The Main Characteristic Features of the Bulgarian Orlitza Dialect (From the East Rhodopes)

Abstract

This article describes the main characteristic features of the dialect spoken by Muslim Bulgarians inhabiting the East Rhodopian Bulgarian village of Orlitza. The dialect features phonetic changes © ∆ a, u ∆ a, ќ ∆ ’a, u ∆ ’a; the traces from the Old Bulgarian nasal vowels; the use of a definite article from the Old Bulgarian demonstrative pronoun ou “this” unlike most of the other Rhodopian dialects where a triple article derived from the demonstrative pronouns ou, nu, iiu is in use; as well as interesting lexemes, often from Turkish origin. Кeywords: Bulgarian language, Bulgarian dialectology, East Rhodopes