Silesian German

Silesian German language (Silesian German: Schläsche Sproache/Schläs'sche Sproche, German: Schlesisch), is a German dialect/language spoken in Silesia. Today, the area is mainly in southwestern Poland, but as well as in northeastern Czech Republic and in eastern Germany. The group of dialects is nearly extinct.

History

In origin, Silesian German appears to derive from 12th century Middle High German, with a strong influence from High German, Upper Saxon German, East Franconian German, Thuringian and Silesian. The inhabitants of Silesia are thought to be descendants of Upper Lusatia, Saxony, Thuringia and Franconia settlers who arrived in Silesia in the 13th century.

After World War II, local communist authorities forbade the use of the language. After the expulsion of the Germans from Silesia, German Silesian culture and language nearly died out when most of Silesia became part of Poland in 1945. Polish authorities banned the use of the German language. There are still unresolved feelings on the sides of both Poles and Germans, largely because of Nazi Germany's treatment of Poles and the forced expulsion and ethnic cleansing of native Germans from former German soil that was transferred to Poland in the wake of the Potsdam Agreement.

The German Silesian dialect is not recognized by the Polish State in any way, although the status of the German minority in Poland has improved much since the 1991 communist collapse and Polish entry into the European Union. It can be divided into Gebirgsschlesische Dialektgruppe, Südostschlesische Dialektgruppe, mittelschlesische Dialektgruppe, westschlesische Dialektgruppe and neiderländische Dialektgruppe. ^[2] The nordostböhmische Dialektgruppe belongs to Silesian, too. ^{[3] [4]}

Silesian German was the language in which the poetry of Karl von Holtei and Gerhart Hauptmann was written, during the 19th century.

See also

• Silesian language

References

External links

• Ethnologue report for Lower Silesian