TheShumen dialect is aBulgarian dialect, member of theMoesian dialects. It is one of the best preserved Moesian dialects and is spoken in the regions ofShumen andKaspichan.

• The reflex of Old Church Slavonicѣ in a stressed syllable isя (ʲa) before a hard syllable (бѣлъ >/bʲaɫ/) and broadе (æ) before a soft syllable (бѣли >/bæli/). In an unstressed syllable, the reflex is, however, only я (ʲa).
• Complete loss ofx/x/ in all positions. It is replaced by eitherf orv:фулера vs. formal Bulgarianхолера (cholera)
• The masculine definite article isо (stressed) andу (unstressed) instead of formal Bulgarian–ът/ъ (гърбо̀, сто̀лу instead ofгърбъ̀т, сто̀лът)
• Preserved traces of Old Bulgarian ы(ɨ):сын vs. formal Bulgarianсин (son). This makes the Shumen dialect extremely archaic as(ɨ) is considered to be the original pronunciation of Old Church Slavonic ы
• Transition ofa intoe after a soft (palatal) consonant and before a soft syllable:шапка-шепки vs. Standard Bulgarianшапка-шапки (hat-hats)
• Large number ofo reflexes of Old Church Slavonicъ in a suffix position (as in theSouthwestern Bulgarian dialects) and subsequent reduction ofo intoу:напредук vs. Standard Bulgarianнапредък (progress)
• Labialisation ofи intoʲу:пипер is /pʲupɛr/ (as ifпюпер) vs. Standard Bulgarian /pipɛr/ (pepper)
• Elision of syllables, vowels and consonants, usually in frequently used words:рапта vs. Standard Bulgarianработа (work)
• A large number of lexical peculiarities, e.g.жерка vs. common Bulgarianводеница (watermill)
• The modern Bulgarian vowel ъ (from bothyers and *ǫ) is pronounced as a close /ɯ/, rather than close-mid /ɤ/

For other phonological and morphological characteristics that are typical for all Moesian dialects, cf.article.

Стойков, Стойко: Българска диалектология, Акад. изд. "Проф. Марин Дринов", 2006, с. 105-106[1]

• Dialects of the Bulgarian language
• Culture in Shumen

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Pages with plain IPA