Editing Sylt (section)

== Culture ==
Sylt is a part of the [[Frisian Islands]]. It has its own local dialect, [[Söl'ring]], which is the indigenous speech of Sylt. Söl'ring is a dialect of insular [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]], with elements of [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[English language|English]]. The island has a museum called ''Altfriesisches Haus'' (Sölring Museen, Altfriesisches Haus in Keitum).

Today, only a small fraction of the population still speak Söl'ring. A law to promote the language (''Friesisch-Gesetz'') was passed in 2004. The northernmost part of the island, ''Listland'', was traditionally Danish-speaking.

As in many areas in [[Schleswig-Holstein]] on [[New Year's Eve]], groups of children go masked from house to house, reciting poems. This is known as "Rummelpottlaufen", and as a reward, children receive sweets or money.

Sylt also features many Frisian-style houses with [[Thatching|thatched roofs]].

Since the mid-18th century, the vowel in the name of the island has been represented as "y" for unknown reasons, while older spellings are ''Sildt'' and ''Silt'', allegedly derived from Danish ''sild'' "[[herring]]",<ref>{{citation |author=J. Booysen |title=Beschreibung der insel Silt in geographischer, statistischer und historischer Rücksicht |year=1828 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJ8rAQAAIAAJ |pages=5–6}}</ref> or maybe related to English [[silt]].

Sylt is mentioned in a [[pangram]], a sentence that uses every letter in the German alphabet, including every umlaut (ä, ö, ü) plus the ß: ''Victor jagt zwölf Boxkämpfer quer über den großen Sylter Deich'' ("Victor chases twelve boxers across the Great Levee of Sylt").

=== Sylt in painting ===
Among the first painters who discovered Sylt as a [[theme (narrative)|theme]] were [[Eugen Dücker]] and [[Eugen Bracht]]. [[Franz Korwan]] followed them.
The painter Andreas Dirks was born in [[Tinnum]] on Sylt in 1865. He studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy and in Weimar, lived in Düsseldorf since 1895, accepted a professorship there in 1916 and at the same time maintained a studio in Westerland.
[[Ulrich Schulte-Wülwer]] described him as "...&nbsp;the strongest artistic talent that the island has produced". [[Carl Arp]] came to Sylt in 1903.
Painters like [[Emil Nolde]], [[Erich Heckel]], [[Anita Rée]] and [[Albert Aereboe]] moved to Sylt. Contemporary artists include the painters and sculptors [[Rainer Fetting]] and [[Ingo Kühl]], who live in Berlin and on Sylt.

<gallery widths=180>
Eugen Felix Prosper Bracht Küste auf Sylt.jpg|[[Eugen Bracht]] ''Küste auf Sylt'' ([[Morsum-Kliff]]), 1897, Oil on canvas {{convert|61.5 × 50.5|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}}
Korwan-Winter.jpg|[[Franz Korwan]] ''Winter auf Sylt'', Oil on wood {{convert|24 × 38|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}}, without year
1905 Arp Küstenlandschaft auf Sylt (Morsumkliff) anagoria.JPG|[[Carl Arp]] ''Küstenlandschaft auf Sylt (Morsumkliff)'' 1905, Oil on canvas {{convert|47,5 × 59.5|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}}, Museumsberg Flensburg
1910 Hablik Landschaft auf Sylt anagoria.JPG|[[Wenzel Hablik]] ''Landschaft auf Sylt'' 1910, Oil on canvas, Museumsberg Flensburg
Andreas Dirks - Munkmarschener Hafenansicht auf Sylt (1922).jpg|Andreas Dirks ''Munkmarschener Hafenansicht auf Sylt'', 1922, Oil on canvas
Anita Rée Oase in Kampen.jpg|[[Anita Rée]] ''Die Oase in Kampen'', 1932/33, Watercolor {{convert|39 × 49|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}}
Ingo Kühl - HAUS AM WATT VIII, Öl auf Leinwand 150 x 200 cm, WV 10-15.jpg|[[Ingo Kühl]] ''Haus am Watt'', 2015, Oil on canvas {{convert|150 × 200|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}}
</gallery>