Characteristic functional words
Characteristic preposition for Kajkavian is pri + loc. "at", used also with gen. (depends on the region)
Tak se negda pri nami delale. "It was done like that at our place in the past." (lit. "at us") {Tako se nekad kod nas radilo.}
Other characteristic prepositions:
med + ins. "between, among" {među}
poleg + gen. "beside" {pored, pokraj}
v(u) + loc./acc. "in/into" {u}
The preposition v is often seen as f or even h: f hiži "in house".
Characteristic relational words:
gdo or što prep. "who" {tko}
(g)da adv. "when" {kad(a)}
negda(r) adv. "sometimes", "in the past" {nekad(a)}
(š)teri adj. "which" {koji}
In relational words, there's often u instead of o:
kuliki adj. "how big" {kolik} tuliki adj. "that big" {tolik} unda adv. "then" {onda}
Some adverbs that differ markedly from the Standard:
furt adv. "always, all the time" {stalno}
komaj adv. "barely" {jedva}
mam adv. "immediately" {odmah}
proč adv. "away"
rad adv. "eagerly, willing, gladly" {rado}
tijam adv. "even" {čak}
zdej (western regions), ve (eastern) adv. "now" {sad}
Some examples:
Tam je naš kraj v terem se same govori "kaj". "There's our land where only "kaj" is spoken." (lit. "in which")
{Tamo je naš kraj u kojem se samo govori "kaj"}
Diminutives
Kajkavian is known for frequent use of diminutives. Instead of Štokavian and Čakavian suffix -ić, it uses -ek to make masculine diminutives, and -eko for neuter ones:
ftič "bird" → ftiček "little bird"
cvẹt "flower" → cvẹtek "small flower"
kuma "godmother; non-related woman" → kumica "small/dear older woman"
srce "heart" → srčeko "small heart"
Diminutives are often used to make words nicer, more polite and do not necessary imply something small.
Numbers, Gender, etc.
In most regions, with numbers 2-4 plural forms of adjectives and nouns are used (that is, there are no dual forms), e.g.:
to sọ moji dva brati "those are my two brothers" (moji, brati nom. pl.)
Use
Although there are many more Kajkavian than Čakavian speakers, Kajkavian is virtually absent from public sphere, although one of great works of the 20th century Croatian literature, Balade Petrice Kerempuha, was written my Miroslav Krleža in "ideal" Kajkavian, how it could exist if it were the standard language. However, there are some efforts, for instance Bible is being translated into Kajkavian.
Further reading
- Wikipedia: Kajkavian dialect
Updated 2013-03-08
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