DESCRIPTION OF THE RAZLOG DIALECT IN THE EXARCHIC NEWSPAPER „NOVINI“/„VESTI“ (1890 – 1912)

Abstract

The main goal of the following paper is to present some aspects of the language policy of the Bulgarian Exarchate from the late 19th century, concerning Bulgarian population left beyond New Bulgarian state boundaries. It analyses the descriptions of the Razlog Dialect published in the Exarchic newspaper „Novini“/„Vesti“ (1890 – 1912) not only as a history of Bulgarian South-Western colloquial language, but also as a history of the Bulgarian dialectology. As one of the most detailed and profoundly described dialects on the pages of the Exarchic newspaper, the Razlog dialect is the main topic in several articles by Dimitar Molerov and Ivan Panayotov, published in the period between 1894 and 1896.