Словен диалектілерінің географиялық және тілдік әртүрлілігі

In a purely dialectological sense, Slovene dialects ( , ) are the regionally diverse varieties that evolved from old Slovene, a South Slavic language of which the standardized modern version is Standard Slovene. This also includes several dialects in Croatia, most notably the so called Western Goran dialect, which is actually Kostel dialect. In reality, speakers in Croatia self identify themselves as speaking Croatian, which is a result of a ten centuries old country border passing through the dialects since the Francia. In addition, two dialects situated in Slovene (and the speakers self identify as speaking Slovene) did not evolve from Slovene (left out in the map on the right). The Čičarija dialect is a Chakavian dialect and parts of White Carniola were populated by Serbs during the Turkish invasion and therefore Shtokavian is spoken there. Spoken Slovene is often considered to have at least 48 dialects (narečja) and 13 subdialects (podnarečja). The exact number of dialects is open to debate, ranging from as many as 50 to merely 7. According to the official chart, published by the Fran Ramovš Institute, there are 48 dialects and 13 subdialects, but that includes all dialects spoken in Slovene. Čičarija dialect is included as a separate dialect and Shtokavian in White Carniola is merged with South White Carniolan. However, the official chart was not updated to include Čabar dialect, which was only recently been discovered to have evolved differently than Kostel dialect, under which it was traditionally listed. Therefore, that division includes 48 dialects and 13 subdialects. The various dialects are so different from each other that a speaker of one dialect may have a very difficult time understanding a speaker of another, particularly if they belong to different regional groups. Speakers of dialects that strongly differ accommodate each other by gravitating toward standard Slovene. The only exception to that is the Resian dialect, which is the most isolated dialect, and on top of that, the speakers were never able to attend Slovene schools and are therefore completely unfamiliar with Standard Slovene. Slovene dialects are part of the South Slavic dialect continuum, transitioning into Serbo Croatian Kajkavian dialect to the southeast and Chakavian dialect to the southwest, but also bordering Friulian and Italian to the west, German to the north, and Hungarian to the northeast. The dialects are spoken primarily in Slovenia, but are extending in all neighboring countries Austria, Italy, Croatia, and Hungary.

Parallel to the vowel changes, consonants also evolved, however not as much. The changes were the following: Therefore, in Standard Slovene, both accents are allowed, but favoring the unshifted one. Other shifts that happened in fewer dialects were: and those in vertical division are called "dialect bases"
The dialects can also have several subdialects , and are further divided into microdialects (, lit. speeches).

Horizontal division used today is a refined version of division proposed by Ramovš in 1935. He grouped the dialects by the general sound and feel of the dialect, as many Slovenes similarly divided the dialects prior to proper research. The Littoral dialect group (primorska narečna skupina), spoken in most of the Slovenian Littoral (except for the area around Tolmin and Cerkno, where Rovte dialects are spoken) and in the western part of Inner Carniola; it is also spoken by Slovenes in the Italian provinces of Trieste and Gorizia, and in the mountainous areas of eastern Friuli (Venetian Slovenia and Resia). This group includes very heterogeneous dialects. Among other features, it is characterized by diphthongization of yat > ie and o > uo, which were also borrowed by southern dialect. The western dialects in this group have preserved pitch accent whereas the others have a non tonal stress accent and some do not even differentiate between long and short vowels. The Rovte dialect group (rovtarska narečna skupina), spoken in the mountainous areas of west central Slovenia, on the border between the Slovenian Littoral, Upper Carniola, and Inner Carniola, in a triangle between the towns of Tolmin, Škofja Loka, and Vrhnika. Among other features, this group is characterized by shortening of long diphthongal ie and uo, akanye, and general development of g to The Upper Carniolan dialect group (gorenjska narečna skupina), spoken in most of Upper Carniola and in Ljubljana. Among other features, this group is characterized by monophthongal stressed vowels, an acute semivowel, pitch accent, standard circumflex shift, and two accentual retractions with some exceptions. It features narrowing of o and e in preaccentual position, akanye (reduction of o to a) in postaccentual position, and strong syncope. There is a partial development of g to , preservation of bilabial w, and general hardening of soft l’ and ń. The Lower Carniolan dialect group (dolenjska narečna skupina), spoken in most of Lower Carniola and in the eastern half of Inner Carniola. Among other features, this group is characterized by pitch accent, extensive diphththongization (ei̯, ie, ou̯), an a colored ə, shift of o > u, and partial akanye. The Styrian dialect group (štajerska narečna skupina), spoken in central and eastern Slovenian Styria and in the Lower Sava Valley and Central Sava Valley. Among other features, this group is characterized by loss of pitch accent, tonemically high and lengthened accented syllables, lengthening of accented short syllables, and frequent development of a > o̧, and u > ü in the eastern part of the territory. The Pannonian dialect group (panonska narečna skupina), or northeastern dialect group, spoken in northeastern Slovenia (Prekmurje, in the eastern areas of Slovenian Styria), and among the Hungarian Slovenes. Among other features, this group is characterized by loss of pitch accent, non lengthened short syllables, and a new acute on short syllables. The horizontal division is in professional literature based on various non linguistic and linguistic factors. Non linguistic factors include settlement patterns and geographical features (rivers, mountains) that helped shape various isoglosses. Linguistic factors include language contact with non Slavic languages to some extent, phonological and prosodic elements in particular, and to a lesser extent word formational, lexical, and inflectional elements.