Arčar

NORTHWESTERN: Vidin - Lom

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            Within the larger region of Northwest Bulgarian dialects, the Vidin-Lom dialect group is a recognized category. On this website, the Vidin-Lom group is represented by five villages: Arčar (A), Bela (B), Gradec (G), Tŭrnjane (T) and Vladimirovo (V). Maxim Mladenov (1993: 60-61) made a subsequent division within this group, citing the form of the future particle as the isogloss dividing them. He called only the western group (with the future particle če) by the name Vidin-Lom, and termed the eastern group (with the future particle še or ša) the Cibrica-Ogosta group. According to this division then, the first four villages named above belong to the Vidin-Lom group, while Vladimirovo alone belongs to the Cibrica-Ogosta group.

            Dialect speech from the Vidin-Lom dialect group (in either the narrower or the broader interpretation) is very similar to the colloquial register of the capital city of Sofia – that register associated with less educated Sofia residents. It is so close, in fact, that migrants to Sofia from the Vidin-Lom region find it so easy to blend in linguistically to their new habitat that they usually fail to notice what still distinguishes their speech. One such feature is the advancement of accent to the theme vowel in the aorist form of verbs. The difference is that Sofia speech advances the accent in all verb classes, while the Vidim-Lom dialect advances it only in verbs with no prefix (or with a non-syllabic prefix).

            The list below summarizes the salient features of the Vidin-Lom dialect group. It is based on the speech of the five villages represented on the site, with examples taken from the texts presented on this site. While not all these features can be found in urban speech with the Vidin-Lom region, few can be totally excluded, at least as variables.

            Abbreviations: the capital letter refers to the village, as noted above; the following number identifies the text from that village (e.g. A1 = Arčar 1, A2 = Arčar 2), and the number after the colon identifies the line within the text where the cited form occurs.

 

Phonology.

• The historical Slavic vowel “jat” always appears as /e/.

            Examples: izbèga (A1: 29), pèsɤk (A1: 38), umrèla (G1: 8), golèma (B1: 62), brèk (B1: 150)

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

            Examples: jàla (G 1:43), jàjca (V2: 111) // čèkaj (A1: 6), edèš (G1: 70)

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

            Examples: vadìci (G1: 47), tavà (G1: 33)

• There are frequent vowel assimilations.

            Examples: bàam (G1: 7), koto (G1: 57), mòo (V1: 104), ko o čùš (V2: 75)

        Note: the form tavà (GI: 33) may be a result of this as well.

• The early South Slavic syllabic liquids remain unchanged.

            Examples: gṛkl’àna (G1: 53), tṛbì (A1: 4), tṛ̀nje (T1: 2); sḷ̀nčička (G1: 50), vḷ̀nata (T2: 36)

• The consonant /x/ is lost in all positions. After a front vowel it may be replaced by /j/. Before a consonant it is compensated by vowel lengthening only in Bela and Vladimirovo

            Examples: otidème (A1: 7), meùre (G1: 53), dokàraa (T1: 42); mèj (V2: 95) // rasàžda:me (B1: 4), sàde:me (B1: 6), òde:me (V2: 20)

• Early South Slavic “epenthetic /l/” is preserved in the word for “earth”.

            Example: zeml’àta (G2: 25)

• Soft consonants are relatively rare. Only /k/, /g/, /l/, and /n/ have soft correlates, but they are not used in masculine definite forms and verbal endings.

            Examples: žènat (V2: 18), mìslɤt (G1: 140),

• Alveolar consonants become post-alveolar before palatals.

            Example: bàšn’a (G1: 3)

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

            Examples: gòsk’e (V1: 43), gròzg’e (V1: 72)

• Soft /l’/  is replaced by /j/, except in Gradec.

            Examples: trevojàci (V2: 121), vajàvica (T2: 44), trevojàk (B1: 71), podjàlo (B1: 132) // štàvl’ak (G1: 60).

 

Accent

• The accent is retracted in some (but not all) disyllabic feminine and neuter nouns.

            Examples: vòda (V2: 42), rɤ̀ce (G1: 112), ùsta (G1: 35), dṛ̀va (A1: 29), jàjca (V2: 111), òfci (T1: 54) zèmja (T1: 27), plàtno V3: 16), sèno (B1: 124 // rekà (G2: 7), detè (G2: 13)

• The accent shifts to the end in some adjectives.

            Examples: mutà (G1: 33), belì (T2: 2)

• The accent advances to the theme vowel in aorist forms and participles; however this shift is absent if the verb form has a syllabic prefix.

            Examples: stignà (A1: 50), padnàle (A1: 4), pravìle (T1: 52) //  isìpa (A1: 49), obèsila (G1: 18), ožɤ̀nale (T1: 27)

• The accent is retracted from the theme vowel in the present of many 2d conjugation verbs.

            Examples: svàri (A2: 29), ròdim (G1: 75), nasàdim (B1: 19)

 

Morphology

• The forms of personal pronouns are frequently different. Examples:

            1st singular nominative  jà (G1: 7)
            3rd singular nominative masculine  òn (A1: 12)
            3rd singular nominative feminine onà (G1: 18)
            3rd singular nominative neuter onò (A1: 36)
            3rd plural nominative onì (G2: 6)
            3rd plural accusative  n’ì (A1: 13)
            3rd plural dative short forms ngi (V1: 102), gim (A1: 2)

• The plural of masculine (and occasionally feminine) nouns is /-e/.

            Examples: masculine meùre (G1: 53), trotoàrete (T1: 14), sukmàne (T2: 54); feminine kèle (G1: 49)

• The masculine singular definite article in nouns is /-ɤ/ if stressed and /-a/ (or /-ɤ/) if not.

            Examples: gṛdɤ̀ (G1: 51), džàma (G1: 51)

    In adjectives the article is /-ea/, found most consistently in Gradec.

            Example: màlkea (G2: 2)

     Note: the lowering of /i/ to /e/ seems restricted to these forms, but is also recorded in the verb napràvea (G1: 65).

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

            Examples: vreštɤ̀t (B2: 11), vìdat (G1: 40), pràvat (T2: 50)

• The ending in all 1st person singular present tense forms is /-m/.

            Examples: mèrim (A1: 6), dòjdem (B1: 38), vòdim (B1: 68), sèdnem (B1: 129)

•  The ending in all 1st person plural present tense forms is /-me/.

            Examples: donesème (A2: 25), tòpime (T2: 7)

• In the western dialect group, the imperfect tense incorporates the morpheme /-še-/ in all forms.

            Examples: ìmašeme (A2: 38), ja … rabòteše (B1: 37)

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

            Example: istṛ̀pnale (G1 126), kṛstìle (T1: 25)

•  Verbal nouns end in /-n’e/.

            Example: kòpan’e (V1: 67), pìen’e (V2: 10)

• The future particle is če in Arčar, Bela and Tŭrnjane, and še in Vladimirovo. In Gradec both če and še are used.

            Examples: če se svàri (A2: 29), če ìmame (B1: 163) če ta kàrame (G1: 111) // še mi kùpite (G1: 23), še gi rəzdèlat(V2: 119)

 

SPECIFIC COMMENTARY

• In the dialect of Vladimirovo (Cibrica-Ogosta group), the count plural is used inconsistently.

            Examples: trì pràznici (V1: 104), but also trì dèna (V2: 9)

• The dialect of Bela is located only a few kilometers from the area of the Belogradčik dialect, and shares certain accentual features with it. First, the otherwise mobile accent in monosyllabic nouns stays fixed on the stem; and second, the accent retracts to initial syllables in 2nd and 3rd singular aorist forms.

            Examples: brèga (B1:19); òbesi (B1: 122, nàkolenči (B1: 144)

• Of all the villages represented on this site, only the dialect of Bela displays the historically rare ending -e in the 3rd plural of the imperfect and aorist tenses

            Aorist examples:  nazìmae (B1: 54), fṛknae (B1: 77), umrèe (B1: 49),
            Imperfect examples: čùkae (B2: 38)

 

References:

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

     Todorov, Cvetan. 1936. Severozapadni bũlgarski govori. Sbornik za narodni umotvorenija i narodopis 41.