Gora dialect

"Gora language" redirects here. For the language spoken in Nigeria, see Gora language (Nigeria).

Not to be confused with Gora dialect (Kajkavian).

Not to be confused with the Gorani language of Kurdistan.

Gorani
našinski
Native to	Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia
Ethnicity	Gorani
Native speakers	60,000 (2011 census)
Language family	Indo-European Balto-Slavic Slavic South Slavic Eastern South Slavic Torlakian Gorani
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Kosovo
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	None
Area where Torlakian dialects are spoken. Number 4 (in southern Kosovo) indicates the Gora dialect area.

Goran language(also known as the Goran speech) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Gorani, which, due to the isolation of this people, is still well preserved. The Gorani themselves call it Našinski or Našenki.

History and Origin

The Gorani language derives from Old Slavic, with significant influences from Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Albanian, and Turkish. During the Ottoman Empire, many Turkish loanwords entered the language, while in more recent times, influences from the Serbian and Macedonian/Bulgarian standards have become apparent through media and education.

Dialects

The Gorani language has four main dialects:

1. Central Dialect – The basic dialect spoken in most Gorani villages. It has subdialects:
   • Dragaško-central – the standard form of the Gorani language.
   • Koritnički – uses “nj” instead of “n’” (e.g., “konj” instead of “kojn” or “kon’”). It is spoken in Rapča and Krstec.
   • Vraniški – characterized by a specific pronunciation of certain sounds. It is spoken in Vraništa, Mlike, and Orčuša.
   • Globočki – the only subdialect that actively uses the letter “h”.
2. Restelički Dialect – Spoken in Restelica, Kruševo, and Zlipotok.
3. Brodski Dialect – Spoken in Brod; however, it is also recognizable in the speech of the villages Dikance and Baćka.
4. Western Dialect – Spoken by the Gorani in Albania and contains a large number of Albanisms. This is the only dialect that differs significantly from the others.

Grammar

Morphology

The dialect makes a distinction between three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), seven cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative, instrumental) and two numbers (singular and plural).

Grammar

Nouns have three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) that correspond, to a certain extent, with the word ending so most nouns with -a are feminine, -o and -e neuter, and the rest mostly masculine but with some feminine. The grammatical gender of a noun affects the morphology of other parts of speech (adjectives, pronouns, and verbs) attached to it. Nouns are declined into seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative, and instrumental.

Nominative: Dōmà ni je ubava. Our house is good. Šo?

Genitive: Dǒmà ni je ubava. Our house is good. Koj?

Dative: Dǒmī´je ubavo. The house is fine. Komu?

Accusative: Nacrtau negua Dōmā. He drew his house. Kogo?

Vocative: Dómā, ni trebe! We need a house!

Instrumental: Ja živuem so dǒmā. I live with a house. So šo?

Locative: Ja som (vo) Dōmá. I am at the house. Če de?

	Singular			Plural
Nominative	dōmà, mask. (home, house)	sēlò, neutr. (village)	rānā, fem. (wound)	dōmē	sēlá	rāně
Genitive	dǒmà	sélō	ránā	dōmě	sélā	ránē
Dative	dǒmī	sēlū	rānī	dōmévém	sélātàm	rānǐj
Accusative	dōmā	sēló	rǎnā	dōmēvé	sělā	rāném
Vocative	dómā	sělō, sélōū	ránō, ráná	dómēvē	sélātá	rāné
Instrumental	dǒmā	sēlǒ	rǎnǎ	dōmēvē	sēlà	rǎnē
Locative	dōmá	sēlò	rānà	dǒmēvē	sēlā	rāně