Dialects of the Macedonian language

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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^[1]. They exist as part of the dialect continuum of South Slavic languages that joins the Macedonian language with Bulgarian to the east and Serbian to the north. As such, the delimitation between the languages, especially with Bulgarian, is fleeting and can be controversial. Macedonian authors tend to treat all dialects spoken in the geographical region of Macedonia as Macedonian, including those spoken in the westernmost part of Bulgaria (so-called Pirin Macedonia), whereas Bulgarian authors will treat these (or indeed Macedonian as a whole) as part of the Bulgarian language. In Greece, the identification of the dialects spoken by the local Slavophone minority with either Bulgarian or Macedonian is often avoided, and these dialects are instead described simply as "Slavic" or Dopia ('Local') or Našinski (ours).

The dialects of Macedonia in the wider sense can be divided into Eastern and Western groups (the boundary runs approximately from Skopje and Skopska Crna Gora along the rivers Vardar and Crna), based on a large group of features. In addition, a more detailed classification can be based on the modern reflexes of the Proto-Slavonic reduced vowels ("yers"), vocalic sonorants and the back nasal (o). That classification distinguishes between the following 3 major groups ^{[2] [3]}::

[edit] Dialects

Dialect divisions of Macedonian[4]
Northern      Lower Polog      Crna Gora      Kumanovo / Kratovo Western/Northwestern      Central      Upper Polog      Reka      Mala Reka / Galičnik      Debar      Drimkol / Golo Brdo      Vevčani / Radοža      Upper Prespa / Ohrid      Lower Prespa	Eastern      Mariovo / Tikveš      Štip / Strumica      Maleševo / Pirin Southeastern      Korča      Kostur      Nestram      Solun / Voden      Ser / Drama

Northern dialects

• Western group:

1. Lower Polog dialect
2. Skopska Crna Gora dialect

• Eastern group:

1. Kumanovo dialect
2. Kratovo dialect
3. Kriva Palanka dialect
4. Ovče Pole dialect

Western Dialects:

• Central group:

1. Prilep-Bitola dialect^[5]
2. Kičevo-Poreče dialect^[6]
3. Skopje-Veles dialect

• Western and north western group:

1. Upper Polog dialect
2. Reka (torbeš) dialect
3. Galιčnik (malorekanski or Mala Reka) dialect^[7]
4. Debar dialect
5. Drimkol-Golo Brdo dialect
6. Vevčani-Radοža dialect^[8]
7. Struga dialect
8. Ohrid dialect
9. Upper Prespa dialect
10. Lower Prespa dialect

Eastern and Southern dialects

• Eastern group:

1. Tikveš-Mariovo dialect
2. Štip-Strumica dialect
3. Maleševo-Pirin dialect ^[9]

• South-western group:

1. Nestram-Kostenar dialect
2. Korča (Gorica) dialect
3. Kostur dialect

• South-eastern group:

1. Solun-Voden dialect ^[10]
2. Ser-Drama-Lagadin-Nevrokop dialect^[11]

Most linguists classify the dialects in the Pirin (Blagoevgrad) region of Bulgaria and in the far east of Greek Macedonia as Bulgarian, and the dialects in the rest of Greece and in Republic of Macedonia as Macedonian.^{[12] [13]}

[edit] Variation in vowels

The vocalic inventories of the West Central dialects consist of five vowels, /i, ɛ, a, ɔ, u/. Most of the remaining dialects also have phonemic /ə/. In addition, phonemic /ɑ/, /æ/, and /y/ and vocalic /l/ and /r/ occur in various dialects.

Most dialects have /ɛ/ from original ě (yat), but the Eastern region is characterised by the development of ě to /a/ after /c/: Eastern cal, Western cel (whole). Besides that, in easternmost Greek Macedonia and the Blagoevgrad Province of Bulgaria ě gives /a/ or /æ/ under stress. In the dialects of Greek Macedonia, this happens regardless of the environment, whereas the Nevrokop dialect in Bulgaria has (similarly to standard Bulgarian and its eastern dialects) /^ja/ if there is a back vowel in the following syllable, and /ɛ/ if there is a front vowel. For example, 'white' (sing. - plur.) sounds in the following way in these dialects: Serres-Drama: /bala/ - /bali/, Suho and Visoka: /bæla/ - /bæli/, Nevrokop^[14]: /b^jala/ - /bɛli/. In Korca, ě becomes /iæ/ under stress.

[edit] Variation in consonants

As far as consonantal features are concerned, the entire Western region is distinguished from the East by loss of /x/ (except Tetovo, Gora and Korča) and the loss of /v/ in the intervocalic position (except Mala Reka and parts of Kostur-Korča): /glava/ (head) = /gla/, /glavi/ (heads) = /glaj/. The Eastern region preserves /x/ (except Tikveš-Mariovo and Kumanovo-Kriva Palanka) and intervocalic /v/. The East is also characterised by the development of epenthetic /v/ before original /o/ where the West has epenthetic /j/: Eastern /vaglɛn/ (coal) but Western /jaglɛn/. The diphonemic reflexes are most characteristic of the dialects of Greek Macedonia and Blagoevgrad province, Kostur-Korča and Ohrid-Prespa. The Serres - Nevrokop dialects have a series of phonemically palatalised consonants.

[edit] Variation in word stress and its effects on vowels

The Western dialects generally have fixed stress, antepenultimate in the Republic of Macedonia, and penultimate in Greece and Albania. The Eastern region, along with the neighbouring Bulgarian dialects, has various non-fixed stress systems. In Lower Vardar and Serres-Nevrokop unstressed /a, ɛ, ɔ/ are reduced (raised) to [ə, i, u]. The reduction of unstressed vowels (as well as the aforementioned allophonic palatalisation of consonants) is characteristic of East Bulgarian as opposed to West Bulgarian dialects, so these dialects are regarded by Bulgarian linguists as transitional between East and West Bulgarian.

[edit] References