Editing Belarusian language (section)

==Dialects==
[[File:Dialects of Belarusian language be-tarask.png|left|thumb|
Dialects<br />
{{legend|#70BEC5|North-Eastern}}
{{legend|#D29FE6|Middle}}
{{legend|#FFAAAA|South-Western}}
{{legend|#FFFF99|West Polesian}}

Lines<br />
{{legend-line|#FF0000 dotted 3px|Area of Belarusian language (1903, Karski)<ref>{{cite book|author=Карский, Е. Ф.|title=Белорусы: 3 т. Т. 1. / Уступны артыкул М. Г. Булахава, прадмова да першага тома і каментарыі В. М. Курцовай, А. У. Унучака, І. У. Чаквіна.; (Карскій. Бѣлоруссы. Т. I – Вильна, 1903)|place=Мн.|publisher=БелЭн|year=2006|isbn=985-11-0360-8}} (Т.1), {{ISBN|985-11-0359-4}}</ref>}}
{{legend-line|#3333FF dotted 3px|Eastern border of western group of Russian dialects (1967, Zaharova, Orlova) }}
{{legend-line|#339900 dotted 3px|Border between Belarusian and Russian or Ukrainian (1980, Bevzenk)}}
]]

Besides the [[standard language|standardized lect]], there are two main [[dialect]]s of the Belarusian language, the North-Eastern and the South-Western. In addition, there is a transitional Middle Belarusian dialect group and the separate West Polesian dialect group.

The North-Eastern and the South-Western dialects are separated by a hypothetical line [[Ashmyany]]–[[Minsk]]–[[Babruysk]]–[[Gomel]], with the area of the Middle Belarusian dialect group placed on and along this line.

The North-Eastern dialect is chiefly characterized by the "soft sounding R" ({{lang|be|мякка-эравы}}) and "strong [[akanye]]" ({{lang|be|моцнае аканне}}), and the South-Western dialect is chiefly characterized by the "hard sounding R" ({{lang|be|цвёрда-эравы}}) and "moderate akanye" ({{lang|be|умеранае аканне}}).

The [[West Polesian|West Polesian dialect group]] is separated from the rest of the country by the conventional line [[Pruzhany]]–[[Ivatsevichy]]–[[Tsyelyakhany]]–[[Luninyets]]–[[Stolin]].