Littoral dialect group in the context of "Inner Carniola"

In a purely dialectological sense, Slovene dialects (Slovene: slovenska narečja [sloʋènska narét͡ʃja], Serbo-Croatian: slovenska narječja [slǒʋeːnskaː nǎːrjeːt͡ʃja]) are the regionally diverse varieties that evolved from old Slovene, a South Slavic language of which the standardized modern version is Standard Slovene. This also includes several dialects in Croatia, most notably the so-called Western Goran dialect, which is actually Kostel dialect. In reality, speakers in Croatia self-identify themselves as speaking Croatian, which is a result of a ten centuries old country border passing through the dialects since the Francia. In addition, two dialects situated in Slovene (and the speakers self identify as speaking Slovene) did not evolve from Slovene (left out in the map on the right). The Čičarija dialect is a Chakavian dialect and parts of White Carniola were populated by Serbs during the Turkish invasion and therefore Shtokavian is spoken there.

Spoken Slovene is often considered to have at least 48 dialects (narečja) and 13 subdialects (podnarečja). The exact number of dialects is open to debate, ranging from as many as 50 to merely 7. According to the official chart, published by the Fran Ramovš Institute, there are 48 dialects and 13 subdialects, but that includes all dialects spoken in Slovene. Čičarija dialect is included as a separate dialect and Shtokavian in White Carniola is merged with South White Carniolan. However, the official chart was not updated to include Čabar dialect, which was only recently been discovered to have evolved differently than Kostel dialect, under which it was traditionally listed. Therefore, that division includes 48 dialects and 13 subdialects.

Resia (Resian: Reśija; Slovene: Rezija; Friulian: Resie) is a comune (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy, bordering on the municipalities of Chiusaforte, Lusevera, Resiutta, and Venzone, and also on two of the Slovenian municipalities (Kobarid and Bovec). Its residents speak an archaic dialect known as Resian, which is – according to most linguists – a transitional dialect between the Carinthian and Littoral dialects of Slovene. Although they maintain their own traditional system of family names, which are of Slavic origin, the people of Resia have either Italian or Italianized surnames, similarly to some areas in Venetian Slovenia.

It is located in the alpine valley of the same name in the Julian Alps, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) northwest of Trieste and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Udine, on the border with Slovenia and around 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the border with Austria. As of 1 January 2015, it had a population of 1,048 and an area of 119.0 square kilometres (45.9 sq mi).

The Torre Valley dialect or Ter Valley dialect (Slovene: tersko narečje [ˈtɛ́ːɾskɔ naˈɾéːt͡ʃjɛ], terščina) is the westernmost and the most Romanized Slovene dialect. It is one of the most endangered Slovene dialects and is threatened with possible extinction. It is also one of the most archaic Slovene dialects, together with the Gail Valley and Natisone Valley dialects, which makes it interesting for typological research. It is spoken mainly in the Torre Valley in the Province of Udine in Italy, but also in western parts of the Municipality of Kobarid in the Slovene Littoral in Slovenia. The dialect borders the Soča dialect to the east, the Natisone Valley dialect to the southeast, Resian to the north, and Friulian to the southwest and west. The dialect belongs to the Littoral dialect group, and it evolved from Venetian–Karst dialect base.

The Soča dialect (Slovene: obsoško narečje [ɔpˈsóːʃkɔ naˈɾéːt͡ʃjɛ]) is a Slovene dialect spoken in upper Soča Valley. It is one of the most archaic Slovene dialects, together with the Natisone Valley, Torre Valley, and Rosen Valley dialects. It borders the Karst dialect to the south, Natisone Valley dialect to the southwest, Torre Valley and Resian dialects to the west, Fiulian and Carinthian Bavarian to the northwest, Gail Valley dialect to the north, Upper Carniolan dialect to the east, and Tolmin dialect to the southeast. The dialect belongs to the Littoral dialect group, and it evolved from Soča–Idrija dialect base.

The Čičarija dialect (čiško narečje, čički dialekt) is a Slovene dialect in the Littoral dialect group. It is spoken in a few villages in Slovenian Istria near the Croatian border in the Čičarija region in the villages of Skadanščina, Golac, Obrov, Podbeže, Podgrad, Poljane, Račice and Starod. By number of speakers, it is one of the smallest Slovene dialects.

The Natisone Valley dialect (Natisone Valley: nedìško narèčje; Slovene: nadiško narečje [naˈdíːʃkɔ naˈɾéːt͡ʃjɛ], nadiščina; Italian: dialetto natisoniano), or Nadiža dialect, is a Slovene dialect spoken mainly in Venetian Slovenia, but also in a small part of Slovenia. It is one of the two dialects in the Littoral dialect group to have its own written form, along with Resian. It is closely related to the Torre Valley dialect, which has a higher degree of vowel reduction but shares practically the same accented vowel system. It borders the Torre Valley dialect to the northwest, the Soča dialect to the northeast, the Karst dialect to the southeast, the Brda dialect to the south, and Friulian to the west. The dialect belongs to the Littoral dialect group, and it evolved from Venetian–Karst dialect base.

The Karst dialect (Slovene: kraško narečje [ˈkɾáːʃkɔ naˈɾéːt͡ʃjɛ], kraščina), sometimes called the Gorizia–Karst dialect (Slovene: goriškokraško narečje [gɔˈɾìːʃkɔˈkɾáːʃkɔ naˈɾéːt͡ʃjɛ]), is a Slovene dialect spoken on the northern Karst Plateau, in the central Slovene Littoral, and in parts of the Italian provinces of Trieste and Gorizia. The dialect borders the Inner Carniolan dialect to the south, the Cerkno dialect to the east, the Tolmin dialect to the northeast, the Soča dialect to the north, the Natisone Valley and Brda dialects to the northwest, and Venetian and Friulian to the west. The dialect belongs to the Littoral dialect group, and it evolved from the Venetian–Karst dialect base.