Lwów dialect
Encyclopedia
The Lwów dialect is a local variety
of the Polish language
characteristic of the inhabitants of the city of Lviv
, now in Ukraine
. Based on the substratum
of the Malopolonia dialect, it was heavily influenced by borrowings (mostly lexical) from other languages spoken in Central Europe
, notably German
and Yiddish
, but also by Czech
, Ukrainian
, and Hungarian
.
One of the peculiarities of the Lviv dialect was its popularity. Unlike many other dialects of the Polish language, it was not seen by its speakers as inferior to literary Polish or denoting people of humble origin. Because of that it was being used both by common people and university professors alike. It was also one of the first Polish dialects to be properly classified and to have a dictionary published. Despite that, the best known form of the Lviv dialect was the Bałak, a sociolect
of the commoners, street hooligans and youngsters.
, Szczepcio
, and Tońcio
, the latter two being authors of the highly acclaimed Wesoła lwowska fala weekly broadcast in the Polish Radio.
The dialect is one of the two main sources of Gallicism
s in the standard literary Polish language. Some words of the dialect have entered into the vocabulary of modern Polish language, while many others were adopted by other regional and social varieties of Polish, notably the grypsera
. Some elements of the dialect remain in use in contemporary Ukrainian spoken in modern Lviv.
In 1939, the city of Lwów was annexed by the Soviet Union
and in the turbulent decade that followed the pre-war population structure of the city changed dramatically. With most of the Polish population expelled
, the number of speakers of the dialect sharply declined, though the modern language of the members of Polish minority in Ukraine
living in Lviv still resembles the pre-war Lwów dialect. It is also cultivated by émigré circles abroad. It remained not only a part of popular culture in post-war Poland thanks to numerous artists and writers, notably Witold Szolginia, Adam Hollanek
, and Jerzy Janicki
, but also part of the language of many notable personalities who were born in Lwów before the war. Speakers of the Lwów dialect can be found in such cities as Wrocław and Bytom
, where the majority of expelled Polish inhabitants of Lwów settled.
Variety (linguistics)
In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation, as well as the standard variety itself...
of the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
characteristic of the inhabitants of the city of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, now in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Based on the substratum
Substratum
In linguistics, a stratum or strate is a language that influences, or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum is a language which has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum is the language that has higher power or prestige. Both substratum and superstratum...
of the Malopolonia dialect, it was heavily influenced by borrowings (mostly lexical) from other languages spoken in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
, notably German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
, but also by Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, and Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
.
One of the peculiarities of the Lviv dialect was its popularity. Unlike many other dialects of the Polish language, it was not seen by its speakers as inferior to literary Polish or denoting people of humble origin. Because of that it was being used both by common people and university professors alike. It was also one of the first Polish dialects to be properly classified and to have a dictionary published. Despite that, the best known form of the Lviv dialect was the Bałak, a sociolect
Sociolect
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect or social dialect is a variety of language associated with a social group such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, an age group, etc....
of the commoners, street hooligans and youngsters.
History
The Lwów dialect emerged in 19th century and gained much popularity and recognition in the 1920s and 1930s, in part due to countrywide popularity of numerous artists and comedians using it. Among them were Marian HemarMarian Hemar
Marian Hemar , born Jan Maria Hescheles, also Jan Mariański , Marian Wallenrod, was a Polish Jewish poet, journalist, playwright, comedy writer, and songwriter: he himself said that before the outbreak of World War II he had written 1200 songs including hits like Może kiedyś innym razem and Upić...
, Szczepcio
Kazimierz Wajda
Kazimierz Wajda , stage name Szczepko, was a Polish actor, comedian. He worked and lived in prewar Polish Lwów . Together with Henryk Vogelfänger he was a star of the radio comedy duo "Szczepko and Tońko", which was widely popular in Poland and abroad. Three movies were made also, along with...
, and Tońcio
Henryk Vogelfänger
Henryk Vogelfänger , stage name Tońko, was a Polish actor. He worked and lived in prewar Lwów . Together with Kazimierz Wajda he was the star of the radio comedy duo "Szczepko and Tońko", which was widely popular in Poland.-Filmography:-External links:...
, the latter two being authors of the highly acclaimed Wesoła lwowska fala weekly broadcast in the Polish Radio.
The dialect is one of the two main sources of Gallicism
Gallicism
A Gallicism can be:* a mode of speech peculiar to the French;* a French idiom;* in general, a French mode or custom.* loanwords, words or phrases borrowed from French....
s in the standard literary Polish language. Some words of the dialect have entered into the vocabulary of modern Polish language, while many others were adopted by other regional and social varieties of Polish, notably the grypsera
Grypsera
Grypsera is a distinct non-standard dialect of the Polish language, used traditionally by recidivist prison inmates...
. Some elements of the dialect remain in use in contemporary Ukrainian spoken in modern Lviv.
In 1939, the city of Lwów was annexed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and in the turbulent decade that followed the pre-war population structure of the city changed dramatically. With most of the Polish population expelled
Population transfer in the Soviet Union
Population transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population, often classified as "enemies of workers," deportations of entire nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite...
, the number of speakers of the dialect sharply declined, though the modern language of the members of Polish minority in Ukraine
Polish minority in Ukraine
The Polish minority in Ukraine officially numbers about 144,130 , of whom 21,094 speak Polish as their first language. The history of Polish settlement in current territory of Ukraine dates back to 1030–31...
living in Lviv still resembles the pre-war Lwów dialect. It is also cultivated by émigré circles abroad. It remained not only a part of popular culture in post-war Poland thanks to numerous artists and writers, notably Witold Szolginia, Adam Hollanek
Adam Hollanek
Adam Hollanek - Polish science fiction writer and journalist, founder of the Fantastyka magazine, the first science-fiction-oriented monthly magazine in the whole Eastern bloc, established in 1982...
, and Jerzy Janicki
Jerzy Janicki
Jerzy Janicki was a Polish writer, journalist and scriptwriter. Author of many radio auditions, among them most famous is the radio drama Matysiakowie. He wrote many books about Kresy, particularly about the city of Lwów .-External links: , Gazeta Wyborcza, 2007-04-15,...
, but also part of the language of many notable personalities who were born in Lwów before the war. Speakers of the Lwów dialect can be found in such cities as Wrocław and Bytom
Bytom
Bytom is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The central-western district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Bytom is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka river .The city belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship since...
, where the majority of expelled Polish inhabitants of Lwów settled.
Vocabulary
Here are some of the words that are still widely in use:- meshty - shoes
- mient or ment (Yiddish for soldier, warrior) - widely used slang for militsiyaMilitsiyaMilitsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
official - shtrek - railway
- trafunok (Ukrainism) - incident