Editing Samogitians (section)

{{Short description|Lithuanian ethnic group}}
{{infobox ethnic group
| group            = Samogitians
| native_name      = žemaitē
| native_name_lang = [[Samogitian dialect|Samogitian]]
| image            = Paysans des environs de Samogitie et des Gitans (1ère partie du XIXème siècle).jpg
| image_caption    = Samogitians in the first half of the 19th century
| pop              = {{circa}} 500,000 in Lithuania (estimated)
| popplace         = [[Samogitia]]
| rels             = [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]
| langs            = [[Samogitian dialect|Samogitian]], Standard [[Lithuanian language]]
| related          = [[Aukštaitija|Aukštaitians]], [[Curonians]]
}}

'''Samogitians''' ([[Samogitian dialect|Samogitian]]: ''žemaitē'', {{langx|lt|žemaičiai}}, {{langx|lv|žemaiši}}) are the inhabitants of [[Samogitia]], an [[Ethnographic regions of Lithuania|ethnographic region of Lithuania]]. Many speak the [[Samogitian language]], which in [[Lithuania]] is mostly considered a [[Lithuanian language#Dialects|dialect of the Lithuanian language]] together with the [[Aukštaitian dialect]].<ref name="TrueLithuania">{{cite web |title=Samogitia (Northwest Lithuania) |url=http://www.truelithuania.com/samogitia-northwest-lithuania-241 |website=TrueLithuania.com |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> The Samogitian language differs the most from the standard Lithuanian language.<ref name="TrueLithuania"/>

Whether Samogitians are considered to be a distinct ethnic group or merely a subset of [[Lithuanians]] varies. However, 2,169 people declared their ethnicity as Samogitian during the Lithuanian census of 2011, of whom 53.9% live in [[Telšiai County]].<ref>[http://www.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/217110/Lietuviai_priskyre_save_zemaiciams.xls/df1bd36b-be99-4992-b4d5-51e2dc9bac8f Statistics (in Lithuania)].</ref> The political recognition and cultural understanding of the Samogitian ethnicity has, however, changed drastically throughout the last few centuries as 448,022 people declared themselves Samogitians, not Lithuanians, in the [[Russian Empire Census|1897 Russian Empire census]].<ref>[http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_lan_97.php 1897 Russian Empire Census]</ref>