Beautiful Slovenia

Discussion in 'Central & Eastern Europe' started by AZ2SI, Apr 11, 2005.

  1. AZ2SI

    AZ2SI Member

    Oh, I just found a map of traditional Slovenian dialects, as requested above. You can immediately see just how lingustically diverse Slovenia is:

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    Source: copi.at

    You'll find the key here, but may have to enlarge it if your browser automatically resizes it.
     
  2. all I can say about those photos is that they are truly beautiful. Now I want to go there. I think I will look into it for next year. When is the best time to go price and weather wise???
     
  3. AZ2SI

    AZ2SI Member

    Thanks, bella italiana. Summer tends to be the best time of the year to visit Slovenia, even though some of the most well-known areas (Bohinj, Bled, Ljubljana, the caves, Piran) can get a bit crowded. However, you won't find too many tourists in other areas, and Slovenia has plenty of hidden gems to explore. If you visit slightly out-of-season (May, early June, September), you will have more of the country just for yourself, but weather can be uncertain: You may get lucky and have warm, sunny days, or you could see rain and clouds that will obscure the mountains.

    Since I mentioned "hidden gems," one place that I really like but is missed by most tourists is the herders' settlement of Velika Planina, near the town of Kamnik and accessible by cable car. It boasts some wonderful traditional mountain architecture:

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    Source: burger.si

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    Click here to view this panorama.

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    Click here to view this panorama.

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    Click here to view this panorama.

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    Source: B. Kladnik and slovenia-tourism.si

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    Source: Bobo and slovenia-tourism.si

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    Source: B. Kladnik and slovenia-tourism.si

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    Source: B. Kladnik and slovenia-tourism.si

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    Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4972

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    Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4972

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    Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4972

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    Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4972

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    Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4972

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    Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4972

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    Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4972

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    Source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/4972
     
  4. Luciaviolin

    Luciaviolin Member

    Hi,
    I just read your fascinating explanation of the Slovene archaic dual number. Your examples remind me of colloquial Czech. For instance, s velikýmy vozy (proper Czech plural) = s velikejma vozama (colloquial), or s malými psy = s malejma psama, or s čistými zuby = s čistejma zubama and so on. Perhaps the dual meaning has been forgotten, but the words themselves remain? :shock:
    L
     
  5. AZ2SI

    AZ2SI Member

    Thanks for your interesting post, Luciaviolin. I'm not a linguist, but it appears that what you hypothesize (i.e. that old dual endings remained but lost their dual function) is precisely what happened. The same appears in standard Croatian and Serb, for instance: They don't have a grammatical dual, but many of their plural forms are essentially dual ones from Common Slavic, much like what we see in your colloquial Czech example. Common Slavic, BTW, had case endings pretty similar to modern Slovene.

    Why the dual forms, in some grammatical cases, "migrated" to the plural in colloquial Czech and standard Croatian/Serb (and possibly other Slavic languages) is a mystery to me, but maybe some Slavist will see this message and provide an explanation. I suspect that must have happened when the dual was starting to die out in those languages. The dual, coincidentally, no longer exists in most regional Slovene dialects either, but there is no dual-for-plural substitution in Slovene (that I know of) -- just plural-for-dual. The dual is an absolute must in formal Slovene, however (so it is not archaic in Slovene, but only in a broader Slavic context).

    It all gets even weirder: As mentioned above, some Slavic languages without a true dual, like Czech and Polish, use dual forms for a few collective nouns, such as eyes and hands. However, in Slovene, those nouns -- and only those nouns -- do not have a dual form at all. Bizarre, isn't it?
     
  6. AZ2SI

    AZ2SI Member

    If anyone's interested, the British Guardian newspaper published this interesting profile of Ljubljana recently:

    EXCERPT:

    "Last year, Guardian and Observer readers voted Slovenia their favourite European country. But does it really exist? Three years ago, it wasn't even in the top 20. It doesn't sound real - imaginary countries invariably end in "-nia", like Ruritania and Freedonia in the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup. In 1991, it suddenly appeared out of nowhere, claiming to have been there all along, rather like Buffy The Vampire Slayer's sister. Until then, most people had assumed that the northern part of Yugoslavia was populated by Slavs (or possibly Yugos) who spoke one or other dialect of Serbo-Croat. But the new Slovenia insisted it was a proper nation state with its own unique history, culture and language. Since the break-up of Yugoslavia, Serbo-Croat no longer exists - it has been split into two separate languages, Serbian and Croat, of which Slovene is now officially a distant relative. "Perhaps a few words in common," the Slovenians say. They will also tell you that there are no swearwords in Slovene, and the rudest insult roughly translates as "May you be kicked by a chicken!"

    "Arriving in the capital, Ljubljana, does little to dispel the sense of unreality. It is a miniature city, an improbably beautiful mixture of old, art nouveau and modern baroque in ice-cream colours. It looks like a set for a stage production of The Prisoner Of Zenda - probably a musical version.

    "As capital cities go it is tiny; 300 yards from the centre, people are growing vegetables in their front gardens. From the top of the castle you can see the whole city, and the Tivoli Gardens stretch all the way from the centre to open country, starting as formal parkland then quickly turning into woodland indistinguishable from the natural forest beyond. Before the ring road was built, deer were often found wandering in the heart of the city, and sometimes bears, or so they say."

    COMPLETE ARTICLE (free registration may be required):
    http://travel.guardian.co.uk/cities/story/0,7450,1566468,00.html
     
  7. brook

    brook Well-Known Member

    Wow, I just noticed this forum...thought I'd post a comment or two. :)

    It is torture looking at those photos - I've wanted to visit Slovenia for a while now! A coworker of mine went to Slovenia about a year ago on business and brought me back all these wonderful brochures and articles and postcards. So beautiful. He was equally impressed by the kind people and the supposedly delicious pizza - rivaling Italy's! He said he was sad to see some of the buildings marred by grafitti though (apparently not just an issue in Prague).

    If you are still out there and reading this forum... I would be curious to know how expensive it is to spend a few days in Ljubljana - is it reasonable for someone on a budget? Also, I have been looking into doing walking tours in Ireland and Scotland (the kind where you walk/hike the countryside for a few days, staying in hostels or small bed & breakfasts along the way - my kind of travelling!) - are there similar things in Slovenia? Thanks!
     
  8. LaRusski

    LaRusski Active Member

    Slovenia is a beautiful country...I really want to go there!
     
  9. AZ2SI

    AZ2SI Member

    Brook: Sorry for my incredibly belated response, but I haven't visited this forum in a long time. Since I'm not sure if you're still here (or still interested in traveling to Slovenia), I'll be brief in my response and you can PM me for more information:

    Ljubljana is more expensive than Slovenia as a whole, which is cheaper than "Western" Europe, but more expensive than many other "Eastern" European countries. There are a few budget hotels in Ljubljana, but not that many to choose from. The price of food and lodging tends to drop the moment you leave the city.

    Slovenia has plenty of great walking trails, many of them signposted and marked on official maps. Some will take you into the Alps, while others stay in the gentle lowlands. In the Alps, hut-to-hut hiking is a popular option; elsewhere, tourist farms are an affordable and authentic form of accomodation (most also serve great home cooking). You'll find more info here.

    You're right about grafitti, BTW. It is, unfortunately, a big problem in Slovenia.
     
  10. laylah

    laylah Well-Known Member

    the photographs show Slovenia to be very beautiful. I wonder if you can give me any information about industry/pollution levels in the country?

    I ask because I have been very ill due to exposure to chemicals, and I'm now very sensitive to environmental pollution. :(

    I have read that some areas of the Czech Republic, particularly Silesia, have very high pollution levels, so I would like to know what the situation is like regarding pollution in Slovenia.

    Thanks for any info :)

    Laylah.
     
  11. Ájík

    Ájík Well-Known Member

    I have driven through the Slovenia several times. Very beautiful country! The villages were much cleaner then in Croatia, almost like Austria's.
     
  12. geauxboy

    geauxboy Well-Known Member

    I trained it through Slovakia last year, but didn't get to see the beautiful sights like in your pics. I thought it would be better. I traveled to Prague from Budapest. Most trains don't go through the best parts anyway. Slovakia is next on my list.
     
  13. wissy

    wissy Well-Known Member

    geauxboy.

    Slovenia is a different country to Slovakia. :oops: It is south of Czech Republic and shares a border with Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Austria.
     
  14. doman

    doman Well-Known Member

    Yeah, the capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana, and had gaining independence in 1991 from Ex Youngoslavia. Bratislava belongs to Slovakia. Very easy to get wrong about the names of these countries. I wonder what script they use in Slovenia, is similarity to Czech ?
     
  15. matjaz

    matjaz New Member


    Slovakia is not the same country as Slovenia!!!


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    8)
     
  16. geauxboy

    geauxboy Well-Known Member

    I know. I showed my girlfriend the pictures last night and she pointed out that glaring fact that this is Slovenia and not Slovakia. DUH! I guess I was seeing Slovakia when it was Slovenia the whole time.

    It's actually better that it is Slovenia as my girlfriend is Italian and she comes from the town of Clout which is rather close to the Slovenia border. She is already setting up a Milan/Venice/Ljubljana trip. I will take this thread and plan the Slovenia trip accordingly.

    Ooooops! :)
     
  17. Zeisig

    Zeisig Well-Known Member

    The English-Slovenian-Slovak Concise Dictionary:

    Slovenia Slovenija Slovinsko
    Slovakia Slovaška Slovensko

    Slovene (language) Slovenščina Slovinčina
    Slovak (language) Slovaščina Slovenčina

    Male Slovene Slovenec Slovinec
    Male Slovak Slovak Slovák

    Female Slovene Slovenka Slovinka
    Female Slovak Slovakinja Slovenka

    Slovenian (adj.) Slovenski Slovinský
    Slovak(ian) (adj.) Slovaški Slovenský
     
  18. doman

    doman Well-Known Member

    It's dread ! :) Changing two letters, we will move from Slovakia to Slovenia... :D
     
  19. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    Clear as mud, Zeisig! Maybe there's some logic in having everyone learn Esperanto after all ...
     
  20. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    And then, changing two letters we can move from Slovenia to Slavonia :twisted:.
     

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