The Prlekija dialect is a Slovene dialect in the Pannonian dialect group

Pannonian dialect group

The Pannonian dialect group , or northeastern dialect group, is a group of closely related dialects of Slovene. The Pannonian dialects are spoken in northeastern Slovenia , and among the Hungarian Slovenes.-Phonological and morphological characteristics:Among other features, this group is...

. It is spoken in the Prlekija

Prlekija

Prlekija is a region in northeastern Slovenia between the Drava and Mura rivers. It comprises the eastern part of the Slovenian Hills , stretching from the border with Austria to the border with Croatia. It is part of the traditional province of Lower Styria. Together with the traditional province...

 region, southwest of the Mura River, bounded on the north by a line from Radenci

Radenci

Radenci is a town and a municipality on the right bank of the Mura River in the Mura statistical region of northeastern Slovenia. It is a well-known spa town and was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1436. After 1833, when a new source of mineral water was discovered, it developed...

 to Zlatoličje

Zlatoličje

Zlatoličje is a village on the right bank of the Drava River to the southeast of Maribor in northeastern Slovenia. It lies in the Municipality of Starše in an area that was part of the traditional region of Lower Styria...

 to Spodnja Polskava

Spodnja Polskava

Spodnja Polskava is a settlement in the municipality of Slovenska Bistrica in northeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is now included with the rest of the municipality into the Drava statistical region....

, on the west from there to Majšperk

Majšperk

Majšperk is a settlement and a municipality in northeastern Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The municipality is now included in the Drava statistical region. It was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1261 in relation to the 13th-century Majšperk...

, and then on the south along the Dravinja

Dravinja

The Dravinja River is the largest tributary of the Drava River in Slovenia. It is long. Its source is on the Pohorje Massif southwest of Mount Rogla about 1,150 m above sea level. The river passes Zreče, the town of Slovenske Konjice, the ruins of the fort at Zbelovo, Poljčane, Makole, Štatenberg...

 and Drava

Drava

Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...

 rivers to the Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n border.

Phonological and morphological characteristics

The Prlekija dialect often has short vowels corresponding to long acute vowels in the standard language. Accentual retraction (in comparison to standard Slovene) is common. The dialect does not have diphthongs and is characterized by a: > , u > ü, vocalic ł > u, unaccented ě/i/u > i, word-final m > n, hardening of soft l, nʲ > j, and v > f before voiceless consonants and in word-final position. Salient lexemes in the dialect include dère (= ko 'when'), ka (= da 'that' or ker 'because'), and te (= tedaj 'then').