171Jezikoslovni zapiski 22  2016  1
1
diJana ćuRKović
aCCent paRadigms oF a-type masCuline nouns 
in the neO­štOkavian ikavian lOcal dialect 
Of bitelić
cobiss: 1.02
Naglasne paradigme ajevskih samostalnikov moškega spola  
v novoštokavskem ikavskem govoru naselja Bitelić na Hrvaškem
Prispevek opisuje del naglasnega sistema govora naselja Bitelić, ki se nahaja blizu Sinja (ob 
meji med Hrvaško ter Bosno in Hercegovino na ozemlju novoštokavskega ikavskega na‑
rečja). Raziskava se posveča le samostalnikom moškega spola sinhrone ajevske sklanjatve 
(diahrono so to izvorno večinoma samostalniki moškega spola ojevske sklanjatve).
Ključne besede: novoštokavščina, ikavščina, govori, naglasne paradigme, ajevski samo‑
stalniki
This article describes a part of the accentual system in Bitelić, which is located in the 
vicinity to Sinj, near the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the 
territory of the Neo‑Štokavian ikavian dialect. Only masculine nouns are examined, and 
only those inflecting following the synchronic a‑type declension (diachronically, these are 
mostly o-stem masculine nouns).
Keywords: Neo‑Štokavian, Ikavian, subdialects, accent paradigms, a-type nouns
the neO­štOkavian ikavian dialect and the lOcal 
dialect Of bitelić
The local dialect of Bitelić1 belongs to the NŠI,2 which extends from the Adriatic 
coast south of the city of Zadar and north of the Pelješac Peninsula, through interi‑
or Dalmatia, Herzegovina, western Bosnia, and individual villages in Lika, Gorski 
Kotar, northern Bosnia around the city of Derventa, and Bačka and Banat in Serbia 
 This article was presented at the third Slavic studies conference, as part of which the Department 
of Slavic Languages at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts hosted the Tenth Interna‑
tional Workshop on Balto‑Slavic Accentology (10. mednarodna konferenca o baltoslovanskem 
naglasoslovju / X Международный семинар по балто-славянской акцентологии, IWoBA 
X) from October 16th to 18th, 2014. – The article is adapted from the author’s dissertation 
(Ćurković 2014), and the material is both somewhat shortened and somewhat expanded. Com‑
pared to the dissertation, this article introduces the subdialects and shows the accent paradigm 
subtypes separately from the main paradigm types.
1 Basic historical, geographic, and demographic information about the village, as well as a de‑
scription of the research methodology, can be found in Ćurković (2014: 3−29).
2 Abbreviations: a.p. = accent paradigm; cases: N = nominative, G = genitive, D = dative, A = 
accusative, V = vocative, L = locative, I = instrumental; genders: f = feminine, m = masculine, 
n = neuter; sg = singular, pl = plural, NŠI = Neo‑Štokavian ikavian dialect.
172 Dijana Ćurković  Accent pArAdigms of a-type mAsculine nouns in the neo-ŠtokAviAn ...
(cf. Lisac 2003: 50−51). Considering its territorial diversity, the NŠI can be divided 
into subdialects that differ in particular features. These subdialects are (1) the coastal 
subdialect, which includes areas on Pelješac, certain areas of the former Poljica Re‑
public, and the Makarska coast; (2) the continental Dalmatian subdialect, differing 
by the vicinity (or hinterland) of cities: Imotski, Vrgorac, Sinj, Šibenik, and Zadar; 
(3) the Bosnia‑Herzegovinian subdialect, spoken in the Rama area, near the city 
of Livno, in southern Bosnia, around the city of Bihać, and around Derventa; and 
(4) the emigrant subdialect, spoken in Lika and Gorski Kotar, in Bačka and Banat, 
in Molise (Italy), in Perth (Australia, whose immigrants arrived there from Molise), 
and elsewhere.3 The local dialect of Bitelić is therefore classified in the continental 
Dalmatian subdialect, as part of the local dialect group in the vicinity of Sinj.
The local dialects in the vicinity of Sinj differ from other NŠI systems in sev‑
eral features. In the consonant system, there is a feature found only in the vicinity 
of Sinj: the devoicing of voiced consonants and v in final position of phonetic 
words4 before a word beginning with a vowel, sonant, or another voiced or un‑
voiced consonant. In the vowel system, there are many alterations and even more 
reductions of short unaccented vowels.5
The accentual system consists of five units: four accents (short falling ȁ, long 
falling ȃ, short rising à, and long rising á) and an unaccented length (ā), which is 
always post‑tonic. The relevant features are stress, length, and tone of the accented 
syllable. Unaccented syllables differ by length in three degrees: long, short, and hy‑
per‑short (or reduced) syllables. The last have resulted from partial reduction, and 
thus their articulation is neutralized to ə in particular cases, especially in free speech.6
Rising accents are results of NŠI retraction, and as such cannot be found 
on the last syllable of a word (except after reduction of a final short unaccented 
syllable, which is a more recent innovation in the system; see below). The NŠI 
retraction applied to all falling accents in non‑initial position; accents retracted 
from the final syllable to the penultimate, or from the medial syllable to the one 
preceding it. If the syllable preceding the old accent (i.e., the syllable to which 
the stress retracted) had a pre‑tonic length, the resulting accent is a long rising 
accent, and, if that syllable was short, the result is a short rising accent (n N sg 
sèlo < *selȍ ‘village’, f N sg gláva < *glāvȁ ‘head’). Therefore, in the majority 
3 Particular areas of the subdialects have been described in dialectology terms. For example, 
parts of the coastal subdialect are noted in Kurtović Budja (2009), Tomelić Ćurlin (2012), and 
Tomelić Ćurlin – Ćurković (2013); and continental Dalmatian areas are covered in Bošnjak 
Botica and Menac‑Mihalić (2006), Čilaš Šimpraga (2010), Kapović (2006), Lisac (2003), 
Listeš (1998), Menac‑Mihalić (2005), Šimundić (1971), and Tomelić Ćurlin and Anić (2012). 
It should be noted that not all of these works are equally detailed. Šimundić (1971), Ćurković 
(2014), Kurtović Budja (2009), and Menac‑Mihalić (2005) are larger works, whereas the rest 
are articles and book chapters. Further reading can be found in Lisac (2003, 2005, 2006).
4 A phonetic word consists of an accented word and its proclitics and enclitics.
5 Several more distinctions can be found in Ćurković (2014).
6 Reduction is described in Ćurković (2014: 37−47).
173Jezikoslovni zapiski 22  2016  1
of cases, the falling accents are retracted to the preceding syllable. Exceptions 
are noted in several positions typical for NŠI (f N sg poļoprȉvreda ‘agriculture’, 
m G pl muškȃrācā ‘men’). Since the rising accents are results of retractions, they 
can only be found in non‑final positions. However, due to the innovative reduction 
of short unaccented syllables, they can also appear in monosyllabic words and in 
the final syllable (imperative 2 sg: píš < píši < píši < *pīšȉ ‘write’, donès < donèsi < 
donèsi < *donesȉ ‘bring’). Reduction is a phonetic variation and not a phonological 
change because it may or may not occur in free speech.7
Post‑tonic length can be shortened in free speech if there are more than two 
post‑tonic lengths in a word. The stress is often transferred to the proclitic, in the form 
of transmission (prenošenje; the stress moves to the preceding syllable, sg N kȕća, 
G okò kućē, A ù kuću ‘house’) or skipping (preskakanje; the stress moves to the initial 
syllable of the phonetic word, sg N gláva, A nȁ glāvu ‘head’). In the local dialect of 
Bitelić, transmission is a feature of a.p. A (it seldom occurs in a.p. B as well), and 
stress skipping is a feature of a.p. C (sg N bȏ, A ȕ boga). The features of the accent 
paradigms are further described below, but first the inflection will be observed.
basic infORmatiOn On the a­type declensiOn
The inflection of nouns in Croatian is divided into four major synchronic declen‑
sion patterns, named after the suffix for the G sg: a‑type masculine nouns, a-type 
neuter nouns, and ē-type and i‑type feminine nouns. The difference between a-type 
masculine and neuter nouns is in equalization of case suffixes. In the masculine 
declension, the A sg is the same as the G sg if the noun denotes a living being, and 
the same as the N sg if the noun denotes an inanimate object (A sg lóvca ‘hunter’ : 
bȏr ‘pine’),8 whereas neuter nouns have NAV merger in the sg and pl declension 
regardless of the meaning of the noun. Other mergers, such as DL sg, NV pl, and 
DLI pl, are present in the inflection of nouns of all genders, which is a typical fea‑
ture of NŠI. In the masculine declension, the suffix for the A pl is different from 
that for the N pl, whereas the neuter and feminine declensions have NAV pl merger.
The inflectional suffixes for the a‑type masculine declension are: sg N , 
G -a, D -u, A -a {animate} /  {inanimate},V ‑u/-e, L -u, I -on (-en); pl N -i, G -ā, 
D -īn/-ima(n), A -e, V -i, L -īn/-ima(n), I -īn/-ima(n).
7 All of the realizations (such as píši, píši, píš) are confirmed in the data.
8 If a noun stands for a group of people, it acts as though it is inanimate: NA sg skȗp ‘assembly’, 
sȃbor ‘parliament’, sávjet ‘council’. Nouns that denote plants are grammatically inanimate de‑
spite being living beings: NA sg òras/òraj ‘walnut’ (-s is generalized in all cases based on the N 
pl ending of the root, which goes through sibilantization orahi > orasi, and -j is a regular replace‑
ment of h, which is not a stable phoneme in NŠI, cf. Lisac 2003: 18, 2003a: 176; Čilaš Šimpraga 
2010: 194; Kurtović Budja 2009: 55−57; Kapović 2006: 114; Šimundić 1971: 51−52; Tomelić 
Ćurlin – Anić 2012: 355; Ćurković 68−69), kȅstēn ‘chestnut’ (with lengthening of e before ‑n#, 
cf. Ćurković 2014: 110). Certain nouns with inanimate meanings act as though they were ani‑
mate; AG sg za Hajdúka/Ajdúka ‘hero’ (which is a name of a soccer club from the city of Split).
2
174 Dijana Ćurković  Accent pArAdigms of a-type mAsculine nouns in the neo-ŠtokAviAn ...
The inflectional root is determined from the G sg because not all of the a-type 
masculine nouns have the same N sg inflectional root ending, this being either a 
consonant or the vowels -o or -a (čòvik ‘man’, stȏ ‘table’, pòsā ‘job’). Furthermore, 
some of the nouns have a fleeting a, which is a result of vocalization of *ь/ъ in the 
last syllable in the N sg, and in the middle one in the G pl (which is most common‑
ly long), whereas the vocalization is absent in other cases that have a vowel in the 
inflectional suffix: N sg nòvac, G sg nóvca, G pl nȍvācā ‘money’; N sg žábac, G sg 
žápca, G pl žȃbācā ‘male frog’; N sg òtac, G sg òca, G pl otácā ‘father’.9
The suffix for the V sg is -e in most of the nouns, and it palatalizes the inflec‑
tional root: V sg bȍže ‘god’, vȗče ‘wolf’. If the root ends with a palatal consonant, 
the suffix is -u: V sg kȍńu ‘horse’, mlȁdīću ‘youngster’, prȉjateļu ‘friend’.
The suffix for the I sg has the distinction -on {non‑palatal consonant} : -en 
{palatal consonant} only in the free speech of the younger generations, whereas 
the non‑palatal suffix prevails in the speech of older generations, which is a feature 
of the wider NŠI area.10 It should be noted that the I sg and pl forms often appear 
together with the preposition s/sa, regardless of the meaning ({company} : {instru‑
ment}; e.g., prȋčān s brȁton ‘I am talking to my brother’, rȉžēš s nóžon ‘you are 
cutting with a knife’).
Similarly, the plural infix -ov- (-ev-) can either be present in the formation of 
the plural, as in N pl brȉgovi ‘hills’, dȉlovi ‘parts’, mȕžovi ‘husbands’, or absent, as 
in N pl cȑvi ‘worms’, kļúči ‘keys’, mrȃvi ‘ants’; or the plural can be realized with 
or without the infix, depending on the speech situation: N pl rȍzi/rȍgovi ‘horns’, 
gȍlūbi/gȍlubovi ‘pigeons’, nóži/nȍžovi ‘knives’.
It is seen from the above examples that roots ending with a velar consonant 
(k, g, h) undergo sibilantization to c, z, s before ‑i, which also occurs in the DLI pl, 
with the variation -īn/-ima(n): N sg vȗk, N pl vȗci, DLI pl vȗcīn/vȗcima(n), ‘wolf’, 
N sg bùbri, N pl bùbrizi, DLI pl bùbrizīn/bùbrizima(n) ‘kidney’, etc.
The suffix for the G pl is -ā in most cases, except in nouns denoting measurement 
or a period of time (G pl misécī ‘months’) and several nouns such as G pl ļúdī ‘men’ 
(suppletive form of čòvik ‘man’), G pl mrávī ‘ants’, and nouns that have the suffix -ijū: 
G pl gòstijū ‘guests’, pstijū ‘fingers’, nòktijū ‘nails’, cvijū ‘worms’, zùbijū ‘teeth’.
accent paRadigms Of a­type nOuns in bitelić
The declension patterns of a‑type nouns are divided into three major synchronic 
groups, a.p. A, B, and C, as well as the subtypes B−A (B−A/B) and C−A. Each 
is described on the basis of paradigm examples, and a list of words declining in 
accordance with that pattern is given.
9 Consonant assimilations and omissions in Bitelić are described in Ćurković (2014: 77−87).
10 Cf. Ćurković (2014: 139), Kurtović Budja (2009: 79), Lisac (2003: 56), Menac‑Mihalić (2005: 
49), Šimundić (1971: 37).
3
175Jezikoslovni zapiski 22  2016  1
Generally speaking, in a.p. A stress is on the same syllable of the root through‑
out the paradigm; in a.p. B suffixes attract the stress, which results in a short or 
long rising accent on the last syllable of the root of case forms consisting of more 
than one syllable; and in a.p. C the stress is mobile in the paradigm, which means 
that it is on the initial syllable of the phonetic word, unless the inflectional suffix 
of the case is dominant (cf. Kapović 2015: 74−76), and the stress is closer to the 
ending, which results in a short or long rising accent on the last syllable of the 
root, similarly to a.p. B, or the penultimate syllable of the word. The subtypes B−A 
(B−A/B)11 and C−A include words declining following a.p. B and C in sg cases, 
and a.p. A in pl cases.
In all of the paradigm types, in the V sg the stress is drawn to the initial syl‑
lable as a falling accent (a.p. A N sg čòvik, V sg čȍviče ‘man’; a.p. B N sg vòjnīk, 
V sg vȍjnīče ‘soldier’, a.p. C N sg rȏd, V sg rȍde ‘kin, gender’), as well as in the 
G pl, in addition to the last two syllables being long in the G pl (a.p. A mȅdvīdā 
‘bears’, a.p. B lȏvācā ‘hunters’, a.p. C bȍdōvā ‘points’).
A difference in tone in the D and L sg is noted in a.p. A and, more common‑
ly, in a.p. C (a.p. A: D sg prȁgu, L sg na pràgu ‘doorstep’; D sg rȁt, L sg u ràtu 
‘war’; a.p. C: D sg grȃdu, L sg u grádu ‘city’; D sg glȃsu, L sg po glásu ‘voice’), 
although there are exceptions (such as D sg jȕgu, L sg na jȕgu ‘south’).
Accent paradigm A
In a.p. A, the stress is in the same position on the root in all case forms. A number 
of nouns have a short (or rarely long) falling accent on the first syllable throughout 
the paradigm (dȁbar ‘beaver’, blȗḓ ‘lust’), and other examples have a rising tone in 
non‑final position (jèzik ‘language, tongue’, mèdviḓ ‘bear’). If the stress is drawn 
from the falling accent on the first syllable of the root to a proclitic, the result is a 
transmission of accent; that is, a rising accent on the preceding syllable: N sg prȁ, 
A sg nà pra ‘doorstep’. If the stress moves from a long falling accent, post‑tonic 
length remains after the transmission: N sg krȃj, A sg nà krāj ‘ending, area’. It 
should also be noted that a number of nouns do not have the expected falling ac‑
cent in the G pl (čèkīćā ‘hammers’, čèmērā ‘sorrows’, jèzīkā ‘languages, tongues’, 
pòtōkā ‘brooks’), whereas other nouns can be realized with both falling and rising 
tone: G pl dùkātā/dȕkātā ‘coins, ducats’.
Tables 1−4 show a.p. A examples of monosyllabic nouns with and without the 
plural infix -ov-, and polysyllabic words with rising accents, as well as those with 
lengthening before -n#, which all belong to a.p. A synchronically.
11 “B−A/B” designates nouns that belong to a.p. A in the longer realization of the pl form, and a.p. 
B in the shorter: N sg bȑk, G sg bka, N pl bȑkovi/bci ‘moustache’.
3.1
176 Dijana Ćurković  Accent pArAdigms of a-type mAsculine nouns in the neo-ŠtokAviAn ...
Table 1: Declension of jȁḓ ‘misery’
sg pl
N  jȁḓ  jȁdi
G  jȁda / òḓ jada  jȃdā / òḓ jādā
D  jȁdu  jȁdīn/jȁdima(n)
A  jȁḓ / nà jad  jȁde / nà jade
V  jȁde  jȁdi
L ò jadu / jȁdu / u jàdu ò jadīn / jȁdīn / jȁdima(n)
I  jȁdon  jȁdīn/jȁdima(n)
Table 2: Declension of pòtok ‘brook’
sg pl
N pòtok pòtoci
G pòtoka pòtōkā
D pòtoku pòtocīn/pòtocima(n)
A pòtok pòtoke
V pòtoče pòtoci
L o pòtoku pòtocīn/pòtocima(n)
I pòtokon pòtocīn/pòtocima(n)
Table 3: Declension of dȉḓ ‘grandfather’
sg pl
N dȉḓ dȉdovi
G dȉda / òd dida dȉdōvā / òd didōvā
D dȉdu dȉdovīn/dȉdovima(n)
A dȉda / nà dida dȉdove / zà didove
V dȉde dȉdovi
L ò didu / dȉdu ò didovīn / dȉdovīn / dȉdovima(n) 
I dȉdon dȉdovīn/dȉdovima(n)
Table 4: Declension of jȅlēn ‘deer’
sg pl
N  jȅlēn  jȅlēni
G  jȅlēna / òd jelēna  jȅlēnā / òd jelēnā
D  jȅlēnu  jȅlēnīn/jȅlēnima(n)
A  jȅlēna / nà jelēna  jȅlēne / zà jelēne
V  jȅlēnu  jȅlēni
L ò jelēnu / jȅlēnu ò jelēnīn / jȅlēnīn / jȅlēnima(n)
I  jȅlēnon  jȅlēnīn/jȅlēnima(n)
177Jezikoslovni zapiski 22  2016  1
Nouns that belong to a.p. A: bàjam ‘almond’, blȗḓ ‘lust’ (G sg blȗda), bȏḓ ‘point’ 
(G sg bȍda), brȁt ‘brother’,12 blo ‘lair’, čèkić ‘hammer’, čèmer ‘sorrow’, čòvik 
‘man’, dȁbar ‘beaver’ (G sg dȁbra), dȉḓ ‘grandfather’, dȉm ‘smoke’, dlȁn ‘palm, 
hand’, dùkat ‘coin, ducat’, grȁ ‘hornbeam’, jȁḓ ‘misery’, jȅlēn ‘deer’, jèzik ‘lan‑
guage, tongue’, jȕ ‘south’, gȍvōr ‘speech’, gȕšter ‘lizard’, kȁšaļ ‘cough’ (G sg 
kȁšļa), klȉn ‘linchpin’, krȃj (G sg krȁja) ‘ending, area’, krèvet ‘bed’, krȕ ‘bread’, 
lȁn ‘flax’, lȁ ‘lion’, lȕk ‘garlic’, mȁk ‘poppy’, mèdviḓ ‘bear’, nȅćāk ‘nephew’, 
ȍbičāj ‘custom’,13 ȍblāk ‘cloud’, òbras ‘cheek’, òraj/òras ‘walnut’, pȁūk ‘spider’, 
pèlin ‘wormwood’, plȁč ‘cry, sob’, pòtok ‘brook’, pȍtrēs ‘earthquake’, pȑst ‘fin‑
ger’, rȁk ‘crab’, rȁt ‘war’, rȍ ‘slave’, rȍđāk ‘cousin’, sȁn ‘dream’ (G sg snȁ), 
sȉr ‘cheese’, skȍk ‘jump’, slȍ ‘syllable’, súsiḓ ‘neighbor’, svȅkar ‘father‑in‑law’ 
(G sg svȅkra), tèret ‘burden’, trȍšak ‘expense’ (G sg trȍška), ùčiteļ ‘teacher’, 
ȕgļēn ‘coal’, ȕjac ‘uncle’ (G sg ȗjca), ùnuk ‘grandson’, vȅpar ‘boar’ (G sg vȅpra), 
vìnogrāḓ ‘vineyard’, vȉtar ‘wind’ (G sg vȉtra), vȑtā (G sg vȑtla) ‘garden’, zmȁj 
‘dragon’, zȅt ‘son‑in‑law’, žèludac (G sg žèludca) ‘stomach’, etc.
Accent paradigm B
It has already been noted that nouns belonging to a.p. B have stress linked to the 
ending of the root in all case forms, which results in rising accents in case forms 
that have more than one syllable, whereas monosyllabic forms have falling accents 
(N{A} sg monosyllabic14 : other cases polysyllabic), as in sg: N bȉk, GA bìka 
‘bull’; NA bȍk, G bòka ‘hip’; NA kļȗč, G kļúča ‘key’; NA žȗļ, G žúļa ‘blister’.
Rising accents appear as the result of Neo‑Štokavian regressive retraction of 
stress from any non‑initial syllable that had a falling tone before the retraction: 
mòmak (< *momȁk) ‘young man’, pétak (< *pētȁk) ‘Friday’. The result is a long 
rising accent if the syllable had pre‑tonic length before the retraction, or if it was 
lengthened according to accentual rules.15 As with the stress transmission to pro‑
clitics described in relation to a.p. A, post‑tonic length is found in the syllable fol‑
lowing the newly stressed one if the stress is moved from a long (falling) accent: 
gospòdār ‘master’, pàstīr ‘shepherd’, vòjnīk ‘soldier’.
A falling tone in polysyllabic case forms can be found in the V sg of a num‑
ber of nouns denominating (male) persons: V sg dȅbīlu ‘idiot’, čȕdāče ‘eccentric’, 
jȕnāče ‘hero’, lȕđāče ‘lunatic’, vȍjnīče ‘soldier’. A falling tone is also found in 
G pl pȇtākā ‘Fridays’, pȋvācā ‘roosters’, whereas other examples have a falling : 
rising variation in G pl mȍmākā/momákā ‘young men’, pȍslōvā/pòslōvā ‘jobs’.
12 The noun does not have a plural form, but a collective one, which declines like ē-type nouns, 
but remains a.p. A: N brȁća, G brȁćē, D brȁći, etc.
13 The L sg form differs from the D sg. Declension: NA sg ȍbičāj, G sg ȍbičāja, D sg ȍbičāju, 
L sg običáju, I sg ȍbičājon/ȍbičājen, N(V) pl ȍbičāji, G pl ȍbičājā, DLI pl ȍbičājīn/
ȍbičājima(n), A pl ȍbičāje.
14 Stress movement to the proclitic is possible in these case forms.
15 Cf. Ćurković (2014: 106−112), Kapović (2003, 2005, 2006a, 2008, 2010, 2015).
3.2
178 Dijana Ćurković  Accent pArAdigms of a-type mAsculine nouns in the neo-ŠtokAviAn ...
Tables 5−8 show examples of short and long monosyllabic a.p. B nouns, as well as 
polysyllabic nouns with and without post‑tonic length.
Table 5: Declension of kȍń ‘horse’
sg pl
N kȍń kòńi
G kòńa / oḓ kòńa kóńā / oḓ kóńā
D kòńu kòńīn/kòńima(n)
A kòńa / na kòńa kòńe / za kòńe
V kȍńu kòńi
L o kòńu o kòńīn/kòńima(n)
I kòńon/kòńen kòńīn/kòńima(n)
Table 6: Declension of kļȗč ‘key’
sg pl
N kļȗč kļúči
G kļúča / oḓ kļúča kļúčā / oḓ kļúčā
D kļúču kļúčīn/kļúčima(n)
A kļȗč / nà kļūč kļúče / na kļúče
V kļȗču kļúči
L o kļúču o kļúčīn/kļúčima(n)
I kļúčon/kļúčen kļúčīn/kļúčima(n)
Table 7: Declension of lóvac ‘hunter’
sg pl
N lóvac lóvci
G lóvca / oḓ lóvca lȏvācā / òḓ lōvācā
D lóvcu lóvcīn/lóvcima(n)
A lóvca / na lóvca lóvce / za lóvce 
V lȏvče lóvci
L o lóvcu o lóvcīn/lóvcima(n)
I lóvcon lóvcīn/lóvcima(n)
Table 8: Declension of pàstīr ‘shepherd’
sg pl
N pàstīr pastíri
G pastíra / oḓ pastíra pastírā / oḓ pastírā
D pastíru pastírīn/pastírima(n)
A pastíra / na pastíra pastíre / na pastíre
V pȁstīru pastíri
L o pastíru o pastírīn/pastírima(n)
I pastíron pastírīn/pastírima(n)
179Jezikoslovni zapiski 22  2016  1
Nouns that belong to a.p. B: bȉk ‘bull’, bȋž ‘pea’, bȏr ‘pine’, brȋst ‘elm’, dȍm 
‘home’, đȃk ‘pupil’, đȍn ‘sole’, gospòdār ‘master’, grȋj ‘sin’, grȍ ‘grave’, gȑm 
(and gȓm) ‘bush’, jèčam (G sg jèčma) ‘barley’, jȇž ‘hedgehog’, klòbūk ‘hat’, kļȗč 
‘key’, kòlāč ‘cookie’, kȍń ‘horse’, kòtāč ‘wheel’, kòvāč ‘smith’, krȃļ ‘king’, krȋž 
‘cross’, kȗt ‘corner’, lȗ ‘ash’, mìjūr ‘bladder’, mȋr ‘peace’, mòmak (G sg mòmka) 
‘young man’, nȏž ‘knife’, òkvīr ‘frame’, òrā (G sg órla) ‘eagle’, òtac (òca) ‘fa‑
ther’, òvan (G sg óvna) ‘ram’, pȁs ‘dog’ (G sg pàsa), pàstīr ‘shepherd’, pétak (G sg 
pétka) ‘Friday’, pívac (G sg pívca) ‘rooster’, pòsā (G sg pòsla) ‘job’, pȍḓ ‘floor’, 
pȍp ‘priest’, pȗt ‘way’, rȃst ‘oak’, rážań (G sg rážńa) ‘broach’, rùkā ‘sleeve’, 
sèļāk ‘villager’, slȍn ‘elephant’, snȍp ‘bundle’, spȗž ‘snail’, stȏ (G sg stòla) ‘table’, 
stòmāk ‘stomach’, strȋc ‘uncle’, stȗp ‘column’, sȗḓ ‘court’, vȏ (G sg vòla) ‘ox’, 
tȍp ‘cannon, top’, tvȍr ‘skunk’, vòjnīk ‘soldier’, zglȍ ‘joint’, zìdār ‘mason’, žìvot 
‘life’, etc.
Accent paradigm C
Nouns declining following the pattern of the mobile paradigm have the stress 
drawn to the beginning or the end of the phonetic word. The accent is initial in 
all cases except the L sg and GDLI pl, which have dominant suffixes and attract 
the stress towards the end of the word. In the local dialect of Bitelić, this results 
in the realization of rising accents in those case forms, unless they are generalized 
as falling accents in analogy to N pl forms (see below). If the stress moves to a 
proclitic, the result is accent skipping; i.e., falling accents on the initial syllable of 
the proclitic: N sg mȏst, G sg mȍsta : prȉko mosta ‘bridge’.16
Another prominent feature of a.p. C is lengthening of monosyllabic forms 
(brȏj ‘number’, brȏḓ ‘ship’). The originally short vowel is seen after the addition 
of inflectional suffixes: G sg brȍja, brȍda. Originally long syllables remain long 
after the addition of inflectional suffixes: N sg dȃn, G sg dȃna ‘day’; but many ex‑
amples are nonetheless shortened in the plural polysyllabic forms: N sg snȋ, G sg 
snȋga, N pl snȉgovi ‘snow’, N sg rȇp, G sg rȇpa, N pl rȅpovi ‘tail’.
Tables 9−12 show examples of a.p. C for long and short monosyllabic and poly‑
syllabic words.
16 It should be recalled that the stress transmission seen in a.p. A results in rising tones on the last 
syllable of the proclitic. This is the main difference between these two a.p. types because the 
result of accent skipping in a.p. C is a falling accent on the first syllable of the proclitic.
3.3
180 Dijana Ćurković  Accent pArAdigms of a-type mAsculine nouns in the neo-ŠtokAviAn ...
Table 9: Declension of grȃḓ ‘city’
sg pl
N grȃd grȁdovi
G grȃda / ȉz grāda gradóvā / grȁdōvā / ȉz gradōvā
D grȃdu gradòvīn/grȁdovima(n)
A grȃḓ / ȕ grād grȁdove
V grȃde grȁdovi
L u grádu u gradòvīn/grȁdovima(n)
I grȃdon gradòvīn/grȁdovima(n)
Table 10: Declension of mȏst ‘bridge’
sg pl
N mȏst mȍstovi
G mȍsta / prȉko mosta mostóvā / ȍd mostōvā
D mȍstu mostòvīn/mȍstovima(n)
A mȏst / nȁ mōst mȍste / nȁ mostove
V mȍstu mȍstovi 
L ȍ mostu / na mòstu na mostòvīn/mȍstovima(n)
I mȍston mostòvīn/mȍstovima(n)
Table 11: Declension of kȍmāḓ ‘piece’
sg pl
N kȍmāḓ kȍmādi
G kȍmāda / ȍt komāda komádā / iz komádā
D kȍmādu komádimaīn/komádima(n)
A kȍmāḓ / nȁ komād kȍmāde / nȁ komāde
V kȍmādu kȍmādi
L u komádu u komádīn/komádima(n)
I kȍmādon komádīn/komádima(n)
Table 12: Declension of nȍkat ‘nail’
sg pl
N nȍkat nȍkti
G nȍkta / ȉspo nokta nòktijū / sa nòktijū
D nȍktu nòktīn/nòktima(n)
A nȍkat / ȕ nokat nȍkte / nȁ nokte
V nȍktu nȍkti
L na nòktu o nòktīn/nòktima(n)
I nȍkton nòktīn/nòktima(n)
181Jezikoslovni zapiski 22  2016  1
Nouns that belong to a.p. C: bȋs ‘anger’, bȋ ‘escape’, brȋ ‘hill’, brȋḓ ‘edge’, brȏḓ 
(G sg brȍda) ‘ship’, brȏj (G sg brȍja) ‘number’, cvȋt ‘flower’, crȋp ‘roof tile’, cȓ/
cȑ (G sg cȑva) ‘worm’, čȃr ‘charm’, dȃh ‘breath’, dȃn ‘day’, drȏ (G sg drȍba) 
‘stomach’, drȗ ‘friend’, glȃs ‘voice’, glȋ ‘mud’, gńȏj (G sg gńȍja) ‘manure’, 
grȃḓ ‘city’, klȃs ‘ear (of corn, rye)’, kȍmāḓ ‘piece’, krȗ ‘circle’, kvȃs ‘yeast’, 
lȃḓ ‘shade’, lȇḓ (G sg lȅda) ‘ice’, lȋk ‘cure, form, character’, lȋs ‘coffin’, lȋst ‘leaf’, 
lȏ ‘hunt’, lȏj (G sg lȍja) ‘tallow’, lȗk ‘bow’, mȇḓ (G sg mȅda) ‘honey’, mȉsēc 
‘month, moon’, mlȃz ‘gush’, mȏst (G sg mȍsta) ‘bridge’, mrȃk ‘darkness’, mrȃ 
‘ant’, mȗž ‘husband’, nȋz ‘row’, nȍkat (G sg nȍkta) ‘nail’, ȍbzīr ‘consideration’, 
pȃḓ ‘downfall’, pȃń ‘stump’, pȋr ‘wedding’, plȁmēn ‘flame’, plȇs ‘dance’, plȏḓ 
(G sg plȍda) ‘fruit, offspring’, pȍglēḓ ‘view’, prȁmēn ‘lock (of hair)’, pȑstēn ‘ring’, 
pȗk ‘people’, rȃst ‘growth’, rȇḓ ‘order, row’, rȇp ‘tail’, rȏḓ (G sg rȍda) ‘gender, 
kin’, rȏj (G sg rȍja) ‘swarm’, rȗ ‘edge’, sȋn ‘son’, slȏj (G sg slȍja) ‘layer’, slȕčāj 
‘case’, smȋj ‘laughter’, smrȃḓ ‘stench’, snȋ ‘snow’, sȍkō (G sg sȍkola) ‘hawk’, 
stȃn ‘flat’, stȃs ‘stature’, stȋḓ ‘shame’, svȋt ‘world, people’, šȗm ‘murmur’, tȏk 
‘flow’, trȃ ‘trail, trace’, tȑk ‘sprint’, trȗḓ ‘effort’, ȗm ‘mind’, vȗk ‘wolf’, zȇc ‘rab‑
bit’, zȋḓ ‘wall’, znȏj (G sg znȍja) ‘sweat’, žȃr ‘fervor’, etc.
Subtypes B−A (B−A/B) and C−A
As mentioned before, certain nouns decline following one accent paradigm in the 
singular and another in the plural forms. In the a‑type masculine noun declension, 
two such groups have been isolated. Both of the subtypes tend to generalize the 
plural forms similarly to a.p. A, whereas they are different in the singular forms 
because the declensions belong to a.p. B and C. The nouns that belong to subtype 
B−A/B follow a.p. B if there is no plural infix, and, if the infix is present, the plural 
forms decline according to a.p. A.
Tables 13−16 show examples for the accent paradigm subtypes in Bitelić.
Table 13: Declension of čȁs ‘moment’ (B−A)
sg pl
N čȁs čȁsovi
G čàsa / oḓ čàsa čȁsōvā / òḓ časōvā
D čàsu čȁsovīn/čȁsovima(n)
A čȁs / zà čas čȁsove / nà časove
V čȁsu čȁsovi
L o čàsu ò časovīn / čȁsovima(n)
I čàson čȁsovīn/čȁsovima(n)
3.4
182 Dijana Ćurković  Accent pArAdigms of a-type mAsculine nouns in the neo-ŠtokAviAn ...
Table 14: Declension of kvȃr ‘malfunction’ (B−A)
sg pl
N kvȃr kvȁrovi
G kvára / oḓ kvára kvȁrōvā / òḓ kvarōvā
D kváru kvȁrovīn/kvȁrovima(n)
A kvȃr / nȁ kvār kvȁrove / nà kvarove
V kvȃru kvȁrovi
L u kváru kvȁrovīn/kvȁrovima(n)
I kváron kvȁrovīn/kvȁrovima(n)
Table 15: Declension of džȅp ‘pocket’ (B−A/B)
sg pl pl
N džȅp džèpi džȅpovi
G džèpa / iž džèpa džépā / iž džépā džȅpōvā / ìž džepōvā
D džȅpu džèpīn/džèpima(n) džȅpovīn/džȅpovima(n)
A džȅp / ù džep džèpe / u džèpe džȅpove / ù džepove
V džȅpe džèpi džȅpovi
L o džèpu džèpīn/džèpima(n) džȅpovīn/džȅpovima(n)
I džèpon džèpīn/džèpima(n) džȅpovīn/džȅpovima(n)
Table 16: Declension of skȗp ‘assembly’ (C−A)
sg pl
N skȗp skȕpovi
G skúpa / sa skúpa skȕpōvā / sȁ skupōvā
D skȗpu skȕpovīn/skȕpovima(n)
A skȗp / nȁ skūp skȕpove / nȁ skupove
V skȗpe skȕpovi
L o skúpu o skùpovīn / skȕpovima(n)
I skȗpon skȕpovīn/skȕpovima(n)
Nouns that belong to a.p. B−A: čȁs ‘moment’, kmȅt ‘peasant’, kvȃr ‘malfunction’, 
lȅš ‘corpse’, mȉš ‘mouse’, mlȉn ‘mill’, rȏ ‘horn’.
Nouns that belong to a.p. B−A/B: bȁt ‘maul’, bȑk ‘moustache’, čȅp ‘cork’, 
dvȏr ‘court, courtyard’, džȅp ‘pocket’, gȑč ‘cramp’, žȗļ ‘blister’.
Nouns that belong to a.p. C−A: bȏ ‘god’, bȍk ‘hip’, cȁr ‘emperor’, čvȏr ‘knot’, 
dȃr ‘present’, dȗ ‘debt’, nȏs ‘nose’ plȗg ‘plough’, rȃj ‘heaven’, skȗp ‘assembly’.
ConClusion
This article considers the NŠI local dialect of Bitelić, a village in the vicinity of 
Sinj. It has been determined that it belongs to NŠI, and it was further defined as 
one of the local dialects belonging to the continental Dalmatian subdialect, accord‑
ing to the division introduced in this article on the basis of recent fieldwork by the 
4
183Jezikoslovni zapiski 22  2016  1
author and existing dialectology studies. The most important information about 
the accentual system of Bitelić is provided at the end of the article’s introduction.
The synchronic inflection of a-type nouns is then introduced, along with its 
most prominent NŠI features. Special attention is given to differentiating the A sg 
case form for nouns with animate and inanimate denotations. The inflectional suf‑
fixes for the I sg and the plural infix -ov- are also considered, as well as their dis‑
tribution through NŠI.
The accent paradigms are introduced by their most prominent features (stress 
mobility, stress position relative to the root, transmission or skipping of stress to 
the proclitic, and plural mergers). Each accent paradigm is further described, and 
examples for different inflections of the paradigms are given, followed by a list of 
examples that belong to the paradigm in question. The final section of the article’s 
central part takes subtypes of the paradigms into closer consideration and exem‑
plifies them.
The analysis of a-type nouns in Bitelić shows that there are a number of mor‑
phological archaisms (e.g., the difference between the D and L sg in a.p. A and C, 
but with exceptions), as well as innovations (such as generalizations and analogies, 
or the emergence of subtypes a.p. B−A, a.p. B−A/B, and a.p. C−A) in the paradig‑
matic structures observed, which indicates a tendency towards generalization of the 
plural paradigms towards a.p. A. Nonetheless, it can be concluded that, although the 
local dialect of Bitelić differs from other NŠI local dialects in certain features, it is 
still an integral part of a larger NŠI continuum, extending from its homeland in the 
heart of the Balkan Peninsula to the other side of the world, the Australian diaspora.
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povzetek
Naglasne paradigme ajevskih samostalnikov moškega spola 
v novoštokavskem ikavskem govoru naselja Bitelić na Hrvaškem
V prispevku je predstavljena imenska sklanjatev samostalnikov moškega spola novošto‑
kavskega ikavskega govora naselja Bitelić na Hrvaškem. Med dajalnikom in mestnikom 
ednine obstaja naglasno nasprotje. Za množinske sklanjatve so značilne nekatere analo‑
gije in posploševanja naglasnih značilnosti. Končnica rodilnika množine je vedno dolga, 
končnice za dajalnik, mestnik in orodnik množine pa so se izenačile z novoštokavskimi. 
Primeri so razvrščeni v sinhrone naglasne paradigme A, B, C in njihove podtipe.