• The reflex of Old Church Slavonic yat is usually '
before a hard syllable and broad e (') before a soft syllable:
бял/бли instead of formal Bulgarian
бял/бели (white). However, there are also a number of cases where the reflex of yat is ''''
even before a soft syllable: врме
vs. formal Bulgarian време''. This a feature the Zlatograd dialect shares with the
Serres-Nevrokop dialect and certain subdialects of the
Thracian dialect •
a is not transformed into ''''
before a soft syllable: жаба-жаби'' as in Standard Bulgarian. This is a Western Bulgarian feature separating the Zlatograd dialect from the rest of the Rup dialects • Individual development of the Old Church Slavonic jers and nasal vowels (as in the
Rup dialects): :
ъ () for Old Church Slavonic
ѫ (yus) and
ъ () (as in Standard Bulgarian) –
мъш, сън (man, sleep) :'
for both Old Church Slavonic little yus (ѧ) and ь' • Articulation of unstressed
o as
a (as in
Russian):
кабила vs. formal Bulgarian
кобила (mare). This feature is also typical for the
Smolyan dialect For other phonological and morphological characteristics typical for all Rup or Rhodopean dialects, cf.
Rup dialects. ==Sources==