 Group of Slovincians | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Poland (Pomeranian Voivodeship) Germany | |
| Languages | |
| Kashubian,Polish (New mixed dialects),Low German (historicallyEast Pomeranian),High German,Slovincian (historically) | |
| Religion | |
| Lutheranism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kashubians,Poles |
Slovincians,[a] also known asŁeba Kashubians,[b] is a near-extinct ethnic subgroup of theKashubian people, who originated from the north westernKashubia, located in thePomeranian Voivodeship,Poland, from the area around the lakes ofŁebsko andGardno. In theaftermath of World War II, Slovincians emigrated en masse toGermany, with the last families emigrating there in the 1980s. They originally spoke theSlovincian language, which went extinct in the early 20th century, as well asKashubian,Polish,German andLow German.
The ancestors of the Slovincians, theWest SlavicPomeranians, moved in after theMigration Period. Following theOstsiedlung, the Slovincians like most of the otherWends gradually became Germanized. Theadoption of Lutheranism in theDuchy of Pomerania in 1534[1][2][3] distinguished the Slovincians from theKashubes inPomerelia, who remainedRoman Catholic.[4] In the 16th century, "Slovincian" was also applied to the Slavic speakers in theBytów (Bütow) region further south.[4]
In the 16th and 17th centuryMichael Brüggemann (also known as Pontanus or Michał Mostnik), Simon Krofey (Szimon Krofej) and J.M. Sporgius introduced Kashubian into the Lutheran Church. Krofey,pastor inBytów (Bütow), published a religious song book in 1586, written in Polish but also containing some Kashubian words. Brüggemann, pastor inSchmolsin, published a Polish translation of some works ofMartin Luther and biblical texts, which also contained Kashubian elements. Other biblical texts were published in 1700 by Sporgius, pastor in Schmolsin. HisSchmolsiner Perikopen, most of which is written in the same Polish-Kashubian style of Krofey's and Brüggemann's books, also contain small passages ("6th Sunday after Epiphanias") written in pure Kashubian.[5]
Hilferding (1862) andParczewski (1896) confirmed a progressive language shift in the Kashubian population from their Slavonic vernacular to the local West-Germanic dialect (Low GermanOstpommersch orHigh German, in eastern Kashubian areas also to Low GermanLow Prussian).[6]
By the 1920s, the Slovincian villages had become linguistically Germanic, though a Slovincian consciousness remained.[4] The area remained within the borders of Germany until becoming part of Poland after World War II ended in 1945 andthe area became Polish. Some Slovincians wereexpelled along with the German population, some were allowed to remain.[4] In the 1950s, mainly in the village ofKluki (formerly Klucken), a few elderly people still remembered fragments of Slovincian.[4]
The remaining Slovincians began to ask for the right to emigrate to West Germany, and virtually all of the remaining Slovincian families had emigrated there by the 1980s.[citation needed]
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