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Kajkavian
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Pronunciation	/kaɪˈkɑːviən/
Native to	Croatia
Native speakers	~1.3 million
Language family	Indo-European Balto-Slavic Slavic South Slavic Western Croatian Kajkavian
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Linguist List	hrv-kay
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

The Kajkavian dialect (Kajkavian noun: kajkavščina; Shtokavian adjective: kajkavski, noun: kajkavica or kajkavština) is a dialect of the Serbo-Croatian language spoken by Croats in northwestern part of Croatia. It has low mutual intelligibility with the other two dialects, Shtokavian and Chakavian. All three are named after their word for "what?", which in Kajkavian is kaj.

Kajkavian is spoken in North Croatia, including the capital Zagreb, as well as in a few enclaves in Austria, Hungary, and Romania. Though its speakers are ethnic Croats and Kajkavian is thus generally considered a dialect of Serbo-Croatian, it is closer to neighboring Slovene than it is to Chakavian or Shtokavian.

Characteristics

The Kajkavian area of Croatia is bordered on the northwest by Slovene language territory. It is bordered on the east and southeast by Shtokavian dialects roughly along a line that was the former division between Civil Croatia and the Habsburg Military Frontier; in southwest along Kupa and Dobra rivers, it persisted in ancient (medieval) contact with Chakavian dialects.

Kajkavian is closely related to Slovene and Prekmurje Slovene in particular. The speakers of Prekmurian are Slovenes and Hungarian Slovenes who belonged to the Archdiocese of Zagreb during the Habsburg era. Higher amounts of correspondences between the two exist in inflection and vocabulary.

Some Kajkavian words bear a closer resemblance to other Slavic languages (such as Russian) than they do to Shtokavian or Chakavian. For instance gda seems (at first glance) to be unrelated to kada, however, when compared to the Russian когда, the relationship becomes more apparent, at the same time in Slovene: kdaj, in Prekmurian gda, kda. Kajkavian kak (how) and tak (so) are exactly like their Russian cognates, as compared to Shtokavian and Chakavian kako and tako, in Prekmurian in turn tak, kak (in Slovene like Chakavian: tako, kako). (This vowel loss occurred in most other Slavic languages; Shtokavian is a notable exception, whereas the same feature of Macedonian is probably not a Serbian influence, as the word is preserved in the same form in Bulgarian, to which Macedonian is much closer related than to Serbian.)

Another distinctive feature of Kajkavian is the use of another future tense. Instead of Shtokavian and Chakavian future I ("ću", "ćeš", and "će" + infinitive), Kajkavian speakers use future II ("bum", "buš" and "bu" + active verbal adjective). Future II in Standard Croatian can only be used in subordinate clauses to refer to a condition or an action which will occur before other future action. For example, the phrase "I'll show you" is "Ti bum pokazal" in Kajkavian whereas in standard Croatian it is "Pokazat ću ti". This is a feature shared with Slovene, Slovenian: bom, boš, bo;.

History

Dialectogical investigations of the Kajkavian dialect had begun at the end of the 19th century: the first comprehensive monograph was written in Russian by Ukrainian philologist A.M.Lukjanenko in 1905 (Kajkavskoe narečie). Kajkavian dialects have been classified along various criteria: Serbian philologist Aleksandar Belić had divided (1927) the Kajkavian dialect according to the reflexes of Proto-Slavic phonemes /tj/ and /DJ/ into three subdialects: eastern, northwestern and southwestern.

However, later investigations have not corroborated Belić's division. Contemporary Kajkavian dialectology originates mainly from Croatian philologist Stjepan Ivšić's work "Jezik Hrvata kajkavaca"/The Language of Kajkavian Croats, 1936, which is based on accentuation characteristics. Due to great diversity of Kajkavian speech, primarily in phonetics, phonology and morphology – the Kajkavian dialectological atlas is notable for its bewildering proliferation of subdialects: from four identified by Ivšić, up to six proposed by Croatian linguist Brozović (formerly accepted division) and even as many as fifteen, according to a monograph authored by Croatian linguist Mijo Lončarić (1995).

Area of use

Kajkavians now include 31%, i.e. 1,300,000 of Croatia's inhabitants, chiefly in northern and northwestern Croatia. The mixed half-Kajkavian towns along the eastern and southern edge of Kajkavian speaking area are Pitomača, Čazma, Kutina, Popovača, Sunja, Petrinja, Martinska Ves, Ozalj, Ogulin, Fužine, and Čabar, with included newer Štokavian enclaves of Bjelovar, Sisak, Glina, Dubrava, Zagreb and Novi Zagreb. The southernmost Kajkavian villages are Krapje at Jasenovac; and Pavušek, Dvorišče and Hrvatsko selo in Zrinska Gora (R. Fureš & A. Jembrih: Kajkavski u povijesnom i sadašnjem obzorju p. 548, Zabok 2006). All three Serbo-Croatian dialects collide between Karlovac and Ogulin.

The major cities in northern Croatia with prevailing urban Kajkavians are chiefly Zagreb (old central city, Sesvete and V. Gorica), Koprivnica, Krapina, Križevci, Varaždin, Čakovec, etc. The typical and archaic Kajkavian is today spoken chiefly in Zagorje hills and Medjimurje plain, and in adjacent areas of northwestern Croatia where other immigrants and Štokavian standard had much less influence. The most peculiar Kajkavian archidiom (Baegnunski) is spoken at Bednja in northernmost Croatia.

Most other Croatian speakers know of Kajkavian as the metropolitan dialect of Zagreb city, where a half of citizens (nearly 300.000 ones) now widely use the "zagrebečki" speech (a half-Kajkavian koine) for their private communication at home and on street (using a Štokavian speech in official sites only).

Moreover, in the central city of old Zagreb and in satellite towns Sesvete and V. Gorica, up today persist at least 7,000 Kajkavian elders speaking old "Agramer" archidiom who understand the official standard but can hardly speak it. Also the coastal Čakavian immigrants in Zagreb or elsewhere in northwestern Croatia quickly transform to Kajkavians in one generation: their non-standard accentuation is subequal to Kajkavian, with many connecting archaisms in vocabulary. The best adaptable are the transitional northern Čakavians from northeastern Istria, Cres, Vinodol, and Pokupje accepting well Kajkavian in few years.

Other southeastern people who immigrate to Zagreb from Štokavian territories often pick up rare elements of Kajkavian in order to assimilate, notably the pronoun "kaj" instead of "što" and the extended use of future anterior (futur drugi), but they never adapt well because of alien eastern accents and ignoring Kajkavian-Čakavian archaisms and syntax.

Kajkavian phonetics

Vowels: /a/, /ɑ/, /ɛ/, /e/, /ə/, /i/, /ɔ/, /o/, /u/
consonants: /b/, /ts/, /tʃ/, /d/, /dz/, /dʒ/, /f/, /ɡ/, /ɦ/, /x/, /j/, /k/, /l/, /w/, /ʎ/, /m/, /n/, /ɲ/, /p/, /r/, /r̝/, /s/, /ʃ/, /t/, /v/, /z/, /ʒ/

Kajkavian literary language

Kajkavian is not only a folk dialect, but in the course of history of Serbo-Croatian it has been the written public language (along with the corpus written in Čakavian and Štokavian). Kajkavian was the last to appear on the scene, mainly due to economic and political reasons. Although the first truly vernacular Serbo-Croatian texts (i.e. not mixed with Church Slavonic) go back to the 13th century (Chakavian) and to the 14th century (Shtokavian), the first Kajkavian published work was Pergošić's "Decretum" from 1574.

After that, numerous works appeared in Serbo-Croatian Kajkavian literary language: chronicles by Vramec, liturgical works by Ratkaj, Habdelić, Mulih; poetry of Ana Katarina Zrinska, dramatic opus of Tituš Brezovački. Kajkavian-based are important lexicographic works like Jambrešić's "Dictionar", 1670, and monumental (2,000 pages and 50,000 words) inter-dialectal (Chakavian–Shtokavian–Kajkavian, but based on Kajkavian idiom) dictionary "Gazophylacium" by Ivan Belostenec (posthumously, 1740). Interestingly enough, Miroslav Krleža's visionary poetic masterpiece, "Balade Petrice Kerempuha", 1936, drew heavily on Belostenec's dictionary. Kajkavian grammars include Kornig's, 1795, Matijević's, 1810 and Đurkovečki's, 1837.

Kajkavian literary language gradually fell into disuse since Croatian National Revival, ca. 1830–1850, when leaders of the Croatian National Unification Movement (the majority of them being Kajkavian native speakers themselves) adopted the most widespread and developed Serbo-Croatian Shtokavian literary language as the basis for the Croatian standard language.

However, after a period of lethargy, the 20th century has witnessed new flourishing of literature in Kajkavian dialect – this time as Croatian dialectal poetry, main authors being Antun Gustav Matoš, Miroslav Krleža, Ivan Goran Kovačić, Dragutin Domjanić, Nikola Pavić etc.

Kajkavian lexical treasure is being published by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in "Rječnik hrvatskoga kajkavskoga književnoga jezika"/Dictionary of the Croatian Kajkavian Literary Language, 8 volumes (1999).

Latterly Dario Vid Balog, actor, linguist and writer translate the New Testament in Kajkavian.

Below are examples of the Lord's Prayer in the Croatian variant of Shtokavian, literary Kajkavian and a Međimurje variant of the Kajkavian dialect.

Kajkavian media

During Yugoslavia in 20th century, the exotic Kajkavian was mostly restricted in private communication, poetry and folklore. By the recent regional democratizing and cultural revival from 1990s, Kajkavians partly regained their former half-public positions chiefly in Zagorje County and Varaždin County and local towns, being now presented there in some modern public media e.g.:

• Quarterly periodical "Kaj", with 35 annual volumes in nearly a hundred fascicles, published since 1967 by the Kajkavian Association ('Kajkavsko Spravišče') in Zagreb city.
• Autumnal Weeks of Kajkavian culture in Krapina since 1997, with iterative professional symposia on Kajkavians resulting by five published proceedings.
• Annual periodical Hrvatski sjever ('Croatian North'), with dozen volumes partly in Kajkavian, published by Matica Hrvatska in Čakovec.
• A new internet portal: Kaykavian Zohowiki, a minor wiki-lexicon on the Kajkavian culture and dialect in northwestern Croatia, starting in autumn 2009.
• A permanent program in Kajkavian of the Kajkavian radio in Krapina township. Other minor half-Kajkavian media with temporary Kajkavian contents include also the local television of Varaždin city, local radio program Sljeme in Zagreb, and some local newspapers in northwestern Croatia, e.g. in Varaždin, Čakovec, Samobor, etc.

Examples

• Kaj bum? - in Kajkavian: What should I do?
• Kak je, tak je; tak je navek bilo, kak bu tak bu, a bu vre nekak kak bu!
• "Nigdar ni tak bilo da ni nekak bilo, pak ni vezda ne bu da nam nekak ne bu." - Miroslav Krleža (quotation from poem "Khevenhiller")
• Kaj buš ti, bum i ja! (Whatever you do, I'll do it too!)
• Ne bu išlo! (standard Croatian: Ne može tako, Neće ići, Slovene: Ne bo šlo, "It won't work!")
• "Bumo vidli!" (štokavski: "Vidjet ćemo!", Slovene: Bomo videli, English: "We will see!")
• "Dej muči!" or "Muči daj!" (štokavski: "Daj šuti!", Slovene: Daj molči, English: "Shut up!")
• "Buš pukel?" - "Bum!" (jokingly: "Will you explode?" - "I will!")
• Numerous supplementary examples see also by A. Negro: "Agramerski štikleci"

• Another major example – traditional Kajkavian "Paternoster" (bold = site of stress): Japa naš kteri si f 'nebesih nek sesvete ime Tvoje, nek prihaja cesarstvo Tvoje, nek bu volya Tvoja kakti na nebe tak pa na zemle. Kruhek naš sakdajni nam daj denes ter odpuščaj nam dugi naše, kakti mi odpuščamo dužnikom našim ter naj nas fpelati vu skušnje, nek nas zbavi od sekih hudobah. F'se veke vekof, Amen.

References

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

1. Marc Greenberg, 1996, The Role of Language in the Creation of Identity: Myths in Linguistics among the Peoples of the Former Yugoslavia.
2. Biblija kajkavski
3. Vilmos Harangozó: Ruža nebeska, Molitve i popevke, Szombathely February 2, 1993.

• Feletar D., Ledić G., Šir A.: Kajkaviana Croatica (Hrvatska kajkavska riječ). Muzej Međimurja, 37 str., Čakovec 1997.
• Fureš R., Jembrih A. (ured.): Kajkavski u povijesnom i sadašnjem obzorju (zbornik skupova Krapina 2002-2006). Hrvatska udruga Muži zagorskog srca, 587 str. Zabok 2006.
• JAZU / HAZU: Rječnik hrvatskoga kajkavskog književnog jezika (A – P), I – X. Zavod za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje 2500 str, Zagreb 1984-2005.
• Lipljin, T. 2002: Rječnik varaždinskoga kajkavskog govora. Garestin, Varaždin, 1284 str. (2. prošireno izdanje u tisku 2008.)
• Lončarić, M. 1996: Kajkavsko narječje. Školska knjiga, Zagreb, 198 str.
• Magner, F. 1971: Kajkavian Koiné. Symbolae in honorem Georgii Y. Shevelov, München.
• Moguš, M.: A History of the Croatian Language, NZ Globus, Zagreb 1995
• Šojat, A. 1969-1971: Kratki navuk jezičnice horvatske (Jezik stare kajkavske književnosti). Kaj 1969: 3-4, 5, 7-8, 10, 12; Kaj 1970: 2, 3-4, 10; Kaj 1971: 10, 11. Kajkavsko spravišče, Zagreb.

Further reading

• Jedvaj, Josip 1956: Bednjanski govor, Hrvatski dijalektološki zbornik, Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts

External links

• "Agramerski štikleci": Kajkavian phrases and proverbs

• Articles with links needing disambiguation from November 2011
• Croatian language
• Dialects