East Pomeranian dialect
Low German dialect
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
East Pomeranian (Ostpommersch), Farther Pomeranian (Hinterpommersch) or just Pomeranian (Pomerisch) is an East Low German dialect moribund in Europe, which used to be spoken in the region of Farther Pomerania when it was part of the German Province of Pomerania, until World War II, and today is part of Poland. Currently, the language survives mainly in Brazil, where it is spoken by descendants of German immigrants of the 19th century and where it was given its own orthography by the linguist Ismael Tressmann. It has co-official status in 11 Brazilian municipalities and has been recognized as a historical and cultural heritage of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo.
| East Pomeranian | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Diaspora of German expellees in the Americas; formerly Province of Pomerania |
Native speakers | Native: ≅ 300.000 |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Brazil (11 municipalities) |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | nds for Low German |
| ISO 639-3 | nds for Low German |
| Glottolog | east2293 |
Nowadays, spoken East Pomeranian in Brazil has mostly been influenced by Portuguese language and Hunsrik, a German dialect derived from the Hunsrückisch native to Brazil. It excludes the dialect spoken in the United States, known as Wisconsin Pomeranian, which was influenced by the English language. East Pomeranian was also reported to have been spoken in Australia.[1]
East Pomeranian brought to the United States was spoken in central Wisconsin, Upstate New York, and parts of Iowa. The number of speakers of Wisconsin Pomeranian has decreased significantly and the dialect is moribund, now primarily spoken between Lincoln and Marathon counties in Wisconsin. It estimated that there are less than 500 speakers, who are all over the age of 60.[2]
European Pomeranian
East Pomeranian is a Low Saxon language that originated from medieval German settlement in Pomerania. In Farther Pomerania, Low Saxon and Westphalian Germans settled along the coast while the highlands of Farther Pomerania were settled by Brandenburgians. West Frisians and Mennonites later settled in the region as well, speaking related languages.[3] After World War II, virtually all of the East Pomeranian speaking Germans were expelled from Pomerania, making it extinct in its former range.
The five dialects of East Pomeranian in Europe were:
- Central Pomeranian, which was formerly spoken from between the Wipper and Stolpe Rivers to the eastern edge of the Northeastern dialect area. Out of the other dialects it covered the largest area with a subdialect of Central Pomeranian extending from Swinemünde to Treptow an der Rega, while another was spoken along the coast in Kolberg, Köslin, and Belgard an der Persante. Inland, the cities of Naugard, Regenwalde, Schivelbein, and Neustettin were within the Central dialect area. Brazilian Pomeranian predominantly exhibits features of Central Pomeranian.
- Southern Pomeranian, which was formerly spoken in the former districts of Saatzig and Dramburg.
- Southeastern Pomeranian, spoken around Bublitz and north of Neustettin.
- Northeastern Pomeranian, spoken around Schlawe, Stolp, Rummelsburg, Bütow, Leba and Lauenburg. Wisconsin Pomeranian was close to the Northeastern dialect with influence from the Central dialect.
- Belbucker, which consisted of dialects spoken around Belbuck Abbey, centered in the Greifenburg district. These dialects were related to the ones spoken around Dramburg.
The dialects have also been described as:
- West Prussian ( Westpreußisch), spoken in West Prussia.
- Eastern Further Pomeranian (Osthinterpommersch), spoken in eastern Farther Pomerania
- Western Further Pomeranian (Westhinterpommersch), spoken in western Farther Pomerania.
- Bublitzisch, spoken in Bublitz.
- Pomerelian (Pommerellisch), spoken in the Pomerelia region.
Further east, there was a Low Prussian-East Pomeranian transitional dialect (Übergangsmundart zum Ostpommerschen) that was not intelligible with Pomeranian. The transition zone ended approximately at Chojnice.[4][5]
Brazilian Pomeranian
Whereas Pomeranian has become moribund in Europe and the United States, it is still actively spoken and taught in Brazil. The Pomeranian School Education Program (PROEPO) was set up in 2008 by Ismael Tressmann and promotes the language throughout Espírito Santo and trains teachers on Pomeranian language instruction.[6]
Espírito Santo
Minas Gerais
Santa Catarina
Rio Grande do Sul
- Canguçu[20]
- São Lourenço do Sul (under approval)[21]
Rondônia
Grammar
Verbs
Conjugation patterns of Brazilian Pomeranian[23]
| verbs | breeka, to break" | häwa, "to have" | wila, "to want/ to become" | måka, "to make" | bruuka, "to need" | raupa, "to call/ to shout" | srijga "to scream" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | breeka | häwa | wila | måka | bruuka | raupa | srijga | |||
| Participle | Past | brooka | hat | wud | måkt | bruukt | roopa | sreega | ||
| Indicative | Present | Singular | 1st person | breek | häw | wil | måk | bruuk | raup | srijg |
| 2nd person | breekst | häst | wist | mökst | bruukst | raupst | srigst | |||
| 3rd person | breekt | hät | wil | mök | bruukt | raupt | srijgt | |||
| Plural | breeka | häwa | wila | måka | bruuka | raupa | srijga | |||
| Past | Singular | 1st person | braik | haar | wu | maik | brüükt | raip | sreig | |
| 2nd person | braikst | haast | wust | maikst | brüükst | raipst | sreigst | |||
| 3rd Person | braik | haar | wu | maik | brüükt | raip | sreigt | |||
| Plural | braika | haara | wula | maika | brüüka | raipa | sreiga | |||
Phonology
Source:[23]
Vowels
Diphthongs
| Ending point | ||
|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | |
| Near-close | ui̯ | |
| Mid | ei̯ oi̯ ø:i̯ | ou̯ |
| Open | ɑi̯ | ɑu̯ |