Slovene language

Spoken in

• Indo-European languages Slavic Languages South Slavic Languages Slovenian

Sl

Slv

Slv

Slovenian (Slovene slovenščina ) is a language from the Slavic branch ( see South Slavic languages ​​) of the Indo-European languages ​​. Historically, it originated in the Principality Karantania and in the south of it Carniola. These areas were protected under Charlemagne with the Avar Empire as a boundary mark against the Avars.

In Karantania the later so called Alpine Slavs and for a time ruled probably Avars, the rest of the population was made up of immigrant Slavic tribes, Romanized Celts ( Noriker ) and had moved Romans together. On the one found in various Slovenian dialects remnant of this language influences. On the other hand can be explained by the adjoining Karantania Avar - and subsequent cleavage of the southern West Slavs, the Hungarians ( separation of the southern West Slavs Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenes ) - also derive a certain kinship with the West Slavic languages ​​Czech and Slovak. ( See also reference. )

The language is written with its own variant of the Latin alphabet ( latinica ), the Slovenian alphabet.

The science which deals with the Slovenian, is called Slowenistik.

• 5.1 vowels
• 5.2 consonants
• 5.3 Stress and sounds 5.3.1 Representation without tones
• 5.3.2 View as tonal language

• 6.1 morphology 6.1.1 noun 6.1.1.1 cases
• 6.1.1.2 numbers
• 6.1.1.3 gender
• 6.1.1.4 declensions

• 8.1 alphabet
• 8.2 pronunciation

Designation

The speakers refer to themselves as Slovenci, their language as slovenščina, which should not be confused with Slovenčina, the proper name of the Slovak language. The Slovakian designation for the Slovenian is Slovinčina, Slovenian for the Slovak Slovaščina.

The former, value-neutral German designation was Windisch, but this term is today due to its abuse in the last hundred years (see also Windisch theory ) controversial.

Linguistic relationship

The Slovenian language and the KAJKAVIAN dialect of the Croatian language are similar in many respects, since it is an obvious and smooth transition of the Slovenian in Croatian Croatian Kajkavian the dialect.

Presumably, by Karantania and the Avars ( 6th-8th century. ), A certain ramification with the Slovak derive ( the kingdom of Samos: Today's region of Moravia, Lower Austria and south-western Slovakia ). Also to be found in the Slovenian and Slovak similar elements of the Old Slavic. Often, the words for " Slovenian " and confused " Slovak ": the Slovenes call their language " Slovenščina ", the Slovaks their " Slovenčina ". In Slovenian: " Jaz govorim slovensko " means I speak Slovene ', where " Slovensko " in Slovak, Slovakia ' means. During and after the time Karantanija and Avar (Alpine Slavs ), the Slavs called themselves " Slovani " or " Slovanci " in which the cause of these similarities could be.

History

The earliest Slovenian Text documents are the " Brižinski spomeniki " ( Freising Manuscripts ), found in the Bavarian town of Freising. This mixture of homiletic and liturgical writings was probably an episcopal manual. It is believed that the Freising monuments from the period around 1000 AD, is derived.

The origin of Slovenes, the Principality Karantania is called. The exact location of Samo's empire and Karantanija is controversial to this day. As for today's Czech Republic and Slovakia for a period of 150 years ( 633 / 658-791 ) no written sources are available at all and Slovenes centuries were known as winches or Windische, much remains only left to conjecture. The name " Slovenci " ( Slovenes ) is first documented only in the preface of the Catechism of Trubar in 1550. And as understood Trubar the " Slovenci " only as a linguistic community, not in the sense of today's nation concept. In the year 811, Emperor Charlemagne, that to qualify as diocesan boundary between the dioceses of Salzburg and Aquileia the Drava have .. This was decided who was responsible for the Christianity of the predominantly Slavic population. Middle of the 10th century was marked by the victory of the king and later emperor Otto I at the Battle of Lechfeld ( near Augsburg ) the way for the colonization of the east of the Holy Roman Empire. The Hungarian invasions in the area around present-day Slovenia, eastern Austria, southern Germany and Italy participated with the conquest of the Pannonian lowlands to 896 to an end. Thus, the tribes of the southern West Slavs Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenes on the one hand were separated. Originally built in the north of Slovenia and the north of it lying areas Karantania was incorporated into the East Frankish kingdom. It developed until the 11th century gradually the duchies of Carinthia and Styria. The Margraviate of Carniola, whose area can be called a slovenian heartland today, did not belong to Carantania, but for Carniola. Also, this area came together with parts of Charlemagne conquered Langobardenreiches to the Holy Roman Empire. Slovenian has long been a secondary language in the Austria -Hungarian Empire. Until 1918, dominated the German language in many areas such as administration and science.

The translation of the New Testament through the reformer Trubar (published 1582) and the entire Bible by Jurij Dalmatians in 1584 laid the foundations for the modern Slovene literary language, which was canonically in the Slovenian core countries of Carniola, Carinthia and Lower Styria. These parallel developed outside these countries based on the respective local dialect two written languages ​​: the Prekmurische in the Kingdom of Hungary, which was in use until the 20th century, and the small, but to this day standing in use Resianische.

In the 19th century a purist ( Germanisms removed ) form of speech developed, with Wortschatzentlehnungen made ​​from other Slavic languages ​​targeted. The revolutionary Ljudevit Gaj wanted to join in the first half of the 19th century, all the South Slavic languages ​​under a political leadership, but the vast majority of Slovenian intellectuals rejected this Illyrism. During this time, the Slovenian also learned a literary flowering by Prešeren.

The current spelling with the borrowed from the Czech letters č, š and ž of the 19th century was essentially fixed center. The codification of the Slovene language was carried out by the grammarians Stanislav Škrabec and Fran Ramovš around the turn of the century to the 20th century.

After the founding of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the University of Ljubljana was founded in 1919. The linguist Franz Xaver Ritter von Miklosich (Slovenian: Fran ( c ) Miklošič ) and Jernej Kopitar ( German: Bartholomäus Kopitar ) were fathers of the Slovene language. On the other hand, there was the attempt to create a common Serbo-Croatian - Slovenian ( Yugoslav ) written language. As in 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was proclaimed, feared the Slovenian intellectuals to the Slovenian and founded in 1938 his own Slovenian Academy of Sciences.

During the occupation of Slovenia in World War II by the Axis Powers ( Germany / Italy / Hungary) from 1941 to 1945 these suppressed the use of the Slovene language.

With the establishment of socialist Yugoslavia in 1945, Slovenian - Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian in addition to his two written variants Croatian and Serbian - for the first time into an equal state language. Since Slovenia gained independence in 1991, it is the sole official language.

Koroško (Carinthia ) | Kranjska ( Carniola ) | Primorska ( Littoral ) | Lower Styria (Steiermark ) | Prekmurje ( Prekmurje )

Geographical distribution and official status

Approximately 2 million people in Slovenia speak Slovene as their mother tongue, where it is also an official language. Since 1 May 2004, Slovenian is also one of the official languages ​​in the European Union. In addition, it is still in parts of Austria, especially in Carinthia (the number of Slovenes in Carinthia in Southern Carinthia is around 20,000 ) and Italy ( area around Gorizia, Resia Valley, Val Canale, Collio, Trieste ) and in parts of western Hungary ( Vas ) spoken as a mother tongue.

A special feature is the Resianische, a dialect of Slovenian in Friuli, which has developed its own written language.

Dialects and sociolects

Since the Slovenian language area rarely formed a political unity through the centuries and beyond the various valleys and regions were isolated by the mountainous topography, numerous very different dialects were out. These can be summarized into seven groups.

Slovenian: Korosko

The Carinthian dialects of Slovene branch overlapping the present-day borders of Carinthia addition. He is spoken on the territory of the Duchy of Carinthia existing until 1918 (which includes today's mixed-language part of Carinthia, the upper Kanaltal Tarvisio, as well as the Mießtal ). In addition, the Carinthian- Slovenian in the community Rateče ( Ratschach ), a town of Carniola ( Carniola ), as well as widespread in southern Styria Drau Valley.

It can be divided into

• Jauntaler Slovenian ( Podjuna )
• Rosental Slovenian ( Rož )
• Gail Valley Slovenian ( Zilja )

Slow. Štajersko

Slow. Gorenjsko

Slow. Dolenjsko

In Primorska, Primorska

In Prekmurje ( Prekmurje )

In the region Prlekija ( in the Slovene Styria)

For the geographical expansion of the various dialect areas see: Map of Slovenian dialects

Phonetics and phonology

Slovene has a phoneme inventory of 21 consonants and 8 vowels.

Vowels

According to the traditional description of vowel length was the Slovenian phonologically distinctive, ie important distinctive. After this description Slovenian had the vowels / a /, / i /, / u /, / ɛ / and / ɔ / - each long and short, and / e ː / and / o ː / - only long and / ə / - only briefly.

According to recent analyzes for the majority of speakers, the vowel length not more phonologically distinctive, and according to the currently used analysis of stressed vowels are long and short unaccented. All vowels can appear stressed and unstressed, but unstressed / e / and / o / are only a few word forms ( for example, in bo " is " an auxiliary verb to form the future tense ).

Consonants

All voiced obstruents are completely entsonorisiert word-finally and before voiceless obstruents, ie they are voiceless, unless they are immediately followed by a word beginning with a vowel or a voiced consonant.

Voiceless obstruents before voiced obstruents are also voiced ( regressive assimilation contact ):

The consonants / s /, / z / and / ts / are before / ʃ /, / ʒ /, / tʃ / and / dʒ / to [ ʃ ], [ ʒ ] or [ tʃ ].

The nasal / n / is before / k /, / ɡ / and / x / to Velarnasal [ ŋ ].

The consonants / m / and / n / are before / f / and / ʋ / both to [ ɱ ].

The consonant / ʋ / several allophones:

• Before vowels: [ ʋ ]
• At the end of a syllable or before consonants: [u]
• At the beginning of a syllable before a voiced consonant: [ w]
• At the beginning of a syllable before a voiceless consonant: [ ʍ ]

The preposition v 'in' is always connected to the next word and its phonetic realization follows the rules described above for / ʋ /.

Emphasis and tones

Presentation without notes

According to most modern descriptions of Slovene it is not a tonal language, there are only vowel length distinction and emphasis. This system is also taught in Slovenian schools and colleges. Historically, this variant is innovative and based on the trends of the border dialects.

Each long vowel is stressed automatically, and in words without long vowels, the stress falls on the last syllable. The only exception is schwa, which is always short, and even then can be emphasized if it does not occur in the final syllable. The emphasis may fall on any syllable of the word. Some compound words have multiple stressed syllables.

In general, the stress and the vowel length in the written language is not marked. In scientific representations, dictionaries, etc. three diacritics are used to indicate the emphasis: the acute accent ( ') for long closed vowels, the caret ^ for long and the open grave (`) for short open vowels:

View as tonal language

In older descriptions Slovene is usually represented as a tonal language such as Serbo-Croatian. This system is the more conservative and is based on the central dialects, including, inter alia, Ljubljana heard, but also the Carinthian Slovene. However, even educated people are the tonal differences mostly unaware. In contrast to the Serbo-Croatian are in Slovenian and in monosyllables tonal differences.

To identify the tones four diacritics are used: the acute (') for long and high syllables, the reverse Brevis ( ̑ ) and the circumflex (^) for long falling syllables, the Gravis ( ` ) increasing for short schwa and the double Gravis ( ̏ ) for falling short syllables. Closed / e / and / o / are also provided with an underlying set point ( ̣ ) marked to distinguish them from the open / ɛ / and / ɔ /.

Examples

* Will not occur word-initially.

Grammar

Slovenian is an inflectional language. The relationship of the word to the sentence is mainly expressed by inflection. This results in a very free word order. Usual, however, as in German, the order subject-predicate - object.

As a special addition singular and plural of the dual (two numbers, dvojina ) exists for nouns and verbs. This form has been abandoned in most other Slavic ( and Indo-European ) languages ​​in favor of the plural form and is a sign of the archaic language structure of Slovene. Examples: " grem " (I'm ), " Greva " ( we are two), " gremo " ( we all go ) or " klobuk " (a hat), " klobuka " ( two hats ) or " klobuki " (more than two hats ). Colloquial and dialect of the dual is in favor of the plural sometimes neglected.

Morphology

Noun

Nouns are marked by declination according to case, number and gender. These three properties are expressed together by a suffix (suffix).

In Slovene are obtained from the eight Primitive Indo-European cases six:

Pay

• Singular ( Ednina )
• Two number ( Dvojina )
• Majority ( Množina )

Gender

As in German there is the grammatical gender Masculine (Male ), Feminine (Female ), and neuter ( Neuter ), which is often not identical with the natural gender.

Declensions

There are 11 declinations with important exceptions:

There is no second declension neuter. The examples given are the patterns for those words declination.

Example of the first declension: klobuk ( hat)

Adjective

The adjective immediately precedes the noun to which it refers and agrees with him agree in case, number and gender. The declension of adjectives differs slightly from that of nouns. In addition, the Slovenian differs in some adjectives in the form of the nominative maskulien between definite and indefinite forms. This use corresponds ungefährt that of the indefinite and definite article in German: nov avto ( ' new car ', undefined ) vs. novi avto ( ' ( the ) new car ', determined ). In everyday language, the definite and indefinite forms by the number word s, ena, eno indefinite form ( ' a, a ') and the particle ta indefinite form ( ' this ') replaces that act as articles.

Article

Like most Romance languages ​​is also a Slavic language Slovenian language without articles. In everyday language, however, there is a kind of products in connection with the indefinite forms of the adjective: en nov kolega per prišel ( ' a new colleague has come '). Also, is given to the particle ta with the indeterminate form when it comes to certainty: ta nov kolega per simpatičen ( ' the new colleague is friendly '). In the written language and en ta but must necessarily be omitted.

Verb

In Slovenia there are the times

• Presence
• Past
• Vorvergangenheit
• Future.

Because of the similarity in education should be mentioned in this context, the subjunctive.

To express seclusion or durability, the Slovenian served, similar to the Russian and other Slavic languages ​​, the aspect separation. This explains why the Slovenian requires only three times, in contrast to German, or even English, where the choice of tense is an important stylistic device.

Vocabulary

The majority of the Slovenian vocabulary are native words from the Old Slavic. In addition, the Slovenian, like most European languages ​​, many foreign words borrowed from other languages ​​, partly the German or other intermediary languages:

• Greek Cona [' tso ː na ] (via German zone, see, however, Croat. Zona, serb and Russian зона [ z ] from Greek ζώνη )
• Kronologija (over German chronology, cf contrast serb. and Russian hronologija or хронология from Greek χρονολογία )

• Literatura ( besides having a narrower meaning književnost )
• Cesar ( caesar ): Emperor

• Amortizer ( with Endbetonung of amortisseur ): Shock absorber
• Bazen ( with Endbetonung of basin ): Pool, Swimming pool

• Violončelo: Cello
• Spageti: Spaghetti

• Nagelj: Carnation ( spice nail )
• Kreg ( colloquial) (of war ): dispute
• Šport: Sports

• Kombajn (of combine harvester ): Combine Harvester
• Miting (of meeting)

In colloquial language, there are numerous German loanwords, their use is avoided in the written language, for example lojtra ( = lestev ) for conductors, topmast ( = stop nice) for stairs ( stairs), ravfank ( = Dimnik ) for flue, chimney, but also newer as šravfenciger ( = izvijač ) for screwdriver or avspuh ( = izpušna cev ) for exhaust.

The German took over from Slovenian:

• Kren of lead.
• Snack from južina; This word may also have been recorded also from Serbian / Croatian / Bosnian to German.
• Sinkhole by dolina ( valley ); This word may also have been recorded also from Serbian / Croatian / Bosnian to German.
• Polje (the field ); This word may also have been recorded also from Serbian / Croatian / Bosnian to German.
• Ponor ( swallow hole ); This word may also have been recorded also from Serbian / Croatian / Bosnian to German.

In addition, some Slovenian words are entered into the Carinthian.

• The initiation of a question with "a" (a vastehst mi a kummst unit? ): in Slovene are interrogative sentences that require a "yes" or "no" as an answer to ( colloquially shortened to the untranslatable interrogative particle "ali " "a Up ").
• " Tscheafl " ( " old shoe " ), of " čevelj " ( "shoe" )
• " Tschreapm " ( " porcelain vessel " ), of " črpina " ( " shard " )
• " Zwüln " ( " yell" ), of " cviliti "
• " Strankalan " ( " green beans " ), of altslowen. " Štrok "
• " Lei" ( for " only " in Tyrol ) is popular etymology matched with equivalent Slovenian "le", but is likely to German "is" back.

Font

Alphabet

The Slovene alphabet based on the Latin alphabet and has the following letters to:

A, B, C, Č, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, Š, T, U, V, Z, Ž.

The letters Q, W, X, Y are used only in exotic proper names and sometimes in foreign words. In general, foreign and loan words to be adapted to the Slovenian spelling (eg menedžer, rizling, apartma, nivo ).

Pronunciation

Slovenian is written in Latin script, and pronunciation rules are comparable in simplicity with Italian or Latin.

Some important differences to the Germans in the debate:

• č " clap " like the German ch in
• š like German sch in " shame "
• ž as (French ) g in "garage"
• C z in German as " show " ( never k! )
• S like German ß in "large"
• Z, voiced s, as in Germany (but not in Austria ) s in "say" as in English " zero" ( never ts! )
• H as ch in German "roof"
• V as German w in " live " on the end of a syllable, at the beginning of a sentence before a consonant or between vowel and consonant like u
• L is at the end of a syllable or between vowel and consonant often as u spoken. There is no hard and fast rule here, but it (eg "bil ", " stal " ) is in the masculine forms of the past always like u, in foreign words (eg "cable " or " admiral " ) as l always spoken.
• E can open ( such as ä ) or closed also be short or long, or as a schwa spoken ( e in "flower" ), and all types can be emphasized.
• O can be open or closed, is also spoken sooner or later, and all kinds can be emphasized.
• U and i are always closed, but you can, as well as a, be short or long.
• The different pronunciations of the vowels are not represented orthographically.

The letter combinations lj and nj are spoken as a sound:

• Lj as Italian gl in " famiglia "
• Nj as Italian gn in " campagna "

Unlike the Serbian and Croatian but they are counted as separate letters: l or n j. Regionally there are different pronunciations as simple l or n

As in other Slavic languages ​​there are words that seem to consist only of consonants because of a syllabic r, about prt " cloth ". However, such an r, unlike the Serbian or Croatian into the debate goes forward schwa: ie prt is [ pərt ] spoken (see also the famous Croatian island of Krk, Slovenian [ kərk ]; spoken Croatian [ KRK ], ie without vocal ).

The "l " and the " lj " never wear the Silbenton. Therefore the word čmrlj ( " Hummel " ) is monosyllabic and umrl ( " died [ he ]") disyllabic.

The "V " is spoken in initial position before voiceless consonants than unvoiced labiovelarer fricative [ ʍ ], eg in vprašanje ( " hold") or V.sec ( " pleasing " ), as in the word v ( "in" ) before voiceless consonants. Colloquially it sounds but mostly as [u ], [ w] or [ və ] (German "w" with the following schwa ).

The prepositions v, z / s and k / h are clitics, which are spoken with the following noun as a word. However, colloquially is often a schwa and following voiceless glottal plosive sound ( glottal stop, the German general practice ).

Examples