Volhynian dialect


Volhynian dialect is a dialect of Ukrainian language spoken around the historical region of Volhynia in the northern half of western Ukraine. It belongs to the Southwestern group of Ukrainian dialects.

Territory and subdivisions

The territory where Volhynian dialect is spoken borders Western Polesian and Central Polesian dialect in the north, Middle Dnieper dialect in the east and Upper Dniestrian and Podolian dialect in the south. Its spread in the west is generally limited by the Ukrainian-Polish border.
Volhynian dialect can be divided into northern and southern subdialects approximately along the line Horokhiv - Shepetivka - Berdychiv, as well as into eastern and western subdialects along the line of Styr river. Northern varieties share many common elements with Polesian dialects, southern varieties - with Podolian and Dniestrian dialects. Western Volhynian subdialects have many similarities with Dniestrian varieties, and some linguists classify them as a separate dialect.

Main features

Phonetics

  • In western Volhynian subdialects in place of the ethymological can be replaced with , : стил , столýў , ни́чка ;
  • especially in western subdialects, the original after certain consonants is pronounced as : трáба , цáгла , шáстий , по сáлах ; in southwestern dialects after palatalized consonants and sibilants may also get replaced with : ч’éсом , жел’ ;
  • in some western varieties phoneme in stressed position turns into : сéла , звéсока , кудéс’ ;
  • in southern Volhynian dialects unstressed in some cases turns into : гуолýпка , куожýх , йумý , дорóгуйу ;
  • as a rule, endings of 3rd person singualar and plural in Volhynian dialect are palatalized, but in some western varieties the word-final is palatalized only in imperative mood;
  • in part of western and northern varieties consonants , , may be palatalized before : рýкі , нóгі , хíтрий .

    Morphology

  • In most southern varieties: lack of gemination in endings of single nouns like зілля ; in western varieties forms with gemination and word-final are widespread: з’íл’:е, жит’:é, пíрйе, подвíрйе;
  • in western varieties: ending of feminine single nouns in instrumentative case with -оў, -ом unlike standard Ukrainian -ойу/-ою;
  • in western Volhynian subdialects masculine plural nouns in dative and locative frequently have endings -ем, -ex: жін’цéм, коувал’éм, на жін’ц’éх, на коувал’éх ; in instrumentative - -ема: жін’ц’'éма', коувал’éма ;
  • in western Volhynian subdialects long endings of neutral adjectives are widespread: дрібнóйе, зелáнуйе ; endings of genitive and instrumental in feminine adjectives may take the form -ейі, -ейу: моулоудéйі, моулоудéйу, старéйі, старéйу ;
  • shortened forms of feminine pronouns are widespread: сéйі, тéйі, мéйі, твéйі, сéйу, тéйу, мéйу, свéйу, твéйу ;
  • lack of word-initial in certain pronouns: до йóго, з йéйу, ў йéйі ;
  • transition of , , , into , , , in singular 1st person verbs: хóджу, хóжу, крýчу, прóшу ;
  • in western Volhynian varieties complex forms of past tense verbs are used along with simple ones: ходи́вім, ходи́віс, ходи́лис’мо, ходи́лис’те etc.