Administrative Region: 
Stara Zagora
Date Visited: 



Dialect Group:
Description of the dialect group: 


            The large northeastern region comprises two large dialect groupings, Moesian and Balkan, which share a number of features, yet they are distinct enough to be considered separately, with each divided into clear sub-groups. Within the Balkan group, the sub-Balkan variety is represented on the website by two villages from the region of Čirpan, Kolju Marinovo (KM), Markovo (M); and one from the region of Stara Zagora, Iskrica (Is). The sub-Balkan dialect group is defined by a complex of features, some of which are shared with Rupic dialects and some of which are specific to the sub-Balkan group. The features illustrated below are characteristic of the sub-Balkan group, dialect, though one of its most salient features (the stressed ending /-a/ in 1st singular present tense forms) is found in only one of the villages represented here.

            The list below summarizes the most important features of the sub-Balkan dialect. It is based on the speech of these three villages as represented by texts on the site, with examples taken from those texts.

            Abbreviations: the capital letter refers to the village, as noted above; the letter represents the village (e.g. M = Markovo) and the following number identifies the text from that village (e.g. KM1 = Kolju Marinovo 1), and the number after the colon identifies the line within the text where the cited form occurs.


• The results for the historical sequences “ja” and “post-alveolar + a” are the same everywhere as those for “jat”, namely /a/ in position before hard syllables and /e/ in position before soft syllables.

            Examples: čàkəj (KM4: 66), čàsə (KM5: 30) // jègne (KM5: 2)

• In most sub-Balkan dialects, the historical Slavic vowel “back nasal” appears as /a/ in word-final position and /ɤ/ elsewhere (except in definite forms of feminine nouns in a consonant, where it is always stressed /ɤ/). In texts on this site, this general feature, /a/ in word-final position, occurs only in Iskrica; it is absent Koljo Marinovo and Markovo.      

            Examples from Iskrica: sɤ̀butə (Is1: 49), idɤ̀t (Is1: 36), mumɤ̀tə (Is1: 24), vičirtɤ̀ (Is3: 61) // ležà (Is1: 4), nəsəd’à (Is2: 21) rəkà (Is2: 16) // kɤ̀štə (M4: 40), vudɤ̀ (KM5: 43), kačɤ̀ (KM4: 75).        

• There is full vowel reduction: all unstressed non-high vowels are replaced by the corresponding high vowels. Thus, unstressed /e/, /o/, and /a/ are replaced by /i/, /u/, and /ə/, respectively.

            Examples: vr’èmi (M: 5), pičèm (KM1: 15), pribìrəmi (KM1: 8), ditè (Is1: 15) // d’àdu (M: 7), vulòvi (KM1: 73), pus’ègnə (Is1: 3) // kvəsnìk (KM1: 17), nəsəd’à (Is2: 21).

• Before or after sonorants, /e/ and /i/ are replaced by /’ə/, almost exclusively in post-tonic syllables.

            Examples: mèn’ə (M: 37), vèč’ər (Is1: 75), vr’ətènu (Is1: 69) // užèn’əh (Is1: 1), kùp’əl (M: 10).

• Unstressed /e/ and /i/ are replaced by /u/ after post-alveolar consonants.

            Examples: čušmɤ̀ (KM5: 40), žulezà (KM4: 6), žuv’èjət (M: 145)

• The vowel /i/ is replaced by /u/ before labial consonants in stressed syllables; this occurs only in Iskrica.

            Example: ot’ùvəme (Is1: 71)

• Unstressed vowels are frequently lost.

            Examples: bəkɤ̀rti (KM6: 43), fcèti (M: 40), grədìntə (M: 27), jergènti (M: 89), bàncətə (Is1: 2), sèltu (Is1: 27)

• The consonant /j/ is inserted before initial /e/.

            Examples: jèsenno (KM6: 3), jergènti (M: 89),  jeno-(Is2: 1)

• The consonant /x/ behaves differently depending on its place in the word. In initial position or between vowels, it is lost altogether, in all three villages. In medial position before a consonant it is replaced by /j/ in Markovo and Kolju Marinovo, but lost in Iskrica (frequently with compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel). In final position it is either preserved or replaced by /h/  in Koljo Marinovo and Markovo, but replaced by /h/ or /w/ in Iskrica .

            Examples of initial position: òdili (KM3: 35), l’àb (Is3: 25)

            Examples of medial position: dokàrvəə (KM3: 70), ràdvəə (Is1: 9) // isɤ̀jnaa (KM5: 11), ìməjmi (KM5: 42) // zè:me (Is2: 26), prɤ̀ska:mi (Is2: 15), b’àme (Is1: 16)

            Examples of final position:  zər’àzəx (KM5: 11), nəpràvih (M: 39), t’ah (M: 174) // zəbràiw (Is1: 50), zəvɤ̀ršiw (Is3: 16)

• The consonants /l/ and /n/ are softened before soft and post-alveolar consonants.

            Examples: gədùl’ki (KM6: 28), mənìn’ki (KM6: 57), mɤl’čɤ̀t (M: 192), nəžil’t’àvə (Is2: 35), t’àn’te (Is2: 3)

• The sequences /dn/ and sometimes also /tn/, and /bn/ are assimilated to /nn/ and /mn/, respectively.

            Examples: plànne (KM5: 44), pannà (M:37), ennà (Is1: 68); s’ènne (I1: 13) // srɤ̀mnəl (M: 130)

• Fricative consonants are replaced by affricates after /r/.

            Examples: vɤ̀rdzənə (KM6: 8), dərdžàə (M:50), dərdžàl (KM5: 30), svɤ̀rdzənu (Is1: 63)



• There is occasional occurrence of double accent.

            Examples: šìlencàtə (KM3: 1), zɤ̀pčetàtə (KM4: 77), àgneàta (Is3: 8)

• The accent is retracted in the plural of feminine nouns, and sometimes also in the singular.

            Examples: dɤ̀ski (KM3: 64), sèstri (M: 72) // rɤ̀kə (KM6: 31) // dəskɤ̀tə (KM3: 71)

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

            Examples: stanà (KM5: 9), pannà (M: 37), ustanà (M: 129), kəzàl (M: 17), ustanàli (M: 13), stənà: (Is1: 21)



• The plural ending for polysyllabic masculine nouns is /-e/, though /i/ appears as well.

            Examples: kəràre (KM3: 25), ərmàne (KM2: 70); čekɤ̀mi (KM2: 61), krèmeni (KM3: 57)

• The ending of feminine nouns when stress is the same as the result of the historical Slavic “back nasal”, namely/ɤ/, except in the non-definite form in Iskrica.

            Examples: rikɤ̀tə (KM5: 63), vujnɤ̀tɤ̥ (M: 13), mumɤ̀tə (Is1: 24) // veselbà (Is1: 63)


• There are different forms of the personal pronouns, including differences between the three villages. Examples:

            3rd singular accusative feminine short form: in Markovo and Iskrica // in Koljo Marinovo

           Examples: žə jə nəmùšiš (KM2: 16), up’èkələ gə (Is1: 2) // nìj gə pràimi (M: 4) 

            3rd plural nominative: tìj (KM4: 8, M: 10), tìjə (KM3: 43), t’èe (Is1: 9)


            Examples: dàdəh (M: 36), prudàdəjmi (M: 40), dòjdah (Is1: 1)

• The future particle is že.

            Examples: že izl’èzim (M: 89), že tùriš (KM2: 9),  že dòət (Is3: 42)


            Examples: obl’akələ (S4: 25), p’èkəli (V1: 111), up’èkələ (Is1: 2)



The dialect of Iskrica, which is very close to the Rupic area, has some additional features considered predominantly Rupic:

• Under stress he historical Slavic vowel “jat” frequently appears as /’a/ or /ɛ/ before a soft consonant or front vowel.

            Examples: t’àn’te (Is2: 29), n’àštu (Is3: 17), gul’ɛ̀mi (Is 2: 1) // b’èše (Is1: 1)

• The nominative pronoun for 1st person singular is /ja/.

            Example: jà sɤzdàdəw (Is1: 17)

• The perfective stem is used in the secondary imperfectives of some verbs.

            Examples: nər’àdəme  (Is2: 40), zəfàt’ət  (Is1: 59)

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Location | by Dr. Radut