On the u + genitive preposition-case form in a (north)west Serbian dialect

Abstract

Drawing on the materials that treat dialects collected in the region of Valjevo Podgorina, the author of the paper considers the presence of the u + genitive form that is regularly used in this area to express possession and spatiality. The use of this and the competing forms in three speech areas of Podgorina provides the grounds for linguo-geographic analysis, not only with relation to these speech areas, but also within a wider (north)west Serbian region and over the regional boundaries. In addition, the analysis shows that the situation in Serbian dialects represents a fragmented continuation of a number of elements rooted in the historical background. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 178020: Dijalektološka istraživanja srpskog jezičkog prostora]

Keywords

• u + genitive form
• possession
• spatiality
• (north)west Serbian dialects
• Valjevo Podgorina dialect
• Šumadija-Vojvodina dialect
• areal distribution