Nevel dialect
| Nevel dialect | |
|---|---|
| Búvandländiskr Nevůnhulír | |
| Pronunciation | /byːʋandlɶndɪɕkɹ neʋʊnhʏliɹ/ |
| Region | File:Flag vyv.png Vyvland (File:Flag-nevel.png Nevel) |
Native speakers | 350,000 (2010) L2: 30,000 |
Indo-European
| |
| Latin script | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | File:Flag vyv.png Vyvland |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nvl |
| Linguasphere | 52-ACD |
The Nevel dialect (Búvandländiskr Nevůnhulír, pronunced /buːʋandlɶndɪɕkɹ neʋʊnhʏliɹ/), also known as Nevellian or simply as Nevel, is a Germanic language spoken in the province of Nevel, in western Vyvland. Although referred to as a dialect of Vyvlander (even by dialect speakers), linguists recognise the dialect to be a different language in its own right, with highly divergent grammar and phonology from the main language. The dialect is highly conservative, retaining five distinct cases from Proto-Germanic. By comparison, German and Icelandic retain four full cases, having lost the instrumental case, which the Nevel dialect has not. Few sound changes have also occurred from Proto-Germanic.
For these reasons, the dialect is postulated to have split off from Vyvlander before the arrival of the first Germanic settlers in Vyvland around 500 AD; the earliest written records of Vyvlander show changes which have not occurred in the dialect before or since. As it, thus, is presumed to have directly diverged from a form of Northwest Germanic and not through Old Norse, it is notionally classified as a West Germanic language, despite sharing fewer innovations with other languages in the group. The dialect was thus invaluable in the reconstruction of late Proto-Germanic.
The dialect, although in decline, remains alive and relatively well-used to this day, following extensive government support since the 1950s. Estimates about its number of regular speakers range from around 180,000 to 600,000, which is approximately a third of the province's population. It is taught in many of the province's schools, especially in the interior around the River Ryzer. In the municipality of Murzsoid (local dialect Marskssīdn), 94% of inhabitants use the dialect on a daily basis, while the dialect is taught in many of the area's schools. It is not native to the southern reaches of the province (areas around Langmaaf and Lishag), whose inhabitants instead tend to speak a more standard variety of Vyvlander or Geadish.