Wends dialect

Infobox Language
name=Wends
nativename=madžarskih/prekmurskih slovenski narečje
states=Slovenia, Hungary and emigrant groups in various countries
speakers=70 thousand
familycolor=Indo-European
fam2=Balto-Slavic
fam3=Slavic
fam4=South Slavic
fam5=Slovenian
fam6=Western South Slavic
nation=
agency=
iso1=|iso2=|iso3=

The Wends or Prekmurian dialect (here and there Prekmurian language, Slov. "Prekmursko narečje, Prekmurščina," Hung. "Vend nyelvjárás, Prekmurjei nyelv") is a Slovenian dialect in Hungary, and in East-Slovenia. It is the Prekmurje) language of the Hungarian Slovenes and the Prekmurian Slovenes, and belongs to the South Slavic languages. The traditional Hungarian name for the Slovenians used to be "Vendek" which is rendered in English as "Wends".

The Wends utter "ü" ("/Wends=Slovenian=English/" Günac=Vol=Ox; Ülanca=Ilovica=Clay; Vküp/Vküper=Vkup/Skupaj=Together) and "ö" (Köpiti/Küpiti=Kupiti=Shopping; Öčak=Sekirica=Ax) characters, frequent the "au" Diphthongs (Baug=Bog=God, Kaus=Kos=Trush, Paut=Pot=Road) and the "j" voiced. It includes many archaic words, examp. in the Second Freising manuscripts (9th century) It is spoken by approximately 70 thousand speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. In Hungary romour has mostly near in Szentgotthárd, and Somogy (Tarany village), Budapest, Szombathely, Bakony and Mosonmagyaróvár. There are some speakers in Austria, Germany and the United States.

It is related to the Kajkavian croat dialect. The first book written in the Wends dialect appeared in 1715, written by the Evangelic Pastor Ferenc Temlin.

In the last decades of the 19th and 20th century the denomination "Wends" and "Wends language" was used in order to emphasize the difference between the Hungarian Slovenes and other Slovenes, including attempts in creating a separate identity. In these days according to some opinion the prekmurian is the regional langauge of the slovenian. The standard of the prekmurian regional language the Gospels (the "Nouvi Zákon" and the "Szvéti evangeliomi") and payer-books of Miklós Küzmics and István Küzmics. The two Küzmics born in Central-Prekmurje, accordingly the literary regional language also bottom to the central-prekmurian dialects, beyond that the slavečian dialect (slavečarsko goričko podnarečje). In Dolnji Slaveči born also Miklós Küzmics.

References

* Mária Mukics: "Changing World - The Hungarian Slovenes" ("Változó Világ" - "A magyarországi szlovének") Press Publica