The Southwestern Ukrainian dialects () are, together with the Northern and Southeastern groups, one of the three main dialect groups of the Ukrainian language. In contrast to Southeastern, which is the literary standard of Ukrainian within Ukraine, Southwestern is common within the Ukrainian diaspora, much of which comes from Western Ukraine.
Southwestern dialects are separated from dialects transitional to Northern Ukrainian along the line Hrubieszów-Volodymyr-Lutsk-Zdolbuniv-Zhytomyr-Bila Tserkva. The separating line between Southwestern and Southeastern Ukrainian dialects runs (north to south) from the western outskirts of Bila Tserkva through Uman and Ananiiv and up to the Dniester.
The Southwestern dialects contain more archaisms than the Southeastern dialects, but do not use the same archaic vowel system as the Northern dialects. Among the speakers of the Carpathian dialect group, regardless of stress, historic vowel sounds and become , becomes , and becomes . In the GalicianâÂÂBukovinian dialect group, becomes or , and becomes .
Southwestern dialects differ from Southeastern dialects by the presence of palatalized consonants in compounds úø, àø, óø (ûðòúÃÂ, ûðòúÃÂ; ÃÂûÃÂàÃÂ, ÃÂûÃÂàÃÂ); lack of distinction between palatalized and unpalatalized [r] (ÃÂðà- ÃÂðÃÂùð); lack of lengthened consonants in some varieties; stronger palatalization of dental consonants, especially [s], [z], [tás]; presence of consonant devoicing before unvoiced consonants and in word-final position (óÃÂøÿ, ôÃÂÃÂ); replacement of compound òù with òû (ôõÃÂõòûÃÂðýøù, ÷ôþÃÂþòûÃÂð); unpalatalized [s] in compound -ÃÂÃÂú(øù): ÿðýÃÂúøù.
Historically, the Southwestern dialects also separated foreign loanwords from native Ukrainian words by usage of the sound for "" rather than the typically used for the sound in non-loanwords. This practice ended following the Ukrainian orthography of 1933 and the Soviet annexation of Eastern Galicia and Volhynia. There are also differences in stress in many words between Southwestern and Southeastern dialects.
Unlike in Southeastern dialects, dative singular masculine ending -þòø (ÃÂøýþòø, ñÃÂðÃÂþòø) is typical for Southwestern dialects along with locative sg. masc.-ø in words such as (ýð) úþýø, ÷õüûø, ÃÂÃÂýø, ÿþûø. Genitive plural is formed with -øù (ûÃÂôøù, þÃÂøù, óþÃÂÃÂøù). Verb forms usually end with unpalatalized [t]: úÃÂøÃÂøÃÂ, úÃÂøÃÂðÃÂ, úÃÂøÃÂÃÂÃÂ; infinitives - with -ÃÂø, -ÃÂø (ñÃÂðÃÂø, úð÷ðÃÂø, ñõÃÂõÃÂø). Particle ÃÂàin Southwestern dialects can be also used before the verb: àÃÂàüøÃÂ, ÃÂø ÃÂàüõýõ ñþÃÂÃÂ.
Southwestern Ukrainian is broken into three dialect groups, each of which contain multiple dialects: