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| Colognian | |
|---|---|
| Kölsch,Kölsch Platt | |
| Pronunciation | [kœ̂ɫːlɕ] |
| Native to | Germany |
| Region | Cologne and environs |
Early forms | Proto-Indo-European
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ksh |
ksh | |
| Glottolog | kols1241 |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Colognian orKölsch (pronounced[kœ̂lɧ], narrower[kœ̂ɫːʃ]ⓘ; full nameKölsch Platt) is a small set of very closely relateddialects, or variants, of theRipuarian group of dialects of theCentral German group. These dialects are spoken in the area covered by the Archdiocese and formerElectorate of Cologne reaching fromNeuss in the north to just south ofBonn, west toDüren and east toOlpe in northwestGermany.
In the Ripuarian dialects, "kölsch" is an adjective meaning'from Cologne' or'pertaining to Cologne', thus equivalent to"Colognian". Its nominalized forms (ene Kölsche,de Kölsche etc.) denote the inhabitants of Cologne. The word "Kölsch", without an article, refers to either the dialect or the localKölsch beer. Hence the humorous Colognian saying: "Ours is the only language you can drink!"[1]
In Cologne, it is actively spoken by about 250,000 people, roughly one quarter of the population.Almost all speakers are also fluent instandard or high German.It is widely understood in a region inhabited by some 10 million people (a conservative estimate).
There is a community of people who speak a variety of Kölsch inDane County, Wisconsin,United States.[2]
There are local (decreasingly divergent) variants of Kölsch in the Quarters, most notably those only recently incorporated into the city, and the Hinterland.[clarification needed] Sometimes, also the far more than 100 clearly distinct Ripuarian languages ofBelgium, theNetherlands, and GermanRhineland are incorrectly referred to as Kölsch, as well as theRhinelandic regiolect. In fact, theregiolect is very different from Kölsch, being the regional variety ofStandard German influenced only to a certain degree by the dialect. As such, many native speakers of the regiolect are in fact unaware of the fact that a “regiolect” exists, believing they speak plain Standard German.[citation needed]
In its modern form, it is of comparatively recent origin. It developed fromHistoric Colognian, but has been under the influence ofNew High German since the 17th century. It was also influenced byFrench during the occupation of theLeft Bank of the Rhine underNapoleon Bonaparte from 1794 to 1815, and therefore contains some more words from and expressions pertaining to French than does Standard German. There are alsophonological similarities with French, which however may be coincidental.
Kölsch is one of the variants of the Ripuarian dialects (not part of theRhinelandic regiolect,rheinisch), which belong toWest Middle German family. It is closely related to the lower Rhineland (niederrheinisch) andMoselle Franconian (moselfränkisch) dialects and combines some features of them, as well employing a variety of words hardly in use elsewhere. Common with theLimburgish language group and other Ripuarian languages, it has a phonemicpitch accent, referred to as the 'singing' Rhinelandic tone.
This list shows only the most important differences. Most of these are not uniquely Kölsch, but true for allRipuarian dialects.
In comparison to most other German dialects, Kölsch is unusually well documented through the work of theAkademie för uns Kölsche Sproch and scholars such asAdam Wrede [de], whose publications include a dictionary, a grammar and a variety of phrase books. While Kölsch is not commonly taught in schools (although there are often extracurricular offerings) and a lot of young people do not have a proper command of it, many theaters exist that perform exclusively in Kölsch, most notably theVolkstheater Millowitsch, named after the lateWilly Millowitsch (1909–1999) and the famouspuppet theater,Hänneschen-Theater. There has also recently been an increase in literature written in this dialect and both traditional music androck in Kölsch are very popular in and beyond Cologne, especially aroundCarnival, including bands such asBrings,The piano has been drinking... [de],Bläck Fööss,Höhner and others. TheKölsch rock groupBAP is even among the most successful rock bands in Germany. Another noticeable phenomenon is the usage of either a watered-down Kölsch dialect or theRhinelandic regiolect by German TV personalities, especially comedians such asGabi Köster [de] and others.
This is a relatively recent, and modern, version of theLord's Prayer in Colognian, by Jean Jenniches (1894–1979).[5]
Vatterunser
Leeve Herrjott, hellich ess Dinge Name.
Vum Himmel us rejeers Do et janze Weltall
noh Dingem Welle.
Wie ne Vatter sorgs Do för de Minschheit,
die he op de Äd Di Rich erwaden deit.
Vill Nut es en der Welt, dröm bedde mer:
maach doch, dat keine Minsch mieh muss
Hunger ligge.
Nemm vun uns alle Sündeschold,
domet och jederein ess jnädich de eije
Schöldner.
Helf Do uns, dat meer alle Versökunge
widderstonn,
un halt alles vun uns fähn, wat unsem
iwije Heil schade künnt.
Amen.
English translation:
Our Father
Dear Lord God, holy is Your Name.
From the heavens You rule all the universe
according to Your will.
Like a father you care for humanity,
which awaits Your Kingdom here on Earth.
There is much need in the world, and thus we pray:
Make it so that no person should have to
suffer hunger anymore.
Take from us our debts,
so that every one of us is merciful to
his own debtors.
Help us to withstand all temptation,
and keep everything that could harm our
eternal salvation.
Amen.
