The Tetovo dialect (, ''Tetovski dijalekt'') or Lower Polog dialect (, ''Dolnopološki dijalekt'') is a member of the western subgroup of the
northern group of
dialects of Macedonian. It is considered part of the transitional
Torlakian dialects
Torlakian, or Torlak, is a group of transitional South Slavic dialects spoken across southeastern Serbia, southern and eastern Kosovo, northwestern and northeastern North Macedonia, and northwestern Bulgaria. Torlakian, together with Bulgar ...
. It is spoken by the population in the north-western part of
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
. This dialect is spoken in the city of
Tetovo
Tetovo (, ; , sq-definite, Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena (river), Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, wit ...
,
Brvenica and
Jegunovce Municipality (without the villages
Vratnica,
Belovište,
Staro Selo and
Rogačevo who speak the
Vratnica dialect). One of the main characteristics of this dialect is the use of the words ''таќе'' (taḱe) – "on that way" and ''ваќе'' (vaḱe) – "on this way". The Tetovo dialect can be found in several books, two of which were written by
Kiril Peychinovich, namely ''Ogledalo'' and ''Uteshenia greshnim''.
[According to the book's title page, it was written in the 'most common and illiterary Bulgarian language of Lower Moesia' ('препростейшим и некнижним язиком Болгарским долния Мисии'). It was printed in 1816 in Budapest.]
Phonological characteristics
There are many characteristics that are connected with this dialect but the most significant are:
*the old vocal L is replaced by the groups u/ lu/ la: јаболко / jabolko > јабука / jabuka (apple), солза / solza > слăза / sluza (tear);
*use of A instead of E: трева / treva > трава / trava (grass), орев / orev > орав / orav (nut);
*use of ă instead of use of the yer: лаже / laže > лăже / lăže (lie);
*use of U instead of the Old Church Slavonic letter ON: пат / pat > пут / put (road), внук / vnuk > унук / unuk (nephew).
Morphological characteristics
*use of the suffix -mo for first person plural: одиме / odime > идемо/ idemo (we are going);
*palatal J before the letter E at the beginning of a word: јазик / jazik> језик / jezik (tongue), јаже > јуже (rope);
*the consonant group MN is replaced with the consonant group ML: многу / mnogu > млогу / mlogu (too much);
*use of the preposition U instead of the preposition VO: во град/ vo grad > у град / u grad (in city)
Examples
Below is written a popular folk song from Tetovo region. The song is in Tetovo dialect.
References
{{Macedonian dialects
Dialects of the Macedonian language
Tetovo Municipality
Jegunovce Municipality
Tearce Municipality
Brvenica Municipality