Slovene Language - Standard Slovene

Standard Slovene

Standard Slovene is the national standard language that was formed in the 18th century, mostly based on Upper and Lower Carniolan dialect groups, the latter being a dialect spoken by Primož Trubar. Since Prekmurje dialect has been omitted from the formation of the standard that was finalized in the 19th and 20th centuries, its speakers still feel disconnected from it and use the dialect more widely than in other regions. In some regions of the Slovene Lands, where the compulsory schooling was in German and Italian, i.e. in the Austrian state of Carinthia and in case of the Slovene minority in Italy, the dialects are more preserved. For example, Resian and Torre (Ter) dialects in the Italian Province of Udine differ most from other Slovene dialects.

The distinctive characteristics of Slovene are dual grammatical number, two accentual norms (one characterized by pitch accent), and abundant inflection (a trait shared with many Slavic languages). Although Slovene is basically an SVO language, word order is very flexible, often adjusted for emphasis or stylistic reasons. Slovene has a T-V distinction: second-person plural forms are used for individuals as a sign of respect. Also, Slovene and Slovak are the two modern Slavic languages whose names for themselves literally mean "Slavic" (slověnьskъ in old Slavonic).