On the Vocalization of Jers in Slovak

Abstract

The article explains the heterogeneous reflexes of the Proto-Slavic jers in Slovak. In the West and East Slovak dialects, the merger with the front mid-vowel follows the general West Slavic pattern. The Central Slovak dialect, however, follows the general development of Western South Slavic dialects (Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, etc.), where the mergers in strong syllables predominantly depend on word-prosodic conditions.