The phonological system of the Chwalim dialect has much in common with other Silesian dialects, with some influences from Greater Poland dialects.
Consonants The consonant system of Chwalim dialect is generally similar to that in
Standard Polish, but there is a lack of the postalveolar/retroflex series due to
mazuration, which is present in some other Silesian dialects as well. A weak
prothetic is usually inserted before initial .
Vowels and diphthongs Below, the
acute accent denotes that the sound is a reflex of the corresponding
Old Polish long vowel. It is also difficult to determine whether diphthongized vowels are
phonemic diphthongs or not. Oral vowels: a, e, i, y, o, u, á, é, ó. Nasal vowels: ã, õ. Allophony: •
á is usually realised as a diphthong but is reduced to [o] before
nasal consonants or to more open before or ; •
é is generally pronounced as [ɘ̟], like in other Silesian dialects; • The pronunciation of
o can vary between and depending on the phonological context. Generally,
u̯ is strongest in the beginning of the word and weakest at the end of the word: 'smith', 'work' (
noun), '(she) flew away', 'young', 'word'. In this article, letter
ô is used to indicate pronunciation []; •
y can be realised as a diphthong or monophthong depending on the phonological context (usually, at the end of a word it is a diphthong). Before it is realised as ; •
ó is usually realised as a diphthong but is often reduced to in unaccented syllables or before ; •
u is generally as in most of Polish and Silesian dialects, but can be a bit more open before and nasals; •
ã is generally pronounced as ; • The pronunciation of
õ can vary between and ; •
i and
a are generally pronounced as and respectively, as in most of Polish and Silesian dialects.
Evolution from Old Polish In the list below, V denotes any vowel, C – any consonant, N – any nasal consonant,
ogonek –
nasal vowel and
macron –
long vowel. • lack of final -
aj > -
ej, unlike in other Silesian dialetcs; •
ā >
á, except in feminine noun endings -
niā > -
nia; •
ē >
é,
eN >
éN. Sporadically
ē,
e >
i: '(he) couldn't', 'Protestant'; •
ō >
ó,
oN >
óN; •
y >
i in few cases, mostly after ; •
ą >
ã,
ą̄ >
õ,
ą̄ >
õm word-finally; • in comparative adverbs endings -
ēj > -
y • irregular Silesian vowel changes: – compare Polish
igła 'needle', – compare Polish
niosę '(I) carry', : (
gen.) – compare Polish
zegar :
zegara 'clock', – compare Polish
w szkole 'in school', – compare Polish
w Austrii 'in Austria'; • due to Greater Polish influence, -
ew- after
soft consonants is preserved: 'horse (
dative)', 'smith (dative)', 'cherry (
nueter)' (
adjective); • masuration is regular with a few exceptions: – compare Polish
człowiek 'human', – compare Polish
żelazo 'iron'. in recent German borrowings is adapted as ; • > as in most of Polish and Silesian dialects; • after consonants is often lost: > ; • between two vowels (unless first of them is
o or
á) is much weaker. If the vowels are the same or very similar, it can be even completely omitted, contracting the vowels: '(she) heard' – compare Polish
słyszała, '(she) wasn't taking' – compare Polish , '(she) didn't know' – compare Polish
nie znała, 'she was here' – compare Polish
ona tu była, '(she) took' – compare Polish
wzięła; • various simplifications of consonant clusters and palatalizations: 'all', 'bee', 'enough, fairly', 'six years', 'to collect' – compare Polish
wszystko,
pszczoła,
dość,
sześć lat,
zbierać. ==Grammar==