Breste

NORTHWESTERN: Bjala Slatina - Pleven

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            The easternmost dialects within the larger region of Northwest Bulgarian dialects are known as the Bjala Slatina - Pleven dialect. This group is represented on the website by three villages: Breste (B), Gigen (G) and Petŭrnica (P). Maxim Mladenov (1993: 60, 180) made a subsequent division within this group, citing the nominative form of the first singular pronoun as the isogloss dividing them. He called the western group (with the pronoun ja, jaze) the Bjala Slatina dialect, and the eastern group (with the pronoun az) the Iskŭr-Vit dialect. One of the villages on the site, Breste, belongs to the western group, and the other two belong to the eastern group. In addition, the latter two villages, Gigen and Petŭrnica, are characterized by an important feature that both binds them and marks them as different from the majority of the Northwestern region: the historical Slavic vowel “jat” appears as open /ɛ/, distinct from etymological /e/. This development is found in all stressed syllables regardless of the nature of the following syllable. This same feature is found in a relatively small number of villages scattered along the western periphery of the major line dividing all Bulgarian dialects according to the development of this vowel (the “jat” isogloss), all the way from the Danube in the far north to Pazardžik in the central south (Gorno Vŭršilo, also represented on this site is another one of them). These villages do not differ in any other significant way from their immediate neighbors.

            The list below summarizes the salient features of the Bjala Slatina - Pleven dialect group. It is based on the speech of the three villages represented on the site, with examples taken from the texts presented on this site. Because these three villages are not immediate neighbors, their dialects differ in a number of ways. We list first the features common to them, and then those that differentiate them. 

            Abbreviations: the capital letter refers to the village, as noted above; the following number identifies the text from that village, if there is more than one (e.g. G1 = Gigen 1) or simply the village (P = Petǔrnica), and the number after the colon identifies the line within the text where the cited form occurs.

 

COMMON FEATURES

Phonology

• The historical Slavic vowel “jat” appears as /ɛ/ in Gigen and Petŭrnica, but as /e/ in Breste.

            Examples: dvɛ̀ (G1: 4), gulɛ̀m (G1: 8), dubrɛ̀ (P: 4), živɛ̀le (P: 1) // mèsto (B1: 15), nèko (B1: 23), cèla (B1: 38), želèzno (B1: 118), vètɤr (B2: 15)

• The historical sequence “ja”  (including the sequence “post-alveolar + a”) is preserved.

            Examples: tojàškata (B1: 33), šàrki (B1: 132), vejàčki (B2: 81)

• The early South Slavic syllabic liquids remain unchanged in Breste, but developed as in the standard language in the other two villages, except that unstressed /a/ follows the same rule as the vowel /ɤ/.

            Examples: razbṛ̀kame (B1: 9), dŗvòto (B1: 33), bṛ̀doto (B1: 58); vḷ̀nata (B1: 51), sḷ̀nceto (B2: 5) // vɤrzàla (P 41), trɤgnàme (P 34), izvɤ̀ržem (G1: 15), prɤsnàle̝ (G2: 36) // stɤrnɤ̀ (P 42)

• The consonant /x/ is lost everywhere in Breste and Gigen, and when it is lost before a consonant, the preceding vowel is lengthened. In Petŭrnica it is preserved word-finally replaced by /j/ before a consonant, and lost elsewhere.

            Examples: ùrka (B1: 27), ladovìnka (B2: 29), istèglime̝ (G1: 2), bɛ̀ə (G1: 6); vṛšè:me (B2:79), isɤ̀:ne (B2: 84), žɤ̀ne:me (G1: 10), bɛ̀:me̝ (G1: 3) // pàsox (P: 18), pasɛ̀h (P: 38); sednàjme (P: 6); òrɤtɤ(P: 42), zakàčia (P: 28)

• Unstressed /o/ is occasionally replaced by /a/.

            Example: bìvale (P: 35)

• Soft  /l’/ is replaced by /j/ regularly in Petŭrnica and sporadically in Breste, but not in Gigen.

            Examples: bɛ̀jek (P: 11), pojànata (P: 38), čuvàja (B1: 6) upravjàva (B1: 105) // kɤdèl’a (B1: 49), nedɛ̀l’a (G2: 16)

• Soft /t’/ and /d’/ can be replaced by /k’/ and /g’/.

            Example: bràk’e (P: 3) 

• Intervocalic /j/ is lost.

            Examples: veàčkata (B2: 86), pèat (B3: 96), tìa (B3: 13), trètea (G2: 30), blɛ̀at (P: 21), čùat (P: 23)

 

Accent

• The accent is occasionally retracted in bisyllabic feminine and neuter nouns

            Examples: bràšno (B1: 3), glàva (B1: 57), glàvi (B1: 58), dṛ̀vo (B2: 61), òfce (P: 18), sɛ̀no (G1: 10)

• The accent is retracted to the initial syllable in 1st person singular present tense.

            Examples: nàglasa (B2: 63), prèda (B3: 53), zàveda (P: 39)

• The accent advances to the theme vowel in aorist forms and participles.

            Examples: skočìa (P: 25), rabotìli (B1: 110), pravìle (B2: 98), promenìa (B3: 15)

    This shift does not occur if the verb form has a syllabic prefix.

            Example: naràždaa (P: 3) 

• The accent is retracted from the theme vowel in many 2nd conjugation verbs. 

            Example: poizmòril (G2: 7), izmòrili (B3: 5)

 

Morphology

• The form of the masculine definite article is /ɤ/ under stress, and either /ɤ/ or /a/ when unstressed.

            Examples: stanɤ̀ (B1: 84), čəsɤ̀ (G2: 10);  duvàra (B1: 68), kòn’a (P: 48) // zbòrɤ (G2:35)

• The neuter plural formant /t/  is lost in definite forms:

            Example: momčèata (G2: 4)

• The ending of feminine nouns, when stressed, is /-ɤ/ and when unstressed /-ə/, both of which are the result of the historical Slavic “back nasal”.

            Examples: sestrɤ̀ (B3: 21), dzvezdɤ̀ (B2: 24), vujnɤ̀ (G1: 1), glavɤ̀ (P: 28)

      These forms represent an interesting result in the history of Bulgarian, which gradually lost all case endings in nouns. At the penultimate stage of this development, feminine nouns had only two case endings (instead of the inherited seven), the nominative case and the so-called casus generalis, which continued the form of the accusative case and was used for all other meanings. In these dialects, as in most eastern dialects, it was this casus generalis that was adopted as the single form of feminine nouns (which elsewhere have adopted the old nominative form ending in /-a/ as their single form).

• The plural of masculine nouns is /-e/.

            Examples: žetvàre̝ (G1: 9), čeràpe (B3: 37), kàmɤn’e (B1: 87), ergène (G2: 2), mamùle (P: 54)

• The regular plural appears after quantifiers instead of the expected count plural in Breste and Petŭrnica, but not in Gigen.

            dvà kàmɤn’e (B1:87), čètiri bìvale (P 35), dvà kòlci (B1: 85) // pedesèt čovèka (G2: 35).

• The forms of some personal pronouns are different

            Nominative 1st singular: jà (B1: 88)  
            Nominative 3rd plural: tìa (B3: 13), tìja (B3: 62)

• The consonant before 1st singular and 3rd plural present tense endings in 2nd conjugation is hard.

            Examples: sedɤ̀t (B1: 91), tùra (B1: 5), pràvat (G2: 16), oàgnɤt (G2: 26)

• The ending of 1st person plural present tense forms can be either /-me/ or /-m/.

            Examples: živɛ̀eme (P: 4), mèsime (B1: 2), sèeme (B1: 19); dɤržìm (P: 35), kopàem (G2: 20), pùštim (B1: 40)

• The plural ending of the L-participle is /-e/.

            Example: fanàle (G1: 6), prèle (B1: 22), gledàle (P: 31)

• The future particle is še in Breste and Gigen, and varies between še, šɤ, and žɤ in Petǔrnica.

            Examples: še mèsime (B1: 2), [no examples in Gigen] // še izlɛ̀eme (P: 52), šɤ tɤ nakàži (P: 25), žɤ gu zàveda (P: 39)

 

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

Phonology

• The consonant /x/ in verbal endings developed in different ways in the two villages. In Petǔrnica it was replaced by /j/ in final position and before a consonant, whereas in Gigen its loss was “compensated” by lengthening of the preceding vowel.

            Examples: dodòjme (P: 6), nòsej (P: 37)  // kòse:me (G1: 10).

• The consonant /l/ in syllable-final position remained unchanged in Gigen, but in Petǔrnica it was lost and the preceding vowel was lengthened.

            Examples: poizmòril (G2:7) //  dovè: (P: 10), da:bòka (P: 21),  bì:  (P: 16)

 

Accent

• End stress in adjectives is recorded only in Petŭrnica.

            Examples: nemì (P: 29) // gul’èmi (G1: 4)

• Accent in prefixed first singular present tense forms is sometimes shifted to the initial syllable in Petŭrnica, though this is not consistent. It does not happen in Gigen.

            Examples: zàveda (P: 39) vs. poglèdna (P:14) //  [no relevant examples in Gigen]

Morphology

• The shape of the vowel in the plural article in Petǔrnica is either /i/ or /e/, and seems to depend upon the shape of the preceding vowel. This is one of the few instances of “vowel harmony” in Bulgarian dialects. 

            Examples: ezìciti (P: 22), kon’ète (P: 37) //  kočànite̝ (G2: 22), ofcète̝ (G2: 27).

 

References:

    Mladenov, Maksim. 1993. Bŭlgarskite govori v Rumŭnija. Sofia: Izdatelstvo na BAN.

    Stojkov, Stojko. 1962. Kŭm dialektnija konsonantizŭm v bŭlgarski ezik (promeni na sŭglasnata l v govora na s. Petŭrnica, Plevensko). Bŭlgarski ezik 13: 13-19.