Phonological and Morphological Characteristics
- Vowel a for Old Church Slavonic ѫ (yus), ь and ъ: маж vs. formal Bulgarian мъж (man), сан vs. formal Bulgarian сън (sleep). Limited number of o reflexes of Old Church Slavonic ъ in the suffix -ък, the prefixes въз and съ and the prepositions във, въз and със: сос него vs. Standard Bulgarian със него (with him), напредок vs. Standard Bulgarian напредък (progress). Limited number of u reflexes of yus: мука vs. Standard Bulgarian мъка (sorrow)
- Schwa (ə) for Old Church Slavonic лъ/ль before non-labial consonants and u before labial consonants (as in the Ihtiman dialect): съза vs. formal Bulgarian сълза (tear), вуна vs. formal Bulgarian вълна (wool)
- щ/жд (ʃt/ʒd) for Proto-Slavic *tʲ/*dʲ (as in Standard Bulgarian) - леща, между (lentils, between). The reflex in sevеral villages and partially in the town of Samokov is, however, шч, i.e. лешча
- Presence of soft consonants at the end of the word
- Single masculine definite article -o: гар'бо vs. Standard Bulgarian гър'бът (the back).
- Ending -м in verbs of all conjugations (as in the Sofia dialect): че'тем vs. formal Bulgarian чет'ъ (I read)
For other phonological and morphological characteristics typical for all Southwestern dialects, cf. Southwestern Bulgarian dialects.
Read more about this topic: Samokov Dialect