Resian dialect

The Resian dialect (self-designation Rozajanski langač, or lengač, Slovene: rezijansko narečje, rezijanščina) is a distinct dialect of Slovene spoken in the Resia Valley, Province of Udine, Italy, close to the border with Slovenia. Because of its remote location outside of Slovenia, the dialect has phonetic properties different from standard Slovene, and from most other Slovene dialects.

Characteristics

Although not a regulated dialect (scholars consider it a dialect of Slovene rather than a different language), and without any official status in Italy, Resian is written with a Latin script different from that used for standard Slovene. The alphabet contains the letter ⟨w⟩, a letter that few Slavic languages use (only Polish and Upper and Lower Sorbian). This grapheme—according to the Italian linguist Bartoli—is characteristic of the Ladin language of the eastern Alps and indicates the autochthonous Neolatin population's strong influence on Resian.

Historical development and linguistic features