South White Carniolan dialect
Encyclopedia
The South White Carniolan dialect (južnobelokranjsko narečje, južna belokranjščina) is a Slovene dialect in the Lower Carniolan dialect group
. It is spoken in southern White Carniola
south of the line from Podzemelj
to Črnomelj
to Kanižarica
. It includes the settlements of Dragatuš
, Vinica
, Bojanci
, and Adlešiči
.
, the old acute and neoacute on short syllables are expressed as short vowels, newly accented short syllables are preserved, the reflex of nasal *ǫ is partially expressed as a characteristic u sound, the southeast White Carniolan subdialect has transitional features to Croatian, including partial retraction of the accent from final syllables.
Lower Carniolan dialect group
The Lower Carniolan dialect group is a group of closely related dialects of Slovene. The Lower Carniolan dialects are spoken in most of Lower Carniola and in the eastern half of Inner Carniola....
. It is spoken in southern White Carniola
White Carniola
White Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia and is the most southern part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola. Its major towns are Metlika, Črnomelj, and Semič, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the...
south of the line from Podzemelj
Podzemelj
Podzemelj is a village on the left bank of the Kolpa River in the Municipality of Metlika in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia, next to the border with Croatia...
to Črnomelj
Crnomelj
Črnomelj is a town and municipality in southeastern Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the Lahinja and Dobličica rivers. The municipality is at the heart of the area of White Carniola, the southeastern part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola...
to Kanižarica
Kanižarica
Kanižarica is a settlement to the southwest of the town of Črnomelj in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region....
. It includes the settlements of Dragatuš
Dragatuš
Dragatuš is a village to the south of Črnomelj in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region....
, Vinica
Vinica, Črnomelj
Vinica is a village on the left bank of the Kolpa River in the Municipality of Črnomelj in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia, right on the border with Croatia...
, Bojanci
Bojanci
Bojanci is a village in the Municipality of Črnomelj in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenian statistical region....
, and Adlešiči
Adlešiči
Adlešiči is a settlement on the left bank of the Kolpa River in the Municipality of Črnomelj in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region...
.
Phonological and morphological characteristics
The South White Carniolan dialect sometimes retains a pitch accentPitch accent
Pitch accent is a linguistic term of convenience for a variety of restricted tone systems that use variations in pitch to give prominence to a syllable or mora within a word. The placement of this tone or the way it is realized can give different meanings to otherwise similar words...
, the old acute and neoacute on short syllables are expressed as short vowels, newly accented short syllables are preserved, the reflex of nasal *ǫ is partially expressed as a characteristic u sound, the southeast White Carniolan subdialect has transitional features to Croatian, including partial retraction of the accent from final syllables.