| Total population |
|---|
| about 0.5 million in Lithuania |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Lithuania |
| Languages |
|
Samogitian dialect, Standard Lithuanian language |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
Samogitians (Lithuanian: Žemaičiai, Samogitian: Žemaitē, Latvian: žemaiši) are a part of the Lithuanian ethnicity inhabiting the region of Samogitia in Lithuania. Many speak the Samogitian dialect of the Lithuanian language.
Contents |
Samogitians lived in western Lithuania and were closely related to Semigallians. In 1413, they became the last group of Europeans to convert to Christianity. In 1857, there were 418,824 people of Samogitian roots and 444,921 persons declared the Samogitian dialect as their mother tongue in 1897 in Kovno Governorate.[1] Currently Lithuania does not allow for declaration of Samogitian nationality in passports as it is not an ethnicity.[2] In list of ethnic groups of Russia there is one person who declared himself with "Zhemaijty".[3]
Samogitians call themselves Žemaitē, although exonyms are used in different languages.
| Language | Samogitia | Samogitians |
|---|---|---|
| Samogitian | Žemaitėjė | žemaitē |
| Lithuanian | Žemaitija | žemaičiai |
| Belarusian | Жмудзь | жмудзь |
| German | Schameiten | Schameiten |
| Latvian | Žemaitija | žemaiši |
| Polish | Żmudź | Żmudzini |
| Russian | Жмудь | жмудь |