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== Dialects ==
== Dialects ==
 
{{Main|Carnian dialects}}
Carnian is traditionally divided into five dialect groups: Carinthian (''corinsc''), Upper (''gorn''), Lower (''doln''), Central (''centraln''), and Kvarner (''cuarn''). The dialects can also have several subdialects, which are further divided into microdialects.
 
=== Background ===
 
The rise of the March of Carinthia allowed Northwestern Alpine Slavic to become a prestigious vernacular and spread beyond the territory of Carinthia proper. Initially a unified language, NWAS, and later Old Carnian, divided into two main branches: '''western''', covering much of the Littoral and Inner Carniola, and '''northern''', spoken in Carinthia and Upper Carniola. Apart from this division arose the transitional Lower dialect in the northwestern parts of Lower Carniola, which was predominantly Slovene-speaking. Early Modern times and the territorial expansion of Carnia saw further division of those dialects and the rise of new ones.
 
=== Dialect overview ===
[[File:Dialects of Carnian.png|thumb|right|Map of Carnian dialect groups]]
[[File:Dialects of Carnian.png|thumb|right|Map of Carnian dialect groups]]


==== Carinthian ====
Carnian exhibits considerable dialectal diversity shaped by geography, historical settlement patterns, and language contact. The language is traditionally divided into five major dialect groups: '''Carinthian''' (''corinsc''), '''Upper''' (''gorn''), '''Lower''' (''doln''), '''Central''' (''centraln''), and '''Kvarner''' (''cuarn'').
 
The Carinthian dialect is spoken in Carnian Carinthia and a few places in Upper Carniola, as well as by Austrian Carnians. During the Middle Ages it was the most prestigious dialect and the vernacular of the nobility and clergy, and therefore strongly influenced the other regions. At the same time, Carinthian is the most Germanized of all Carnian dialects due to Carnian-German bilingualism existing there since the very beginning of Carnian statehood. These factors account for the presence of German-influenced features across Carnian speech territory, such as four-case system, uninflected predicative adjectives, stem-initial accent, vowel reduction, and syncope. Traces of German influence can be seen in spelling, although nowadays to a much smaller extent, and visible in the use of ⟨œ⟩ for /ɜ/ (realized as [œ] in Carinthian), ⟨ch⟩ for /x/, or ⟨tz⟩ for /t͡s/, and ⟨ck⟩ for /k/ before front vowels. Other features like open-syllable lengthening and the use of articles are attributed to both German and Romance/Italian influence.
 
Carinthian maintains several conservative features not present anymore in modern Carnian, yet does not lack its own innovations. Its main features are:
 
* The preservation of stem-initial stress and pitch accent. Stressed open syllables are long in the majority of Carinthia, although some more conservative valleys maintain the original length distinctions
* Lenition of voiced stops /b, d, g/ > /β, ð, ɣ/. The degree of lenition ranges from full lenition in all positions to medial positions only
* Realization of ''ea'' in its traditional form [æ], with the diphthongal pronunciation becoming more popular only recently
* ''ą'' raised to ''ỹ'' in unstressed syllables, visible in words like ''minint'' (vs. standard ''minant'' 'to pass') or in ''Corintia'', the name of Carinthia which spread to the standard (vs. ''Corantia'' in some conservative southern dialects)
* Retention of nasality and extension toward previously non-nasalized contexts. Some of these nasal phonemes later underwent changes (/ʊ̃/ merged with /œ̃/, /ĩ/ lowered to [ɪ̃ ~ ẽ])
* Realization of ''œ'' as rounded [œ̈] in stressed syllables
* General preservation of L-Ł distinction, with some dialects experiencing ''ṡuapanie'' (realization of [ɫ] as [w])
* ''y'' is closer [ɪi̯]
* Uvular realization of ''k'' as [q]. This is likely caused by the lack of voiced counterpart after ''g'' became ''ɣ''
* Retention of voiced final obstruents in the western parts
* Preservation of instrumental case and dual number in some conservative dialects
* Active participles of i- and e-stem verbs are formed with -je- (''vidient'' vs. standard ''vidiant'')
* Eastern dialects experience feminization of neuter gender
* High degree of German loanwords
 
==== Upper ====
 
The Upper dialect is spoken in the majority of Upper Carniola and Lubiana. It is often considered "transitional" between Central and Carinthian dialects. Its main characteristics distinguishing it from the standard include:
 
* The accent is predominantly penultimate, although some valley dialects retain stem-initial accent with varying degree of length-syllable correlation
* Lenition of voiced stops varies from medial positions in the north and in the valleys to no lenition at all in the south
* Some subdialects preserve monophthongal ''ea'' [æ]
* L-Ł distinction in most parts, lost in the southern areas
* Delabialization [ɒ] > [ɑ]
* Voicing of final obstruents is retained in the Selsa subdialect
* Some dialects experience masculinization of neuter gender
* Majority of dialects do not alter stem-final velar consonants in the nominative plural of masculine hard declension (''bœcki'' vs. standard ''bœci'')
 
==== Lower ====
 
The Lower dialect is the most divergent from the standard and has developed as transitional between Carnian and Slovene. It is spoken in the Carnian part of Lower Carniola south and east of Lubiana, as well as in the border areas in Slovenia. Its main characteristics:
 
* The western part agrees with the Upper dialect in terms of penultimate accent, although the eastern parts retain old free accent with shifts influenced by the Lower Carnian dialect of Slovene
* Pitch contours often mismatch with the standard and align with Slovene words
* Since stem-initial accent never arose here, the syncope is very weak and limited to high vowels only
* The reflexes of liquid metathesis often agree with South Slavic pattern
* Early denasalization: *ę > ''ä'', *ǫ > ''å'', in some regions raised to ''e'' and ''o''
* ''œ'' realized as ''ï'' [ɪ ~ ɘ]
* *ě > ''ie''
* Lack of geminated consonants
* ''y'' is either diphthongal [ɪi̯] or monophthongal [iː]
* -je- form of active participle in i- and e-stem verbs
* Fossilized locative and dual expressions
 
==== Central ====
 
The Central dialect is spoken in the Littoral and most of Inner Carniola, making it the largest dialect in Carnia. Due to geographical and historical reasons, it is the most diverse group. The coastal regions and Gorsa surroundings show significant Romance (mostly Venetian and Friulian) influence, while the mountainous eastern part around Route exhibits some well-preserved conservative features. While peripheral in the Middle Ages, it rose to prominence in Early Modern times and eventually became the base for Standard Carnian.
 
The features differentiating it from the standard include:


* ''y'' ranges from [ɛɪ̯] to [aɪ̯]
The '''Carinthian''' dialect, spoken in Carnian Carinthia and parts of Upper Carniola, represents the most conservative variety and was historically the prestige dialect of the medieval nobility and clergy. It preserves stem-initial stress, maintains the L-Ł distinction, and exhibits lenition of voiced stops (/b, d, g/ > /β, ð, ɣ/). Strong German influence is evident in both phonology and lexicon due to centuries of Carnian-German bilingualism in the region.
* No lenition, except Inner Carniolan dialects with consistent spirantization ''g'' > ''ɣ''
* Loss of pitch accent in some dialects
* Voiced final obstruents are preserved in easternmost dialects
* Rhotacization of the infinitive suffix -''t'' > -''r'' in the southwestern coastal regions
* Mixed use of ''kei'' and ''cie'' 'what', the latter being used in the southwestern parts
* Higher degree of Romance loanwords
* Loss of animacy distinction in majority of Obale-Cars region
* Neuter-masculine merger (with singular nominative ending in -''o''/-''e'') in the most Romanized dialects


==== Kvarner ====
The '''Upper''' dialect of Upper Carniola and Lubiana forms a transitional zone between Carinthian and Central varieties, generally featuring penultimate stress while retaining some conservative features such as the L-Ł distinction in northern areas.


The Kvarner dialect, spoken in Istria and Libursca, represents a type of newer, mixed dialect which evolved as a consequence of Carnian territorial expansion southwards. It evolved from the mix of the traditional dialects, primarily Central, and had been significantly influenced by Chakavian and local Romance varieties. While those influences were stronger locally (i.e., Romance in western Istria and Reaca, Chakavian in the other areas), those features are found beyond the borders of the traditional settlement due to population mixing.
The '''Lower''' dialect is the most divergent from the standard, having developed as a transitional variety between Carnian and Slovene. It is characterized by weak syncope, reflexes of liquid metathesis that align with South Slavic patterns, and early denasalization. This dialect retains free accent in eastern areas and preserves some archaic dual and locative expressions.


Main features:
The '''Central''' dialect, spoken in the Obale-Cars and most of Inner Carniola, is the largest and most diverse dialect group. Peripheral during the Middle Ages, it rose to prominence in Early Modern times and became the basis for Standard Carnian. Coastal regions show significant Romance (Venetian and Friulian) influence, while mountainous eastern areas preserve conservative features. The '''Gorso-Tresten''' subdialect of the northern Obale-Cars exhibits particularly strong Romance substrate effects, including retention of a synthetic imperfect tense and merger of neuter with masculine gender.


* Weak to no vowel reduction. It should not be understood as the lack of reduction, but rather as fuller realization of unstressed vowels (e.g., [ɔ ~ o̞] instead of [ɞ])
The '''Kvarner''' dialect of Istra and Libursca represents a newer mixed variety that emerged following Carnian territorial expansion southward in the Early Modern period. It evolved from a blend of traditional dialects (primarily Central) with significant Chakavian and local Romance influences, featuring weak vowel reduction, varying degrees of free accent, and widespread ''tzacavizm'' (merger of palatal consonants with dental affricates).
* Moderate and varying degree of syncope
* The accent is predominantly penultimate. Eastern Istria and Gorski Kotar exhibit some degree of free accent influenced by Chakavian. Parts of Cres preserve stem-initial accent
* Presence of pitch accent with tones often agreeing with the Chakavian words
* ''cie'' or ''cia'' instead of ''kei''
* Lack of geminated consonants
* ''ea'' either merged with ''e'' or ''a'', or decomposed to [ɛ.ä]
* ''œ'' usually merged with ''a'', except for Reaca agglomeration which has standard [ɜ]
* Non-palatal ''tzacavizm'': ''ċ'', ''ṡ'', and ''ġ'' are replaced with ''tz'', ''s'', and ''z'', or transitive ''tzj'', ''sj'', ''zj''. This is most common in eastern Istria and on the islands
* Varying degree of accent retraction in place of old word-final nasal vowels (blocked entirely in areas with stem-initial accent)
* Mid vowels are often true mid [e̞] and [o̞]
* The realization of ''y'' ranges from [ei] to [iː]
* The infinitive is usually long -''ti'', with rhotacization to -''ri'', -''re'', or -''r'' in western Istria
* Fossilized instrumental and locative expressions
* High degree of Romance and Chakavian loanwords
* Presence of unadapted ''ć'' and ''đ'' in Chakavian loanwords
* Loss of animacy distinction in Western Istria
* Neuter-masculine merger in the Western Istria dialects


Beyond geographic variation, Carnian has developed a distinct prestige sociolect called '''Fyn''' (lit. "refined"), spoken in the metropolitan areas of Lubiana, Trest, and Reaca. Emerging among 19th-century administrative and commercial elites, Fyn is characterized by r-vocalization in coda position, merger of ''e'' and ''ea'', obligatory article use, and aspectual simplification. While originally an upper-class marker, it has become the natural speech of working-class residents in all three major cities and serves as the de facto standard pronunciation there.


== Orthography ==
== Orthography ==
Larsqui
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