Low Prussian

Low Prussian ( _de. 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 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 and Canada.

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

Vocabulary

According to [http://www.iserv.net/~bsman/new_page_2.htm 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 [Found in Riemann, Erhard (ed.): "Preußisches Wörterbuch", Vol. 1, Issue 1. Neumünster (Wachholtz) 1974.] 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 and Lithuanian

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

References

* [http://www.annaberger-annalen.de//jahrbuch/2005/AnnabergNr.13_Kap1.pdf 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

See also

* German dialects
* High Prussian
* Old Prussian
* Plautdietsch

External links

* [http://mitglied.lycos.de/Pomerania2/hist_maps/survey/dialect2a.jpgMap of German dialects in 1897] de icon
* [http://www.iserv.net/~bsman/new_page_2.htm Brief descriptions of most of the major Low German dialects]
* http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~naeser/probe08.htm - Mundartprobe de icon
* http://www.plautdietsch-freunde.de - Plautdietsch-Freunde e.V. de icon