Phonological Characteristics
- Old Bulgarian ѣ (yat) is always pronounced as ɛ vs. formal Bulgarian я/е (ʲa/ɛ) – бел/бели
- ч/дж (t͡ʃ/d͡ʒ) for Proto-Slavic *tʲ/*dʲ - леча, меджу (lentils, between). Partial manifestation of reflex ʒd for Proto-Slavic *dʲ (as in Bulgarian) in words like чужд (foreign). The future tense particle is че
- у for Old Bulgarian ѫ (yus) (as in Serbian): мука vs. Standard Bulgarian мъка (sorrow)
- ə for Old Bulgarian ь and ъ in all positions (as in Bulgarian): сън (sleep)
- Complete loss of consonant х (x) in all positions (preserved in both Bulgarian and Serbian): мъ vs. Standard Bulgarian мъх (moss)
- Preservation of final l (as in Bulgarian): бил (was)
- Articulation of voiced consonants at the end of the word (as in Serbian) in some areas/subdialects (Tran, Breznik) and devoicing (as in Bulgarian) in others (Bosilegrad, Tsaribrod, Godech, Belogradchik)
- Lack of phonetic pitch (as in Bulgarian)
- Lack of phonetic length (as in Bulgarian)
- Frequent stress on the final syllable in polysyllabilic words (as in Bulgarian, not possible in standard Serbian, though quite frequent in four archaic Serbian dialects): жен'а (woman)
- Complete loss of consonant f. It does not exist even in new words where it is usually replaced by v: венер vs. Standard Bulgarian фенер (lantern)
Read more about this topic: Transitional Bulgarian Dialects