Dialect Leveling in Haloze, Slovenia

Abstract

Dialect Leveling in Haloze, Slovenia represents an eclectic and innovative approach to Slovene dialectology. The first part of the book examines the dialect area of Haloze, a relatively underdeveloped region on Slovenia’s eastern frontier, from a descriptive and historical perspective. The phonological description of the dialect and the discussion of the linguistic history of Haloze are based on the author’s dialect recordings and fieldwork conducted over more than a decade. The initial chapters contain a basic discussion of the vocalic systems of the main regions of Haloze and a more detailed description of two regions, the village dialects of Meje and Belavšek. This description documents the most archaic forms of the dialect and clarifies where Haloze fits among the surrounding dialects and language groups. The remainder of the work is an analysis of Haloze from a contemporary point of view. A continuum model for the interaction between different varieties of the Slovene language is introduced. The modern sociolinguistic state of the dialect is discussed based on extensive interviews as well as several questionnaires conducted in the region within the last two years. All of this material indicates that the local dialect is not dying. Large percentages of people of all age groups claim to be proficient speakers of the dialect. It is also clear that, when the modern dialect of almost all local speakers is compared to the most archaic forms of the dialect, the dialect is changing. There is significant variation within the dialect. The author’s contention, supported by the results of surveys, interviews and observations, is that the local village dialect is being leveled toward the regional dialect spoken in and around the largest city of the area, Ptuj. The regional koinè, spoken in and around the city of Ptuj, is based on local dialects and is perceived by speakers as dialect. As the local village dialects are leveled toward the regional koinè, speakers continue to think of themselves as local dialect users even though they are speaking a variety of the language closer to the regional dialect than to the micro dialect of their parents and grandparents.