Vilamovian language

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Infobox Language
name=Vilamovian
nativename=Wymysiöeryś
familycolor=Indo-European
states=Poland
region=Wilamowice
speakers=70
rank=?
fam1=Indo-European
fam2=Germanic
fam3=West Germanic
fam4=High German
script=Latin alphabet
nation=-
agency="no official regulation"
iso1=|iso2=gem|iso3=wym

Vilamovian or Wilamowicean ("Wymysiöeryś") is a Central German language spoken in the small town of Wilamowice (Wymysoj in Vilamovian), on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland. At present, there are about 70 native users of Vilamovian, the majority of them elderly people; Vilamovian is therefore a moribund language.

History

In origin, Vilamovian appears to derive from 12th century Middle High German, with a strong influence from Low German, Dutch, Frisian, Polish and Old English. The inhabitants of Wilamowice are thought to be descendants of Dutch, German and Scottish settlers who arrived in Poland in the 13th century. However, the inhabitants of Wilamowice always refused any connections with Germany and proclaimed their Dutch origins.

Vilamovian was the vernacular language of Wilamowice until 1939–1945. After World War II, local communist authorities forbade the use of the language. Despite the fact that the ban was lifted after 1956, Vilamovian has been gradually replaced by Polish, especially amongst the younger generations.

Vilamovian was the language in which the poetry of Florian Biesik was written, during the 19th century.

Wilamowicean alphabet

The Wilamowicean alphabet consists of 34 letters derived from the Latin alphabet:

Wilamowicean orthography includes the digraph "AO", which is treated as a separate letter.

hort dictionary and Relation to Other Languages

A short dictionary of Vilamovian with German, Dutch and English translations. Note that ł is read in Vilamovian like English w and w like v:

Example texts

Lord's Prayer in Vilamovian:Ynzer Foter, dü byst ym hymuł,:Daj noma zuł zajn gywajt; :Daj Kyngrajch zuł dö kuma; :Daj wyła zuł zajn ym hymuł an uf der aot;:dos ynzer gywynłichys brut gao yns haojt;:an fercaj yns ynzer siułda, :wi wir aoj fercajn y ynzyn siułdigia;:ny łat yns cyn zynda;:zunder kaonst yns reta fum nistgüta.: [Do Dajs ej z Kyngrajch an dy maocht, ans łaowa uf inda.] :Amen

A lullaby in Vilamovian with English translation:

:Śłöf maj buwła fest!:Skumma fremdy gest,:Skumma muma ana fettyn,:Z' brennia nysła ana epułn,:Śłöf maj Jasiu fest!

:Sleep, my boy, soundly! :Foreign guests are coming, :Aunts and uncles are coming, :Bringing nuts and apples, :Sleep my Johnny sound

Further reading

* Ludwik Młynek, "Narzecze wilamowickie", Tarnów. 1907: J.Pisz.
* Józef Latosiński, "Monografia miasteczka Wilamowic", Kraków, 1909.
*Hermann Mojmir, "Wörterbuch der deutschen Mundart von Wilamowice" (Słownik niemieckiej gwary Wilamowic)", Kraków, 1930-1936: Polska Akademia Umiejętności.
* Adam Kleczkowski, "Dialekt Wilamowic w zachodniej Galicji. Fonetyka i fleksja". Kraków, 1920: Polska Akademia Umiejętności.
* Adam Kleczkowski, "Dialekt Wilamowic w zachodniej Galicji. Składnia", Poznań, 1921: Uniwersytet Poznański.
*Maria Katarzyna Lasatowicz, "Die deutsche Mundart von Wilamowice zwischen 1920 und 1987". Opole, 1992: Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna.
*Tomasz Wicherkiewicz, "The Making of a Language: The Case of the Idiom of Wilamowice", Mouton de Gruyter, 2003, ISBN 3-11-017099-X
* [http://www.wymysojer.jzn.pl www.wymysojer.jzn.pl]