Dialect of Preschool Teachers and Preschool Children in the Dolenjska Kindergartens

Slovenian language hides many peculiarities, including dialects that are characteristic of the whole of Slovenia. With their use, we are quickly associated with the place where we come from and where this dialect is in active use. Through speech, we introduce ourselves to people, we get to know them, we exchange information and impressions, and sometimes we also say something in words, but also explain emotionally. Speech accompanies us from early childhood, although at first, it manifests as crying and laughter, yet it very quickly turns into beekeeping, babbling, and then into first words. In a family, as our primary environment, we set the first example for our actions and behaviors. Parents also use their speech to guide and warn the child about its proper use. For those who attend it, kindergarten represents the secondary environment, where the preschool teacher is a role model. He or she plans the activities that include speech, uses speech in communication and instruction, and sometimes effects indirectly. When a child enters the school, the difference between his or her use of Slovenian language compared to other fellow students becomes more pronounced. Through the schooling, he or she gets to know the Slovenian language better - its division and the role. Gradually, an attitude towards the language begins to form. In my thesis project, I observed children from kindergartens in the village and in the city, and I used the standardized interview with four preschool teachers. I found that older children have more dialectal speech than younger, and that dialectal speech is more pronounced in kindergarten in the village than in the city. I noticed differences between the preschool teachers in how much attention they pay to the dialect and its use in activities, although most of them use it when they work. They use the most dialect when they talk to a child individually, and less in group activities. However, all the preschool teachers agree that dialect is very important in the child's speech and language development, as they are present with them in kindergarten for most time of the day. Because many preschool teachers work with each other on a daily basis, many of them exchange messages in a dialect. However, when they meet at a professional working group, the speech is more formal, ie. literary colloquial. For all of them, dialect represents a specialty, a cultural heritage that we must preserve