South Karelian is the most spoken of the two dialects of Karelian Proper, and it is spoken in Russian Central Karelia and in the Tver oblast. South Karelian was also previously spoken in Ladoga Karelia[1] [2] Many speakers of the South Karelian dialect were evacuated into Finland during the 20th century, where it still retains a number of speakers.[3] South Karelian displays a higher degree of regional variation than any other Karelian dialect.
The Karelian enclave dialects such as Tikhvin, Valday and Tver Karelian are also traditionally seen as forms of South Karelian.[4]
South Karelian is mainly distinguished from North Karelian by containing the sounds b, d, g, z and ž, which are missing from the Northern dialect of Karelian proper.[5]
The following example is taken from a 2016 Karelian even in Seinäjoki:[6]
| Suojärvellä rištikanzat paistih karjalua dai vielä voinan jälgeh Valdimolla elevyttyö. Rannanhierus susiedat kaikin paistih mugaleite. Yhenjyty miegi opassuin pagizemah. Engo ni muuda malttan školah männessä. | Suojärvellä ihmiset puhuivat karjalaa, myös vielä sodan jälkeen asetuttuaan Valtimolle. Rannankylässä kaikki naapurit puhuivat samalla tavalla. Minäkin opin puhumaan siten. Enkä muuta osannutkaan mennessäni kouluun | In Suojärvi, people spoke Karelian, even after the war when they had settled in Valtimo. In Rannankylä, all the neighbors spoke the same way. I also learned to speak like that. And I didn’t know any other language when I went to school |
| pakkaskuu | pakkaiskuu | pakkaiskuu | January | |
| tuhukuu | tuuččakuu | tuiskukuu | February | |
| kevätkuu | kevätkuu | kevätkuu | March | |
| sulakuu | sulakuu | šulakuu | April |