Kostel dialect


The Kostel dialect is a Slovene dialect in the Lower Carniolan dialect group. It is spoken in western White Carniola, bordering the former Kočevje linguistic island to the east and the Kolpa River to the south. It also encompasses Babno Polje, Banja Loka, Osilnica, Trava, and Draga, and its features also extend into the Croatian region of Gorski Kotar.

Phonological and morphological characteristics

The Kostel dialect lacks pitch accent, has diphthongs of the type ie and uo, and has an a-like pronunciation of the short semivowel, a u-like pronunciation of syllabic ł, and an u reflex of ū. The dialect underwent the third accentual retraction from short and long final syllables, and newly accented e is short.