Kashubian language

Kashubian
Kaszëbsczi jãzëk
Native to Poland
Region Pomerania
Native speakers
 108,000 (2011 census)[1]
Latin (Kashubian alphabet)
Official status
Official language in
 Officially recognized as of 2005, as a regional language, in some communes of Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated by Kashubian Language Council
Language codes
ISO 639-2 csb
ISO 639-3 csb
Glottolog kash1274[3]
Linguasphere 53-AAA-cb

Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian: kaszëbsczi jãzëk, pòmòrsczi jãzëk, kaszëbskò-słowińskô mòwa; Polish: język kaszubski, język pomorski, język kaszubsko-słowiński) is a language variety of the Lechitic group,[4] of the Slavic languages.[5] Although it is often considered a language in its own right, it is sometimes considered a dialect of Polish. In Poland, it has been an officially recognized ethnic-minority language.[6] as of 2005. Approximately 106,000 people use mainly Kashubian at home.[7] It is the only remnant of the Pomeranian language. It is close to standard Polish with influence from Low German and the extinct Polabian and Old Prussian.[8]

Kashubian dialect areas (with ethnonyms)

Origin

Kashubian is assumed to have evolved from the language spoken by some tribes of Pomeranians called Kashubians, in the region of Pomerania, on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula and Oder rivers. The Pomeranians were said to arrive before the Poles and certain tribes managed to maintain their language and traditions despite German and Polish settlements. It first diverged as its own language in the early 14th century.

In the 19th century, Florian Cenyowa became Kashubian's first known activist. He undertook tremendous efforts to awaken Kashubian self-identity through the establishment of Kashubian language, customs, and traditions.[9] He felt strongly that Poles were born brothers and that Kashubia was a separate nation.[10]

The Young Kashubian movement followed in 1912, led by author and doctor Aleksander Majkowski, who wrote for the paper "Zrzësz Kaszëbskô" as part of the "Zrzëszincë" group. The group contributed significantly to the development of the Kashubian literary language.

The earliest printed documents in Kashubian date from the end of the 16th century. The modern orthography was first proposed in 1879.

Related languages

Many scholars and linguists debate on whether Kashubian should be recognized as a Polish dialect or separate language. From the diachronic view it is a Lechitic West Slavic language but from the synchronic point of view it is a Polish dialect. Kashubian is closely related to Slovincian, while both of them are dialects of Pomeranian. Many linguists, in Poland and elsewhere, consider it a divergent dialect of Polish. Dialectal diversity is so great within Kashubian that a speaker of southern Kashubian has considerable difficulty in understanding a speaker of the northernmost dialects. The spelling and grammar of Polish words written in Kashubian (most of its vocabulary) is highly unusual making it difficult to comprehend in written text also by native Polish speakers.[11]

Like Polish, Kashubian includes about 5% loanwords from German (such as kùńszt "art"). Unlike Polish, these are mostly from Low German and only occasionally from High German.[12] Other sources of loanwords include the Baltic languages, Russian, and Polish.

Speakers

The number of speakers of Kashubian vary widely from source to source, ranging from as low as 4,500 to the upper 300,000. In the 2011 census, 106,000[7] people in Poland declared that they mainly use Kashubian at home. Of these only 10 percent consider Kashubian to be their mother tongue, with the rest considering themselves to be native speakers of both Kashubian and Polish.[13] All Kashubian speakers are also fluent in Polish. A number of schools in Poland use Kashubian as a teaching language. It is an official alternative language for local administration purposes in Gmina Sierakowice, Gmina Linia, Gmina Parchowo, Gmina Luzino and Gmina Żukowo in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Most respondents say that Kashubian is used in informal speech among family members and friends.[14] This is most likely due to the fact that Polish is the official language and spoken in formal settings.

Kashubian literature

Important for Kashubian literature was Xążeczka dlo Kaszebov by Doctor Florian Ceynowa (1817–1881).[15] Hieronim Derdowski (1852–1902 in Winona, Minnesota) was another significant author who wrote in Kashubian, as was Doctor Aleksander Majkowski (1876–1938) from Kościerzyna, who wrote the Kashubian national epic The Life and Adventures of Remus. Jan Trepczyk was a poet who wrote in Kashubian, as was Stanisław Pestka. Kashubian literature has been translated into Czech, Polish, English, German, Belarusian, Slovene and Finnish. A considerable body of Christian literature has been translated into Kashubian, including the New Testament, much of it by Fr. Adam Ryszard Sikora (OFM).[16] Rev. Franciszek Grucza[17] graduated from a Catholic seminary in Pelplin. He was the first priest to introduce Catholic liturgy in Kashubian language.

Historical Artifacts of Kashubian Literature

The earliest recorded artifacts of Kashubian date back to the 15th century and include a book of spiritual psalms that were used to introduce Kashubian to the Lutheran church:

The next few texts are also religious catechisms but this time from the Catholic church because of majority of Kashubians were Roman Catholic and these texts helped them become more unified in faith:

Education

Throughout the communist regime in Poland, Kashubian along with the native Polish language greatly suffered in its spread and education. Kashubian was represented as folklore and prevented from being taught in schools. Following the collapse of Communism in Poland, attitudes on the status of Kashubian have been gradually changing.[18] It has been included in the program of school education in Kashubia although not as a language of teaching nor as a required subject for every child, but as a foreign language taught 3 hours per week at parents' explicit request. SInce 1991, it is estimated that there have been around 17,000 students in over 400 schools who have learned Kashubian.[19] Kashubian has some limited usage on public radio and had on public television. Since 2005 Kashubian has enjoyed legal protection in Poland as an official regional language. It is the only language in Poland with this status, which was granted by the Act of 6 January 2005 on National and Ethnic Minorities and on the Regional Language of the Polish Parliament.[20] The act provides for its use in official contexts in ten communes where Kashubian speakers constitute at least 20 percent of the population. Due to this recognition, heavily populated Kashubian localities have been able to put of road signs and other amenities with Kashubian and Polish translations on them.

Dialects

Kashubian dialects area in the early 20th century

Friedrich Lorentz wrote in the early 20th century that there were three Kashubian dialects. These include the

Other researches would argue that each tiny region of the Kaszuby has its own dialect. In Dialects and Slang of Poland[21]

Components of Kashubian

A "standard" Kashubian language does not exist despite several attempts to create one, rather a diverse range of dialects takes its place. The vocabulary is heavily influenced by German and Polish and utilizes the Latin alphabet.

There are several similarities between Kashubian and Polish. For some linguists they consider this a sign that Kashubian is a dialect of Polish but others believe that this is just a sign that the two originate from the same location. They are nevertheless related to a certain degree and due to their close proximity of each other, Kashubian has definitely been influenced by Polish and its various dialects, specifically from its northern ones.

Some examples of similarities between languages:

Phonology and Morphology

Kashubian makes use of simplex and complex phonemes with secondary place articulation /pʲ/, /bʲ/, /fʲ/, /vʲ/ and /mʲ/. They follow the Clements and Hume (1995) constriction model, where sounds are represented in terms of constriction. They are then organized according to particular features like anterior, implying the activation of features dominating it. Due to this model, the phonemes above are treated differently than the phonemes /p/, /b/, /f/, /v/ and /m/. The vocalic place node would be placed under the C-place node and V-place nodes interpolated to preserve well-forwardness.[22]

Vowels

Kashubian vowel phonemes[23]
Front Central Back
unrounded unrounded rounded rounded
Close i u
Mid ɛ ə ɞ ɔ
Open a

Consonants

Kashubian has simple consonants with a secondary articulation along with complex ones with secondary articulation.

Kashubian consonant phonemes[23]
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m n ɲ
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b d ɡ
Affricate voiceless ts tʃ (tɕ)
voiced dz dʒ (dʑ)
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ (ɕ) x
voiced v z ʒ (ʑ)
trill (r̝)
Approximant l j w
Trill ɲ

Kashubian alphabet

case Lower case Name of letters Pronunciation
A a a [a]
Ą ą ą [õ], [ũ]
à ã ã [ã][ɛ̃] (Puck County, Wejherowo County)
B b bé [b]
C c cé [ts]
D d dé [d]
E e e [ɛ]
É é é [e][ɨj] in some dialects [i]/[ɨ] from Puck to Kartuzy [ɨ] at the end of a word
Ë ë szwa [ə]
F f éf [f]
G g gé [a]
H h ha [x]
I I i [i]
J j jot [j]
K k ka [k]
L l él [l]
Ł ł éł [w]
M m ém [m]
N n én [n]
Ń ń éń [ɲ][n]
O o o [ɔ]
Ò ò ò [wɛ]
Ó ó ó [o][u] (southern dialects)
Ô ô ô [ɞ][ɛ] (western dialects) [ɔ] (Wejherowo County) [o]/[u] (southern dialects)
P p pé [p]
R r ér [ɲ]
S s és [s]
T t té [t]
U u u [u]
Ù ù ù [wu]
W w wé [v]
Y y igrek [i]
Z z zet [z]
Ż ż żet [ʒ]

Samples

Wszëtczi lëdze rodzą sã wòlny ë równy w swòji czëstnoce ë swòjich prawach. Mają òni dostóne rozëm ë sëmienié ë nôlégô jima pòstãpòwac wobec drëdzich w dëchù bracënotë.
(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.)[24]

Òjcze nasz, jaczi jes w niebie, niech sã swiãcy Twòje miono, niech prziṅdze Twòje królestwò, niech mdze Twòja wòlô jakno w niebie tak téż na zemi. Chleba najégò pòwszednégò dôj nóm dzysô i òdpùscë nóm naje winë, jak i më òdpùszcziwómë naszim winowajcóm. A nie dopùscë na nas pòkùszeniô, ale nas zbawi òde złégò. Amen.[25]

Gallery

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Narodowy Spis Powszechny Ludności i Mieszkań 2011. Raport z wyników – Central Statistical Office of Poland
  2. ↑ European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
  3. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Kashubian". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  4. ↑ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/335581/Lekhitic-languages
  5. ↑ Stephen Barbour, Cathie Carmichael, Language and Nationalism in Europe, Oxford University Press, 2000, p.199, ISBN 0-19-823671-9
  6. ↑ Ministry of Interior of Poland
  7. 1 2 Ł.G. (2012-07-26). "GUS podaje: ponad 100 tys. osób mówi po kaszubsku". Kaszubi.pl. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  8. ↑ Gerald Stone (1998). "Cassubian". In Glanville Price. Encyclopedia of the languages of Europe. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 49–50. ISBN 0-631-19286-7.
  9. ↑ Lerski, Jerzy Jan (1996). Historical Dictionary of Poland. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 62. ISBN 0-313-26007-9.
  10. ↑ Chwalba, Andrzej. Historia Polski 1795-1918. p. 439.
  11. ↑ Biuletin Radzëznë Kaszëbsczégò Jazëka rok 2007, Gduńsk. Bibiografiô.
  12. ↑ Anna Gliszczyńska. Germanizmy leksykalne południowej kaszubszczyzny (Na materiale książki Bolesława Jażdżewskiego Wspomnienia kaszubskiego "gbura"). "LingVaria". 1 (3), s. 79–89, 2007. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagielloński. ISSN 1896-2122.
  13. ↑ "Logging into the proxy (Rutgers University Libraries)" (PDF). www.jstor.org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  14. ↑ Stanulewicz, Danuta (2010). "The Use of the Kashubian Language from the Perspective of Young People Aged 16–19: Settings and Participants". Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  15. ↑ http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/slavic_eurasia_papers/no3/06_Treder.pdf
  16. ↑ o. prof. UAM dr hab. Adam Sikora OFM - Franciszkanie
  17. ↑ Peter Hauptmann, Günther Schulz, Kirche im Osten: Studien zur osteuropäischen Kirchengeschichte und Kirchenkunde, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2000, pp.44ff, ISBN 3-525-56393-0
  18. ↑ "The Institute for European Studies, Ethnological institute of UW" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-21.
  19. ↑ "język kaszubski | pl.languagesindanger.eu". pl.languagesindanger.eu. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  20. ↑ http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU20050170141
  21. ↑ Dubisz, Stanisław (1995). Dialekty i gwary polskie. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna. pp. 67–70. ISBN 978-8321409894.
  22. ↑ Hopkins, Paul Stanley (2001). "Phonological Structure of the Kashubian Word" (PDF). University of Victoria. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jerzy Treder. "Fonetyka i fonologia".
  24. ↑ Omniglot
  25. ↑ File:Jerozolëma, kòscel Pater noster, "Òjcze nasz" pò kaszëbskù.JPG

References

Further reading

External links

Kashubian edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kashubian language.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Kashubian language
Look up Appendix:Kashubian Swadesh list or Kashubian Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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