Over a number of years, the speakers of a particular dialect or the local speech of a particular urban centre usually learn to use, more or less successfully, the standard Slovene language, primarily in everyday written communication. At the same time, the dialect, or at least some systemic elements of it, is incorporated into our everyday speech, which may sometimes be of a localised character – in my particular case, the speech of Pivka.
In general, it seems that (dialectal) local speech as a (non)systemic form of non-standard Slovene has only a very limited presence in the local media. The deciding factor is undoubtedly the theme being dealt with and the type of contribution, while in the next phase the infrequency of local speech is indicative of an inadequate systemic knowledge and awareness of one’s local dialect. The systemic knowledge and unrestricted use of one’s own speech in oral and written form is conceived as the use of all the fundamental language levels, from phonological to syntactical. In my local speech, I can observe that dialect expressions are disappearing, while syntax is also disintegrating, and its spoken and written appearances in the media are usually restricted to phonological and morphological properties.
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