Low Prussian dialect

Low Prussian (German: Niederpreußisch), sometimes known simply as Prussian (Preußisch), is a dialect of East Low German that developed in East Prussia. Low Prussian was spoken in East and West Prussia and Danzig up to 1945. It developed on a Baltic substrate through the influx of Dutch and Low German speaking immigrants. It overruled Old Prussian, which then became extinct in the 17th century.

Plautdietsch, a Low German variety, is included within Low Prussian by some observers. Excluding Plautdietsch, Low Prussian can be considered moribund due to the evacuation and forced expulsion of Germans from East Prussia after World War II. Plautdietsch, however, has several thousands of speakers throughout the world, most notably in South America, Canada and Germany.

Simon Dach's poem Anke van Tharaw, the best known East Prussian poem, was written in Low Prussian.

Vocabulary

According to one summary of Low German dialects, words very characteristic of Low Prussian are doa ('dor', there), joa ('jo', yes), goah ('goh', go) and noa ('nober', neighbor), which feature the diphthong "oa" instead of the usual "o" or "a". The dialect is also marked by a substitution of "k" for "ch", such as in mannke ('minsch', person), and a loan of High German-like words, such as zwei ('twee', two). Words are often shortened, in a manner similar to that of the neighboring Pomeranian dialect, giving beet (beten, little bit) and baakove ('bakåben', bake oven).

Some observers argue that it resembles Dutch and Flemish because of these features . Low Prussian also has a number of words in common with Plautdietsch, such as Klemp (cow), Klopps (lump, ball of earth), and Tsoagel (tail).

Some other words^[1] are:

• Boffke - boy, lad
• dätsch - dumb
• Dubs - bum
• Gnaschel - little child
• jankere - yearn
• Kobbel - mare
• Pungel - pouch
• schabbere - talk
• Schischke - pine-cone
• Schucke - potato(es)

Varieties

• 1. Übergangsmundart zum Ostpommerschen, transitional dialect with East Pomeranian
• 2. Mundart des Weichselmündungsgebietes, around Danzig (Gdańsk)
• 3. Mundart der Frischen Nehrung und der Danziger Nehrung, around the Vistula Lagoon
• 4. Mundart der Elbinger Höhe, around Elbing (Elbląg)
• 5. Mundart des Kürzungsgebietes, around Braunsberg (Braniewo)
• 6. Westkäslausch, around Mehlsack (Pieniężno)
• 7. Ostkäslausch, around Rößel (Reszel)
• 8. Natangisch-Bartisch, around Bartenstein (Bartoszyce)
• 9. Westsamländische Mundart, around Pillau (Baltiysk)
• 10. Ostsamländische Mundart, around Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Labiau (Polessk) and Znamensk (Wehlau)
• 11. Mundart des Ostgebietes, around Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk), Memel (Klaipėda) and Sovetsk (Tilsit)

Low and Old Prussian

After the assimilation of the Old Prussians, many Old Prussian words were preserved within the Low Prussian dialect.

Low Prussian	Old Prussian	Latvian	Lithuanian	Standard German	English
Flins	plīnksni	plācenis	blynas	Pfannkuchen	pancake, scone, biscuit
Kaddig	kaddegs	kadiķis	kadagys	Wacholder	juniper
Kurp	kurpi	kurpe	kurpė	Schuh	shoe
Kujel	kūilis	cūka, mežacūka, kuilis	kuilys, šernas	Wildschwein	boar
Margell, Marjell	mērgā	meitene, meiča	merga, mergelė, mergaitė	Magd, Mädchen, Mädel	maiden, girl
Paparz	papartis	paparde	papartis	Farn	fern
Pawirpen	(from pawīrps)	algādzis, strādnieks	padienis	Losmann	freelancer
Zuris	sūris	siers	sūris	Käse	cheese

Low Prussian and Lithuanian

In addition to the words of Old Prussian origin, another source of Balticisms was Lithuanian. After the migration of Lithuanians in the 15th century, many Lithuanian loanwoards appeared in the Low Prussian dialect.

Low Prussian	Lithuanian	Standard German	English
Alus	alus	Bier	beer
Burteninker	burtininkas	Wahrsager, Zauberer, Besprecher	magician
kalbeken	kalbėti	sprechen	to talk
Kausche, Kauszel	kaušas	Schöpfkelle, Trinknapf	dipper
Krepsch, Krepsche, Krepsze	krepšys, krepšas	Sack, Handsack, Ranzen	basket
Lorbas	liurbis	Tölpel, Tolpatsch, Waschlappen	loser, fumbler
Packrant	krantas, pakrantė, pakraštys	Rand, Küste	edge, coast
Pirschlis	piršlys	Brautwerber
Wabel, Wabbel	vabalas	Käfer	bug

See also

• German dialects
• High Prussian
• Old Prussian
• Plautdietsch

References

1. ^ Found in Riemann, Erhard (ed.): Preußisches Wörterbuch, Vol. 1, Issue 1. Neumünster (Wachholtz) 1974.

• Bauer, G.: Baltismen im ostpreußischen Deutsch. In: Annaberger Annalen, Nr.13, 2005, p.5-82.
• Mitzka, Walther. Grundzüge nordostdeutscher Sprachgeschichte. (= DDG 59) Marburg (Elwert) 1959
• Riemann, Erhard. Die preußische Sprachlandschaft. In: Festschrift für Friedrich von Zahn Bd.2   Köln/Wien 1971, 1-34
• Riemann, Erhard (Hrsg.). Preußisches Wörterbuch. Bd. 1, Lf. 1. Neumünster (Wachholtz) 1974
• Ziesemer, Walther. Die ostpreußischen Mundarten. Proben und Darstellungen. Breslau 2005

External links

• Map of German dialects in 1897 (German)
• Brief descriptions of most of the major Low German dialects
• http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~naeser/probe08.htm - Mundartprobe (German)
• http://www.plautdietsch-freunde.de - Plautdietsch-Freunde e.V. (German)