Book Description

Due to migrations in past centuries, there are some 80 villages in and around the Austrian-Hungarian border region where Croatian immigrant dialects are spoken. These dialects are of linguistic interest in that they have often been separated from their original surroundings very long ago and can therefore contribute to the reconstruction of the premigratory Serbo-Croatian dialect picture. Moreover, they show the results of all kinds of contacts with other dialects and languages. This book offers a synchronic description of the only dialect in this area that belongs to the Kajkavian group of Serbo-Croatian. Hidegség and Fertõhomok are located near Sopron in the northwest of Hungary. The description is based on field-work by the author and concentrates on phonology, morphology and vocabulary. The Croatian dialect of Hidegség and Fertõhomok is on the verge of extinction and this has clear effects on the dialect itself. Therefore, apart from its relevance for Serbo-Croatian dialectology and the study of language contacts, the book contains useful material for the study of dialect death.