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| Pomeranian | |
|---|---|
| Middle Lechitic | |
 Stefan Ramułt'sDictionary of the Pomeranian (Kashubian) language, published inKraków, 1893 | |
| Native to | Poland, Germany |
| Region | Pomerania |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
ThePomeranian language (Polish:pomorszczyzna orjęzyk pomorski; German:Pomoranisch ordie pomoranische Sprache) is in thePomeranian group of Lechitic languages (Polish:grupa pomorska języków lechickich; German:die pomoranische Gruppe der lechischen Sprachen) within theWest Slavic languages.
In medieval contexts, it refers to the dialects spoken by theSlavic Pomeranians. In modern contexts, the term is sometimes used synonymously with "Kashubian" and may also include extinctSlovincian.
The namePomerania comes fromSlavicpo moře, which means "[land] by the sea".[1]
During theearly medievalSlavic migrations, the area between theOder andVistula riverswas settled by tribes grouped asPomeranians. Their dialects, sometimes referred to as Ancient Pomeranian, had a transitory character between thePolabian dialects spoken west ofPomerania and theOld Polish dialects spoken to the southeast. The earliest text written in Pomerania comes from 1304, published in 1881-1882 inPommerellisches Urkundenbuch.[2][better source needed]
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.
— Pommerellisches Urkundenbuch, page 552
During the High Middle Ages,German immigration and assimilation of the Slavic Pomeranians (Ostsiedlung) introducedLow GermanEast Pomeranian,Central Pomeranian, andMecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch 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 inPomerelia, where the Slavic population became known asKashubians and their language accordingly asKashubian. An insular Slavic Pomeranian dialect spoken northwest ofKashubia until the 20th century became known asSlovincian. 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.[3]Stefan Ramułt (1859–1913) was fascinated byFlorian Ceynowa and decidedly supported giving Kashubian the status of a full-fledged standard language.
The Pomeranian language influenced the formation of otherPolish language dialects, such as theKociewski, 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 theKashubian 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 theLow German dialects, which were used inPomerania. AfterGermanisation, the population ofWestern 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 wordZeese /Zehse may serve as an example. It describes a kind of a fishing net and is still known in the Low German dialects ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern today. The word comes from the old Pomeranian word of the same meaning:seza. It moved to Kashubian andSlovincian dialects through Low German, and appeared in Pomeranian dictionaries asceza 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 "dalli, dalli" (it means: come on, come on). It moved to theGerman language through the German dialects ofWest Prussia, and is also present in the Kashubian language (spelled:dali, dali).
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The classification of the Pomeranianethnolect is problematic. It was classified byAleksander Brückner as one of the OldPolish dialects. At the same time, he classified the extant Kashubian andSlovincian dialects as belonging to the Modern Polish language. Other linguists relate the Pomeranian language to thePolabian 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 thePomeranians. However, it is still not clear from where the words "Kashubians" and "Kashubian" (Polish:Kaszubi andKaszubski,Kashubian:Kaszëbi andkaszëbsczi) originated and how they were brought from the area nearKoszalin 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.
WhileWestern Pomerania was being Germanized, the Germans (both colonizers and Germanized descendants ofSlavic Pomeranians) started using the words "Pomeranian" (German:Pommersch; Polish:pomorski) and "Pomeranians" (German:Pommern;Polish:Pomorzacy) referring to their own population. The part of the Pomeranian population which kept their Slavic language was called the Wends (German:Wenden) or the Kashubians (German:Kaschuben). 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 ofPan-Slavism, according to which all theSlavic languages were dialects of one Slavic language. In his later works, though, he called his languagekaszébsko-słovjinsko móva.
In 1893,Stefan Ramułt, theJagiellonian University linguist, referred to the early history of Pomerania, publishing theDictionary of the Pomoranian i.e. Kashubian Language. In the preface, Ramułt wrote:
and
Friedrich Lorentz (the author ofPomeranian Grammar andThe 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 (Pomoranisches Wörterbuch), which was based on Lorentz's writing.
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 wereStefan Ramułt, andAlfred Majewicz, who overtly called Kashubian a language in the 1980s.
Following the collapse ofcommunism in Poland, attitudes on the status of Kashubian have been gradually changing.[4] 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.[5] A bill passed by thePolish parliament in 2005 recognizes it as aregional language in theRepublic 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]
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