From the socio-linguistic problematics of the Goran-Kaikavian speeches

Abstract

Taking into consideration the changes that occured under the influence of the present historical conditions, there have been analysed socio-linguistically two local speeches of the Kalkavian dialed in the Croato-Serbian lan- guage, that is the Delnice dialect and the Turni dialect, and all this within the scope of the general view on the situation in the Goran-Kaikavian speeches. The conclusion has been reached that local people use relatively seldom the standard language or any other inorganic idiom; the influence of the standard and other inorganic idioms has been felt the least in the Cabarian region. Among the pupils in the Gorski kotar (Gorski District) the Delnice inhabitants are the weakest protectors of the linguistic antiquity, which is in accordance with the generalization that urban dwellers are the ones who are more prone to changes than the rural ones. Tile younger generation is quite under the influence of the speech variety of the language typical for the Zagreb area. The Turni-inhabitants have until recently used the dialect exclusively among themselves. When speeking, using the standard, new Štokavian speech one can notice that the Gorans, under the influence of the dialect, very eonspicausly lack the distinction of some linguistic features. The newly acquired lexems in the dialectal speech other than in the prose-domain do not considerably adapt In local speeches. The newcomers to the Gorski kotar show the tendency to adopi considerably their language to the new midst, but this is only up to a certain point, they however never manage to learn the dialect properly.