| Eastern Slovak | |
|---|---|
| východoslovenské nárečia,východniarčina | |
| Native to | Slovakia |
| Region | Spiš,Šariš,Zemplín andAbov |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
slk-esl | |
| Glottolog | None |
 Eastern Slovak is classified as Vulnerable by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
Eastern Slovak dialects (Slovak:východoslovenské nárečia, východniarčina) are dialects of theSlovak language spoken natively in the historical regions ofSpiš,Šariš,Zemplín andAbov,[1] in the east ofSlovakia. In contrast to other dialects of Slovak, Eastern dialects are less intelligible withCzech and more withPolish andRusyn.[2]
Features of the dialects vary greatly from region to region, but features that are common throughout all dialects include the lack oflong vowels, stress on the penultimate syllable, as in Polish and Rusyn, as opposed to the first syllable stress normal in standard Slovak,[1] and variation innoun declension endings.[3] Eastern Slovak dialects also share many features of Western Slovak dialects that are absent from Central dialects and standard Slovak, supporting the idea that Central Slovakia was settled more recently than the east and west of the country.[4]
Attempts to create an East Slovak literary standard have been varied and unsuccessful. Several Slovak newspapers founded in theUnited States in the late 19th century, includingSlovák v Amerike ("Slovak in America") andAmerikánsko-Slovenské Noviny (The American-Slovak News), were initially written in Eastern Slovak dialects.[5][6][7]
The standardSlovak language, as codified byĽudovít Štúr in the 1840s, was based largely on Central Slovak dialects spoken at the time. Eastern dialects are considerably different from Central and Western dialects in their phonology, morphology and vocabulary, set apart by a stronger connection to Polish and Rusyn.[8] At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an unsuccessful attempt to standardise an East Slovak language.[4]
Diaspora from the region has contributed to a scattered literary presence of Eastern Slovak dialects. The newspaperSlovák v Amerike ("The Slovak in America"), founded inPlymouth, Massachusetts, in 1889, as well asAmerikánsko-Slovenské noviny (American-Slovak News), founded inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1886, were originally written in the Šariš dialect, usingHungarian orthography, titledSzlovjak v Amerike andAmerikanszko-Szlovenszke Novini.[6] Today,Slovák v Amerike is still in business and writes in standard Slovak.[9]
Eastern Slovak dialects can be divided into four subgroups:[1]
In addition, most scholars now viewPannonian Rusyn as an East Slovak dialect with features from the Šariš and Zemplín dialects.[10]
Linguistic features common to East Slovak dialects include:
Buľi raz dvojo kmotrove, co furt vjedno chodziľi na jurmaki. Raz tiž tak išľi z jurmaku a našľi gvera. Ta znace, že ešči ftedi ľudze tak ňechirovali o gveroch, ňebulo teľo vojakoch. Išľi tak popod ľešik a naraz jeden zbačil gver a takoj ku ňemu ucekal… Ten druhi še tiž mocno zradoval, ta vžaľi totu fujaru a hutorili sebe: "Kmotre, ja budzem do ňej duc a ti budzeš prebirac". Ta začaľi vera ľudze tote dvomi hrac. Jeden kmoter pocahnul za kohucik, kuľka utrafila do druheho kmotra, co prebiral a ten še takoj prevracil umarti na žem.[3]
Boli raz dvaja kmotrovia, ktorí stále spolu chodili na jarmoky. Raz tiež tak vyšli z jarmoku a našli pušku. To viete, že vtedy ešte ľudia tak nechyrovali o puškách, nebolo toľko vojakov. Išli tak popod lesík a jeden zazrel pušku a hneď k nej utekal. Ten druhý sa tiež silno zaradoval, tak vzali fujaru a hovorili si: „Kmotor, ja budem do nej fúkať a ty budeš preberať„. Tak začali veru tí dvaja hrať. Jeden kmotor potiahol za kohútik, guľka trafila druhého kmotra, ktorý preberal, a ten sa hneď prevrátil mŕtvy na zem.
The third theory defines Pannonian Rusyn as a West Slavic language originating in the East Slovak Zemplín and Šariš dialects and being a mixture of the two. It fits the linguistic data in the most consistent manner and has been accepted by an overwhelming majority of scholars in the field (Bidwell 1966; Švagrovský 1984; Witkowski 1984; Lunt 1998; Čarskij 2011) and verified by several comprehensive analyses of Pannonian Rusyn language data (Bidwell 1966; Lunt 1998; Čarskij 2011).
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