Čabranka dialect

The Čabranka dialect (Slovene: čabranško narečje [t͡ʃaˈbɾaːnʃkɔ naˈɾeːt͡ʃjɛ], čebranško narečje), also known in Croatian literature as western microdialects of the Western Goran subdialect (Serbo-Croatian: zapadni goranski poddijalekt, zapadni gorskokotarski poddijalekt, Slovene: zahodni goranski govori, zahodni gorskokotarski govori), is a dialect spoken along the Upper Kupa Valley and in Gorski Kotar in Slovenia and Croatia. The dialect originates from Alpine Slavic, a predecessor of modern Slovene, but speakers living in Croatia self-identify as speaking Croatian. The dialect borders the Lower Carniolan dialect to the north, the Mixed Kočevje subdialects to the northeast, the Kostel dialect to the southeast, the Eastern Goran dialect to the south, and various Chakavian dialects to the southwest and west. The dialect belongs to the Lower Carniolan dialect group, and it evolved from the Lower Carniolan dialect base. Until recently, the Čabranka dialect was considered to be part of the Kostel dialect, but it was later discovered that both dialects had evolved differently but are in the process of becoming more similar to each other. Despite the new name, it is still often referred to as the Western Kostel microdialects.