Editing Kashubian language (section)

===Syllable stress===
Kashubian features free placement of [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]], and in some cases, mobile stress, and in northern dialects, unstressed syllables can result in [[vowel reduction]].{{sfn|Breza|Treder|1981|pp=20}} An archaic word final stress is preserved in some two-syllable adjectives, adverbs, and regularly in the [[Comparison (grammar)|comparative degree]] of adverbs, in some infinitives and present and past tense forms, some nouns ending in ''-ô'', in [[diminutive]]s. ending in ''-ik''/''-yk'', nouns formed with ''-c'' and ''-k'', and some prepositional phrases with pronouns.{{sfn|Breza|Treder|1981|pp=20}}{{sfn|Makùrôt|2016|pp=38}}

Stress mobility can be observed in nouns, where in the singular the stress is initial, but in the plural it's on the final syllable of the stem, i.e. {{lang|csb|k'òlano}} but {{lang|csb|kòl'anami}}, and in some verb forms, i.e. {{lang|csb|k'ùpi}} vs {{lang|csb|kùp'ita}}. Some dialects have merged ''ë'' with ''e'', making the distinction contrastive. Most of this mobility is limited to morphology and stress has largely stabilized in Kashubian.{{sfn|Breza|Treder|1981|pp=20}}

Northern and central dialects show a much more limited mobility, as northern dialects show stabilization on initial stress, and central shows constant distance between the stressed syllable and the initial syllable of the word.{{sfn|Breza|Treder|1981|pp=20—21}} [[Proclitic]]s such as prepositions, pronouns, and grammatical particles such as {{lang|csb|nié}} may take initial stress.{{sfn|Breza|Treder|1981|pp=21}}{{sfn|Makùrôt|2016|pp=38}}

Eastern groups place accents on the penultimate syllable.{{sfn|Breza|Treder|1981|pp=24}}

The difference between southern and northern dialects dates as far back as the 14th—15th century and is the result of changes to the [[Proto-Slavic language#Phonology|Proto-Slavic vowel length system]].