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Pomeranian language
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{{Short description|Language}} {{For|the [[Low German]] dialects also called Pomeranian ({{langx|de|Pommersch}})|East Low German|East Pomeranian dialect}} {{more citations needed|date=October 2012}} {{Infobox language |name=Pomeranian |altname=Middle Lechitic |nativename= |image= File:Stefan Ramult-Pomeranian Dictionary.png |imagescale= 1.45 |imagecaption= [[Stefan Ramułt]]'s ''Dictionary of the Pomeranian (Kashubian) language'', published in [[Kraków]], 1893 |states=Poland, Germany |region=[[Pomerania]] |extinct= |familycolor=Indo-European |fam2=[[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]] |fam3=[[Slavic languages|Slavic]] |fam4=[[West Slavic languages|West Slavic]] |fam5=[[Lechitic languages|Lechitic]] }} The '''Pomeranian language''' ({{langx|pl|pomorszczyzna}} or {{lang|pl|język pomorski}}; {{langx|de|Pomoranisch|links=no}} or {{lang|de|die pomoranische Sprache}}) is in the [[Lechitic languages#Languages|Pomeranian group of Lechitic languages]] ({{langx|pl|grupa pomorska języków lechickich|links=no}}; {{langx|de|die pomoranische Gruppe der lechischen Sprachen|links=no}}) within the [[West Slavic languages]]. In medieval contexts, it refers to the dialects spoken by the [[Pomeranians (Slavic tribe)|Slavic Pomeranians]]. In modern contexts, the term is sometimes used synonymously with "[[Kashubian language|Kashubian]]" and may also include extinct [[Slovincian language|Slovincian]]. The name ''[[Pomerania]]'' comes from [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] {{lang|sla|po moře}}, which means "[land] by the sea".<ref>{{langx|de|[http://www.pommersches-landesmuseum.de/kulturreferat-fuer-pommern/aufgaben/aufgaben.html Der Name Pommern (po more) ist slawischer Herkunft und bedeutet so viel wie „Land am Meer“.]}} ({{langx|de|Pommersches Landesmuseum}}, German)</ref> == Ancient Pomeranian == {{Further|Pomerania during the Early Middle Ages}} During the [[early Middle Ages|early medieval]] [[Slavic migrations]], the area between the [[Oder]] and [[Vistula]] rivers [[Pomerania during the Early Middle Ages|was settled]] by tribes grouped as [[Pomeranians (Slavic tribe)|Pomeranians]]. Their dialects, sometimes referred to as Ancient Pomeranian, had a transitory character between the [[Polabian language|Polabian dialects]] spoken west of [[Pomerania]] and the [[Old Polish language|Old Polish dialects]] spoken to the southeast. The earliest text written in Pomerania comes from 1304, published in 1881-1882 in [https://kpbc.umk.pl/dlibra/publication/11061/edition/23431/content ''Pommerellisches Urkundenbuch''].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/projekt.gorazd/posts/pfbid0Jj8BJu5zudJrt8gnq15DxwaMW7tneZ3EgTt6oqpMMuepXjivhqn2oK6rpPPuEfsdl|publisher=Gorazd|date=27 February 2021|title=facebook|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506105917/https://www.facebook.com/projekt.gorazd/posts/pfbid0Jj8BJu5zudJrt8gnq15DxwaMW7tneZ3EgTt6oqpMMuepXjivhqn2oK6rpPPuEfsdl|archivedate=6 May 2024}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=March 2025}} {{blockquote|text= {{lang|csb|Universis Christi fidelibus, ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit, Venzeke prawi curriwi sin de Solkowe, felicitatem in domino sempiternam}} Universis Christi fidelibus, ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit, Więcek prawy kur[ri]wi syn de Sul[ech]owo, felicitatem in domino sempiternam. |multiline=yes |title=Pommerellisches Urkundenbuch |source=page 552}} == Slovincian and Kashubian == {{main|Slovincian language|Kashubian language}} {{Further|Pomerania during the High Middle Ages|Ostsiedlung}} [[Pomerania during the High Middle Ages|During the High Middle Ages]], [[Germans|German]] immigration and assimilation of the Slavic Pomeranians ({{lang|de|[[Ostsiedlung]]}}) introduced [[Low German]] [[East Pomeranian dialect|East Pomeranian]], [[Central Pomeranian dialect|Central Pomeranian]], and [[Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect|{{lang|de|Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch|nocat=y}} dialects]], which became dominant in Pomerania except for some areas in the east, where the populace remained largely Slavic and continued to use the Slavic Pomeranian language. This was especially the case in [[Pomerelia]], where the Slavic population became known as [[Kashubians]] and their language accordingly as [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]]. An insular Slavic Pomeranian dialect spoken northwest of [[Kashubia]] until the 20th century became known as [[Slovincian language|Slovincian]]. It is disputed whether Slovincian may be regarded as a dialect of Kashubian or a separate language. Likewise, it is disputed whether Kashubian may be regarded as a dialect of Polish or a separate language.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lubaś |first=W. |title=Lexikon der Sprachen des europäischen Ostens |editor-last=Okuka |editor-first=M. |location=Klagenfurt |year=2002 |pages=265–273 |chapter=Kaschubisch |language=German }}</ref> [[Stefan Ramułt]] (1859–1913) was fascinated by [[Florian Ceynowa]] and decidedly supported giving Kashubian the status of a full-fledged standard language. == Influence on other dialects == The Pomeranian language influenced the formation of other [[Polish language]] dialects, such as the [[Kociewie|Kociewski]], Borowiacki and Krajniacki dialects. Undoubtedly, they belong to the Polish language, but they also have some features in common with the Pomeranian language, which proves their character was transitional. [[Friedrich Lorentz]] supposed that the Kociewski and Borewiacki dialects first belonged to the Pomeranian language and were then Polonized as a result of the Polish colonization of these territories. According to Lorentz, the Krajniacki dialect most probably was originally a part of the Polish language. The common feature of the Kociewski dialects and the [[Kashubian language]] is, for example, the partial preservation of the so-called "TarT" group and a part of its lexis. For the Borowiacki dialects and the Pomeranian language, the common feature was affrication of dorsal consonants. The Pomeranian language also influenced the [[Low German]] dialects, which were used in [[Pomerania]]. After [[Germanisation]], the population of [[Western Pomerania]] started to use the Low German dialects. Those dialects, though, were influenced by the Pomeranian language (Slavic). Most words originating from Pomeranian can be found in vocabulary connected with fishery and farming. The word {{lang|nds|Zeese}} / {{lang|nds|Zehse}} may serve as an example. It describes a kind of a fishing net and is still known in the Low German dialects of [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] today. The word comes from the old Pomeranian word of the same meaning: {{lang|csb|seza}}. It moved to Kashubian and [[Slovincian language|Slovincian]] dialects through Low German, and appeared in Pomeranian dictionaries as {{lang|csb|ceza}} meaning "flounder and perch fishing net". Thus, it is a "reverse loan-word" as the Pomeranian language borrowed the word from Low German in which it functioned as a "[[Pomoranism]]" (a borrowing from the Pomeranian language). A borrowing from the Pomeranian language which has been used in everyday German language and has appeared in dictionaries is the phrase "{{lang|de|dalli, dalli}}" (it means: come on, come on). It moved to the [[German language]] through the German dialects of [[West Prussia]], and is also present in the Kashubian language (spelled: {{lang|csb|dali, dali}}). == Assessment == {{Unreferenced section|date=May 2022}} The classification of the Pomeranian [[ethnolect]] is problematic. It was classified by [[Aleksander Brückner]] as one of the Old [[Polish language|Polish]] dialects. At the same time, he classified the extant Kashubian and [[Slovincian language|Slovincian]] dialects as belonging to the Modern Polish language. Other linguists relate the Pomeranian language to the [[Polabian language|Polabian]] group of dialects (forming the Pomeranian-Polabian group). After Slovincian and all the Pomeranian dialects (except Kashubian) became extinct, the Kashubian language is the term most often used in relation to the language spoken by the [[Pomeranians (Slavic tribe)|Pomeranians]]. However, it is still not clear from where the words "Kashubians" and "Kashubian" ({{langx|pl|Kaszubi}} and {{lang|pl|Kaszubski}}, {{langx|csb|Kaszëbi}} and {{lang|csb|kaszëbsczi}}) originated and how they were brought from the area near [[Koszalin]] to Pomerelia. None of the theories proposed has been widely accepted so far. There is also no indication that Pomeranians wandered from the area of Koszalin to Pomerelia. While [[Western Pomerania]] was being Germanized, the Germans (both colonizers and Germanized descendants of [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] Pomeranians) started using the words "Pomeranian" ({{langx|de|Pommersch}}; {{langx|pl|pomorski|links=no}}) and "Pomeranians" ({{langx|de|Pommern|nocat=y}}; {{langx|pl|Pomorzacy|nocat=y}}) referring to their own population. The part of the Pomeranian population which kept their Slavic language was called the Wends ({{langx|de|Wenden|nocat=y}}) or the Kashubians ({{langx|de|Kaschuben|nocat=y}}). As the West lost its Slavic character, those two terms were more often used in the East. In 1850, in the preface to his Kashubian-Russian dictionary, [[Florian Ceynowa]] wrote about the language of Baltic Slavic peoples: "Usually it is called the 'Kashubian language', although the 'Pomeranian-Slovenian dialect' would be a more proper term." The word dialect was probably used by Ceynowa because he was a follower of [[Pan-Slavism]], according to which all the [[Slavic languages]] were dialects of one Slavic language. In his later works, though, he called his language {{lang|pl|kaszébsko-słovjinsko móva}}. In 1893, [[Stefan Ramułt]], the [[Jagiellonian University]] linguist, referred to the early history of Pomerania, publishing the ''Dictionary of the Pomoranian i.e. Kashubian Language''. In the preface, Ramułt wrote: : As Kashubians are the direct descendants of Pomeranians, it is right to use the words Pomeranian and Kashubian as synonyms. Especially as there are other reasons for it as well... and : Kashubians and Slavs are what remains of the once powerful Pomeranian tribe and they are the only inheritors of the name Pomeranians. Friedrich Lorentz (the author of ''Pomeranian Grammar'' and ''The History of Pomeranian/Kashubian Language'') referred in his works to Ramułt's dictionary. After Lorentz died, [[Friedhelm Hinze]] published a Pomeranian dictionary in five volumes ({{lang|de|Pomoranisches Wörterbuch}}), which was based on Lorentz's writing. === Modern status of Kashubian === The Pomeranian language, and its only surviving form, Kashubian, traditionally have not been recognized by the majority of Polish linguists, and have been treated in Poland as "the most distinct dialect of Polish". However, there have also been some Polish linguists who treated Pomeranian as a separate language. The most prominent of them were [[Stefan Ramułt]], and [[Alfred Majewicz]], who overtly called Kashubian a language in the 1980s. Following the collapse of [[communism in Poland]], attitudes on the status of Kashubian have been gradually changing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=whatamieating.com – Kashubian|url=http://www.whatamieating.com/Kashubian.htm|access-date=2021-05-17|website=www.whatamieating.com}}</ref> It is increasingly seen as a fully-fledged language, as it is taught in state schools and has some limited usage on public radio and television.<ref>{{Cite web|title=whatamieating.com – Kashubian|url=http://www.whatamieating.com/Kashubian.htm|access-date=2021-05-17|website=www.whatamieating.com}}</ref> A bill passed by the [[Sejm|Polish parliament]] in 2005 recognizes it as a [[regional language]] in the [[Republic of Poland]] and provides for its use in official contexts in 10 communes where its speakers constitute at least 20% of the population.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} == See also == * [[East Pomeranian]] * [[Kashubian-Pomeranian Association]] * [[Jerzy Treder]] == References == === Footnotes === {{Reflist}} === General === * Yurek K. Hinz, ''Exploring the localization requirements for Kashubian Linux: Opening new markets for open-source development projects''[https://archive.today/20131011233557/http://udini.proquest.com/view/exploring-the-localization-goid:527954946/] * Friedhelm Hinze, ''Wörterbuch und Lautlehre der deutschen Lehnwörter im Pomoranischen (Kaschubischen)'', Berlin 1965 * Friedrich Lorentz, ''Geschichte der Pomoranischen (Kaschubischen) Sprache'', Berlin and Leipzig, 1925 * Friedrich Lorentz, ''Pomoranisches Wörterbuch'', Band I-V, Berlin 1958–1983 * Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków, 1893 * Jan Trepczyk, ''Słownik polsko-kaszubski'', Gdańsk 1994 {{Slavic languages}} {{Pomeranian history|dem}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Languages of Poland]] [[Category:Lechitic languages]] [[Category:Languages of Germany]] [[Category:Culture of Pomeranian Voivodeship]]
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