Eastern Slovak dialects (Slovak: východoslovenské nárečia, východniarčina), are dialects of the Slovak language spoken natively in the historical regions of Spiš, Šariš, Zemplín and Abov,[1] in the east of Slovakia. In contrast to other dialects of Slovak, Eastern dialects are less intelligible with Czech and more with Polish and Rusyn.
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Eastern Slovak | |
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východoslovenské nárečia, východniarčina | |
Native to | Slovakia |
Region | Spiš, Šariš, Zemplín and Abov |
Language family | Indo-European
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Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Linguist List | slk-esl |
Glottolog | None |
Map showing the distribution of the Western, Central and Eastern dialects of Slovak |
Features of the dialects vary greatly from region to region, but features that are common throughout all dialects include the lack of long 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 in noun declension endings.[2] 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 inhabited more recently than the east and west of the country.[3]
Attempts to create an East Slovak literary standard have been varied and unsuccessful. Several Slovak newspapers founded in the United States in the late 19th century, including Slovák v Amerike ("Slovak in America") and Amerikánsko-Slovenské Noviny (The American-Slovak News), were initially written in Eastern Slovak dialects.[4][5][6]
The standard Slovak language, as codified by Ľudovít 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.[7] At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an unsuccessful attempt to standardise an East Slovak language.[3]
Diaspora from the region has contributed to a scattered literary presence of Eastern Slovak dialects. The newspaper Slovák v Amerike ("The Slovak in America"), founded in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1889, as well as Amerikánsko-Slovenské noviny (American-Slovak News), founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1886, were originally written in the Šariš dialect, using Hungarian orthography, titled Szlovjak v Amerike and Amerikanszko-Szlovenszke Novini.[5] Today, Slovák v Amerike is still in business and writes in standard Slovak.[8]
Eastern Slovak was the official language of the Slovak Soviet Republic in 1919.[citation needed] The capital of the new state was Prešov in Eastern Slovakia.
Eastern Slovak dialects can be divided into four subgroups:[1]
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.[2]
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.
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History |
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East Slavic | |||||||
South Slavic |
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West Slavic |
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Microlanguages |
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Mixed languages |
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Constructed languages |
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Historical phonology |
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Italics indicate extinct languages. |