# Čabranka dialect

The Čabranka dialect (Slovene: čabranško narečje, čebranško narečje), also known in Croatian literature as western microdialects of the Western Goran subdialect (Serbo-Croatian: zapadni goranski poddijalekt, zapadni gorskokotarski poddijalekt, Slovene: zahodni goranski govori, zahodni gorskokotarski govori), is a dialect spoken along the Upper Kupa Valley and in Gorski Kotar in Slovenia and Croatia. The dialect originates from Alpine Slavic, a predecessor of modern Slovene, but speakers living in Croatia self-identify as speaking Croatian. The dialect borders the Lower Carniolan dialect to the north, the Mixed Kočevje subdialects to the northeast, the Kostel dialect to the southeast, the Eastern Goran dialect to the south, and various Chakavian dialects to the southwest and west. The dialect belongs to the Lower Carniolan dialect group, and it evolved from the Lower Carniolan dialect base. Until recently, the Čabranka dialect was considered to be part of the Kostel dialect, but it was later discovered that both dialects had evolved differently but are in the process of becoming more similar to each other. Despite the new name, it is still often referred to as the Western Kostel microdialects.

## Geographical distribution

The Čabranka dialect is mainly spoken in Croatia; however, the northeastern part crosses the border between Croatia and Slovenia. The area extends from Babno Polje and Lazec in the north along the Gotenica Mountains (Goteniška gora) to Mirtoviči and Gašparci in the east. It extends south to Delnice and extends west to Gorski Kotar. Notable settlements include Babno Polje, Lazec, Novi Kot, Draga, and Osilnica in Slovenia, as well as Prezid, Kozji Vrh, Gorači, Čabar, Crni Lazi, Tršće, Plešce, Vode, Gerovo, Mali Lazi, and Crni Lug in Croatia.

## Accentual changes

The Čabranka dialect lost the difference between high- and low-pitched accent on both long and short vowels, which are still differentiated, but in the process of merging in the Čabar, Hrvatsko, and Bosljiva Loka microdialects. It also underwent five accentual changes that are not found in all Slovene dialects: the *ženȁ → *žèna, *məglȁ → *mə̀gla, *sěnȏ / *prosȏ → *sě̀no / *pròso, *visȍk → vìsok, and *kováč → *kòvač accent shifts. Some Bajtarji microdialects have also undergone the *ropotȁt → *ròpotat accent shift. The northwesternmost microdialects of Babno Polje and Prezid have also undergone the shift *gospodár → *gòspodar in a few words. Newly accented vowels have usually been majorly reduced, and akanye is common.

## Phonology

Monophthongization of vowels is present; however in contrast to the Kostel dialect, diphthongs are still present:
* Non-final *ě̀ and *ě̄ diphthongized into ẹːi̯, which later monophthongized to ẹː or ėː in some microdialects.
* The vowel *ō is rarely pronounced as a diphthong; it mostly simplified into ọː, ȯː, or u.
* Non-final *è and ē, as well as non-final *ę̀ and ę̄, are pronounced as a diphthong only in the northernmost and southernmost microdialects; elsewhere it monophthongized into ẹː or iː.
* Similarly, non-final *ò and ǫ̀, as well as ǭ, are pronounced as a diphthong only in the Babno Polje and Delnice dialects; elsewhere it monophthongized into ọː or ȯː.
* Newly stressed *e and *o after the *ženȁ → *žèna shift mostly remained a diphthong i̯eː and u̯oː, or simplified into eː and oː, respectively.
* Non-final *ə̀ and *ə̄ turned into aː.
* Non-final *à and *ā turned into aː almost everywhere.
* Non-final *ì and *ī became either long or short i.
* Non-final *ù and *ū became either long or short u or even ü.
* Non-final *l̥̀ and *l̥̄ mostly evolved into ọːu̯ or u.
* Non-final *r̥̀ and r̥̄ mostly evolved into ər.
Akanye is also common, as well as e-akanye in the prefix ne-. Ukanye is also present, turning word-final o into ȯ or u. Unstressed *u is often reduced into ü or i. Unstressed *ə evolved into e̥, ọ, ə, or a.
Word-finally and before consonants, *l almost everywhere turned into u̯ or u. Shvapanye (*l → u̯ before central and back consonants) is also common, but not before *u. Palatal *ĺ mostly depalatalized. Palatal *ń depalatalized at the beginning of a word. Final *m turned into *n. Alpine Slovene *w evolved into many different sounds:
* Before a non-voiced (rarely also voiced) non-sonorant, it became f.
* Prothetic v appeared before u at the beginning of a word.
* Prothetic u̯ appeared before o at the beginning of a word.
* The cluster zv- simplified into zg-.
* Southern microdialects simplified *u̯m- into *xm-.
* It disappeared at the beginning of a word if followed by d, s, z, or p.
The sonorant j appears at the beginning of words that start with i and sometimes in between a vowel and a consonant. Some microdialects pronounce tl-/tn- as kl-/kn-. The consonant *x is also often simplified into f or š.

## Morphology

Dual forms have been fully replaced by plural endings in declension; verbs have archaic dual forms. The infinitive was replaced by the supine, and the pluperfect is still in use. The imperative can be alternatively formed with pojdi + infinitive, or dajmo + infinitive for the first person plural.

## Further division

The Čabranka dialect is further divided into three groups: the Bajtarji, Dragarji, and Gebarji microdialects. The Dragarji microdialects lack shvapanye and are the smallest group, spoken in Lazec, Srednja Vas pri Dragi, Trava, and Čabar. These speakers are thought to have moved here from inner Slovenia. The Bajtarji microdialects have undergone the most vowel reduction; akanye is very common, as well as the shifts *xiša → šiša, *žejən → *žejgən, etc. This group covers the largest area, from Babno Polje in the north to Gerovo and Osilnica in the south. South of the Bajtarji microdialects are the Gebarji microdialects, which have not undergone as much vowel reduction; akanye is only present in pretonic syllables.