Editing Samogitia (section)

==Demographics and language==
[[File:Map of dialects of Lithuanian language.png|thumb|left|Samogitian sub-dialects are marked in brown, red, pink, yellow and orange]]
The people of Žemaitija speak Samogitian, a variety of Lithuanian that was previously considered one of three main dialects (modern linguists have determined that it is one of two dialects, the other being the [[Aukštaitian dialect]] and that both of these dialects have subdialects each).
Samogitian has northern and southern dialects, which are further subdivided. A western dialect once existed in the [[Klaipėda region]], but it became extinct after [[World War II]] after its inhabitants fled the region as a result of being expelled or persecuted by the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet]] authorities.[[File:Baltic Tribes c 1200.svg|thumb|200px|In the context of the other Baltic tribes, Žemaičiai (Samogitians) are shown as an ethnic group of [[Lithuanian people|Lithuanians]].]]
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the [[Samogitians]] of the Klaipėda region called themselves "[[Lietuvininks|Lietuvininkai]]",{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} whereas at the end of the 19th century when the area, known in German as the [[Memelland]], was part of [[Prussia]] (Germany), they were known as "Prūsai". After [[World War II]], the territory of the western subdialect was resettled mainly by northern and southern Žemaičiai and by other Lithuanians. Samogitian has a broken intonation ("laužtinė priegaidė", a variant of a [[Lithuanian accentuation|start-firm accent]]) similar to that of the [[Latvian language]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1982_1/82_1_02.htm|title=Standard Lithuanian and its Dialects|website=Lituanus.org|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref> In 2010, the Samogitian language was assigned with an ISO 639-3 standard language code ("sgs"), as some languages, that were considered by ISO 639-2 to be dialects of one language, are now in ISO 639-3 in certain contexts considered to be individual languages themselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=sgs|title=sgs – ISO 639-3|website=Sil.org|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref>

Žemaitija is one of the most ethnically homogeneous regions of the country, with an ethnic Lithuanian population exceeding 99.5% in some [[Administrative division of Lithuania|districts]]. During the first part of the 19th century, Žemaitija was a major center of Lithuanian culture (Žemaičiai traditionally tended to oppose any anti-Lithuanian restrictions). The local religion is predominantly [[Roman Catholic]], although there are significant [[Lutheran]] minorities in the south.

The use of the Samogitian language is decreasing as more people tend to use Lithuanian, although there have been some minor attempts by local councils, especially in [[Telšiai]], to write certain roadside information in Samogitian as well some schools teach children Samogitian in schools.