TheSouth Slavic languages are one of three branches of theSlavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in theBalkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches (West andEast) by a belt ofGerman,Hungarian andRomanian speakers.
TheSlavic languages are part of theBalto-Slavic group, which belongs to theIndo-European language family. The South Slavic languages have been considered ageneticnode inSlavic studies: defined by a set of phonological, morphological andlexical innovations (isoglosses) which separate it from the Western and Eastern Slavic groups. That view, however, has been challenged in recent decades (see below).
Some innovations encompassing all South Slavic languages are shared with the Eastern Slavic group, but not the Western Slavic. These include:[1]
Severalisoglosses have been identified which are thought to represent exclusive common innovations in the South Slavic language group. They are prevalentlyphonological in character, whereasmorphological andsyntactical isoglosses are much fewer in number.Sussex & Cubberly (2006:43–44) list the following phonological isoglosses:
Merger ofyers intoschwa-like sound, which became/a/ in Serbo-Croatian, or split according to the retained hard/soft quality of the preceding consonant into/oe/ (Macedonian), or/əe/ (Bulgarian)
Proto-Slavic *ę >/e/
Proto-Slavic *y >/i/, merging with the reflex of Proto-Slavic *i
Proto-Slavic syllabic liquids *r̥ and *l̥ were retained, but *l̥ was subsequently lost in all the daughter languages with different outputs (>/u/ in Serbo-Croatian, > vowel+/l/ or/l/+vowel in Slovene, Bulgarian and Macedonian), and *r̥ became[ər/rə] in Bulgarian. This development was identical to the loss ofyer after a liquid consonant.
Hardening of palatals and dental affricates; e.g. š' > š, č' > č, c' > c.
South Slavic form ofliquid metathesis (CoRC > CRaC, CoLC > CLaC etc.)
Most of these are not exclusive in character, however, and are shared with some languages of the Eastern and Western Slavic language groups (in particular, Central Slovakian dialects). On that basis,Matasović (2008) argues that South Slavic exists strictly as a geographical grouping, not forming a true geneticclade; in other words, there was never a proto-South Slavic language or a period in which all South Slavic dialects exhibited an exclusive set of extensive phonological, morphological or lexical changes (isoglosses) peculiar to them. Furthermore, Matasović argues, there was never a period of cultural or political unity in which Proto-South-Slavic could have existed during which Common South Slavic innovations could have occurred. Several South-Slavic-only lexical and morphological patterns which have been proposed have been postulated to represent common Slavicarchaisms, or are shared with some Slovakian or Ukrainian dialects.[citation needed]
The South Slavic dialects form adialectal continuum stretching from today's southernAustria to southeastBulgaria.[2] On the level ofdialectology, they are divided into Western South Slavic (Slovene and Serbo-Croatian dialects) and Eastern South Slavic (Bulgarian and Macedonian dialects); these represent separate migrations into the Balkans and were once separated by intervening Hungarian, Romanian, and Albanian populations; as these populations were assimilated, Eastern and Western South Slavic fused withTorlakian as a transitional dialect.[citation needed] On the other hand, the breakup of theOttoman andAustro-Hungarian Empires, followed by formation ofnation-states in the 19th and 20th centuries, led to the development and codification ofstandard languages. Standard Slovene, Bulgarian, and Macedonian are based on distinct dialects.[3] The Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbianstandard variants[4] of thepluricentricSerbo-Croatian[5] are based on thesame dialect (Shtokavian).[6] Thus, in most cases national and ethnic borders do not coincide with dialectal boundaries.
Note: Due to the differing political status of languages/dialects and different historical contexts, the classifications are arbitrary to some degree.
Areas where Eastern South Slavic dialects are spoken:
by a majority of speakers
by a minority.
Map of the bigyus (*ǫ) isoglosses inEastern South Slavic and the eastern part of the transitionalTorlakian dialects according to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences' atlas from 2001.[9] Pronunciation ofman andtooth, derived from proto-wordszǫbъmǫžь on the map:
the formation of comparative forms of adjectives formed with the prefixпо- (e.g.добър, по-добър (Bulg.)/добар, подобар (Maced.) – good, better)
afuture tense formed by the present form of the verb preceded byще/ќе
the existence of arenarrative mood (e.g.Той ме видял. (Bulg.)/Тој ме видел. (Maced.) – He supposedly saw me. Compare withТой ме видя./Тој ме виде. – He saw me.)
Bulgarian and Macedonian share some of their unusual characteristics with other languages in the Balkans, notablyGreek andAlbanian (seeBalkan sprachbund).[10]
Torlakian dialects are spoken in southeasternSerbia, northernNorth Macedonia, westernBulgaria, southeasternKosovo, and pockets of westernRomania; it is considered transitional between the Western and Eastern groups of South Slavic languages. Torlakian is thought to fit together with Bulgarian and Macedonian into theBalkan sprachbund, an area of linguisticconvergence caused by long-term contact rather than genetic relation. Because of this some researchers tend to classify it asSoutheast Slavic.[12]
Western South Slavic languages
History
Each of these primary and secondary dialectal units breaks down into subdialects and accentological isoglosses by region. In the past (and currently, in isolated areas), it was not uncommon for individual villages to have their own words and phrases. However, during the 20th century the local dialects have been influenced by Štokavian standards through mass media and public education and much "local speech" has been lost (primarily in areas with larger populations). With thebreakup of Yugoslavia, a rise in national awareness has caused individuals to modify their speech according to newly established standard-language guidelines. The wars have caused large migrations, changing the ethnic (and dialectal) picture of some areas—especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in central Croatia and Serbia (Vojvodina in particular). In some areas, it is unclear whether location or ethnicity is the dominant factor in the dialect of the speaker. Because of this the speech patterns of some communities and regions are in a state of flux, and it is difficult to determine which dialects will die out entirely. Further research over the next few decades will be necessary to determine the changes made in the dialectical distribution of this language group.[citation needed]
The eastern Herzegovinian dialect is the basis of the Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian standard variants of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian.[13]
Chakavian is spoken in the western, central, and southern parts of Croatia—mainly inIstria, the Kvarner Gulf,Dalmatia and inland Croatia (Gacka and Pokupje, for example). The Chakavian reflex of proto-Slavicyat isi or sometimese (rarely as(i)je), or mixed (Ekavian–Ikavian). Many dialects of Chakavian preserved significant number ofDalmatian words, but also have many loanwords fromVenetian,Italian,Greek and other Mediterranean languages.[citation needed]
Example:Ča je, je, tako je vavik bilo, ča će bit, će bit, a nekako će već bit!
This dialect is spoken primarily in the federal state ofBurgenland in Austria and nearby areas in Vienna,Slovakia, and Hungary by descendants of Croats who migrated there during the 16th century. This dialect (or family of dialects) differs from standard Croatian, since it has been heavily influenced by German and Hungarian. It has properties of all three major dialectal groups in Croatia, since the migrants did not all come from the same area, but the linguistic standard is based on the Chakavian dialect.
Kajkavian is mostly spoken in northern and northwest Croatia near the Hungarian and Slovene borders—chiefly around the towns ofZagreb, Varaždin, Čakovec, Koprivnica, Petrinja, Delnice and so on. Its reflex ofyat is primarily/e/, rarely diphthongalije). This differs from that of the Ekavian accent; many Kajkavian dialects distinguish a closede—nearlyae (fromyat)—and an opene (from the originale). It lacks several palatals(ć, lj, nj, dž) found in the Shtokavian dialect, and has some loanwords from the nearbySlovene dialects andGerman (chiefly in towns).[citation needed]
Example:Kak je, tak je; tak je navek bilo, kak bu tak bu, a bu vre nekak kak bu!
Slovene is mainly spoken inSlovenia. Spoken Slovene has numerous dialects, but there is no consensus on how many;[14] estimates range from 7 to 50.[15][16] The lowest estimate refers to the language's seven commonly recognized dialect groups, without subdividing any of them. Some of the seven groups are more heterogeneous than others, and the higher estimates reflect the varying criteria that have been used to differentiate dialects and subdialects. Slovenian dialects can be so different from each other that a speaker of one dialect may have a very difficult time understanding a speaker of another,[17] particularly if their dialects belong to different groups. Some dialects spoken in southern Slovenia transition into Chakavian or KajkavianSerbo-Croatian, while the transition from eastern dialects to Kajkavian is general, with cases of essentially the same linguistic variety spoken on both sides of the border (this is particularly true for the upper course of theKupa andSutla rivers).[citation needed]
Comparison
The table below compares grammatical and phonological innovations. The similarity of Kajkavian and Slovene is apparent.[citation needed]
Western South Slavic isoglosses
Slovene
Kajkavian
Chakavian
Shtokavian
Acute > neoacute nonfinally
Most dialects
No
No
No
Loss of Proto-Slavic tone
Some dialects
No
No
Neoshtokavian
u- > vu-
Some dialects
Yes
No
No
ǫ > o
Yes
Yes
No
No
-ojo > -o in instrumental singular
Yes
Yes
No
No
ć > č
Most dialects
Yes
No
No
Neocircumflex
Yes
Yes
No
No
Loss of vocative
Yes
Yes
Some dialects
No
Final devoicing
Most dialects
Yes
Yes
No
đ > j
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
žV > rV
Yes
Yes
Yes
Western
Final -m > -n
Some dialects
No
Yes
No
ľ, ň > l, n
Most dialects
No
Yes
No
jd, jt > đ, ć
No
No
Yes
Yes
ř > r
No
No
Yes
Yes
ə > a
No
No
Yes
Yes
čr > cr
No
No
No
Yes
Dat/loc/ins plural -ma/-u (from dual)
No
No
No
Yes
Grammar
Eastern–Western division
In broad terms, the Eastern dialects of South Slavic (Bulgarian and Macedonian) differ most from the Western dialects in the following ways:
The Eastern dialects have almost completely lost their noun declensions, and have become entirelyanalytic.[18]
The Eastern dialects have developed definite-article suffixes similar to the other languages in theBalkan sprachbund.[19]
The Eastern dialects have lost theinfinitive; thus, the first-person singular (for Bulgarian) or the third-person singular (for Macedonian) are considered the main part of a verb. Sentences which would require an infinitive in other languages are constructed through a clause in Bulgarian,искам да ходя (iskam da hodya), "I want to go" (literally, "I want that I go").
Apart from these three main areas there are several smaller, significant differences:
The Western dialects have three genders in both singular and plural (Slovene hasdual—seebelow), while the Eastern dialects only have them in the singular—for example, Serbianon (he),ona (she),ono (it),oni (they, masc),one (they, fem),ona (they, neut); the Bulgariante (they) and Macedonian тие (tie, 'they') covers the entire plural.
Inheriting a generalization of another demonstrative as a base form for the third-person pronoun which already occurred in late Proto-Slavic, standard literary Bulgarian (like Old Church Slavonic) does not use the Slavic"on-/ov-" as base forms likeon, ona, ono, oni (he, she, it, they), andovaj, ovde (this, here), but uses"to-/t-"based pronouns liketoy, tya, to, te, andtozi, tuk (it only retainsonzi – "that" and its derivatives). Western Bulgarian dialects and Macedonian have "ov-/on-" pronouns, and sometimes use them interchangeably.
All dialects of Serbo-Croatian contain the concept of "any" – e.g. Serbianneko "someone";niko "no one";iko "anyone". All others lack the last, and make do withsome- orno- constructions instead.[20]
Divisions within Western dialects
While Serbian, Bosnian and CroatianShtokavian dialects have basically the same grammar, its usage is very diverse. While all three languages are relatively highly inflected, the further east one goes the more likely it is thatanalytic forms are used – if not spoken, at least in the written language.[citation needed] A very basic example is:
Croatian –hoću ići – "I want – to go"
Serbian –hoću da idem – "I want – that – I go"
Slovene has retained the proto-Slavicdual number (which means that it hasnine personal pronouns in the third person) for both nouns and verbs.[citation needed] For example:
verbs:hodim (I walk) →hodiva (the two of us walk) →hodimo (we walk)
Divisions within Eastern dialects
In Macedonian, theperfect is largely based on the verb "to have" (as in other Balkan languages like Greek and Albanian, and in English), as opposed to the verb "to be", which is used as the auxiliary in all other Slavic languages (see alsoMacedonian verbs):[citation needed]
Macedonian –imam videno – I have seen (imam – "to have")
Bulgarian –vidyal sum – I have seen (sum – "to be")
In Macedonian, there are three types of definite article (base definite form, definite noun near the speaker and definite noun far from the speaker).[citation needed]
дете (dete, 'а child')
детето (deteto, 'the child')
детево (detevo, 'this child [near me]')
детено (deteno, 'that child [over there]')
Writing systems
Languages to the west of Serbia use theLatin script, whereas those to the east and south useCyrillic. Serbian officially uses the Cyrillic script, though commonly Latin and Cyrillic are used equally. Most newspapers are written in Cyrillic and most magazines are in Latin; books written by Serbian authors are written in Cyrillic, whereas books translated from foreign authors are usually in Latin, other than languages that already use Cyrillic, most notably Russian. On television, writing as part of a television programme is usually in Cyrillic, but advertisements are usually in Latin. The division is partly based on religion – Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Macedonia (which use Cyrillic) areOrthodox countries, whereas Croatia and Slovenia (which use Latin) areCatholic.[21] TheBosnian language, used by theMuslimBosniaks, also uses Latin, but in the past usedBosnian Cyrillic. TheGlagolitic alphabet was also used in the Middle Ages (most notably in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Croatia), but gradually disappeared.[citation needed]
^Friedman, Victor (2003). "Language in Macedonia as an Identity Construction Site". In Brian, D. Joseph; et al. (eds.).When Languages Collide: Perspectives on Language Conflict, Language Competition, and Language Coexistence. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. pp. 261–262.OCLC50123480.
^Bunčić, Daniel (2008). "Die (Re-)Nationalisierung der serbokroatischen Standards" [The (Re-)Nationalisation of Serbo-Croatian Standards]. In Kempgen, Sebastian (ed.).Deutsche Beiträge zum 14. Internationalen Slavistenkongress, Ohrid, 2008. Welt der Slaven (in German). Munich: Otto Sagner. p. 93.OCLC238795822.
^Gröschel, Bernhard (2009).Das Serbokroatische zwischen Linguistik und Politik: mit einer Bibliographie zum postjugoslavischen Sprachenstreit [Serbo-Croatian Between Linguistics and Politics: With a Bibliography of the Post-Yugoslav Language Dispute]. Lincom Studies in Slavic Linguistics; vol 34 (in German). Munich: Lincom Europa. p. 265.ISBN978-3-929075-79-3.LCCN2009473660.OCLC428012015.OL15295665W.
^Friedman, Victor (1999).Linguistic emblems and emblematic languages: on language as flag in the Balkans. Kenneth E. Naylor memorial lecture series in South Slavic linguistics; vol. 1. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University, Dept. of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures. p. 8.OCLC46734277.
^Alexander, Ronelle (2000).In honor of diversity: the linguistic resources of the Balkans. Kenneth E. Naylor memorial lecture series in South Slavic linguistics; vol. 2. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University, Dept. of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures. p. 4.OCLC47186443.
^Кочев (Kochev), Иван (Ivan) (2001).Български диалектен атлас (Bulgarian dialect atlas) (in Bulgarian). София: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.ISBN954-90344-1-0.OCLC48368312.
^van Wijk, Nicolaas (1956).Les Langues Slaves [The Slavic Languages] (in French) (2nd ed.). Mouton & Co - 's-Gravenhage.
^Balkan Syntax and Semantics, John Benjamins Publishing, 2004,ISBN158811502X, The typology of Balkan evidentiality and areal linguistics, Victor Friedman,p. 123.
^Sussex, Roland & Paul Cubberly. 2006.The Slavic Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 502–503.
^Lencek, Rado L. 1982.The Structure and History of the Slovene Language. Columbus, OH: Slavica.
^Logar, Tine & Jakob Rigler. 1986.Karta slovenskih narečij. Ljubljana: Geodetski zavod SRS.
^Sussex, Roland & Paul V. Cubberley. 2006.The Slavic Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 502.
^Note that some remnants of cases do still exist in Bulgarian –see here.
^In Macedonian, these are especially well-developed, also taking on a role similar to demonstrative pronouns:
Bulgarian : stol – "chair" → stolat – "the chair"
Macedonian : stol – "chair" → stolot – "the chair" → stolov – "this chair here" → stolon – "that chair there". As well as these, Macedonian also has a separate set of demonstratives: ovoj stol – "this chair"; onoj stol – "that chair".
^In Bulgarian, more complex constructions such as"koyto i da bilo" ("whoever it may be" ≈ "anyone") can be used if the distinction is necessary.
^This distinction is true for the whole Slavic world: the Orthodox Russia, Ukraine and Belarus also use Cyrillic, as does Rusyn (Eastern Orthodox/Eastern Catholic), whereas the Catholic Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia use Latin, as doesSorbian. Romania and Moldova, which are not Slavic but are Orthodox, also used Cyrillic until 1860 and 1989, respectively, and it is still used in Transdnistria.
Тохтасьев, С.Р. (1998), "Древнейшие свидетельства славянского языка на Балканах. Основы балканского языкознания. Языки балканского региона",Ч,2
Golubović, J. and Gooskens, C. (2015), "Mutual intelligibility between West and South Slavic languages",Russian Linguistics,39 (3):351–373,doi:10.1007/s11185-015-9150-9,S2CID67848448{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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