March the 6th, 2023 - The Gorski-Kotar dialect is a dialect of Kajkavian, and is spoken in the narrower area of the boundaries of Gorski Kotar, all the way to the upper reaches of the Kupa river.

We've explored many of the dialects, subdialects and indeed languages in their own right as some linguists consider them to be which are spoken across modern Croatia. From the Dubrovnik subdialect (Ragusan) in the extreme south of Dalmatia to Northwestern Kajkavian in areas like Zagorje, the ways in which people speak in this country deviate from what we know as standard Croatian language enormously. That goes without even mentioning much about old Dalmatian, Zaratin, once widely spoken in and around Zadar, Istriot, or Istro-Venetian.

Where is the Gorski-Kotar dialect spoken?

While its name might lead one to the apparently blindingly obvious conclusion, as touched on above, the Gorski-Kotar dialect is actually spoken in the very distinct area of the upper part of where the Kupa River flows and then further east, reaching all the way to the outskirts of what is classed as the region of Gorski Kotar. It's a form of Kajkavian, and so the way the words are formed, accentuations and most of its general features are clearly Kajkavian. That said, it also boasts features of both the Chakavian and modern Slovenian languages.

Kajkavian is very widely spoken and is one of the main dialects that makes up modern standard Croatian. It contains many dialects of its own, from Eastern Kajkavian to Northwestern and Southwestern Kajkavian. The Gorski-Kotar dialect is just another in a list.

A little history involving former Croatian territory...

Jumping across the Croatian-Slovenian border for a minute or two, we can how linguistics in this area and an often turbulent history has intertwined over time, as speech with many features of the Gorski-Kotar dialect has stretched to the border areas on the (modern-day) Slovenian side of the Kupa river (more specifically areas of Bela Krajina and Pokuplje), which was where Croatian feudal lords had many of their fancy estates once upon a time.

In brief, the Gorski-Kotar dialect is a type of transitional speech that originated in an originally Chakavian area and then along the Kajkavian-Chakavian border a little south of the Kupa river which flows through both Croatia and neighbouring Slovenia

It's worth noting that Bela Krajina, which is now Slovenian territory, was then part of Croatia, and much later it also became part of the wider Zagreb diocese. The entire wider area was quite dramatically changed by populations of migrants to the north, fleeing the arrival of the marauding Ottomans across the region, and later the return of that native population from the area of lower Kranjska (Dolenjska), now Slovenia.

For more on the Croatian language, including histories on the various dialects and subdialects, as well as learning how to swear in Croatian, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

February the 27th, 2023 - The Southwestern Kajkavian dialect, sometimes referred to as the Turopolje-Posavina dialect, is one of the main dialects which makes up Kajkavian.

We've explored many of the dialects, subdialects and indeed languages in their own right as some linguists consider them to be which are spoken across modern Croatia. From the Dubrovnik subdialect (Ragusan) in the extreme south of Dalmatia to Northwestern Kajkavian in areas like Zagorje, the ways in which people speak in this country deviate from what we know as standard Croatian language enormously. That goes without even mentioning much about old Dalmatian, Zaratin, once widely spoken in and around Zadar, Istriot, or Istro-Venetian. 

With so much variation of what standard Croatian is, you won't be surprised to learn that there are dialects in dialects, and then subdialects thrown in the mix as well. While Kajkavian is a dialect, one of the main ones making up standard Croatian, it has numerous dialects of its own, including the Northwestern dialect, and the Eastern one. In this article, I'll talk about the Southwestern Kajkavian dialect, which was, like many others, once much more widely spoken than it is today.

Where can the Southwestern Kajkavian dialect be heard?

Delving back into the not so distant past, the Southwestern Kajkavian dialect could be heard being spoken across the old area of the wider Zagreb County, with the exception of its very outskirts where Prigorski was primarily spoken. It has several subdialects of its own which certain linguists consider to instead be dialects in their own right.

Fast-forward to the modern day, it is still spoken in the area of Posavina from Zagreb and to the area in which Jekavian (the southern dialect) is primarily spoken in the areas of western Slavonia and along the modern-day Croatian border with neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina. Heading further up north, the spoken Southwestern Kajkavian dialect extends to the area of Moslavina, where it borders the Eastern Kajkavian dialect.

Outside of Croatian borders

While of course not the same, the dialects spoken in Austria's Gradisce (Burgenland) and Romania's Karasevo are believed to originate from Southwestern Kajkavian. Karasevo in particular is known for its Croatian residents (the Krashovani).

For more on the Croatian language, including history, dialects, subdialects and even extinct languages, make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle section. An article on language (even on how to swear in Croatian) is published every Monday.

February the 13th, 2023 - If you're interested in linguistics at all, you'll more than likely have heard of the Kajkavian dialect. As one of the main ''pillars'' of modern standard Croatian, it is spoken by a large amount of people. You might have even heard of the Northwestern Kajkavian dialect. What about the Eastern Kajkavian dialect, however?

We've explored many of the dialects, subdialects and indeed languages in their own right as some linguists consider them to be which are spoken across modern Croatia. From the Dubrovnik subdialect (Ragusan) in the extreme south of Dalmatia to Northwestern Kajkavian in areas like Zagorje, the ways in which people speak in this country deviate from what we know as standard Croatian language enormously. That goes without even mentioning much about old Dalmatian, Zaratin, once widely spoken in and around Zadar, Istriot, or Istro-Venetian. 

A brief history of the Eastern Kajkavian dialect

The Eastern Kajkavian dialect, one of the main dialects which make up Kajkavian as a whole, was once considerably more widely spoken than it is now. Sometimes referred to as the Krizevci-Podravina dialect (Krizevacko-Podravski), it is characterised primarily by several ''far-reaching'' alterations when it comes to accentuation, and the placement of the accent is more or less entirely limited to the last two syllables of any given word.

In the past, the spread of spoken Eastern Kajkavian spanned different areas of the ''old'' Krizevci County, and continued on into the Scakavian-Kajkavian regions of the wider Danube Region.

Where is it spoken now?

Fast forward to the modern day, and the Eastern Kajkavian dialect is spoken in the general area of Moslavina and Podravina from Koprivnica all the way to the parts of western Slavonia which are more or less entirely diominated by Neo-Stokavian-Jekavian (also known as the southern dialect) speakers. In the eastern part of that same region, it intertwines with the Podravina subdialect of Slavonian Skakavica, with which it was once more closely linguistically connected.

Like with many lesser spoken languages, dialects and subdialects, there is always at least a little bit of controversy, and the Eastern Kajkavian dialect, like an array of others, can be divided into several smaller subdialects which some linguists consider to be independent dialects of their own.

Mijo Loncaric, a very well respected Croatian linguist and an expert in not only dialects but in Kajkavian itself, is one of those language experts who consider the so-called ''subdialects'' of the Eastern Kajkavian dialect to be dialects in their own right.

For more on the Croatian language, including information on dialects, subdialects, history and even learning how to swear in Croatian, make sure to keep up with our dedicated lifestyle section. An article on Croatian language is published every Monday.

October the 24th, 2022 - We've looked into the Dubrovnik subdialect and at some mostly forgotten Dalmatian words with their modern standard Croatian (as well as English) translations, but what about the Zagreb dialect? There's much more to it than just replacing 'sto?' (what?) for 'kaj'. Let's delve deeper.

The first thing to point out about the Zagreb dialect is that not all residents of the capital and its immediate surroundings speak the exact same dialect. It's important I highlight that before I get strung up by a patriotic purger (the word for someone from Zagreb). That said, there are enormous similarities in all ways of speaking in and around the Croatian capital city, so for the sake of simplicity, I'll lump it all into the Zagreb dialect in this article. 

The Zagreb dialect is a Kajkavian one, and it is spoken by Croats across the majority of Central Croatia, parts of Northern Istria and in Gorski Kotar. Some rather noteworthy Croatian linguists consider the South Slavic Kajkavian dialect to be a language of its own. Stjepaj Ivsic, who was a Slavic specialist and accentologist from Orahovica and who used numerous examples of vocabulary in spoken Kajkavian as evidence of that is one of them.

To anyone who is familiar with the language spoken in neighbouring Slovenia, you'll quickly notice that there are many quite striking similarities, especially when compared with other Croatian dialects, and despite the fact that there are Shtokavian features in the Zagreb dialect as well. Debates on whether Kajkavian is a language in its own right and not a mere dialect still go on among linguists and other experts to this very day.

Now a brief history of Kajkavian is out of the way, let's have a look at some words you'll likely hear in Zagreb and its surroundings that you definitely won't hear on the Croatian coast, beginning with the letter A, with their English and standard Croatian translations.

As(h)nbeher - ashtray/pepeljara

Badav - free/besplatno

Cifra - number or pin/broj

Drot - policeman/policajac

Escajg - cutlery/pribor za jelo

Fakat - really or seriously/stvarno or zaista

Gertas(h)lin - novcanik/wallet

Haustor - building entrance/ulaz u zgradu

Iberciger - a cover or casing/navlaka or prevlaka

Jurgati - to complain or reproach/prigovarati

Klajda - dress/haljina

Lojtre - ladder/ljestve

Majzl - chisel/sjekac(h)

Navek - always/uvijek

Otprti - to open something/otvoriti

Pajdas(h) - friend, buddy or pal/prijatelj

Ring - ring/prsten

Spika - a conversation/razgovor

Tancati - to dance/plesati

Vekerica - alarm clock/budilica

Ziherica - sigurnosna igla/safety pin

For more on Croatian language, including everything from swearing in Croatian to exploring the different Croatian dialects and subdialects, make sure to keep up with our dedicated lifestyle section.