Curonian language

Old Curonian language
Kursenieku valoda
Spoken in	Latvia, Lithuania, Germany
Extinct	14-17th century
Language family	Indo-European Balto-Slavic ?Western/Eastern Baltic Old Curonian language
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xcu

The term Curonian language (German: Kurisch; Latvian: kuršu valoda; Lithuanian: kuršių kalba) may refer to two different, but related Baltic languages.

Old Curonian

Traditionally Old Curonian refers to an extinct language spoken by the Curonian tribe, who lived mainly on the Courland peninsula (now western Latvia) and along the nearby Baltic shores.

The language disappeared by the 17th century, leaving substrata in western dialects of the Latvian and Lithuanian languages, namely the Samogitian dialect. No written documents in this language are known, but some ancient Lithuanian texts from western regions show some Curonian influence.

Theories of Finnic origin

As almost nothing of the old Curonian language remains, it is not clear what language family it belongs in. Some authors such as Edgar V. Saks and Eduard Vääri have pointed out several Curonian words and names which are clearly of Finnic origin. For example, a treaty from 1230 calls Curonian administrative divisions kiligunden (kihelkond in Estonian) and Curonian army maleva. The elder who signed the treaty was named Lammechinus (resp. Lemminkäinen). Self-denomination of Curonians, kure, means 'grus' in Estonian.^[1][2][3]

New Curonian

The area where New Curonian was spoken in 1649

The so-called New Curonian language (New Curonian: Kursenieku valoda; German: Nehrungskurisch) is spoken by the Kursenieki of the Curonian Spit, a thin strip of land stretching between southwestern Lithuania and Russia. In the process of various migrations of the 14th-17th centuries, Curonians (already speaking in Latvian) settled along the Curonian Spit in East Prussia and became known as the Kursenieki.

Their language was influenced by Old Prussian, Low German, High German and the Samogitian dialect respectively, and by the end of the 18th century new Curonian dialects had formed, with the dialect of the Curonian Spit being notably distinct, due to its isolation from the mainland. New Curonian vocabulary published in 1927 shows: 60% of Curonian words were the same as Latvian, 26% were loanwords from “German” (i.e. Low German and High German), and 13% from Lithuanian dialects. The New Curonian language is mutually intelligible with Latvian, especially with its southwestern dialects, and Latvians can communicate easily with Kursenieki today.^[4]

Before World War II, the New Curonian language was a sociolect of Kursenieki fishermen of the Curonian Spit. In other spheres of everyday life Kursenieki used the Low German and High German languages. The events of the first half of the 20th century, including the Soviet and German occupations of the Baltic states and later East Prussia, led to the near extinction of the language, making it severely endangered. Several remaining native speakers live in Germany, having been expelled in the ethnic cleansing that took place in East Prussia after World War II.

Curonian language revival

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Baltic states saw a revival of scientific and cultural interest in the extinct Baltic languages and tribes, including Yotvingian, Curonian, and Old Prussian. An example is the documentary film Tarp 8 vėjų ("Amidst 8 Winds") by Arturas Barysas, about the decline of the Curonian language.

Curonian grammar

Main article: Curonian grammar

The old Curonian language was a highly inflected and archaic language. Its grammar is reconstructed basing on Latvian, Lithuanian and Old Prussian grammars and known Curonian place-names and New Curonian texts and vocabulary.

Monuments of New Curonian

Lord's Prayer

Teve mūses, kur tu es danguj,

Garbiets ir taue vards.

Lai nāke taue karelīste.

Taue vale nuoase duoade ka is dange, ta ir us zeme.

Mūse diene maize duoade mums šuoadiene.

Ir paduoade mums mūse kalte,

Ka ir mes paduoadame mūsams kaltejams.

Ir nevede mums is pajundijuma,

Islidze mums nu piktume.

Tad taue ir ta kareliste un ta sile un ta šviesibe

Nu amžu lidz amžu. Amen ^[5]

Meals

Kuoa tie Laužes ede

Kad tie zvejes par labes saguvumes juoa dauge āspelnij, tap pirages cepte, tas jau pussvete tap uoazgrieste un duoate.

Svedienes deve tad sāles rāpučes ar pečānes brādes, apvirtes gribes, tie rudina tap ielikte, va ieliktes bruklines lasete is kāpe meze.

Ieliktes melines, kracines va aviečes deve nu kāde reze va us svediene pa edine. (Richard Pietsch)

Literature

• Ambrassat, August "Die Provinz Ostpreußen", Frankfurt/ Main 1912
• Endzelin, J.: Über die Nationalität und Sprache der Kuren, in Finnisch-Ungarische Forschungen, XII, 1912
• Gaerte, Wilhelm "Urgeschichte Ostpreussens", Königsberg 1929
• Gimbutas, Marija "Die Balten", München-Berlin 1983
• Kurschat, Heinrich A.: Das Buch vom Memelland, Siebert Oldenburg 1968
• Kwauka, Paul, Pietsch, Richard: Kurisches Wörterbuch, Verlag Ulrich Camen Berlin, 1977, ISBN 3-921515-03-3
• Kwauka, Paul: Namen des Memellandes/ Unsere „fremdartigen“ Familiennamen, Archiv AdM, Oldenburg
• Lepa, Gerhard (Hrsg) "Die Schalauer", Tolkemita-Texte Dieburg 1997
• Mortensen, Hans und Gertrud "Die Besiedlung des nordöstlichen Ostpreußens bis zum Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts", Leipzig 1938
• Mortensen, Hans und Gertrud: Kants väterliche Ahnen und ihre Umwelt, Rede von 1952 in Jahrbuch der Albertus-Universität zu Königsberg / Pr., Holzner- Verlag Kitzingen/ Main 1953 Bd. 3
• Peteraitis, Vilius: Mažoji Lietuva ir Tvanksta (Lithuania Minor and Tvanksta) Vilnius 1992
• Pietsch, Richard (künstlerischer Entwurf und Text): Bildkarte rund um das Kurische Haff, Heimat-Buchdienst Georg Banszerus, Höxter, Herstellung: Neue Stalling, Oldenburg
• Pietsch, Richard: Deutsch-Kurisches Wörterbuch, Verlag Nordostdeutsches Kulturwerk Lüneburg 1991, ISBN 3-922296-60-2
• Pietsch, Richard: Fischerleben auf der Kurischen Nehrung dargestellt in kurischer und deutscher Sprache, Verlag Ulrich Camen Berlin 1982
• Schmid, Wolfgang P. (Hrg): Nehrungskurisch, Sprachhistorische und instrumentalphonetische Studien zu einem aussterbenden Dialekt, Stuttgart 1989
• Schmid, Wolfgang P.: Das Nehrungskurische, ein sprachhistorischer Überblick
• Tolksdorf, Ulrich "Fischerei und Fischerkultur in Ostpreußen", Heide/ Holstein 1991
• Žadeikiene, Daiva, Krajinskas, Albertas: Kurenkahnwimpel, ISBN 9986-830-63-X

References

1. ^ Edgar V. Saks. Aestii. 1960. p. 116.
2. ^ Edgar V. Saks. Eesti viikingid. 2005. p. 31–34.
3. ^ Eduard Vääri, EESTLASTE TUTVUMINE HÕIMURAHVASTEGA JA NENDE KEELTEGA KUNI 1918. AASTANI
4. ^ Pietsch, Richard: Deutsch-Kurisches Wörterbuch, Verlag Nordostdeutsches Kulturwerk Lüneburg 1991, p.17, ISBN 3-922296-60-2
5. ^ Vater, Johann Severin: Mithridates oder allgemeine Sprachenkunde mit dem Vater Unser als Sprachprobe, Berlin 1809

External links

• http://www.mitteleuropa.de/kurhaf01.htm (R. Pietsch)
• http://www.memelland-adm.de/kurenwimpel.html
• [1] (Curonians in Memelland)
• [2] (Curonian placenames in Memelland)
• Studentu zinātniskās konferences "Aktuāli baltistikas jautājumi" tēzes Loreta Stonkutė. Kuršininkų tarmės lituanizmai. p.43,44

External links

• The Curonian Language in Linguist List