Editing Old Prussian language

{{Short description|Extinct Western Baltic language}}
{{Redirect|Old Prussian|the people|Old Prussians}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Old Prussian
| altname = 
| nativename = {{lang|prg|Prūsiskai}}<ref name=ref1>The adverb {{lang|prg|Prūsiskai}} ('in Prussian') appears on the title page of the Königsberg catechism of 1561.<br>See {{cite book|first=Vytautas|last=Mažiulis|author-link=Vytautas Mažiulis|title=Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas|trans-title=Etymological Dictionary of Old Prussian|publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla|volume=3|pages=360–361|url=http://www.prusistika.flf.vu.lt/zodynas/paieska/|year=1996|isbn=978-54-2000-109-7}}</ref><ref name="Klussis">{{cite book|title=Old Prussian Written Monuments: Text and Comments|author-last=Palmaitis|author-first=Mykolas Letas|publisher=Lithuanian's World Center for Advancement of Culture, Science and Education|location=Kaunas|year=2007|url=http://donelaitis.vdu.lt/prussian/Kat.pdf|isbn=978-9986-418-42-9}}</ref>{{rp|page=387}}<br>{{lang|prg|Prūsiska bilā}} (revived)<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Rantawa.org |last2=suplits |date=2016-05-31 |title=Prūsiska bilā |url=https://awizi.twanksta.org/nawwiniskai/prusiska-bila/ |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=Prūsas Tāutas Prēigara}}</ref>
| region = [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]]
| ethnicity = [[Old Prussians|Baltic Prussians]]
| image = Catechismus in preüßnischer sprach, gecorrigiret und dagegen das deüdsche.jpg
| imagecaption = Catechism in Old Prussian from 1545
| extinct = Early 18th century
| ref = <ref name=Young2008>{{cite book |last=Young |first=Steven |year=2008 |chapter=Baltic |editor-last=Kapović |editor-first=Mate |title=The Indo-European Languages |location=London |publisher=Routledge |pages=486–518|isbn=978-03-6786-902-1}}</ref>
| revived = 3 [[First language|L1 speakers]] (2021){{r|Szatkowski|pages=4–8}}<br />50 [[Second language|L2 speakers]] (no date)<ref>{{e22|prg}}</ref>
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]]
| fam3 = [[Baltic languages|Baltic]]
| fam4 = [[West Baltic languages|West Baltic]]
| script = [[Latin alphabet]]
| iso3 = prg
| linglist = prg.html
| glotto = prus1238
| glottorefname = Old Prussian
| lingua = 54-AAC-a
| notice = IPA
| dia1   = Samland
| dia2   = Pomesan
}}
'''Old Prussian''' is an extinct [[West Baltic languages|West Baltic language]] belonging to the [[Baltic languages|Baltic branch]] of the [[Indo-European languages]], which was once spoken by the [[Old Prussians]], the [[Baltic peoples]] of the [[Prussia (region)|Prussian region]]. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid confusion with the German dialects of [[Low Prussian dialect|Low Prussian]] and [[High Prussian dialect|High Prussian]] and with the adjective ''Prussian'' as it relates to the later German state. Old Prussian began to be written down in the [[Latin script|Latin alphabet]] in about the 13th century, and a small amount of literature in the language survives. In modern times, there has been a revival movement of Old Prussian, and there are families which use Old Prussian as their first language.{{r|Szatkowski|pages=4–8}}

==Classification==
Old Prussian is an Indo-European language belonging to the Baltic branch. It is considered to be a Western Baltic language.

Old Prussian was closely related to the other extinct [[West Baltic languages]], namely [[Sudovian language|Sudovian]], [[Galindian language|West Galindian]]<ref>{{cite journal| url = https://www.academia.edu/37147068| title = The Balts in the migration period|first=Iliya|last=Tarasov|pages=95–124| journal=Istoričeskij Format | script-journal = ru:Исторический Формат|volume=3–4| date = January 2017|language=ru}}</ref> and possibly [[Skalvians#Language|Skalvian]] and [[Curonian language|Old Curonian]].<ref name="Gimbutas">{{cite book|first=Marija|last=Gimbutas|author-link=Marija Gimbutas|date=1963|title=The Balts|series=Ancient peoples and places|place=London|publisher=Thames and Hudson|volume=33}}</ref>{{rp|page=33}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zinkevičius |first=Zigmas |author-link= Zigmas Zinkevičius |title=The History of the Lithuanian Language |date=1996 |publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla |place=Vilnius |isbn=9785420013632 |pages=51 |language=en}}</ref> Other linguists consider Western Galindian and Skalvian to be Prussian dialects.<ref name="Rinkevicius">{{cite book|first=Vytautas|last=Rinkevičius|title=Prūsistikos pagrindai|trans-title=Fundamentals of Prussian linguistics|publisher= Vilniaus universitetas|location=Vilnius|date=2015|language=lt|isbn=978-609-417-101-7}}</ref>{{rp|15}}

It is related to the [[East Baltic languages]] such as [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] and [[Latvian language|Latvian]], and more distantly related to [[Slavic languages|Slavic]]. Compare the words for 'land': Old Prussian ''{{lang|prg|semmē}}'' [zemē], {{langx|lv|zeme}}, {{langx|lt|žemė}}, {{langx|ru|link=no|земля́}}, ({{lang|ru-Latn|zemljá}}) and {{langx|pl|ziemia}}.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Old Prussian had [[loanword]]s from Slavic languages (e.g., Old Prussian ''{{lang|prg|curtis}}'' [kurtis] '[[hound]]', like Lithuanian ''{{lang|lt|kùrtas}}'' and Latvian ''{{lang|lv|kur̃ts}}'', cognate with Slavic (compare {{langx|uk|хорт}}, {{lang|uk-Latn|khort}}; {{langx|pl|chart}}; {{langx|cs|chrt}})), as well as a few borrowings from [[Germanic languages|Germanic]], including from [[Gothic language|Gothic]] (e.g., Old Prussian ''{{lang|prg|ylo}}'' '[[Stitching awl|awl]]' as with Lithuanian ''{{lang|lt|ýla}}'', Latvian ''{{lang|lv|īlens}}'') and from [[Scandinavian languages]].<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite encyclopedia| url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50949/Baltic-languages/74885/Loanwords-in-Baltic|first=Vytautas|last=Mažiulis|author-link=Vytautas Mažiulis| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Baltic languages|version=September 2022|access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref>

==Influence on other languages==
===Germanic===
The [[Low German]] language spoken in Prussia (or [[West Prussia]] and [[East Prussia]]), called [[Low Prussian]] (cf. [[High Prussian]], [[High German]]),<ref>{{cite journal|language=de|title=Niederpreuſsisch|trans-title=Lower Prussian|first=Walther|last=Mitzka|journal=Zeitschrift für deutsche Mundarten |date=1921|volume=16|pages=151–154|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag|jstor=40498264}}</ref> preserved a number of Baltic Prussian words, such as ''{{lang|nds|Kurp}}'', from the Old Prussian ''{{lang|prg|kurpe}}'', for ''shoe'' in contrast to common {{langx|nds|Schoh}} (Standard German ''{{lang|de|Schuh}}''),<ref>{{cite book|language=de|first=Gerhard|last=Bauer|date=2005|url=http://www.annaberger-annalen.de//jahrbuch/2005/AnnabergNr.13_Kap1.pdf|chapter=Baltismen im ostpreußischen Deutsch: Hermann Frischbiers "Preussisches Wörterbuch" als volkskundliche Quelle|trans-chapter=Baltisms in Eastern Prussian German: Hermann Frischbier's "Prussian Dictionary" as ethnological source|issue=13|pages=5{{Hyphen}}82|title=Annaberger Annalen}}</ref> as did the [[High Prussian#Oberländisch|High Prussian Oberland subdialect]].<ref>{{cite journal|first=Walther|last=Ziesemer|title=Beobachtungen zur Wortgeographie Ostpreuſsens|trans-title=Obeservations on word geography in East Prussia|journal=Zeitschrift für deutsche Mundarten|jstor=40498279|date=1923|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag|language=de|pages=149–160|issue=3/4, "Festschrift Ferdinand Wrede (1923)"|volume=18}}</ref>

Until the [[1938 changing of place names in East Prussia]], Old Prussian river- and place-names, such as ''{{lang|prg|Tawe}}'' and ''{{lang|prg|Tawellningken}}'', could still be found.<ref name="GerullisPlace">{{cite book|first=Georg|last=Gerullis|title=Die altpreußischen Ortsnamen|trans-title=The Old Prussian place names|language=de|date=1922|publisher=Vereinigung wissenschaftlicher Verleger|place=Berlin, Leipzig|url=https://klc.vdu.lt/prussian/Gerullis-APON.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Haack|first1=Hermann|title=Stielers Hand-Atlas|date=1930| publisher=Justus Perthes|edition=10|page=Plate 9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte|volume=51|issue=2|year=2003|title='Grenzlandpolitik' und Ostforschung an der Peripherie des Reiches. Das ostpreußische Masuren 1919–1945|trans-title='Borderland politics' and Ostforschung in the periphery of the German Empire. The East-Prussian Masuria 1919–1945|first=Andreas|last=Kossert|pages=117–146|language=de|jstor=30196694 }}</ref>{{rp|page=137}}

===Polish===
One of the hypotheses regarding the origin of {{lang|pl|[[mazurzenie]]}} – a phonological [[merger (phonology)|merger]] of [[dentialveolar consonant|dentialveolar]] and [[postalveolar consonant|postalveolar]] [[sibilant]]s in many [[Polish dialects]] – states that it originated as a feature of [[Polonization|Polonized]] Old Prussians in [[Masuria]] (see [[Masurian dialects]]) and spread from there.<ref>{{unbulleted list citebundle|{{cite journal |last=Dobrzycki |first=Stanisław |title=O tzw. mazurzeniu w języku polskim |trans-title=About the so-called mazurzenie in Polish |journal=Rozprawy Wydziału Filologicznego PAU |issue=XXXII |year=1901 |language=pl |pages=228–231}}|{{cite journal |last=Селищев |first=Афанасий Матвеевич |title=Соканье и шоканье в славянских языках |journal=Slavia |volume=X |issue=4 |year=1931 |language=ru |pages=718–741|place=Prague|publisher=Slovanský ústav v Praze}}|{{cite book |last=Селищев |first=Афанасий Матвеевич |title=Западно-славянские языки|trans-title=Western Slavic languages|volume=I |series=Славянское Языкознание|orig-date=1941 |date=1969|publisher=Mouton & Company|place=The Hague|language=ru |pages=330–331}}|{{cite journal |last=Milewski |first=Tadeusz |author-link=Tadeusz Milewski |title=Stosunki językowe polsko-pruskie |trans-title=The linguistic relation of Polish and Old Prussian |journal=Slavia Occidentalis |issue=XVIII |year=1937 |language=pl |pages=21–84}}|{{cite book |last=Milewski |first=Tadeusz |author-link=Tadeusz Milewski |title=Chronologia i przyczyny mazurzenia |trans-title=Chronology and causes of the mazurzenie |year=1956 |language=pl |pages=34–38}}}}</ref>

==History==

===Original territory===
[[File:Baltic Tribes c 1200.svg|thumb|The approximate distribution of the [[Balts|Baltic tribes]], {{Circa|1200 [[Common Era|CE]]}}]]
In addition to Prussia proper, the original territory of the Old Prussians may have included eastern parts of [[Pomerelia]] (some parts of the region east of the [[Vistula River]]). The language may also have been spoken much further east and south in what became [[Polesia]] and part of [[Podlasie]], before conquests by [[Rus (people)|Rus]] and [[Polish people|Poles]] starting in the 10th century and the [[Ostsiedlung|German colonisation]] of the area starting in the 12th century.{{r|Gimbutas|p=23}}<ref name="Dini">{{cite book|first=Pietro U.|last=Dini|title=Foundations of Baltic languages|translator-first1=Milda B.|translator-last1=Richardson|translator-first2=Robert E.|translator-last2=Richardson|publisher=Vilniaus universitetas|place=Vilnius|date=2014|isbn=978-609-437-263-6}}</ref>{{rp|page=324}}

===Decline===
With the conquest of the Old Prussian territory by the [[Teutonic Knights]] in the 13th century, and the subsequent influx of Polish, Lithuanian and especially German speakers, Old Prussian experienced a 400-year-long decline as an "oppressed language of an oppressed population".<ref name="Trautmann1910">{{cite book|first=Reinhold|last=Trautmann|author-link=Reinhold Trautmann|title=Die altpreußischen Sprachdenkmäler|place=Göttingen|publisher=Vandenhoek & Ruprecht|date=1910|trans-title=The Old Prussian language monuments}}</ref>{{rp|page=VII|quote="Sie hat noch genau 400 Jahre nach der endgültigen Unterwerfung (1283) als unterdrückte Sprache einer unterdrückten Bevölkerung weitergelebt."}} Groups of people from Germany, [[Poland]],<ref name="Pl Refuge 1">{{cite book|title=A Short History of Austria-Hungary and Poland|first1=Henry Wickham|last1=Steed|first2=Walter Alison|last2=Phillips|first3=David|last3=Hannay|url=http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=2&cid=24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030804090230/http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=2&cid=24|archive-date=4 August 2003|chapter=The Reformation Period|date=1914|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica Company|place=London}}</ref>{{rp|page=115|quote=For a time, therefore, the Protestants had to be cautious in Poland proper, but they found a sure refuge in Prussia, where Lutheranism was already the established religion, and where the newly erected [[University of Königsberg]] became a seminary for Polish ministers and preachers.}} [[Lithuania]], [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]],<ref name="scots">{{cite web|title=Scots in Eastern and Western Prussia, Part III – Documents (3)|url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/prussia/part3-3.htm|access-date=2007-02-18}}</ref> [[Kingdom of England|England]],<ref name="Eastland">{{cite web|title=Elbing als ehemaliger englischer Handelsplatz|trans-title=Elbing as a former English trading post|publisher=Magistrat der Stadt Elbing|translator-first=W.|first=Hermann|translator-last=Baumfelder|last=Kownatzki|date=1977|orig-date=unknown|url=http://www.elbing.de/Eastland.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070730075606/http://www.elbing.de/Eastland.pdf|archive-date=30 July 2007|access-date=18 February 2007}}</ref> and [[Austria]] (see [[Salzburg Protestants]]) found refuge in Prussia during the [[Protestant Reformation]] and thereafter.<ref name="Szatkowski">{{cite journal|doi= 10.11649/a.2626|journal=Adeptus|first=Piotr|last=Szatkowski|date=2021|issue=18|title=Language practices in a family of Prussian language revivalists: Conclusions based on short-term participant observation|publisher=Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|page=1}} Old Prussian ceased to be spoken probably around the beginning of the 18th century,<ref name="Young2008" /> because many of its remaining speakers died in the [[famine]]s and the [[Great Northern War plague outbreak|bubonic plague outbreak]] which harrowed the [[East Prussia]]n countryside and towns from 1709 until 1711.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://donelaitis.vdu.lt/prussian/Engl.pdf|title=Dictionary of Revived Prussian|page=4|first=Mikkels|last=Klussis|year=2005|access-date=2 March 2018|archive-date=26 September 2007|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20070926162334/http://donelaitis.vdu.lt/prussian/Engl.pdf|url-status=unfit }}</ref>

===Revitalization===
[[File:Mėnuo Juodaragio XXI Kellan.jpg|thumb|The Prussian post-folk band Kellan performing at the Baltic culture festival [[Mėnuo Juodaragis]] in Lithuania]]
In the 1980s, linguists [[Vladimir Toporov]] and [[Vytautas Mažiulis]] started reconstructing the Prussian language as a scientific project and a humanitarian gesture. Some enthusiasts thereafter began to [[Language revitalization|revive]] the language based on their reconstruction.{{r|Szatkowski|pages=3–4}}

Most current speakers live in Germany, Poland, Lithuania and [[Kaliningrad Oblast|Kaliningrad]] (Russia). Additionally, a few children are native in Revived Prussian.{{r|Szatkowski|pages=4–8}}<ref name="culture.pl">{{cite web|url=http://culture.pl/en/article/little-prince-published-in-prussian|title=Little Prince Published in Prussian|website=Culture.pl|publisher=Adam Mickiewicz Institute|date=17 February 2015|access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref>

Today, there are websites, online dictionaries, learning apps and games for Revived Prussian, and one children's book – [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]]'s ''[[The Little Prince]]'' – was translated into Revived Prussian by Piotr Szatkowski (Pīteris Šātkis) and published by the Prusaspirā Society in 2015.{{r|Szatkowski|pages=4–7}}{{r|culture.pl}} Moreover, some bands use Revived Prussian, most notably in the Kaliningrad Oblast by the bands [[Romowe Rikoito]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=ROMOWE RIKOITO – Undēina|url=http://www.dangus.net/releases/albumai/043_RomoweRikoito.htm|access-date=29 August 2014|publisher=Dangus|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324135735/http://www.dangus.net/releases/albumai/043_RomoweRikoito.htm|archive-date=24 March 2015}}</ref> Kellan<ref>{{Cite web|author-first=А.|author-last=Ржевский|title=Илья Левашов: То, что мы поем — это о нашей земле|url=https://day-off39.ru/novosti-kaliningrada-i-oblasti/6565-ilya-levashov|access-date=11 October 2020|language=ru|website=Выходной|date=12 December 2018 }}</ref> and Āustras Laīwan, as well as in Lithuania by [[Kūlgrinda (band)|Kūlgrinda]] on their 2005 album {{Lang|lt|Prūsų Giesmės}} ('Prussian Hymns'),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Senoji prūsų kalba atgimsta naujausioje grupės KŪLGRINDA plokštelėje|url=http://www.dangus.net/news/nauja418.htm|access-date=29 August 2014|publisher=Dangus|language=lt|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910040212/http://www.dangus.net/news/nauja418.htm|archive-date=10 September 2012}}</ref> and Latvia by Rasa Ensemble in 1988<ref>{{cite book|last=Smidchens|first=Guntis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_TfOAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA12|title=The Power of Song: Nonviolent National Culture in the Baltic Singing Revolution|publisher=[[University of Washington Press]]|year=2014| isbn=978-0-295-99310-2|page=12}}</ref> and [[Valdis Muktupāvels]] in his 2005 [[oratorio]] "Pārcēlātājs Pontifex" featuring several parts sung in Prussian.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Oratorio "Pārcēlātājs Pontifex"|url=http://donelaitis.vdu.lt/prussian/oratorio.htm|website=Prussian Reconstructions – Ethonology|first=Mykolas Letas|last=Palmaitis|access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref>

==Dialects==
The Elbing Vocabulary and the Catechisms display systematical differences in phonology, vocabulary and grammar. Some scholars postulate that this is due to them being recordings of different dialects:{{r|Trautmann1910|pages=XXI{{Hyphen}}XXII}}
Pomesanian{{r|Rinkevicius|pages=25{{Hyphen}}89}} and Sambian.{{r|Rinkevicius|pages=90{{Hyphen}}220}}

Phonetical distinctions are: Pom. ''ē'' is Samb. ''ī'' (''{{lang|prg|sweta- : swīta-}}'' 'world'); Pom. ''ō'', Samb. ''ū'' after a labial (''{{lang|prg|mōthe [mōte] : mūti}}'' 'mother') or Pom. ''ō'', Samb. ''ā'' (''{{lang|prg|tōwis : tāws}}'' 'father'; ''{{lang|prg|brōte : brāti }}'' 'brother'), which influences the nominative suffixes of feminine ā-stems (''{{lang|prg|crauyō [kraujō] : krawia}}'' 'blood'). The nominative suffixes of the masculine o-stems are weakened to ''-is'' in Pomesanian; in Sambian they are syncopated (''{{lang|prg|deywis : deiws}}'' 'god').

Vocabulary differences encompass Pom. ''{{lang|prg|smoy}}'' [zmoy] (cf. Lith. ''žmuo)'' , Samb. ''{{lang|prg|wijrs}}'' 'man'; Pom. ''{{lang|prg|wayklis}}'', Samb. ''{{lang|prg|soūns}}'' 'son' and Pom. ''{{lang|prg|samien}}'', Samb. ''{{lang|prg|laucks}}'' [lauks] 'field'.
The neuter gender is more often found in Pomesianan than in Sambian.

Others argue that the Catechisms are written in a Yatvingized Prussian. The differences noted above could therefore be explained as being features of a different West Baltic language [[Sudovian language|Yatvingian/Sudovian]].<ref>{{cite conference|conference=Colloquium Pruthenicum Tertium|title=Grammatical Incompatibility of 2 Main Prussian "Dialects" as Implication of Different Phonological Systems|date=2001|first=Mykolas Letas|last=Palmaitis|pages=63{{Hyphen}}77|url=https://klc.vdu.lt/prussian/Diallang.pdf|place=Zakopane}}</ref>

==Phonology==
===Consonants===
The Prussian language is described to have the following consonants:<ref name="Schmalstieg">{{cite book|last=Schmalstieg|first=William Riegel|title=An Old Prussian grammar|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|orig-date=1974|date=1991|isbn=9780271011707|place=University Park}}</ref>{{rp|16{{Hyphen}}28}}{{r|Rinkevicius|page=62}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" |[[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" |[[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! colspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>plain</small> !! <small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
!<small>plain</small> !! <small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
!<small>plain</small> !! <small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
!<small>plain</small> !! <small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Plosive]]
!<small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
|{{IPA link|p}}
|{{IPA link|pʲ}}
|{{IPA link|t}}
|{{IPA link|tʲ}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|k}}
|{{IPA link|kʲ}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|bʲ}}
|{{IPA link|d}}
|{{IPA link|dʲ}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡʲ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative]]
![[Voicelessness|<small>voiceless</small>]]
| colspan="2"|{{IPA link|f}}{{efn|name=fh|The sounds {{IPA|/f/}} and {{IPA|/h/}} also existed in Old Prussian, but are disputed as to whether they are native to the language as they are non-native to Lithuanian and Latvian.{{r|Schmalstieg|page=28}}}}
|{{IPA link|s}}
|{{IPA link|sʲ}}
|{{IPA link|ʃ}}{{efn|name=sch|Palato-alveolar fricatives {{IPA|[ʃ, ʒ]}} are recorded as well, usually with the [[German orthography]]-style {{angbr|sch}}.{{r|Schmalstieg|p=27}} They were allophones of {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/z/}} in Pomesanian, but distinct phonemes in Sambian.{{r|Rinkevicius|page=101}}}}
|{{IPA link|ʃʲ}}{{efn|name=sch}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|h}}{{efn|name=fh}}
|-
![[Voice (phonetics)|<small>voiced</small>]]
|{{IPA link|v}}
|{{IPA link|vʲ}}
|{{IPA link|z}}
|{{IPA link|zʲ}}
|{{IPA link|ʒ}}{{efn|name=sch}}
|{{IPA link|ʒʲ}}{{efn|name=sch}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|mʲ}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|{{IPA link|nʲ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|r}}
|{{IPA link|rʲ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|l}}
|{{IPA link|lʲ}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|
|}
{{notelist}}

There is said to have existed palatalization (i.e. {{IPA|[tʲ]}}, {{IPA|[dʲ]}}) among nearly all of the consonant sounds except for {{IPA|/j/}}, and possibly for {{IPA|/ʃ/}} and {{IPA|/ʒ/}}.{{r|Schmalstieg|p=26}}{{r|Dini|page=348}} Whether or not the palatalization was phonemic remains unclear.{{r|Rinkevicius|page=62}}

Apart from the palatalizations Proto-Baltic consonants were almost completely preserved. The only changes postulated are turning Proto-Baltic {{IPA|/ʃ, ʒ/}} into Prussian {{IPA|/s, z/}} and subsequently changing Proto-Baltic {{IPA|/sj/}} into {{IPA|/ʃ/}}.{{r|Rinkevicius|pages=61{{Hyphen}}62}}{{r|Dini|pages=348{{Hyphen}}349}}

===Vowels===
The following description is based on the phonological analysis by Schmalstieg:<ref name="Schmalstieg2005">{{cite journal|title=Vytautas Mažiulis. Prūsų kalbos istorinė gramatika: recenzija|trans-title=Vytautas Mažiulis. Historical grammar of the Prussian language: A review|journal=Baltu filoloģija|date=2005|volume=14|issue=1|first=William Riegel|last=Schmalstieg|publisher= Latvijas Universitāte|pages=159{{Hyphen}}163|language=en|issn=1691-0036}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" |[[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!<small>short</small> !! <small>long</small>
!<small>short</small> !! <small>long</small>
!<small>short</small> !! <small>long</small>
|-
!colspan="2" |[[High vowel|High]]
| align="center" |{{IPA link|i}}
|align="center" |{{IPA link|iː}}
|
|
| align="center" |{{IPA link|u}}
| align="center" |{{IPA link|uː}}
|-
!colspan="2" |[[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|{{IPA link|eː}}
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|oː}}
|-
!colspan="2" |[[Low vowel|Low]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|a}}
|{{IPA link|aː}}
|
|
|}

* {{IPA|/a, a:/}} could also have been realized as {{IPA|[ɔ, ɔ:]}}
* {{IPA|/oː/}} is not universally accepted, p.e. by Levin (1975)<ref>{{cite journal|journal=General Linguistics|volume=15|issue=3|pages=144–158|year=1975|first=Jules|last=Levin|title=Dynamic Linguistics and Baltic Historical Phonology|place=London, University Park|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press}}</ref>

====Diphthongs====
Schmalstieg proposes three native diphthongs:{{r|Schmalstieg|pp=19{{Hyphen}}20}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA|ei}}
|
|- align="center"
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|{{IPA|ai}}
|{{IPA|au}}
|}

* {{IPA|/au/}} may have also been realized as a mid-back diphthong {{IPA|[eu]}} after palatalized consonants.
* {{IPA|/ui/}} occurs in the word {{lang|prg|cuylis}}, which is thought to be a loanword.

==Grammar==
With other remains being merely word lists, the grammar of Old Prussian is reconstructed chiefly on the basis of the three Catechisms.<ref name="Berneker">{{cite book|first=Erich|last=Berneker|author-link=Erich Berneker|title=Die preußische Sprache|trans-title=The Prussian language|language=de|date=2019|orig-date=1896|location=Berlin, Boston|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|isbn= 9783111474861}}</ref>{{rp|ix}}

===Nouns===

====Gender====
Old Prussian preserved the Proto-Baltic neuter. Therefore, it had three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter).<ref name="Nesselmann">{{cite book|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|title=Die Sprache der alten Preußen an ihren Überresten erklärt|trans-title=The language of the old Prussians explained using its remains|first=Georg H. F.|last=Nesselmann|author-link=
Georg Heinrich Ferdinand Nesselmann|language=de|orig-date=1845|date=2018|publication-place=Berlin, Boston|isbn=9783111497969}}</ref>{{rp|pages=41{{Hyphen}}42; 47}}<ref name="HGOP">{{cite book|first=Vytautas|last=Mažiulis|author-link=Vytautas Mažiulis|translator-first=Mykolas Letas|translator-last=Palmaitis|title=Historical grammar of Old Prussian|isbn= 978-609-8122-90-9|place=Vilnius |year=2004|publisher=Vilniaus universiteto leidykla}}</ref>{{rp|page=40}}{{r|Dini|pages=355{{Hyphen}}356}}

====Number====
Most scholars agree that there are two numbers, singular and plural, in Old Prussian,{{r|Nesselmann|pages=41{{Hyphen}}42; 47}}{{r|HGOP|page=40}}{{r|Dini|page=353}} while some consider remnants of [[Dual (grammatical number)|dual number]] identifiable in the existent corpus.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Enzelīns |first1=Jānis |title=Senprūšu valoda: Ievads, gramatika un leksika |date=1943 |publisher=Universitātes apgāds |location=Riga |pages=76, 80, 83}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference | author-first=Jules |author-last=Levin |editor-first1=Arvids Jr.|editor-last1=Ziedonis|editor-first2=Jaan|editor-last2=Puhvel|editor-first3=Rimvydas|editor-last3=Šilbajoris|editor-last4=Valgemäe|editor-first4=Mardi|title=-ja stems and -e stems in the Elbing Vocabulary|book-title=Baltic Literature and Linguistics|place=Columbus|conference=Conference on Baltic studies|publisher=Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies|pages=189{{Hyphen}}196|year=1973|oclc=867673}}</ref>{{r|Berneker|page=198}}

====Cases====
There is no consensus on the number of [[case (grammar)|cases]] that Old Prussian had, and at least four can be determined with certainty: nominative, genitive, accusative and dative, with different [[suffix]]es.{{r|Berneker|pages=171{{Hyphen}}197}}{{r|Dini|page=356}}{{r|HGOP|page=40}} Most scholars agree, that there are traces of a [[vocative case]], such as in the phrase ''{{lang|prg|O Deiwe Rikijs}}'' 'O God the Lord', reflecting the inherited [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] vocative ending *''{{PIE|-e}}'',{{r|Berneker|pages=251}}{{r|Rinkevicius|page=109}} differing from nominative forms in o-stem nouns only.{{r|Dini|page=356}}

Some scholars find instrumental forms,{{r|Berneker|page=197}} while the traditional view is that no instrumental case existed in Old Prussian.{{r|Dini|page=356}} There could be some locative forms, e.g. {{lang|prg|bītai}} ('in the evening').{{r|Dini|page=356}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mažiulis |first1=Vytautas |author-link=Vytautas Mažiulis |title=Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas |date=1988 |publisher=Mokslas |location=Vilnius |page=144 |edition=1 |language=lt |volume=1 |trans-title=Etymological Dictionary of Old Prussian }}</ref>

====Noun stems====
Declensional classes were ''a''-stems (also called ''o''-stems), ''(i)ja''-stems (also called ''(i)jo''-stems), ''ā''-stems (feminine), ''ē''-stems (feminine), ''i''-stems, ''u''-stems, and consonant-stems.{{r|Rinkevicius|pages=66{{Hyphen}}80}}{{r|HGOP|pages=41{{Hyphen}}62}}{{r|Dini|pages=357}}{{r|Schmalstieg|pages=42{{Hyphen}}43}} Some also list ''ī''/''jā''-stems as a separate stem,{{r|Rinkevicius|pages=66{{Hyphen}}80}}{{r|HGOP|pages=41{{Hyphen}}62}} while others include ''jā''-stems into ''ā''-stems and do not mention ''ī''-stems at all.{{r|Schmalstieg|page=37}}

===Adjectives===
There were three adjective stems (''a''-stems, ''i''-stems, ''u''-stems), of which only the first agreed with the noun in gender.{{r|Dini|page=360}}{{r|HGOP|pages=63{{Hyphen}}65}}

There was a comparative and a superlative form.{{r|HGOP|pages=65{{Hyphen}}66}}{{r|Dini|pages=360{{Hyphen}}361}}

===Verbal morphology===
When it comes to verbal morphology present, future and past tense are attested, as well as [[optative]] forms (used with imperative or permissive forms of verbs), infinitive, and four participles (active/passive present/past).{{r|Berneker|pages=211{{Hyphen}}233}}

==Orthography==
The orthography varies depending on the author.
As the authors of many sources were themselves not proficient in Old Prussian, they wrote the words as they heard them using the orthographical conventions of their mother tongue. 
For example, the use of {{Grapheme|s}} for both {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/z/}} is based on German orthography.
Additionally, the writers misunderstood some phonemes and, when copying manuscripts, they added further mistakes.{{r|Rinkevicius|p=63}}{{r|britannica.com}}{{r|Dini|page=337}}

==Corpus of Old Prussian==
[[File:The epigram of Basel - oldest known inscription in Prussian language and Baltic language in general, middle of 14th c.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The epigram of Basel – oldest known inscription in Prussian language and Baltic language in general, middle of 14th century]]

===Onomastics===
There was Prussian toponomy and hydronomy within the territory of (Baltic) Prussia. Georg Gerullis undertook the first basic study of these names in ''{{lang|de|Die altpreußischen Ortsnamen}}'' ('The Old Prussian Place-names'), written and published with the help of Walter de Gruyter, in 1922.{{r|GerullisPlace}}

Another source are personal names.<ref name="Trautmann">{{cite book|first=Reinhold|last=Trautmann|author-link=Reinhold Trautmann|title=Die altpreußischen Personennamen|trans-title=The Old Prussian personal names|language=de|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|place=Göttingen|orig-date=1925|date=1974|isbn=3-525-27302-9}}</ref>

===Evidence from other languages===
Further sources for Prussian words are Vernacularisms in the German dialects of East and West Prussia, as well as words of Old Curonian origin in Latvian and West-Baltic vernacularisms in Lithuanian and Belarusian.{{r|Klussis|p=4}}<ref>{{cite journal|first=Walther|last=Mitzka|title=Altpreußisches|trans-title=Old Prussian|language=de|journal=Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiet der Indogermanischen Sprachen|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|date=1924|issue=1/2|volume=52|pages=129–147|jstor=40799583}}</ref>

===Vocabularies===
Two Prussian vocabularies are known. The older one by [[Simon Grunau]] (Simon Grunovius), a historian of the [[Teutonic Knights]], encompasses 100 words (in strongly varying versions). He also recorded an expression: {{lang|prg|sta nossen rickie, nossen rickie}} ('This (is) our lord, our lord'). The vocabulary is part of the ''{{lang|de|Preussische Chronik}}'' written {{circa|1517–1526}}.{{r|Trautmann1910|pages=XXV{{Hyphen}}XXVI}}

The second one is the so-called Elbing Vocabulary, which consists of 802 thematically sorted words and their German equivalents. Peter Holcwesscher from [[Malbork|Marienburg]] copied the manuscript around 1400; the original dates from the beginning of the 14th or the end of the 13th century. It was found in 1825 by Fr Neumann among other manuscripts acquired by him from the heritage of the Elbing merchant A. Grübnau; it was thus dubbed the ''{{lang|la|Codex Neumannianus}}''.{{r|Klussis|page=7{{Hyphen}}8}}{{r|Schmalstieg|p=4}}

===Fragmentary texts===
There are separate words found in various historical documents.{{r|Klussis|p=4}}

The following fragments are commonly thought of as Prussian, but are probably actually [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] (at least the adage, however, has been argued to be genuinely West Baltic, only an otherwise unattested dialect<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=Eugen
|title=Die sigmatischen Modus-Bildungen der indogermanischen Sprachen. Erste Abhandlung: Das baltische Futur und seine Verwandten |journal=International Journal of Diachronic Linguistics and Linguistic Reconstruction |date=2004 |issue=1 |volume=1 |pages=69–171 |url=https://www.academia.edu/3884660 |access-date=29 August 2014 |language=de|trans-title=The sigmatic modus formation in Indo-European languages. 1st Treatise: The Baltic future and its relatives}}
</ref>):
# An adage of 1583, ''{{lang|bat|Dewes does dantes, Dewes does geitka}}'': the form ''{{lang|prg|does}}'' in the second instance corresponds to Lithuanian future tense ''{{lang|lt|duos}}'' ('will give')
# ''{{lang|bat|Trencke, trencke!}}'' ('Strike! Strike!')

====Fragmentary Lord's Prayer====
Additionally, there is one manuscript fragment of the first words of the {{lang|la|[[Pater Noster]]}} in Prussian, from the beginning of the 15th century:{{r|Klussis|p=437}}
''{{lang|prg|<poem>Towe Nüsze kås esse andangonsün
swyntins</poem>}}''

====Maletius' Sudovian Book====
[[Vytautas Mažiulis]] lists another few fragmentary texts recorded in several versions by Hieronymus Maletius in the [[Sudovian Book]] in the middle of the 16th century. Palmaitis regards them as Sudovian proper.{{r|Klussis|p=7; 437}}
#''{{lang|prg|Beigeite beygeyte peckolle}}'' ('Run, run, devils!')
#''{{lang|prg|Kails naussen gnigethe}}'' ('Hello our friend!')
#''{{lang|prg|Kails poskails ains par antres}}'' – a drinking toast, reconstructed as ''{{lang|prg|Kaīls pas kaīls, aīns per āntran}}'' ('A cheer for a cheer, a tit for tat', literally: 'A healthy one after a healthy one, one after another!')
#''{{lang|prg|Kellewesze perioth, Kellewesze perioth}}'' ('A carter drives here, a carter drives here!')
#''{{lang|prg|Ocho moy myle schwante panicke}}'' – also recorded as ''{{lang|prg|O hoho Moi mile swente Pannike}}'', ''{{lang|prg|O ho hu Mey mile swenthe paniko}}'', ''{{lang|prg|O mues miles schwante Panick}}'' ('Oh my dear holy fire!')

===Complete texts===
In addition to the texts listed beneath, there are several colophons written by Prussian scriptors who worked in Prague and in the court of Lithuanian duke [[Butautas|Butautas Kęstutaitis]].

====Basel Epigram====
The so-called Basel Epigram is the oldest written Prussian sentence (1369).{{r|Klussis|pages=33{{Hyphen}}35}}<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.schaeken.nl/lu/research/online/editions/baselepigram/| title = The Old Prussian Basel Epigram|first=Jos|last=Schaeken |year=2003}}</ref> It reads: {{Verse translation |lang=prg
|
Kayle rekyse
thoneaw labonache thewelyse
Eg koyte poyte
nykoyte pênega doyte
|
Cheers, Sir!
You are no longer a good little comrade
if you want to drink
(but) do not want to give a penny!
}}
This jocular inscription was most probably made by a Prussian student studying in [[Prague]] ([[Charles University in Prague|Charles University]]); found by Stephen McCluskey (1974) in manuscript MS F.V.2 (book of physics ''{{lang|la|Questiones super Meteororum}}'' by [[Nicholas Oresme]]), fol. 63r, stored in the [[Basel University]] library.

====Catechisms====
The longest texts preserved in Old Prussian are three Catechisms printed in {{lang|de|[[Königsberg]]|italic=no}} in 1545, 1545, and 1561 respectively. The first two consist of only six pages of text in Old Prussian – the second one being a correction of the first. The third catechism, or ''Enchiridion'', consists of 132 pages of text, and is a translation of [[Luther's Small Catechism]] by a German cleric called Abel Will, with his Prussian assistant Paul Megott. Will himself knew little or no Old Prussian, and his Prussian interpreter was probably illiterate, but according to Will spoke Old Prussian quite well. The text itself is mainly a word-for-word translation, and Will phonetically recorded Megott's oral translation. Because of this, the ''Enchiridion'' exhibits many irregularities, such as the lack of case agreement in phrases involving an [[article (linguistics)|article]] and a [[noun]], which followed word-for-word German originals as opposed to native Old Prussian syntax.{{r|Trautmann1910|page=XXVII}}{{r|Klussis|pages=8{{Hyphen}}9}}

====Trace of Crete====
The "Trace of Crete" is a short poem added by a Baltic writer in [[Chania]] to a manuscript of the '' Logica Parva'' by [[Paul of Venice]].<ref>{{unbulleted list citebundle|{{cite journal |last1=Kessler |first1=Stephan |last2=Mossman |first2=Stephen |year=2013 |title=Ein Fund aus dem Jahre 1440: Ein bisher unbekannter Text in einer baltischen Sprache |journal=Archivum Lithuanicum |volume=15 |pages=511–534 |url=https://www.academia.edu/8450574|language=de|trans-title=Find from the year 1440: A hitherto unknown text in a Baltic language}}
|{{cite journal |last1=Lemeshkin |first1=Ilja |title=Lituanica aliter |url=https://www.academia.edu/41917389 |journal=Billēmai Bhe Ersinnimai |date=January 2019 |access-date=12 November 2020}}}}</ref>
{{Verse translation |lang=prg
|
Atonaige maian meilan am ne wede maianwargan
Thaure ne ſtonais po pieſ pievſſenabdolenai galei ragai
Stonais po leipen zaidiant acha peda bete medde
|
Stand under the May tree willingly/dear – the May tree does not bring you to misery
Aurochs, do not stand under the pine tree – horns bring death,
Stand under the blooming linden tree – the bee brings honey here.
}}

==Sample texts==

'''Lord's Prayer in Old Prussian''' (from the so-called "1st Catechism"){{r|Klussis|pages=118, 122}}{{r|Nesselmann|page=4}}
{{lang|prg|<poem>Thawe nuson kas tu asse andangon.
Swintits wirst twais emmens.
Pergeis twais laeims.
Twais quaits audasseisin na semmey, key audangon.
Nusan deininan geittin deis numons schindeinan.
Bha atwerpeis numans nuson auschantins, kay mas atwerpimay nuson auschautenikamans.
Bha ny wedais mans enperbandan.
Sclait is rankeis mans assa wargan. Amen</poem>}}

'''Lord's Prayer after [[Simon Grunau]] (Curonian)'''{{r|Dini|pages=297}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schmid|first=Wolfgang P.|year=1962|title=Zu Simon Grunaus Vaterunser|trans-title=On Simon Grunau's Lord's Prayer|language=de|place=Berlin|journal=Indogermanische Forschung|pages=261–273|issue=67}}</ref>{{r|Nesselmann|page=XV}}

{{lang|xcu|<poem>
Nossen thewes cur tu es delbes
sweytz gischer tho wes wardes
penag munis tholbe mystlastilbi
tolpes prahes girkade delbeszisne tade symmes semmes worsunii
dodi mommys an nosse igdemas mayse
unde gaytkas pames mumys nusze noszeginu cademes pametam musen prettane kans
newede munis lawnā padomā
swalbadi munis nowusse loyne Jhesus amen.</poem>}}

'''Lord's Prayer after Prätorius (Curonian)'''<ref name="Mithridates">{{cite book |title=Mithridates oder Allgemeine Sprachenkunde, mit dem Vater Unser als Sprachprobe in bey nahe fünfhundert Sprachen und Mundarten|volume=2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bs4AQAAMAAJ&q=Thewes+nossen%2C+cur+tu+es+Debbes&pg=PA703 |chapter=VII. Germanisch-Slavischer oder Lettischer Volksstamm |first=Johann Christoph |last=Adelung |author-link=Johann Christoph Adelung |editor-first=Johann Severin |editor-last=Vater |editor-link=Johann Severin Vater |year=1809 |location=Berlin |publisher={{ill|Christian Friedrich Voß|de|lt=Vossische Buchhandlung}} |trans-chapter=VII. The Germanic-Slavic or Latvian tribe |access-date=21 November 2022|trans-title=Mithridates or General linguistics using the Lord's Prayer in almost fivehundert languages and dialects|language=de}}</ref>{{rp|p=703}}{{efn|[[Johann Christoph Adelung|Adelung]] simply says "der Prätorius". This is most likely [[Matthäus Prätorius]]; because two pages earlier Adelung refers with approval to the writings of both Hartknoch and Prätorius,{{r|Mithridates|p=701}} and [[Christoph Hartknoch]] worked with Matthäus Prätorius.}}

{{lang|bat|<poem>Thewes nossen, cur tu es Debbes,
Schwisch gesger thowes Wardes;
Pena mynis thowe Wiswalstybe;
Toppes Patres gir iat Delbeszisne, tade tymnes senjnes Worsinny;
Annosse igdenas Mayse dodi mums szon Dien;
Pamutale mums musu Noschegun, kademas pametan nousson Pyktainekans;
No wede numus panam Paadomam;
Swalbadi names ne wust Tayne.</poem>}}

'''Lord's Prayer in Lithuanian dialect of [[Insterburg]]''' (Prediger Hennig){{r|Mithridates|page=707}}
{{lang|olt-RU|<poem>Tewe musu, kurs essi Danguje,
Buk szwenczamas Wardas tawo,
Ateik tawo Karalijste;
Buk tawo Walle kaip Danguje, taip ir an Zemes;
Duna musu dieniszka duk mums ir sze Diena;
Atleisk mums musu Kaltes, kaip mes atoeidzjam sawo Kaltiems;
Ne wesk mus Pagundima;
Bet gelbek mus nu Pikto.</poem>}}

'''Lord's Prayer in Lithuanian dialect of [[Nadruvia]], corrupted''' (Simon Praetorius){{r|Mithridates|p=708}}
{{lang|olt-RU|<poem>Tiewe musu, kursa tu essi Debsissa,
Szwints tiest taws Wards;
Akeik mums twa Walstybe;
Tawas Praats buk kaip Debbesissa taibant wirszu Sjemes;
Musu dieniszka May e duk mums ir szen Dienan;
Atmesk mums musu Griekus, kaip mes pammetam musi Pardokonteimus;
Ne te wedde mus Baidykle;
Bet te passarge mus mi wissa Louna (Pikta)</poem>}}

==See also==
* [[High Prussian dialect]]
* [[Low Prussian dialect]]
* [[Masurian dialects]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Literature==
* Johann Christoph Adelung, Johann Severin Vater: Mithridates oder allgemeine Sprachenkunde mit dem Vater Unser als Sprachprobe in beynahe fünfhundert Sprachen und Mundarten, vol. 2, Berlin 1809, p. 700ff. ([https://books.google.com/books?id=0DdT-xoT080C&pg=PA700])
* Johann Severin Vater: Die Sprache der alten Preußen: Einleitung, Ueberreste, Sprachlehre, Wörterbuch, Braunschweig 1821
* [[Georg Heinrich Ferdinand Nesselmann|G. H. F. Nesselmann]], Forschungen auf dem Gebiete der preußischen Sprache, 2. Beitrag: Königsberg, 1871.
* [[Georg Heinrich Ferdinand Nesselmann|G. H. F. Nesselmann]], Thesaurus linguae Prussicae, Berlin, 1873.
* [[Erich Berneker|E. Berneker]], Die preussische Sprache, Strassburg, 1896 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=RhPlJWl5XB8C]).
* [[Reinhold Trautmann|R. Trautmann]], Die altpreussischen Sprachdenkmäler, Göttingen, 1910.
* Wijk, Nicolaas van, [[iarchive:altpreussichestu00wijk|Altpreussiche Studien : Beiträge zur baltischen und zur vergleichenden indogermanischen Grammatik]], Haag, 1918.
* G. Gerullis, Die altpreussischen Ortsnamen, Berlin-Leipzig, 1922.
* [[Reinhold Trautmann|R. Trautmann]], Die altpreussischen Personnennamen, Göttingen, 1925.
* G. Gerullis, Zur Sprache der Sudauer-Jadwinger, in Festschrift A. Bezzenberger, Göttingen 1927
* W. R. Schmalstieg, An Old Prussian Grammar, University Park and London, 1974.
* W. R. Schmalstieg, Studies in Old Prussian, University Park and London, 1976.
* V. Toporov, Prusskij jazyk: Slovar', A – L, Moskva, 1975–1990 (not finished).
* L. Kilian: Zu Herkunft und Sprache der Prußen Wörterbuch Deutsch–Prußisch, Bonn 1980
* (In Lithuanian) V. Mažiulis, Prūsų kalbos paminklai, Vilnius, t. I 1966, t. II 1981.
* J. Endzelīns, Senprūšu valoda. – Gr. Darbu izlase, IV sēj., 2. daļa, Rīga, 1982. 9.-351. lpp.
* [[Vytautas Mažiulis|V. Mažiulis]], Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas, Vilnius, t. I-IV, 1988–1997.
* M. Biolik, Zuflüsse zur Ostsee zwischen unterer Weichsel und Pregel, Stuttgart, 1989.
* R. Przybytek, Ortsnamen baltischer Herkunft im südlichen Teil Ostpreussens, Stuttgart, 1993.
* R. Przybytek, Hydronymia Europaea, Ortsnamen baltischer Herkunft im südlichen Teil Ostpreußens, Stuttgart 1993
* M. Biolik, Die Namen der stehenden Gewässer im Zuflussgebiet des Pregel, Stuttgart, 1993.
* M. Biolik, Die Namen der fließenden Gewässer im Flussgebiet des Pregel, Stuttgart, 1996.
* G. Blažienė, Die baltischen Ortsnamen in Samland, Stuttgart, 2000.
* A. Kaukienė, Prūsų kalba, Klaipėda, 2002.
* [[Vytautas Mažiulis|V. Mažiulis]], Prūsų kalbos istorinė gramatika, Vilnius, 2004.
* LEXICON BORVSSICVM VETVS. Concordantia et lexicon inversum. / Bibliotheca Klossiana I, Universitas Vytauti Magni, Kaunas, 2007.
* OLD PRUSSIAN WRITTEN MONUMENTS. Facsimile, Transliteration, Reconstruction, Comments. / Bibliotheca Klossiana II, Universitas Vytauti Magni / Lithuanians' World Center, Kaunas, 2007.
* (In Lithuanian) V. Rinkevičius, Prūsistikos pagrindai (Fundamentals of Prussistics). 2015.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Prussian language|Old Prussian language}}
{{Incubator|code= prg}}
{{wiktionary category}}
* [http://www.prusistika.flf.vu.lt/ Database of the Old Prussian Linguistic Heritage] (Etymological Dictionary of Old Prussian (in Lithuanian) and full textual corpus)
* [http://www.kortlandt.nl/editions/ Frederik Kortlandt: Electronic text editions] (contains transcriptions of Old Prussian manuscript texts)
* [https://sitti.vdu.lt/prussian/GrG.pdf Vocabulary by friar Simon Grunau]<!-- old: [http://donelaitis.vdu.lt/prussian/GrG.pdf] -->
* [https://sitti.vdu.lt/prussian/Elbin.pdf Elbing Vocabulary]<!-- old: [http://donelaitis.vdu.lt/prussian/Elbin.pdf] -->

{{Baltic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Medieval languages|Prussian language, Old]]
[[Category:West Baltic languages|Prussian language, Old]]
[[Category:Culture of Prussia]]
[[Category:Extinct Baltic languages]]
[[Category:Extinct languages of Europe]]
[[Category:Language revival]]
[[Category:Languages extinct in the 18th century]]
[[Category:Old-Prussian language]]

[[eo:Praprusoj#Kristanigo kaj la praprusa lingvo]]