Upper Sorbian language
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Upper Sorbian (Template:Langx), occasionally referred to as Wendish (Template:Langx),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in the historical province of Upper Lusatia, today part of Saxony, Germany. It is a West Slavic language, along with Lower Sorbian, Czech, Polish, Silesian, Slovak, and Kashubian. It is now spoken by fewer than 10,000 people,Template:Sfnp mostly in Budyšin and its immediate countryside.Template:Sfnp
HistoryEdit
The history of the Upper Sorbian language in Germany began with the Slavic migrations during the 6th century AD. Beginning in the 12th century, there was a massive influx of rural Germanic settlers from Flanders, Saxony, Thuringia and Franconia. This so-called "{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}" (eastern settlement or expansion) led to a slow but steady decline in use of the Sorbian language. In addition, in the Saxony region, the Sorbian language was legally subordinated to the German language. Language prohibitions were later added: In 1293, the Sorbian language was forbidden in Berne castle before the courts; in 1327 it was forbidden in Zwickau and Leipzig, and from 1424 on it was forbidden in Meissen. Further, there was the condition in many guilds of the cities of the area to accept only members of German-language origin.
However, the central areas of the Milzener and Lusitzer, in the area of today's Lusatia, were relatively unaffected by the new German language settlements and legal restrictions. The language therefore flourished there. By the 17th century, the number of Sorbian speakers in that area grew to over 300,000. The oldest evidence of written Upper Sorbian is the Burger Eydt Wendisch document, which was discovered in the city of Bautzen and dates to the year 1532.
Upper Sorbian in GermanyEdit
There are an estimated 18,000 speakers of Upper Sorbian.<ref name="y632">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Almost all of these live in the state of Saxony, chiefly in the district of Bautzen (Budyšin). The stronghold of the language is the village of Crostwitz (Chrósćicy) and the surrounding municipalities, especially to the west of it. In this core area, Upper Sorbian remains the predominant vernacular. In this area, Sorbian is an official language and children are taught Sorbian in schools and day cares. Other concerted efforts to preserve the language through media, club, and related resources have continued into the 21st century.<ref name="y632">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In spite of these efforts, numbers of Upper Sorbian speakers were still considered to be dwindling. It has been suggested that this may be in part because of a lack of understanding of the benefits of bilingualism.<ref name="y632">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
PhonologyEdit
VowelsEdit
The vowel inventory of Upper Sorbian is exactly the same as that of Lower Sorbian.Template:Sfnp
- Word-initial vowels are rare, and are often preceded by a non-phonemic glottal stop Template:IPAblink, or sometimes Template:IPAblink. {{#invoke:IPA|main}} appear in word-initial position only in recent borrowings, whereas the diphthongs never occur in this position.Template:Sfnp
- The near-close {{#invoke:IPA|main}} can also be analyzed as diphthongs {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp Here, they are analyzed as monophthongs.
- The diphthongal allophones of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are falling: {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. {{#invoke:IPA|main}} occurs only under strong sentence stress in monosyllabic words. Conversely, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is a more common realization of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} than Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} has three allophones:
- Open-mid Template:IPAblink between hard consonants and after a hard consonant;Template:Sfnp
- Mid Template:IPAblink between soft consonants and after a soft consonant (excluding {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in both cases);Template:Sfnp
- Diphthong with a mid onset {{#invoke:IPA|main}} before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} has two allophones:
- Diphthong with a mid onset {{#invoke:IPA|main}} before labial consonants;Template:Sfnp
- Open-mid Template:IPAblink in all other cases.Template:Sfnp
- Additional diphthongs arise from r-vocalization, as in German. For instance, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'University' may be pronounced {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp
- The distinction between {{#invoke:IPA|main}} on the one hand and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} on the other is weakened or lost in unstressed syllables.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is phonetically central Template:IPAblink.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp It is somewhat higher Template:IPAblink after soft consonants.Template:Sfnp
ConsonantsEdit
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are bilabial, whereas {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are labiodental.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are strongly palatalized.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is a somewhat velarized bilabial approximant Template:IPAblink, whereas {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is a strongly palatalized bilabial approximant Template:IPAblink.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. On page 36, the author states that Upper Sorbian {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is less velar than Polish {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. The weakness of the velarization is confirmed by the corresponding image on page 37.</ref>
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is very rare. Apart from loanwords, it occurs only in two Slavonic words: zełharny {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'deceitful' and zełharnosć {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'deceitfulness', both of which are derivatives of łhać {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'to lie'. Usage of these words is typically restricted to the Bautzen dialect, as speakers of the Catholic dialect use łžeć {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and its derivatives.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are alveolar {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is alveolo-palatal Template:IPAblink, whereas {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are dental {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} before {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (in the case of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} also before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) are weakly palatalized {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. Template:Harvcoltxt also reports palatalized {{#invoke:IPA|main}} as allophones of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp Among these, the labiodental {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are extremely rare.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are velar {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in front of velar consonants.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is very rare. In many cases, it merges with {{#invoke:IPA|main}} into Template:IPAblink.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are very rare.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp According to Template:Harvcoltxt, the phonemic status of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is controversial.Template:Sfnp
- In most dialects, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are palato-alveolar. This is unlike Lower Sorbian, where these consonants are laminal retroflex (flat postalveolar) {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (Lower Sorbian {{#invoke:IPA|main}} does not have a voiced counterpart).Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Laminal retroflex realizations of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}Template:Fix also occur in Upper Sorbian dialects spoken in some villages north of Hoyerswerda.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are velar, whereas {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are uvular.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
- An aspirated {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is a morpheme-initial allophone of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in some cases, as well as a possible word-initial allophone of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is typically accompanied with trilling of the uvula Template:IPAblink, so that {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'fault' is typically pronounced {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} does not occur word-initially, whereas {{#invoke:IPA|main}} does not occur word-finally.Template:Sfnp
- {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are typically realized as fricatives {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or approximants {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. They can be trilled {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in clear and careful pronunciation. Furthermore, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} can also be realized as a voiceless fricative Template:IPAblink. It can also be vocalized in the syllable coda, as in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'University'.Template:Sfnp They are never alveolar {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, which is an archaic pronunciation.Template:Sfnp
- Soft {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is strongly palatalized.Template:Sfnp
- An epenthetic {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is inserted before a post-vocalic soft consonant, yielding a diphthong. If the soft consonant occurs before {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, it is often realized as hard, and the vowels merge to Template:IPAblink.Template:SfnpTemplate:Examples needed
- In literary language, the contrast between hard and soft consonants is neutralized in word-final position. For instance, the letter Template:Angle bracket represents the {{#invoke:IPA|main}} sequence in this position (as in dźeń {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'day'), not a single phoneme {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp
Final devoicing and assimilationEdit
Template:Expand section Upper Sorbian has both final devoicing and regressive voicing assimilation, both word-internal and across word boundaries.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp In the latter context, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is voiced to Template:IPAblink. Regressive voicing assimilation does not occur before sonorants and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp
StressEdit
- Words consisting of up to three syllables are stressed on the first syllable.Template:Sfnp
- Foreign words, such as student {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'student', preserve their original accent.Template:Sfnp
SamplesEdit
The Lord's Prayer in Upper Sorbian:
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Upper Sorbian:
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
(All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.)<ref>Sorbian at Omniglot.com</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
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- Ross, Malcom. 2020. Syntax and contact-induced language change. In A. Grant (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 123–154. [Upper Sorbian and German contact, with resulting changes in Sorbian]
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Further readingEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Sister project Template:Wikisource category Template:Sister project
- Online course for Upper and Lower Sorbian (English, Sorbian, German)
- Course in Upper Sorbian
- Kurs serbskeje rěče, introductory texts of the lessons included in the Sorbian language textbook Curs practic de limba sorabă
DictionariesEdit
- Template:In lang Upper Sorbian dictionary with common phrases
- Template:In lang Upper Sorbian phraseology dictionary
- Template:In lang SorbWord
- Template:In lang Sorbian 'language practice' page at Leipzig University
- Template:In lang Sorbian information page at Leipzig University
- Template:In lang Wortschatz.de
Czech-Sorbian and Sorbian-CzechEdit
German-SorbianEdit
Sorbian-GermanEdit
Template:Languages of Germany Template:Slavic languages Template:Authority control