Kliszczak dialect

The Kliszczak dialect belongs to the Lesser Poland dialect group and is located in the southern part of Poland. It is in part one of the dialects that belongs to the Goral ethnolect.

Typical of Lesser Polish dialects (as well as Greater Polish dialects), voicing of word-final consonants before vowels and liquids is present here. Also typical of Lesser Polish dialects is the presence of mazuration.

-e- may be inserted between some consonant clusters: meter (metr). Notably, a common to the region shift of ił, il > to -eł, -el/-ył, -yl is absent here. i was retained after rz by older speakers, but now merges with y. The Lechitic ablaut is often absent before hard dental consonants. The so-called “Podhalanian archaism” is partially present here; after etymological cz, ż, sz (now c, z, s) as well as after etymological cy, zy, sy, i is retained.

Slanted á is retained as á or raises to o, but is more commonly raised as to o, especially since the middle of the 20th century. Slanted é raises to y after both hard and soft consonants. Slanted ó is retained as ó.

In the south, both nasals are merged into a single nasal vowel. Otherwise, ęC and ąC tend to decompose to yN and oN, especially in modern times, except before sibilants, where nasality can be retained. Final -ę was often retained in the first person singular present of verbs and feminine accusative singular of nouns, at least historically. Final -ą often retained nasality, at least historically, in the third person plural present of verbs and in the accusative feminine singular of adjectives, numerals and pronouns. Final -ą usually decomposes to -om in the instrumental feminine singular of nouns, adjectives, numerals and pronouns.

Labialization of o to ô is common in all positions, but strongest initially. This often leads to hypercorrections: opata (łopata). Initial a- usually gains a prothetic j- in certain words. Prothetic h- may be inserted before other initial vowels including a-, but is usually restricted to particular words.

Final -ch strengthens to -k in all contexts, i.e. in both stems and in morphological endings. ch can shift to k also in cluster: kcieć (chcieć). trz, strz, drz usually simplify to cz, szcz, dż. źr is present instead of jrz. n does not assimilate to a velar nasal consonant before velar consonants. Final and pre-sibilant ń often shifts to j and nasalizes the previous vowel. ł is often lost after other consonants.

Common Goral inflectional patterns are present in this dialect.