The Kičevo-Poreče dialect is a member of the central subgroup of the western group of dialects

Dialects of the Macedonian language

The dialects of Macedonian comprise the Slavic dialects spoken in the Republic of Macedonia as well as some varieties spoken in the wider geographic region of Macedonia. They exist as part of the dialect continuum of South Slavic languages that joins the Macedonian language with Bulgarian to the...

 of the Macedonian language

Macedonian language

Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...

. The dialect is spoken in a vast area in the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

 and mainly in the cities Kičevo

Kicevo

Kičevo is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The city of Kičevo is the seat of Kičevo Municipality.-Population:The municipality...

 and Makedonski Brod

Makedonski Brod

Makedonski Brod is a town in the central part of the country, on the south-eastern part of Suva Gora, western Karadžica and south-western Dautica mountains. The town is the seat of Makedonski Brod Municipality.-Geography:...

. It is also native to the villages of the region Porečje, such as Samokov and those around Kičevo

Kicevo

Kičevo is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The city of Kičevo is the seat of Kičevo Municipality.-Population:The municipality...

. Because of the migration of the population from Porečje, the dialect is spoken in the region of Polog

Polog

Polog also known as the Polog Valley , is located in the north-western part of the Republic of Macedonia near the border with Serbia.It is divided into Upper and Lower Polog...

 and in the capital Skopje

Skopje

Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

. The Kičevo-Poreče dialect is closely related to the Prilep-Bitola dialect

Prilep-Bitola dialect

The Prilep-Bitola dialect is a member of the central subgroup of the western group of dialects of the Macedonian language. This dialect is spoken in much of the Pelagonia region , as well as by the Macedonian-speaking minority population in and around Florina in neighbouring Greek Macedonia...

, Upper Polog dialect

Upper Polog dialect

The Upper Polog dialect is a member of the western and north western subgroup of the western group of dialects of the Macedonian language. The dialect is mainly spoken in the area around the city of Gostivar to the villages Brvenica and Bogovinje on north, Reka region on west, Porčie on east and...

 with which they share many common characteristics. This dialect can be found in many books and novels, and one of the more popular is the novel "Milion mačenici" by Risto Krle

Risto Krle

Risto Krle was a Macedonian playwright and the son of a shoe maker. Many interruptions made his schooling difficult. As a teenager he enrolled in the army where he served until he inherited his father's profession and succeeded as a shoe maker...

. The Kičevo-Poreče dialect has a significantly lower number of Serbian

Serbian language

Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

 and Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

 loan words.

Phonological characteristics

• change of the nasal vowel õ with o;
• change of the vocalic L and vocalic R;
• use of the consonant groups шт/ št and жд/ ždč
• lose of the inter vocalic V: глава / glava > глаа / glaa (head).

Morphological characteristics

• use of the dative case for personal names: му рече Стојану / mu reče Stojanu (he told to Stojan);
• use of the diminutive: дете / dete > детуле / detule (kid);
• use of the suffix -t for third person singular: тој зборува / toj zboruva > тој зборуват / toj zboruvat ( he talks);
• use of the preposition V and VO (in).
• losing of the suffix -m for first person singular: јас зборувам / jas zboruvam > јас зборува / jas zboruva (I talk)

Examples of the dialect

• Omarno žeško sonce is a song that is written on Kičevo-Poreče dialect.

Omarno žeško sonce greit

i nikoj na zemjata ne smeit

oči da otvorit, ura, ura.

I nikoj na zemjata ne smeit

oči da otvorit, napred, napred.

Ja narod crneit, tamu na bregot

i noḱta angel jasno vikaše:

„O Bože, do koga i do Boga?

i noḱta angel jasno vikaše:

„O Bože, do koga i do Boga?