The aim of this paper is to give a preliminary phonological and phonetic description of the vowel system of the contemporary Zaborian dialect of Kashubian. The analysis is based on the pronunciation of 150 words by four speakers of this dialect. All oral vowel phonemes reported in the older descriptions – /i, u, a, e, ɛ, o, ɔ, ɵ, ʌ/ – have been retained, possibly with some restrictions to /ɵ/ in some parts of the dialectal area. Conversely, the nasal vowels were lost (depending on the position, they split into /VN/ or became denasalized). From the phonetic point of view, there are some recent changes to report, e.g. (1) the loss of fronted and diphthongal variants of /u, ɔ/, (2) the loss of [e] as main allophone of /e/ and its pronunciation as [ɘ̟], and (3) a relatively lax pronunciation of /ɛ, ɔ/. All these changes are likely to be the result of the Polish influence. The phoneme /ɵ/ has a regular length, unlike its counterparts in other Kashubian dialects. Generally, the vowel system of Zaborian does not show any internal dynamics, in contrast to the systems of Central and North Kashubian.
The article discusses the position of the Luzino dialect among Kashubian dialects in the light of phonetic and phonological features. The analysis takes into account eleven vowel features, one consonant feature and two prosodical features. A significant part of the discussed phenomena are the recent phenomena that have gone unnoticed, or been dealt with only marginally in the existing literature on the subject. One archaism links the Luzino dialect with the core central Kashubian area, but it is differentiated by seven innovations. The peripheral central Kashubian dialects indicate stronger relationships with the area of Luzino (one important archaism and one significant north Kashubian innovation). Three archaisms and nine innovations link the Luzino dialect withthe north Kashubian area. Two vocal changes are typical only of the discussed area, and differentiate it from northern as well as southern Kashubian. From the phonetic and phonological point of view, the Luzino dialect should undoubtedly be classified as a marginal north Kashubian dialect.
The paper gives a phonological and acoustic description of the Luzino vowel system. The analysis showed evident phonetic changes in the last 50–60 years which are, however, not so numerous and striking as in many other Kashubian dialects. The most important of them are: heightening of stressed *[ɛ] into [ɘ̟], phonetic reduction and identification of unstressed *[ɛ] and [ə], splitting of *[ɑ̃, õ] into [VN], and disappearance of fronted allophones of /u/. The paper enabled also to describe some vowel sounds of the dialect much more precisely than it was done in the past which apply especially to *[ə] and *[ɑː]. As to the phonology, contrasts between all 9 oral phonemes established in older descriptions were retained. The original nasal vowels were, conversely, lost as phonemes and developed into sequences /Vŋ/ with various phonetic realizations of /ŋ/.