The early development of the Gorski Kotar dialect

The article discusses the history of the Croatian dialects spoken in the Gorski Kotar region usually regarded as belonging to the Kajkavian dialect group of the Croatian language. Several early accentual, consonantal and vocal developments are analyzed. These developments are compared to similar developments in the neighbouring Kajkavian, Slovene, Cakavian and Stokavian dialects. This leads to the conclusion that the oldest isoglosses in the area indicate that the Gorski Kotar dialects cannot be regarded as the result of recent migrations or as "mixed dialects". The Gorski Kotar dialects can be placed in Gorski Kotar before Ottoman invasions in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is argued that Gorski Kotar forms a dialect area with local differences, which become understandable if we take into account the features of the surrounding South Slavic dialects.