Low Lusatian German
Encyclopedia
Low Lusatian German is a variety of Central German
spoken in northern Saxony
and southern Brandenburg
within the regions of Lower Lusatia
(Cottbus
) and the northern part of Upper Lusatia
(Hoyerswerda
). It is well-defined from the Low German
dialects around and north of Berlin as well as the Saxon dialect group of present day Saxony and the Slavic language of the Sorbs
.
Both regions were strongly influenced by different dialects, especially after World War II
. Refugees from East Prussia
and Silesia
settled there after their dispossession from former German areas. After the foundation of the German Democratic Republic
and an economical development because of a stronger extraction of lignite
people from Mecklenburg
, Thuringia
, Saxony
and Saxony-Anhalt
moved to the Lusatia region to benefit from the development. Due to this influence of other German dialects Low Lusatian never formed a too strong variation from standard German. For people moving now into this area the dialect is easy to learn and influences their spoken language quite fast.
s which are used in nearly every German dialect. The only clearly remarkable articulation
is the guttural ⟨r⟩, where Standard German's ⟨er⟩ [ɐ] ending is instead ⟨a⟩ [a]:
At the beginning of a word the ⟨r⟩ is always spoken, but it is nearly inaudible within a word. The same effect can be seen on the letter ⟨e⟩ [ɛ] which also mostly vanishes in the endings, the changing of ⟨au⟩ [aʊ] to ⟨o(h)⟩/⟨oo⟩ [oː], and the stretching of ⟨ei⟩/⟨ai⟩ [aɪ] to ⟨ee⟩ [eː]:
The short ⟨i⟩ [ɪ] is spoken similarly to the standard German ⟨ü⟩ ([y] or [ʏ]):
Another sign is a different form of the perfect:
Central German
Central German is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany.-History:...
spoken in northern Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
and southern Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
within the regions of Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
(Cottbus
Cottbus
Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
) and the northern part of Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia is a region a biggest part of which belongs to Saxony, a small eastern part belongs to Poland, the northern part to Brandenburg. In Saxony, Upper Lusatia comprises roughly the districts of Bautzen and Görlitz , in Brandenburg the southern part of district Oberspreewald-Lausitz...
(Hoyerswerda
Hoyerswerda
Hoyerswerda is the largest city in the district of Bautzen in the German state of Saxony. It is located in Lusatia, a region where many people speak the Sorbian languages in addition to German.-Geography:...
). It is well-defined from the Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
dialects around and north of Berlin as well as the Saxon dialect group of present day Saxony and the Slavic language of the Sorbs
Sorbs
Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
.
Both regions were strongly influenced by different dialects, especially after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Refugees from East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
and Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
settled there after their dispossession from former German areas. After the foundation of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
and an economical development because of a stronger extraction of lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
people from Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
and Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
moved to the Lusatia region to benefit from the development. Due to this influence of other German dialects Low Lusatian never formed a too strong variation from standard German. For people moving now into this area the dialect is easy to learn and influences their spoken language quite fast.
Language
Low Lusatian German lacks regional specific words. It contains syncopes and apocopeApocope
In phonology, apocope is the loss of one or more sounds from the end of a word, and especially the loss of an unstressed vowel.-Historical sound change:...
s which are used in nearly every German dialect. The only clearly remarkable articulation
Manner of articulation
In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants, even though the movement of the articulars will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the...
is the guttural ⟨r⟩, where Standard German's ⟨er⟩ [ɐ] ending is instead ⟨a⟩ [a]:
| English | Standard German | Lower Lusatian German | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spelling | IPA International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic... |
spelling | IPA | |
| water | Wasser | /wasɐ/ | Wassa | /wasa/ |
| hammer | Hammer | /hamɐ/ | Hamma | /hama/ |
| sister | Schwester | /ʃvɛstɐ/ | Schwesta(r) | /ʃvɛsta/ |
At the beginning of a word the ⟨r⟩ is always spoken, but it is nearly inaudible within a word. The same effect can be seen on the letter ⟨e⟩ [ɛ] which also mostly vanishes in the endings, the changing of ⟨au⟩ [aʊ] to ⟨o(h)⟩/⟨oo⟩ [oː], and the stretching of ⟨ei⟩/⟨ai⟩ [aɪ] to ⟨ee⟩ [eː]:
| English | Standard German | Lower Lusatian German | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spelling | IPA | spelling | IPA | |
| to rake | harken | /ˈhaɐ̯kɛn/ | haakn | /ˈhaːkn̩/ |
| to work | arbeiten | /ˈaɐ̯baɪtɛn/ | abeitn | /ˈabeːtn̩/ |
| to buy | kaufen | /ˈkʰaʊfɛn/ | kohfn | /ˈkʰoːfn̩/ |
| as well | auch | /aʊx/ | ooch | /oːx/ |
| on | auf | /aʊf/ | off/ | /oːf/ |
| one | ein (m.) eine (f.) eines (n.) |
/aɪn/ /aɪnə/ /aɪnɛs/ |
een eene eens |
/eːn/ /eːnə/ /eːns/ |
| small | Kleine | /ˈklaɪnə/ | Kleene | /ˈkleːnə/ |
The short ⟨i⟩ [ɪ] is spoken similarly to the standard German ⟨ü⟩ ([y] or [ʏ]):
| English | Standard German | Lower Lusatian German | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spelling | IPA | spelling | IPA | |
| table | Tisch | /tʰɪʃ/ | Tüsch | /tʰʏʃ/ |
| church | Kirche | /ˈkʰɪɐ̯xə/ | Kürche | /ˈkʰʏɐ̯xə/ (in smaller villages the word Kerke is used.) |
| cherry | Kirsche | /ˈkʰɪɐ̯ʃə/ | Kürsche | /ˈkʰʏɐ̯ʃə/ |
Another sign is a different form of the perfect:
| English | Standard German | Lower Lusatian German | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spelling | IPA | spelling | IPA | |
| it was switched off | es wurde abgeschaltet | /ɛs ˈwuɐ̯də abɡɛˈʃaltɛt/ | es wurde abgeschalten | /ɛs wuadə abɡɛˈʃaltɛn/ |