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| Low Prussian | |
|---|---|
| Region | |
| Ethnicity | Germans (Prussian and Saxon subgroups) |
| Dialects | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | nds forLow German |
| ISO 639-3 | nds forLow German |
| Glottolog | lowe1387 |
Low Prussian (German:Niederpreußisch),[1] sometimes known simply asPrussian (Preußisch), is a moribunddialect ofEast Low German that developed inEast Prussia. Low Prussian was spoken inEast andWest Prussia andDanzig up to 1945. In Danzig it formed the basis of the particular city dialect ofDanzig German. It developed on aBalticsubstrate through the influx ofDutch- andLow German-speaking immigrants. It supplantedOld Prussian, which became extinct in the early 18th century.
Simon Dach's poemAnke van Tharaw was written in Low Prussian.
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Low Prussian is a Low German dialect formerly spoken inPrussia. It is separated from its only adjacent German dialect,High Prussian, by theBenrath line and theUerdingen line, the latter dialect beingCentral German. This was once one of the, if not the hardest linguistic border within theGerman dialects.
Plautdietsch is included within Low Prussian by some observers. Excluding Plautdietsch, Low Prussian can be consideredmoribund due to theevacuation andforced expulsion of Germans from East Prussia afterWorld War II. Plautdietsch, however, has several thousand speakers throughout the world, most notably inSouth America,Canada andGermany.
In Danzig a German settlement (besides an existing Old Prussian-Kashubian settlement) was established in the 12th century. In the later Middle Ages, Middle Low Saxon in a Low Prussian form was the written and everyday language in Danzig. At the end of the 16th century, there was a switch to High German as a written language. This led to the formation of DanzigerMissingsch, which shaped the everyday language in Danzig until 1945.[2]
In Königsberg in 1924, the use of Low German as everyday language was restricted to the working class, and even among the working class Low German was more and more replaced by (a corrupted) High German.[3]
Almost all Low Prussian speakers wereevacuated orexpelled from Prussia after 1945. Since the expellees scattered throughout Western Germany the dialects are nowmoribund. Most of the Low Prussian speakers not expelled afterWorld War II relocated from Poland to Western Germany in the 1970s and 1980s and from Russia in the 1990s as so-called late repatriates (Spätaussiedler). Today, the language is almost extinct, as its use is restricted to communication within the family and gatherings of expellees, where they are spoken out of nostalgia. In Poland, the language of the few non-displaced people was subjected to severe repression after 1945, which meant that the active use of the language was even lower than in Germany. In both countries, the High Prussian dialects were not transmitted to the next generation, therefore, few elderly speakers remain. The German minority in Poland, recognized since 1991, uses Standard German.
It shares some features with High Prussian, differentiating it from neighbouring Low German dialects.
Those Borussisms are:[4]: 79
According toone summary of Low German dialects, words very characteristic of Low Prussian aredoa ('dor', there),joa ('jo', yes),goah ('goh', go) andnoa ('nober', neighbor), which feature "oa" instead of the usual "o" or "a".
Words are often shortened, in a manner similar to that of the neighboring East Pomeranian dialect, givingbeet (beten, little bit) andbaakove ('bakåben', bake oven).
Low Prussian also has a number of words in common with Plautdietsch, such asKlemp (cow),Klopps (lump, ball of earth) andTsoagel (tail).
Some other words[6] are:
Low Prussian had patalization of /g/, /k/, whichLatvian had since its contact to Low German.[10]
After theassimilation of theOld Prussians, many Old Prussian words were preserved in the Low Prussian dialect.[11]
| Low Prussian | Old Prussian[12] | Latvian | Lithuanian | Standard German | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaddig | kadegis | kadiķis | kadagys | Wacholder | juniper |
| Kurp | kurpe, -i | kurpe | kurpė | Schuh | shoe |
| Kujel | cuylis | cūka, mežacūka, kuilis | kuilys, šernas | Wildschwein | boar |
| Margell, Marjell | merga[virgin] | meitene, meiča | merga, mergelė, mergaitė | Magd, Mädchen, Mädel | maiden,girl |
| Pawirpen | (from powīrps[free]) | algādzis, strādnieks | padienis | Losmann | freelancer |
| Zuris | suris | siers | sūris | Käse | cheese |
In addition to the words of Old Prussian origin, another source ofBaltic loans [lt;lv] was Lithuanian. After the migration of Lithuanians in the 15th century, many Lithuanian loanwords appeared in the Low Prussian dialect.[11]
| Low Prussian | Lithuanian | Standard German | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alus | alus | Bier | beer,ale |
| Burteninker | burtininkas | Wahrsager, Zauberer, Besprecher | magician,soothsayer,sorcerer |
| kalbeken [persectionCommon Prussian features it might rather bekalbeke] | kalbėti[to speak] | schwatzen | to palaver |
| Kausche, Kauszel | kaušas[wooden dipper] | Trinkschale | drinking bowl |
| Krepsch, Krepsche, Krepsze | krepšys, krepšas | Sack, Handsack, Ranzen | basket |
| Lorbas | liurbis | Lümmel | cheeky boy |
| Pirschlis | piršlys | Brautwerber | matchmaker |
| Wabel, Wabbel | vabalas | Käfer | bug |
The writer Erminia von Olfers-Batocki (1876-1954) from Natangia wrote the following poem in Low Prussian:[13]
Ek häbb e kleen Perdke, ek häbb ok e Pitsch,
Un e jrinlachtje Schleede, jewt dat e Jejlitsch!
Erscht Schnee is jefalle, rasch, Schimmelke vör!
Nu foahre wi Schleede, de kriez un de quer!
De Mitz uppe Kopp un de Feet mangket Stroh,
Fief Klingere am Schleede, dat bimmelt man so!
De Pitsch inner Fust un de Lien inne Händ,
Klinglustig! Doa kome de Kinder jerennt.
Un jederer schorrt, dat he upspringe kann!
He, Junges! Marjelles! Nu kick eener an!
Min Schemmel jait lustig met „Hussa“ un „Hopp!“
Juch! Schneeballkes suse em äwere Kopp.
Nu lustig, ju Kinder, inne Schleede krupt rin,
To Gast kimmt de Winder, dem klingre wi in.
I have a little horse, I also have a whip,
And I have a green painted(?) slide, so that will be a slip!
The first snow has fallen, swiftly, gray horse get in front of it!
Now we are going to slide everywhere!
The hat on the head, and the feet in the straw,
Five bells are fixed to the slide, what a ringing!
The whip in the fist and the leash in the hand,
It is ringing so merrily. The children come running.
And every one is running to get a ride!
Hey, boys! girls! Just look at that!
My horse is joyfully going with "Hussa" and "Hop"!
Oh my! Snowballs are flying by his head.
Well, happily, children, come on my slide,
Winter is here and we will ring to welcome it.
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