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Vratsa is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana.
Shopi or Šopi is a regional term, used by a group of people in the Balkans. The areas traditionally inhabited by the Shopi or Šopi is called Shopluk or Šopluk (Шоплук), a mesoregion, roughly where Bulgaria, Serbia and North Macedonia meet. In 2011 census in Serbia they are registered as a separate ethnicity and 142 people declared themselves as belonging to this ethnicity.
Mezdra is a town in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Vratsa Province. It is located on the left bank of the Iskar River just north of its gorge through the Balkan Mountains.
The Northwestern Bulgarian dialects are two closely related dialects of the Bulgarian language, which are located west of the yat boundary and thus are part of the Western Bulgarian dialects. The range of the dialects includes most of northwestern Bulgaria, to the west of the line between Nikopol, Pleven and Mezdra and to the north of the line between Vratsa and Belogradchik. They bear strong resemblance to their neighbouring Eastern Bulgarian dialects and with some exceptions, mainly the pronunciation of yat, have the same phonological and morphological features as the neighbouring subdialects of the Eastern Bulgarian Central Balkan dialect.
The Rup dialects, or the Southeastern dialects, are a group of Bulgarian dialects located east of the yat boundary, thus being part of the Eastern Bulgarian dialects. The range of the Rup dialects includes the southern part of Thrace, i.e. Strandzha, the region of Haskovo, the Rhodopes and the eastern half of Pirin Macedonia.
The Chepino dialect is a Bulgarian dialect of the Rhodopean group of the Rup dialects. Its range includes the northwestern Rhodopes, i.e. the towns of Velingrad, Rakitovo and Kostandovo and the villages of Dragichevo and Dorkovo. Its immediate neighbours are the Central Balkan dialect and the Ihtiman dialect to the north, the Babyak dialect to the west and south and the Hvoyna dialect to the east. The Chepino dialect is spoken by both Orthodox and Muslim Bulgarians in the region irrespective of religious affiliation.
The Zlatograd dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Rup or Southeastern Bulgarian dialects. The Zlatograd dialect is spoken in the southwestern part of the Eastern Rhodopes, i.e. in the town of Zlatograd, as well as a number of neighbouring villages and towns, e.g. Nedelino, Kirkovo, etc. The Zlatograd dialect is most closely related to the eastern and western Rup dialects, but also shares a number of phonological and morphological characteristics with the Rhodopean dialects. Thus, it is usually considered to be transitional between the two groups.
The Babyak dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Rup or Southeastern Bulgarian dialects. It is spoken in several mountainous villages on the western fringes of the Rhodopes and is thus sandwiched between the Chepino dialect on the east and northeast and the Razlog dialect to the south and west. It shares a number of phonological characteristics with both the Rup and the Southwestern dialects. Because of its specific reflexes of Old Church Slavonic yat, it is generally classified as a Rup dialect but is actually transitional between the two dialectal groups.
The Razlog dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Rup dialects. Its range includes the valley of Razlog in southwestern Bulgaria and its immediate neighbours are the Rup Serres-Nevrokop dialect to the south, the Babyak dialect to the east, the Samokov and Ihtiman dialects to the north and the Blagoevgrad-Petrich dialect to the west. It shares a number of phonological characteristics with both the Rup and the Southwestern dialects.
The Teteven dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, which is part of the Balkan group of the Eastern Bulgarian dialects. It is spoken in the town of Teteven and several neighbouring villages and is almost completely surrounded by the Central Balkan dialect, except on the west where it borders on the Western Bulgarian Botevgrad dialect. The most significant feature of the dialect, as in all Balkan dialects, is the pronunciation of Old Church Slavonic ѣ (yat) as or, depending on the character of the following syllable.
The Southwestern Bulgarian dialects are a group of Bulgarian dialects which are located west of the yat boundary and are part of the Western Bulgarian dialects. The range of the Southwestern dialects on the territory of Bulgaria includes most of west central and southwestern Bulgaria. The Southwestern dialects border on the Northwestern dialects to the north, the Transitional dialects to the northwest and the Balkan dialects and the Rup dialects to the northeast and southeast, respectively. If the Macedonian language is regarded as a third literary form of Modern Bulgarian, then the Southwestern dialects extend west and southwest to include the Slavic dialects in Vardar Macedonia and the western half of Greek Macedonia. Should the Macedonian language be counted as a separate language, then the southernmost dialect of the group, the Blagoevgrad-Petrich or Pirin dialect, along with the corresponding variety on the Macedonian side of the border, the Maleshevo dialect, constitute a transitional dialect between Bulgarian and Macedonian. A defining characteristic of the Southwestern dialects is the gradual transition from one dialect to another, as well as to dialects which belong to other dialectal groups. For example, the Dupnitsa dialect is transitional to both the Samokov dialect and the Blagoevgrad-Petrich dialect, the Botevgrad dialect is transitional to the Eastern Bulgarian Balkan dialects, and especially to the Pirdop dialect, etc. etc.
The Botevgrad dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of Botevgrad and Etropole in northwestern Bulgaria. It is located on the yat boundary and is closely related to the Eastern Bulgarian Pirdop dialect.
The Ihtiman dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the regions of Ihtiman, Kostenets and Septemvri in central western Bulgaria. It is transitional between the Botevgrad and Samokov dialect.
The Elin Pelin dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the eastern part of the Sofia valley in central western Bulgaria. Its immediate neighbours are the Vratsa dialect to the north, the Botevgrad dialect to the east, the Sofia dialect to the west and the Samokov dialect to the south.
The Sofia dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in western part of the Sofia valley by part of the Shopi. Its immediate neighbours are the Vratsa dialect to the north, the Elin Pelin dialect to the east, the Transitional dialects to the west and the Samokov dialect to the south.
The Samokov dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of Samokov in central western Bulgaria. Its immediate neighbours are the Sofia dialect and Elin Pelin dialect to the north, the Ihtiman dialect to the east, the Dupnitsa dialect to the west and the Razlog dialect to the south.
The Dupnitsa dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of Dupnitsa in central western Bulgaria. It is transitional between the Samokov dialect to the east and the Blagoevgrad-Petrich dialect to the south.
The Kyustendil dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects, which is spoken in the region of Kyustendil in central western Bulgaria. It borders on the Transitional dialects to the north, the Dupnitsa dialect to the east and the Blagoevgrad-Petrich dialect to the south. It is closely related to the Dupnitsa dialect.
The Breznik dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Transitional dialects, which is spoken in the region of Graovo in central western Bulgaria. It borders on the Tran dialect to the west and north, the Kyustendil dialect to the south and the Sofia dialect to the northeast and features characteristics typical for the Southwestern Bulgarian dialects.
The Shumen dialect is a Bulgarian dialect, member of the Moesian dialects. It is one of the best preserved Moesian dialects and is spoken in the regions of Shumen and Kaspichan.
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- ↑ The symbol ◌҄ indicates palatalization.