Ikavian-Ekavian reflex of jat in the ？tokavian local varieties of the East Karlova？ko Pokuplje area

Sa？etak The Ikavian-Ekavian reflex of jat is a recognizable feature of the Middle ？akavian dialect of the ？akavian dialect group. The dialects of the Pokupsko and Prikupsko areas, in which the Ikavian-Ekavian jat reflex has been identified through existing dialect research, also belong to the ？akavian dialect group. This paper discusses the reflex of jat in the local varieties of Banska Selnica, Slunjska Selnica, Banski Moravci, Banski Kova？evac, and Kablar. These investigation spots are located on the right bank of the Kupa river, some 20 kilometers east of the town of Karlovac. The present population of the above villages were settled there by people from the regions of Pounje and western Bosnia after those regions had been invaded by the Ottoman armies. These people were referred to as Vlachs by the nineteenth-century historian Radoslav Lopa？i？. Field research conducted on all the varieties confirm linguistic traits which have so far in the relevant literature mostly been classified as ？tokavian dialect features. In addition, some other linguistic traits matching with other, non-？tokavian dialects of the Karlova？ko Pokuplje region have been confirmed. With a few exceptions, the reflex of jat in the studied varieties mostly complies with Meyer- -Jakubinskij's law, suggesting that this is a specific language situation, that is, that fundamentally ？tokavian dialects were subjected to the influence of neighboring Kajkavian-？akavian Ikavian-Ekavian dialects