Standard Lower Sorbian is one of the two literarySorbian languages, the other being the more widely spokenUpper Sorbian. The Lower Sorbian literary standard was developed in the 18th century, based on a southern form of the Cottbus dialect.[2] Thestandard variety of Lower Sorbian has received structural influence from Upper Sorbian.[2] Lower Sorbian differs from Upper Sorbian at all levels of the language system: in phonetics (the spread of the plosive consonantg; the merger of the affricateč with the hardened fricativec; the change of hardr afterp,t,k into hardš; the change ofć,ʒ́ into soft fricative sibilantsś,ź), in morphology (the presence of the supine; absence of aorist and imperfect forms in dialects), and in vocabulary (bom "tree";twarc "carpenter";gluka "happiness" and so on, contrasted with the corresponding Upper Sorbianštom,ćěsla,zbožo). The formation of the Lower Sorbian literary norm was greatly influenced by the Upper Sorbian language. Unlike Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian is less standardized and strictly codified, characterized by instability and greater variability.
Lower Sorbian is spoken in and around the city ofCottbus inBrandenburg. Signs in this region are typically bilingual, and Cottbus has aLower Sorbian Gymnasium where one language of instruction is Lower Sorbian. It is a heavilyendangered language.[3] Most native speakers today belong to the older generations. The younger and middle generations only know the learned literary language, with German being their native language. The assimilation process in Lower Lusatia has reached such a level that one can speak of a threat to the existence of the Lower Sorbian language.
A writing system based on the Latin alphabet was created in the 16th century. The first grammar of the language in history was written in 1650 by the Lutheran pastor Jan Hoinan. The regulator of the literary language is the Lower Sorbian Language Commission, currently operating under the Sorbian cultural and educational societyMatica serbska.
The modern Lower Sorbian dialects developed on the basis of Proto-Slavic dialects whose speakers, by the 6th–7th centuries, had occupied extensive territories on the western periphery of the Slavic linguistic area — in the middle course of the Elbe, from the Oder in the east to the Saale in the west. The early beginning of the expansion of the German language led to the assimilation of the Slavic dialects over a significant part of the ancient Lusatian area. Only a small portion of the territory where the Old Sorbian dialects were spoken has survived to the present day — Lower Sorbian dialects in the area of the Lusici tribe, and Upper Sorbian dialects in the area of the Milceni tribe.
The Sorbs never had their own statehood. For a long time, the alliance of Lusatian Serb tribes resisted German aggression and even went on the offensive, invading Frankish lands and devastating them. Nevertheless, in the 10th century the Sorbian tribal alliance was finally defeated, and the Slavic population fell under German rule. From the late 10th century onwards, for an entire millennium, the Sorbian linguistic area lay within various German-speaking states or their administrative units. This became the main reason for the gradual Germanization of the Sorbian population. Germanization in Lusatia varied in time and intensity, sometimes taking a natural course, sometimes being coercive. The result was the narrowing of the sphere of Sorbian dialect use to mainly oral everyday communication, their gradual displacement from towns into rural areas, and the shrinking of the Sorbian area almost to the point of disappearance today.
In the 13th–15th centuries, significant changes to the ethnolinguistic map of Sorbian territory were caused by a period of internal colonization. German settlers founded new villages; the Sorbs became a minority among the numerically dominant German-speaking population and gradually lost their native language, adopting German. The Sorbian linguistic area was greatly reduced, and many Slavic territories — including a number of peripheral districts of Lower Lusatia — became German-speaking. The urban population spoke German; Sorbian dialects were used mainly in the villages. At the same time, population growth and the founding of new settlements, especially in the 13th century, led to the formation of a compact Sorbian-speaking area within what is now Lower and Upper Lusatia.
Until the 16th century, the rural population of Lower Lusatia was almost entirely Sorbian; only after the Reformation did the number of Sorbs begin to decline while the German population grew. German–Sorbian bilingualism spread in different ways across districts, towns, and villages. The process was faster in peripheral areas, slower around Cottbus. Sorbs in towns were quickly Germanized; the process was slower in suburbs and slowest in villages. Until the late 18th century, Sorbian dialects remained the main means of communication for the peasantry, with German being only a second language in villages. Until the mid-16th century, the functions of the Sorbian dialects were limited mainly to oral communication within the family; they were used to a limited extent in courts (for giving testimony, though it was recorded in German), in church practice (for oral translation from German into Sorbian), and in communications from the authorities to the population.
The first monuments of written Lower Sorbian appeared by the 16th century, in the era of theReformation. The reformed church needed to translate liturgical books into a language understandable to parishioners. Early translations were made in different Sorbian regions for the needs of local churches, in local dialects. Due to the dominance of German in all spheres of urban life, the general illiteracy of the rural Lusatian population, and dialectal fragmentation (translations in one Sorbian dialect were not accepted by writers in another), these texts were not widely distributed. Differences in the historical development of the various Sorbian dialects, in the economic and political importance of different Sorbian regions, in the attitudes of various German feudal authorities toward the Sorbian language, the absence of a unified Sorbian cultural center, unified secular and church authority, a unified school system, and the predominance of German-speakers in towns all hindered Sorbian ethno-linguistic integration.
As a result, in the absence of supra-regional linguistic forms during the pre-literary period (from the 16th century to the second half of the 17th century), church writing developed independently in Lower and Upper Lusatia. A distinctive feature of Lower Sorbian literary development was that the first Sorbian texts appeared not in the center of Lower Lusatia but in its periphery. Translations made in the north of Lower Lusatia continued to appear even after the interruption caused by theThirty Years’ War, in the 1650s–1660s. But by order of the Elector of Brandenburg, all books and manuscripts in Lower Sorbian were either confiscated or destroyed, and Sorbian-language worship was banned. Thus, the emerging Sorbian cultural center in northern Lower Lusatia ceased to exist, and the preconditions for the rise of a Lower Sorbian literary language in the north were eliminated.
In the last decades of the 17th century, a new stage began in the development of Lower Sorbian writing and the formation of the Lower Sorbian literary language, centered in the Cottbus district (where the German population made up only 10–15% of the total). Sorbian was the main means of oral communication in the district (especially among the rural population); it was already used as a liturgical language and, in the 18th century, began to be used in teaching in village schools. In the late 17th and throughout the 18th century, thanks to local clergy (both Sorbian and German), translations of church texts into Lower Sorbian were made in Cottbus and its surroundings. Gradually, the Cottbus dialect became a model for the rest of Lower Lusatia. However, policies toward Sorbian varied: in the Cottbus area the language was not persecuted, but in the rest of the Margraviate of Lower Lusatia a consistent policy of eradication was pursued.
Map of Lower and Upper Lusatia in the 18th century
The formation of the Lower Sorbian literary norm is usually dated to the publication, on the initiative of pastor G. Fabricius, of translations of Martin Luther’sCatechism (1706) and theNew Testament (1709). These were based on theKocjebuz (Cottbus) dialect. In 1796 J. B. Fritz translated the Old Testament into this dialect. Attempts to create writing in the Cottbus region had also been made in the 17th century, notably byJan Chojnan, author of a handwritten grammar. But by order of the authorities, many Sorbian manuscripts were destroyed — not only in Brandenburg but also in Saxony. Some surviving early texts were published in the 19th–20th centuries. Thanks to reprints of Fabricius’sNew Testament, the Cottbus dialect — described by him as the most suitable for a literary language (“the most elegant and precise”) — spread to the rest of Lower Lusatia.
In its early stage, written Lower Sorbian vocabulary consisted mainly of church terms (in the absence of secular literature), with many German borrowings and calques, hybrid formations combining German and Sorbian morphemes, no influence from other Slavic languages, unstable spelling, and inconsistent fixation of certain forms and features.
From 1815, by decision of theCongress of Vienna, Lower Lusatia became part of the Frankfurt administrative district of the Prussian province ofBrandenburg. The political situation was less favorable for the Lower Sorbs than for the Upper Sorbs, since the Prussian authorities favored assimilation of Slavic peoples, unlike Saxony, which now included Upper Lusatia. In the 19th century, the main sphere of written Lower Sorbian was church life, to some extent schooling and domestic use; only a small local intelligentsia used it actively. Limited domains of use, lack of secular writing, and mass illiteracy led to a gradual divergence between the written language and popular speech, especially as Sorbs often used German outside the family and church.During the national revival from the mid-19th century, the emerging popular movement aimed to preserve the Sorbian people, to spread the Sorbian language, develop and perfect it, and grant it equal rights with German. Sorbs created cultural and scholarly societies (includingMatica), published newspapers and books in their language, and promoted public education. On the one hand, the prestige and scope of Sorbian grew; on the other, in conditions of Germanization — with Sorbs required to learn German in school, the army, and Protestant churches — bilingualism spread quickly, and the number of Sorbian speakers began to decline, especially in Protestant areas of Lower and Upper Lusatia (the more cohesive Catholic Sorbs preserved their language better). Unlike the relatively more developed Upper Sorbian, the Lower Sorbian literary language remained mostly limited to church literature; secular literature, which appeared from the 1860s, was mainly translations from Upper Sorbian. Prussian minority policy almost halted publishing in Lower Lusatia, restricted Sorbian in church life, and from the 1840s banned it in schools. The lack of unified Sorbian administration, church, and schooling, along with early dialect differences, hindered the unification of Lower and Upper Sorbian literary norms. By the 19th century, many activists already understood that merging the two languages was unlikely.
In 1937–1945, Sorbian was banned in Germany. All Sorbian organizations, publishers, and presses were closed; Sorbian intellectuals were persecuted. There were attempts to completely replace Sorbian with German, even in the home. The ban hit Protestant areas hardest, including all of Lower Lusatia, which is entirely Protestant.
AfterWorld War II, the position of German strengthened again due to the resettlement of Germans from eastern territories — from Poland, the Czech lands, and elsewhere — into Lusatia. In theGDR, the Sorbs were not given autonomy; their settlement area was divided among administrative units. Still, Sorbian was recognized as equal with German, used more actively in public life, and to a limited extent in administration. Sorbs were granted cultural autonomy, Sorbian-language schools, a teachers’ college, a theatre, folk ensembles, a folk culture festival, and increased publishing. Nonetheless, the number of speakers kept declining in both the GDR and unified Germany. Sorbs continued to shift to German under its dominance in the media, public life, education, labour migration, industry, and mixed marriages. In these conditions, mixed Sorbian–German villages emerged, including in Lower Lusatia; in many districts, Sorbian has disappeared or is now on the brink of extinction.
Since 1992, the monthly television programŁužyca has been broadcast in Lower Sorbian — from 1992–2003 by the Brandenburg public broadcaster ORB, and since 2003 byRBB.[4] RBB’s Cottbus studio also produces several Lower Sorbian radio programs.[5]
As in Polish and Czech, both Proto-Slavic reduced vowels becamee in a strong position. Full vowels preceding a reduced vowel in a weak position were lengthened after the loss of the reduced vowels. Over time, vowel length distinctions were lost, and stress became fixed on the first syllable (Proto-Slavic had free stress).
According to J. Nalepa, nasal vowels disappeared in Lusatian in the second half of the 12th century, probably under Czech influence.
The affricateʒ, as in most other Slavic languages, simplified toz:mjeza (Pol.miedza) “boundary.”
As in Polish and early Kashubian, soft dentals ť and ď became affricates ć and dź; this shift was phonologized by the 13th century. Later, in Lower Sorbian, these affricates lost their stop element: ć > ś, dź > ź, except after dental fricatives (rjeśaz “chain,”daś “give,”kosć “bone,”źiwy “wild,”měź “copper,”pozdźej “later” vs. Upper Sorbianrjećaz, dać, kosć, dźiwi, mjedź, pozdźe). This change took place in the mid-16th century in western dialects and about a century later in eastern ones, not affecting transitional central dialects or the Mužakow and Slepian dialects.
Soft c’, z’, s’ hardened; if followed byi, it becamey:ducy “going,”syła “strength,”zyma “winter” (cf.Czechjdoucí, síla, zima). This change likely occurred in the early 15th century. A similar change (in Lower but not Upper Sorbian) affected soft č’, ž’, š’ by the early 16th century:cysty “clean,”šyja “neck,”žywy “alive” (vs. Upper Sorbiančisty, šija, žiwy).
By the mid-16th century, č became c:cas “time,”pcoła “bee” (Upper Sorbiančas, pčoła), except in the suffix-učki and after fricatives. Č also remains in loanwords and onomatopoeic words.
After consonantsp,t,k, the sounds r and r’ became ř and ř’; then in Lower Sorbian, ř > š, ř’ > ć (later ś):pšawy “right,”tśi “three.”
As in Polish, hardł became the bilabialw (first written attestations in the 17th c.), and softľ not before front vowels acquired “European” alveolar articulation (like in German).
w disappeared in initialgw- andxw- clusters (Old Slavicgvozdь >gozd “dry forest,”xvoščь >chošć “horsetail”), at the beginning of a word before a consonant, and after a consonant beforeu. This process began before the 13th century and ended by the 16th. Softw’ becamej between vowels, before a consonant, and finally:rukajca “glove” (Pol.rękawica),mužoju/mužeju “to a man” (Pol.mężowi),kšej “blood” (Pol.krew).
e becamea after soft consonants and before hard ones:brjaza “birch,”kolaso “wheel,”pjac “bake,”lažaś “lie,”pjas “dog” (Upper Sorbianbrěza, koleso, pjec, ležeć, pos). This change was complete by the mid-17th century and did not affect theMuskau and Slepian dialects.
Lower Sorbian is spoken in the historical region of Lower Lusatia in the eastern part of Germany, on a small territory around the city of Cottbus. In terms of modern administrative division, Lower Sorbian-speaking areas are located in the southeast of the federal state of Brandenburg.
According to the“Law on the Rights of Lusatian Sorbs/Wends in Brandenburg” of 7 July 1994, thesettlement area of the Brandenburg Sorbs, in which the cultural and linguistic tradition of the Sorbs has been preserved to this day and where the rights of the Lower Sorbian language are guaranteed,[6] includes:
The total number of Lower Sorbian speakers is estimated at between 6,400 and 8,000 people, mostly elderly. The number of active speakers is likely even smaller. According toEthnologue (2007), there were 6,860 speakers; according to research by the Sorbian Institute (2009), the number was between 6,400 and 7,000.Languages of the World: Slavic Languages (2005) notes that no more than 8,000 people know Lower Sorbian, and for only about 3,000 of them (mainly over 70 years old) it is their native language in dialect form. In 2024, a study by theUniversity of Leipzig identified 50 to 100 speakers of Lower Sorbian who were certified as having a proficient level of competence in the language.[7][8]
As part of the Sorbian linguistic area, Lower Sorbian is officially recognized in Germany as the language of an indigenous minority and enjoys the right to state support. The rights of the Sorbs to use their language and develop their culture are enshrined in Article 35 and Note 14 of theTreaty on German Reunification, and additionally — in the constitution and theLaw on the Rights of Lusatian Sorbs of Brandenburg.
§8 of theLaw on the Rights of Lusatian Sorbs/Wends in Brandenburg (7 July 1994) states
The Land recognizes the Sorbian languages, in particular Lower Sorbian, as part of its spiritual and cultural wealth and welcomes their use. Their use is free. Oral and written use in public life will be protected and promoted.
In the traditional settlement area, every resident has the right to use Lower Sorbian in dealings with Land authorities, public-law institutions, and municipal administrations. Exercising this right has the same consequences as using German. Replies and decisions can be given in Lower Sorbian. Residents must not bear any costs or disadvantages in connection with this.
The law guarantees the free use of Lower Sorbian on equal terms with German, state support for research, the right of children to learn their mother tongue in preschool and school, teacher training, bilingual signage (on public buildings, street signs, road and place names), and support for Lower Sorbian media.[6]
The linguistic situation in the Lower Sorbian area is similar to that inUpper Lusatia: historically, there has been increasing contact between Sorbs and Germans. By the early 20th century, Sorbs were bilingual, but over the 20th century, Sorbian was gradually replaced by German, especially in Lower Lusatia, where German-Sorbian mixed populations live. Transmission of Lower Sorbian to younger generations has largely ceased.
If in the Catholic areas of Upper Lusatia representatives of all generations of Sorbs speak the Sorbian language, and in addition the German population also knows Sorbian (passively or even actively), then in Lower Lusatia and in the Protestant areas of Upper Lusatia Sorbian speakers are a minority, and the main means of communication is German, the official language of Germany, and Germans do not know Sorbian. The older and middle generations of Sorbs in these areas speak both Sorbian and German fluently (without a Sorbian accent). German influence on Sorbian manifests itself at all levels of the language system. The younger generation either does not know Sorbian at all or knows it to a limited degree, including passively.[9] Sorbs in Lower Lusatia have limited familiarity with the press, Sorbian literature is practically unknown, German or alternately German and Lower Sorbian is used at work, few can read in Lower Sorbian, and church services have not been held for a long time. The main speakers of Lower Sorbian are rural residents who know the language mainly in dialect form. The literary language is used by a small number of urban or rural intellectuals who learned it at school. There is an increasing degree of German interference in Lower Sorbian.
The main sphere of use of Lower Sorbian at present is everyday communication in the family, with friends and acquaintances, at family celebrations, sometimes (alongside German) in the work environment, during official and business contacts (mainly at events of Sorbian organizations), and in church. In all other spheres of communication Sorbs use German, which they command at all stylistic levels (both the literary language and often local dialects).
Lower Sorbian exists in several forms: as the written form of the literary language, as the oral form of the literary language, as a colloquial supraregional form close to the dialects, also used in private correspondence, and as local dialects. The literary language is spoken mainly by representatives of the Sorbian intelligentsia, while the majority of the other Lower Sorbian speakers know the language in its dialect form. For historical reasons, the literary norm does not serve a unifying role for Lower Sorbian dialects. It has never had official status, was rarely used in education, and has always been applied in a limited way; furthermore, the literary norm is conservative, having diverged significantly from the dialects due to purist tendencies and efforts at re-Slavicization in the past, as well as under the influence of Upper Sorbian. The increase in prestige of the literary language in the postwar period as a result of expanding its spheres of use did not have a significant impact on the language situation. Most people who know the literary language live in Cottbus — the cultural center of Lower Lusatia — and part of the Lower Sorbian intelligentsia also knows Upper Sorbian. The active use of the literary norm (both written and oral) in Cottbus is supported by its functioning in the city’s Sorbian political, scientific, and cultural organizations, and in the mass media — official speeches, the publication of scientific works, newspapers, magazines, and the production of radio and television programs. The intelligentsia of all generations command the literary language in both oral and written forms. Often the younger generation learns Lower Sorbian in its literary form as a second language (with German being their native language). The development of the colloquial language is driven by the need for informal communication between people from different dialect regions; it is a spoken, spontaneous form with varying numbers of dialect elements. In rural areas, the main means of communication is the dialects, spoken mainly by the older generation of Sorbs. The dialects are strongly influenced by German, as they are used exclusively in oral communication, have no strict norms, and always function alongside the more prestigious and stylistically developed German language. The dialects are disappearing relatively quickly, particularly in the eastern areas of Lower Lusatia, since the younger generation of Sorbs is not acquiring them.
For the purpose of revitalizing Lower Sorbian, theWitaj program has been introduced in some kindergartens in Lusatia. The main method of implementing this program is constant immersion of children in the Sorbian language environment. There is no school instruction in Lower Sorbian; in some schools mixed German–Sorbian instruction has been introduced, and more often Lower Sorbian is taught in schools only as a subject.
Currently, many researchers note that the Lower Sorbian language is on the verge of extinction, as evidenced by demographic data showing that most active speakers of Lower Sorbian are older people. The trend toward a decline in the number of Lower Sorbian speakers remains unchanged. In particular,UNESCO has included both Sorbian languages in theAtlas of Endangered Languages. Lower Sorbian is often perceived as a language “authorized” to be used within the boundaries of special Sorbian institutions (the Sorbian House and Museum in Cottbus, printed and electronic Sorbian media, schools, theWitaj language center, the church). It is increasingly less often used as a conversational, everyday, unofficial language. At the same time, the Sorbs living in Lower Lusatia themselves consider the prospects for preserving Lower Sorbian to be unlikely. Among the local population of Lusatia, most often among Germans, the opinion is widespread that the Sorbian language and culture are preserved only thanks to large-scale financial support. For example, parents send their children to bilingual kindergartens and schools, which are generally better equipped or offer a wider range of opportunities than German ones.
Overall, Sorbs note that the differences between Lower Sorbian and Upper Sorbian make communication between their speakers difficult; nevertheless, the idea of creating a single Sorbian language at the present stage is considered artificial. An objective reason preventing the unity of the Sorbian ethnic group and the creation of a single language is the administrative–territorial separation of Lower and Upper Lusatia. Matters of Sorbian language and cultural development fall under the jurisdiction of the authorities of Brandenburg and Saxony, who focus only on the Sorbs of their own territory. In particular, theLaw on the Rights of the Lusatian Sorbs/Wends in Brandenburg emphasizes that it concerns “the Sorbian language, and especially Lower Sorbian.” Sorbian media likewise focus primarily on their own region. The Sorbs themselves consider the existence of two literary forms of the Sorbian language to be natural and objective. Each of the languages is seen as a cultural treasure preserved by the representatives of a small Slavic people. For this reason, the Sorbs believe it is necessary to support both languages. Often, activists from among the Upper Sorbian community participate in the creation and implementation of projects to study and promote Lower Sorbian.
Various associations and organizations are committed to the preservation and promotion of Lower Sorbian culture and language. In Cottbus, there is also the only Lower Sorbian secondary school (Gymnasium). Since 2023, as part of the structural change projectZorja (“Dawn”), a several-month intensive learning program for 12 participants at a time has been offered in the form of a language nest.[10][11]
According to the classification of Sorbian dialects compiled by A. Muka, the Lower Sorbian area includes the following dialects:
Eastern Cottbus dialect
Eastern Peitz dialect
Eastern Spremberg dialect
Western Cottbus dialect
Western Peitz dialect
Western Spremberg dialect
Guben dialect
Żarow (Žarow) dialect
Bězkow–Štorkow dialect
Spreewald dialect
According to the dialectological map of Sorbian dialects presented in the book byHeinz Schuster-Šewc, the Lower Sorbian dialect area comprises three dialects:
The phonology of Lower Sorbian has been greatly influenced bycontact withGerman, especially in Cottbus and larger towns. For example, German-influenced pronunciation tends to have avoiced uvular fricative[ʁ] instead of the alveolar trill[r]. In villages and rural areas, German influence is less marked, and the pronunciation is more "typically Slavic".
Consonants in parentheses are allophones of another consonant before another consonant or vowel, for example/m/ maypalatalize to/mʲ/ before front vowels or/j/, and/n/ mayassimilate to/ŋ/ beforevelar consonants.
TheProto-Slavic contrasts between/m,p,b,v/ and their palatalized counterparts has been lost phonetically in Lower Sorbian, with the marginal phonemes occurring only before certain vowels. The contrasts between/t,d/ and their palatalized counterparts has evolved into a contrast between/t,d/ and/ɕ,ʑ/. The contrast between/l/ and its palatalized counterpart has evolved into a contrast between/w,l/ while the contrasts between/n,r/ and their palatalized counterparts has remained intact and the contrasts between/s,z/ and their palatalized counterparts no longer exists.[15]
/n,nʲ,l,r,rʲ/ are alveolar[n,nʲ,l,r,rʲ], whereas/t,d,t͡s,s,z/ are dental[t̪,d̪,t̪͡s̪,s̪,z̪].[12]
/t͡ʃ,ʃ,ʒ/ have been variously transcribed with ⟨t͡ʃ,ʃ,ʒ⟩[16][17] and ⟨t͡ʂ,ʂ,ʐ⟩.[18] Their actual phonetic realization is flat postalveolar[t͡ʃ˖,ʃ˖,ʒ˖][19] in all of the Lower Sorbian-speaking area. This is unlike in standard Upper Sorbian, where these arepalato-alveolar[t͡ʃ,ʃ,ʒ].[20][21]
The lettersQq,Vv, andXx are used only in foreign proper names.
To represent certain sounds of the Lower Sorbian language, letters with diacritics are used (ŕ, ź, ś, ž, š, ě) as well as digraphs (dź andch).
The palatalization of consonants is not indicated in writing if they are followed by the lettersě andi; before all other vowels, palatalization is marked by the letterj (mjod “honey”,pjas “dog”), and in other positions by the acute accent (´).
The graphemeó was removed from the Lower Sorbian alphabet in 1952, but was restored in 2007.
Stress in Lower Sorbian is expiratory and is placed mainly on the first syllable. In four-syllable and longer words, an additional stress falls on the penultimate syllable (ˈspiwaˌjucy “singing”). In compound words, the additional stress is placed on the first syllable of the second component (ˈdolnoˌserbski “Lower Sorbian”). In some borrowed words, the stress falls on the same syllable as in the source language (sepˈtember “September”,preˈzidium “presidium”).
The noun in the Lower Sorbian language has the grammatical categories of gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular, dual, and plural), case, and animacy.
Nouns decline in six cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, and locative, and also have a vocative form.
Animacy/inanimacy is distinguished only in masculine nouns. In animate nouns, the accusative form coincides with the genitive form (in the singular and dual always, and in the plural only after numerals and the pronounsmy andwy).
There are three declensions of feminine nouns:
The 1st includes nouns with a stem ending in a hard consonant and the ending-a in the nominative case.
The 2nd includes nouns with a stem ending in a soft or hardened (historically soft) consonant (c, s, z, š, ž) and the ending-a in the nominative case.
The 3rd includes nouns ending in a consonant in the nominative case.
In the neuter gender, two main declensions are distinguished:
The 1st includes nouns with a stem ending in a hard consonant.
The 2nd includes nouns with a stem ending in a velar (k, g, ch), soft, or hardened (historically soft) consonant. Separately considered are nouns with the extensions-t-/-ś- and-n- in oblique cases.
In masculine nouns, two declensions are distinguished:
The 1st includes nouns with a stem ending in a hard consonant.
The 2nd includes nouns with a stem ending in a velar (k, g, ch), soft, or hardened (historically soft) consonant.
Declension of feminine and neuter nouns using the examplesgłowa “head,”droga “road,”zemja “earth,”duša “soul,”kosć “bone,”rěc “language,”słowo “word,”słyńco “sun,”śele “calf,”mě “name.”:
Feminine
Neuter
Case and number
I declension
II declension
III declension
I declension
II declension
Nominative singular
głowa
droga
zemja
duša
kosć
rěc
słowo
słyńco
śele
mě
Genitive singular
głowy
drogi
zemje
duše
kosći
rěcy
słowa
słyńca
śeleśa
mjenja
Dative singular
głowje
droze
zemi
dušy
kosći
rěcy
słowu / słowoju
słyńcu / słyńcoju
śeleśu / śeleśoju
mjenju / mjenjoju
Accusative singular
głowu
drogu
zemju
dušu
kosć
rěc
słowo
słyńco
śele
mě
Instrumental singular
głowu
drogu
zemju
dušu
kosću
rěcu
słowom
słyńcom
śeleśim
mjenim
Locative singular
głowje
droze
zemi
dušy
kosći
rěcy
słowje
słyńcu
śeleśu
mjenju
Nominative dual
głowje
droze
zemi
dušy
kosći
rěcy
słowje
słyńcy
śeleśi
mjeni
Genitive dual
głowowu
drogowu
zemjowu
dušowu
kosćowu
rěcowu
słowowu
słyńcowu
śeleśowu
mjenjowu
Dative dual
głowoma
drogoma
zemjoma
dušoma
kosćoma
rěcoma
słowoma
słyńcoma
śeleśoma
mjenjoma
Accusative dual
głowje
droze
zemi
dušy
kosći
rěcy
słowje
słyńcy
śeleśi
mjeni
Instrumental dual
głowoma
drogoma
zemjoma
dušoma
kosćoma
rěcoma
słowoma
słyńcoma
śeleśoma
mjenjoma
Locative dual
głowoma
drogoma
zemjoma
dušoma
kosćoma
rěcoma
słowoma
słyńcoma
śeleśoma
mjenjoma
Nominative plural
głowy
drogi
zemje
duše
kosći
rěcy
słowa
słyńca
śeleta
mjenja
Genitive plural
głowow
drogow
zemjow
dušow
kosćow, kosći
rěcow
słowow, słow
słyńcow
śeletow
mjenjow
Dative plural
głowam
drogam
zemjam
dušam
kosćam
rěcam
słowam
słyńcam
śeletam
mjenjam
Accusative plural
głowy
drogi
zemje
duše
kosći
rěcy
słowa
słyńca
śeleta
mjenja
Instrumental plural
głowami
drogami
zemjami
dušami
kosćami
rěcami
słowami
słyńcami
śeletami
mjenjami
Locative plural
głowach
drogach
zemjach
dušach
kosćach
rěcach
słowach
słyńcach
śeletach
mjenjach
Declension of masculine nouns using the example wordsklěb “bread,”kóńc “end,”brjuch “belly,”kowal “blacksmith”:
Adjectives have two types of declension — soft (including adjectives whose stem ends in a soft consonant, as well as k and g) and hard (including all the others).
Declension of hard-type adjectives using the exampledobry “good”:
Case
Singular
Dual
Plural
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
Nominative
dobry
dobre
dobra
dobrej
dobre
Genitive
dobrego
dobrego
dobreje
dobreju
dobrych
Dative
dobremu
dobremu
dobrej
dobryma
dobrym
Accusative
inanimate
dobry
dobre
dobru
dobrej
dobre,dobrych
animate
dobrego
dobreju
dobrych
Instrumental
dobrym
dobrym
dobreju
dobryma
dobrymi
Locative
dobrem
dobrem
dobrej
dobryma
dobrych
Declension of soft-type adjectives using the exampledrogi “dear”:
Case
Singular
Dual
Plural
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
Nominative
drogi
droge
droga
drogej
droge
Genitive
drogego
drogego
drogeje
drogeju
drogich
Dative
drogemu
drogemu
drogej
drogima
drogim
Accusative
inanimate
drogi
droge
drogu
drogej
droge
animate
drogego
drogeju
droge,drogich
Instrumental
drogim
drogim
drogeju
drogima
drogimi
Locative
drogem
drogem
drogej
drogima
drogich
In colloquial speech and in the literary language, some final vowels in endings may be dropped:
-eg instead of-ego (genitive singular masculine and neuter)
-ej instead of-eje (genitive singular feminine)
-em instead of-emu (dative singular masculine and neuter)
Degrees of comparison are formed only from relative-qualitative adjectives.
Comparative: Formed with the suffix-šy (if the stem ends in one consonant) and-(j)ejšy (for stems ending in two or more consonants):
młody →młodšy
nowy →nowšy
mocny →mocnjejšy
śopły →śoplejšy Suffixes-ki and-oki are dropped, and consonant alternations often occur in the stem:
daloki “far” →dalšy
bliski “near” →blišy
śěžki “heavy” →śěšy
drogi “dear” →drošy Some comparatives are formed suppletively:
wjeliki “big” →wětšy
mały “small” →mjeńšy
dobry “good” →lěpšy
zły “evil” →góršy
dłujki “long” →dlejšy
Superlative: Formed by adding the prefixnej-/nejž- to the comparative.
Besides the synthetic method, there is also an analytic method where the comparative is made by adding the adverbwěcej “more” to the positive form. In dialects and older written monuments, the locative singular ending-em (masculine and neuter) is often replaced by the instrumental ending-ym/-im.
Although in modern Standard Lower Sorbian the compound numerals from 21 to 99 are formed according to the German model (jadenadwaźasća like Germaneinundzwanzig, literally “one and twenty”), in written monuments and some dialects the original Slavic forms such asdwaźasća a jaden (“twenty and one”) have been preserved.
Numerals from thirty to one billion:
Cardinal
Ordinal
30
tśiźasća
tśiźasty
40
styrźasća
styrźasty
50
pěśźaset
pěśźasety
60
šesćźaset
šesćźasety
70
sedymźaset
sedymźasety
80
wósymźaset
wósymźasety
90
źewjeśźaset
źewjeśźasety
100
sto
stoty
101
sto a jaden
sto a prěni
200
dwěsćě
dwěstoty
300
tśista
tśistoty
400
styrista
styristoty
500
pěśstow
pěśstoty
600
šesćstow
šesćstoty
700
sedymstow
sedymstoty
800
wósymstow
wósymstoty
900
źewjeśstow
źewjeśstoty
1000
tysac
tysacny
2000
dwa tysac
dwatysacny
3000
tśi tysac
tśitysacny
4000
styri tysac
styritysacny
5000
pěś tysac
pěśtysacny
1 000 000
milion
milionty
2 000 000
dwa miliona
dwamilionty
1 000 000 000
miliarda
miliardny
In colloquial speech, instead of the nativesto andtysac, the Germanismshundert (< Germanhundert “hundred”) andtowzynt (< Germantausend “thousand”) are used.
Declension of the numeral “one”:
Case
Singular
Plural
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
Nominative
jaden
jadno
jadna
jadne
Genitive
jadnogo
jadneje
jadnych
Dative
jadnomu
jadnej
jadnym
Accusative
inanimate
jaden
jadno
jadnu
jadne
animate
jadnogo
Instrumental
jadnym
jadneju
jadnymi
Locative
jadnom
jadnej
jadnych
Declension of the numerals “two,” “three,” “four”:
In the literary Lower Sorbian language, the tense system consists of the present and future tenses, the perfect, pluperfect, aorist, and imperfect. However, as early as the 19th century, the aorist, imperfect, and pluperfect began disappearing from spoken language, and at present they are going out of use even in the literary language.
In the present tense, four conjugations are distinguished (in-o-/-jo-,-i-,-a-, and-j-) with 13 subtypes.
Conjugation of verbs in-o-/-jo- using the examplesstudowaś “to study,”wuknuś “to teach,”piś “to drink,”chromjeś “to limp,”braś “to take,”sypaś “to pour,”njasć “to carry”:
Person and number
Type I
Type II
Type III
Type IV
Type V
Type VI
Type VII
1st singular
studuju / studujom
wuknu / wuknjom
piju / pijom
chromjeju / chromjejom
bjeru / bjerjom
sypju / sypjom
njasu / njasom
2nd singular
studujoš
wuknjoš
pijoš
chromjejoš
bjerjoš
sypjoš
njasoš
3rd singular
studujo
wuknjo
pijo
chromjejo
bjerjo
sypjo
njaso
1st dual
studujomej
wuknjomej
pijomej
chromjejomej
bjerjomej
sypjomej
njasomej
2nd dual
studujotej
wuknjotej
pijotej
chromjejotej
bjerjotej
sypjotej
njasotej
3nd dual
studujotej
wuknjotej
pijotej
chromjejotej
bjerjotej
sypjotej
njasotej
1st plural
studujomy
wuknjomy
pijomy
chromjejomy
bjerjomy
sypjomy
njasomy
2nd plural
studujośo
wuknjośo
pijośo
chromjejośo
bjerjośo
sypjośo
njasośo
3rd plural
studuju
wuknu
piju
chromjeju
bjeru
sypju
njasu
Type I includes verbs with the suffix-owa- in the infinitive (changing to-uj- in the present), Type II — with-nu- in the infinitive. Type III contains monosyllabic verbs whose infinitive stem ends in a vowel, Type IV — polysyllabic verbs whose infinitive stem ends in-(j)e-, Type V — disyllabic verbs whose infinitive stem ends in-a-. Type VI includes verbs with a monosyllabic stem ending in-a- or-ě-, and Type VII — monosyllabic verbs with a stem ending in a consonant. The ending-om in the 1st person singular predominates in eastern dialects and theVetschau dialect, but is actively spreading into literary Lower Sorbian.
Conjugation of verbs in -i-, -a-, and -j- using the examplessejźeś “to sit,”licyś “to count,”źěłaś “to do/make,”stojaś “to stand”:
Person and number
in-i-
in-a-
in-j-
1st singular
sejźim
licym
źěłam
stojm
2nd singular
sejźiš
licyš
źěłaš
stojš
3rd singular
sejźi
licy
źěła
stoj
1st dual
sejźimej
licymej
źěłamej
stojmej
2nd dual
sejźitej
licytej
źěłatej
stojtej
3rd dual
sejźitej
licytej
źěłatej
stojtej
1st plural
sejźimy
licymy
źěłamy
stojmy
2nd plural
sejźiśo
licyśo
źěłaśo
stojśo
3rd plural
sejźe
lice
źěłaju
stoje
Within the-i- conjugation, three types are distinguished: with infinitives ending in-iś/-yś,-aś, and-eś. In the-j- conjugation, two types are distinguished: the first includes monosyllabic verbs whose infinitive and present stems end in-j-, the second — disyllabic verbs with an infinitive ending in-a- and a present tense in-j-.
Conjugation of irregular verbsbyś “to be,”wěźeś “to know,”jěsć “to eat,”měś “to have,”kśěś “to want,”jěś “to go (by vehicle),”hyś “to go (on foot)”:
Person and number
byś
wěźeś
jěsć
měś
kśěś
jěś
hyś
1st singular
som
wěm
jěm
mam
cu / com
jědu / jěźom
du / źom
2nd singular
sy
wěš
jěš
maš
coš
jěźoš
źoš
3rd singular
jo
wě
jě
ma
co
jěźo
źo
1st dual
smej
wěmej
jěmej
mamej
comej
jěźomej
źomej
2nd dual
stej
wěstej
jěstej
matej
cotej
jěźotej
źotej
3rd dual
stej
wěstej
jěstej
matej
cotej
jěźotej
źotej
1st plural
smy
wěmy
jěmy
mamy
comy
jěźomy
źomy
2nd plural
sćo
wěsćo
jěsćo
maśo
cośo
jěźośo
źośo
3rd plural
su
wěźe
jěźe
maju
kśě / coju
jědu
du
Perfect is formed analytically: its forms consist of the -ł participle and the auxiliary verbbyś in the present tense. Conjugation ofpiś “to drink” in the perfect:
Person
Singular
Dual
Plural
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
1st singular
som pił
som piła
*som piło
smej piłej
smy pili
2nd singular
sy pił
sy piła
*sy piło
stej piłej
sćo pili
3rd singular
jo pił
jo piła
jo piło
stej piłej
su pili
The pluperfect is formed in the same way as the perfect, but the verbbyś “to be” is in the imperfect tense. In literary Lower Sorbian, aorist forms are built from perfective verbs, and imperfect forms are built from imperfective verbs.
Conjugation of verbs in the imperfect, usingkupowaś “to buy,”biś “to beat,”braś “to take,” andbyś “to be” as examples:
Person and number
kupowaś
biś
braś
byś
1st singular
kupowach
bijach
bjerjech
běch
2nd singular
kupowašo
bijašo
bjerješo
běšo
3rd singular
kupowašo
bijašo
bjerješo
běšo
1st dual
kupowachmej
bijachmej
bjerjechmej
běchmej
2nd dual
kupowaštej
bijaštej
bjerještej
běštej
3rd dual
kupowaštej
bijaštej
bjerještej
běštej
1st plural
kupowachmy
bijachmy
bjerjechmy
běchmy
2nd plural
kupowašćo
bijašćo
bjerješćo
běšćo
3rd plural
kupowachu
bijachu
bjerjechu
běchu
Conjugation of verbs in the aorist, usingrozbiś “to break” andwubraś “to choose” as examples:
Person and number
rozbiś
wubraś
1st singular
rozbich
wubrach
2nd singular
rozbi
wubra
3rd singular
rozbi
wubra
1st dual
rozbichmej
wubrachmej
2nd dual
rozbištej
wubraštej
3rd dual
rozbištej
wubraštej
1st plural
rozbichmy
wubrachmy
2nd plural
rozbišćo
wubrašćo
3rd plural
rozbichu
wubrachu
Future tense forms are built from verbs of both aspects by combining special forms of the verbbyś “to be” with the infinitive of the main (lexical) verb. Present tense forms of perfective verbs can also be used with future meaning.
For verbs of movement in space, the future tense can be formed with the prefixpo-, and forměś “to have,” the prefixz- is used for this purpose.
Conjugation of verbs in the future tense, usingpisaś “to write,”hyś “to go (on foot),” andměś “to have” as examples:
Person and number
pisaś
hyś
měś
1st singular
budu / buźom pisaś
pójdu / pójźom
změju / změjom
2nd singular
buźoš pisaś
pójźoš
změjoš
3d singular
buźo pisaś
pójźo
změjo
1st dual
buźomej pisaś
pójźomej
změjomej
2nd dual
buźotej pisaś
pójźotej
změjotej
3rd dual
buźotej pisaś
pójźotej
změjotej
1st plural
buźomy pisaś
pójźomy
změjomy
2nd plural
buźośo pisaś
pójźośo
změjośo
3rd plural
budu pisaś
pójdu
změju
In dialects, colloquial Lower Sorbian, and sometimes in literary works, the future tense forms of the verbbyś drop the-u- element:bdu /bźom “I will,”bźoš “you will (sg.),”bźo “he will,”bźomej “we two will,”bźotej “you two will,”bźotej “they two will,”bźomy “we will,”bźośo “you (pl.) will,”bdu “they will”.
Lower Sorbian has three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. Subjunctive forms consist of theł-participle and the particleby:jěł by “would go (by vehicle),”pśišeł by “would come”.
The second person singular imperative forms are derived from the present tense stem by adding the ending-i or by palatalizing the final consonant of the stem (often accompanied by consonant alternations):bjeru “(they) take” —bjeŕ “take!,”pjaku “(they) bake” —pjac “bake!,”gnu “(they) bend” —gni “bend!”. All other imperative forms are built from the second person singular form by adding the endings-mej (1st person dual),-tej (2nd person dual),-my (1st person plural),-śo/-ćo (2nd person plural).
The infinitive is formed with the suffixes-ś (for the majority of verbs),-ć (after spirants:njasć “to carry,”lězć “to climb”), and-c (for stems ending ink andg:pjac “to bake,”wlac “to drag,”moc “to be able”).
The supine is marked by the suffix-t:Źinsa wjacor pójźomy rejtowat “Tonight we will go dancing”.
The active participle is formed from the present tense stem with the suffixes-uc- and-ec-, plus gender endings:piju “(they) drink” →pijucy “drinking” (masc.),pijuca (fem.),pijuce (neut.);lice “(they) count” →licecy “counting” (masc.),liceca (fem.),licece (neut.). In the nominative singular masculine form it is also used as an adverbial participle:Stupjecy do domu, wiźešo wona, až se pali “Entering the house, she saw that it was on fire”.
The passive participle is formed from the infinitive stem using the suffixes-t- (for a number of monosyllabic verbs) and-n-, plus gender endings:biś “to beat” →bity “beaten” (masc.),bita (fem.),bite (neut.);pisaś “to write” →pisany “written” (masc.),pisana (fem.),pisane (neut.).
Adverbs are formed from adjectives with the help of the suffixes-e (with palatalization of the preceding consonant),-o, and-ski:głupy “stupid” →głupje,kšuty “hard, tight” →kšuśe,drogi “expensive” →drogo,suchy “dry” →sucho,serbski “Sorbian” →serbski,nimski “German” →nimski. From some adjectives, doublet forms can be formed:twardy “hard” →twarźe,twardo;gładki “smooth” →gładce,gładko.
The comparative degree is formed by adding the suffix-ej to the stem (often with alternation of the preceding consonant):głupje “stupidly” →głupjej,sucho “dryly” →sušej,drogo “expensively” →drošej. The suffixes-oki and-ki are dropped:daloko “far” →dalej,gładko “smoothly” →gładšej. From the adverbsderje “well” andzlě “badly,” the comparative degree forms are suppletive:lěpjej andgorjej (more rarelyzlej). The superlative degree is formed by adding the prefixnej- (sometimesnejž-) to the comparative form.
Prepositions are divided into primary and secondary. Primary prepositions are not related to other parts of speech. Secondary prepositions came from other parts of speech. Prepositions are used with all cases except the nominative and vocative, most often with the genitive/
As a result of long contact with the German language (for over 1,000 years), Lower Sorbian has borrowed a large number ofGermanisms, with their number being higher in dialectal speech than in the literary language. At the same time, the core vocabulary of Lower Sorbian continues to be Slavic. Literary Lower Sorbian is more tolerant of Germanisms than literary Upper Sorbian. In addition to Germanisms, the literary language contains a small percentage of borrowings from other Slavic languages, usually from Czech.
Header ofNowy CasnikPłomje — the Lower Sorbian counterpart of the Upper Sorbian kids magazinePłomjo
The first newspaper to publish its articles in Lower Sorbian/Wendish was theBramborski Serbski Casnik. It first appeared in 1848 and was later succeeded byNowy Casnik. After being banned,Nowy Casnik was re-established in 1947, at first as a weekly supplement toNowa Doba. Since 1954, it has again been published independently as a weekly newspaper. Today,Nowy Casnik contains articles in both German and Lower Sorbian/Wendish. It has a circulation of about 1,100 copies. For children, the Lower Sorbian/Wendish children’s magazinePłomje is published monthly with a circulation of around 850 copies.
On television, since 1992 there has been the monthly television magazineŁužyca, which is alternately presented by Anja Pohontsch and Christian Matthée. Every three months, a special monothematic edition is broadcast.
On radio, theRBB records and broadcasts several-hour-long Lower Sorbian radio programmes (Bramborske serbske radijo). The Lower Sorbian youth programmeBubak is produced by young Lower Sorbss themselves and broadcast by the RBB.
Selected issues of the Sorbian cultural magazineRozhlad
The Sorbian cultural magazineRozhlad, which is published monthly in Bautzen, sees itself as a cultural magazine for both Upper and Lower Sorbs. Thus,Rozhlad regularly publishes articles in Lower Sorbian as well as texts on Lower Sorbian topics in Upper Sorbian. The academic journalLětopis and the educational journalSerbska šula also contain some Lower Sorbian articles.
Several books in Lower Sorbian are published each year by theDomowina Publishing House inBautzen.
In addition, in the 2000s and 2010s two alternative (satirical) media outlets appeared —Slěpik andNjeknicomnik. Both failed to establish themselves permanently, mainly due to a lack of funding.
Ako mějach kšute spodki skońcnje pod nogoma raz a pon zwignuch swoje lodki, ab kraj pśedrogował zas, zacuwach bźez wědobnja, až how njejo domizna: běch źe w cuzej zemi.
Ak běch pytnuł rězne zuki pijanego yankeea grozecego z rjagom ruki wšomu, což se pśibliža, zacuwach bźez wědobnja, až how njejo domizna: źěch po cuzej zemi.
Ak mě dachu noclěg prědny w napołnjonej gospoźe, źož mnjo pśimje carnak bědny z naźeju na pjenjeze, zacuwach bźez wědobnja, až how njejo domizna: budu źe w cuzej zemi.
Lěc se zemja cuza zdawa kenž mě kšuśe powita, glichlan wěm, až buźo pšawa moja nowa fryjota. zacuwach bźez wědobnja, lichy se wot spinanja how w tej cuzej zemi
Wšykne luźe su lichotne roźone a jadnake po dostojnosći a pšawach. Woni maju rozym a wědobnosć a maju ze sobu w duchu bratšojstwa wobchadaś.(All people are born free and equal in their dignity and rights. They are given reason and conscience and they shall create their relationships to one another according to the spirit of brotherhood.)[27]
Stone, Gerald (2002), "Sorbian (Upper and Lower)", in Comrie, Bernard; Corbett, Greville G. (eds.),The Slavonic Languages, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 593–685,ISBN9780415280785
Lower Sorbian DoReCo corpus compiled by Hauke Bartels and Marcin Szczepański. Audio recordings of narrative texts, with transcriptions time-aligned at the phone level and translations.
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