафа/lafa instead of зборува/zboruva - (talk)
• Сторил/storil instead of случува/slučuva - (happen)
• Заек/zaek instead of зајак/zajak - (rabbit)
• Пули/puli instead of види//vidi - (look)

Some example phrases (in comparison to Standard Macedonian

Standard Macedonian

Standard Macedonian or Literary Macedonian is the standard variety of the Macedonian language and official language of the Republic of Macedonia used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...

):

• "Oti lafiš taka?" as opposed to "Zošto zboruvaš taka?" (Why are you talking like that for?)
• "Šo ke stori ama toj ke znaj?" as opposed to "Što ḱe slučuva ako znae toj?" (What's going to happen if he knows?)
• "Dea ojš?" as opposed to "Kade odiš?" (Where are you going?)

Examples

Below is written a popular folk song from the Prespa region. The song is in the Lower Prespa dialect.

Ozgora idat Turcite,

mladi Ljubanki teraat,

napred mi odi Todorka.

Todorke mlada nevesto,

ostavi si go deteto

na tie ravni ledini

na tie tenki kamenja.

Todorka poču turčinot

si go ostavi deteto

na tie ravni ledini.

Mi pominal ovčarče

pa si go zema deteto,

pa si go glavil sluginče

kaj edna mlada vdovica.

kaj toj mi Osman Beg.

Devet mi godidi sluguval,

liceto ne i go videl

na taa mlada vdovica.

Poduvnal veter gornjaneni

i go duvnal feredžeto,

liceto i se otkrilo,

liceto na vdovicata.

I togaš si ovčarče zagrabil,

majčice mila majčice,

deka sisluguvaše devet godini

vo taa crna zandana.

Ah milo moje detence,

deka rasteše devet godini

vo tie crni zandani.

Togaš si majka zagrnal,

zaklal si turčin na guša

i kuḱa si napravil

so tie pari od sluguvanje