Masurian dialect
The Masurian ethnolect, according to some linguists, is a dialect group of the Polish language; others consider Masurian to be a separate language, spoken by Masurians in Poland
History
Since the 14th century, some settlers from Masovia started to settle in southern Prussia, which had been devastated by the crusades of the Teutonic Knights against the native Old Prussians. According to other sources, people from Masovia did not move to southern Prussia until the time of the Protestant Reformation, Prussia having become Lutheran in 1525. The Masurians were mostly of the Protestant faith, in contrast to the neighboring Roman Catholic people of the Duchy of Masovia, which was incorporated into the Polish kingdom in 1526. A new dialect developed in Prussia, isolated from the remaining Polish language area. The Masurian dialect group has many Low Saxon, German and Old Prussian words mixed in with Polish-language endings.Beginning in the 1870s, Imperial German officials restricted the usage of languages other than German in Prussia's eastern provinces.
While in 1880 Masurians were still treated as Poles by the German Empire, at the turn of century the German authorities undertook several measures to Germanise and separate them from the Polish nation by creating a separate identity. After World War I the East Prussian plebiscite was held on July 11, 1920 according to the Treaty of Versailles, in which the Masurians had to decide whether they wanted to be part of the Second Polish Republic or remain in German East Prussia; about 98% voted for Germany.
By the early 20th century, most Masurians were at least bilingual and could speak Low Saxon and German; in some areas about half of them still spoke Masurian, at least at home. In 1900, according to the German census there were 142,049 Masurians speaking Masurian. In 1925, only 40,869 people gave Masurian as their native language, many considering German their first language, considering Masurian merely as their domestic dialect, By the early 1920s there were also some Masurians who had their separate identity, claiming that Masurians are a nation. Most of them were members of Masurenbund. Their main goal was to grant Masurians some minority laws inside Germany, but there were also some separatists. In the early 1930s, support for the Nazi Party was high in Masuria, especially in elections in 1932 and 1933. Nazi political rallies were organized in the Masurian dialect during the campaigning.
After 1933 the usage of the Masurian dialect was prohibited by the National Socialist authorities. By 1938 most Masurian place and personal names had been changed to "pure" German substitutes. From 1939 on it was forbidden to hold church services in Masurian.
The replacement of Masurian in favor of German was not completed by the time the Soviet Red Army conquered Masurian East Prussia in January 1945, in World War II. The territory was transferred to Poland according to the postwar Potsdam Conference. During the wartime fighting and post-war deportations in the subsequent decades, most Masurian-speakers left Masuria for western Germany, especially to post-war West Germany, where they were quickly assimilated into the German mainstream.
Situation in 21st century
According to some scientists such as Andrzej Sakson, there are about 5,000 – 10,000 ethnic Masurians left in Poland. According to the Polish census from 2011 there are only 1,376 of them who identify themselves as Masurians. Most Masurians live in Germany now, but due to the German law the ethnicity and nationality are not determined in their census.There is a lack of surveys on the knowledge of the ethnolect both in Poland and Germany, however the elderly can communicate in Masurian with some fluency. The sole group who speak Masurian on a daily basis are the so-called Russian Masurians, who are the descendants of colonists who arrived to Siberia at the end of the 19th century. They have lived in isolation from the other groups, thus they were neither Germanized nor Polonized, although their speech acquired many Russian loanwords.
Nowadays, there are several organizations promoting the dialect. Since 2015, the Sorkwity Masurian Culture Festival started to promote Masurian, locals are starting to create folk music, and some schools are organizing competitions in speaking Masurian. People are also starting to promote the ethnolect via social media. In 2016, the was founded to promote the Masurian ethnolect and culture. Meanwhile, some activists have also started a process of linguistical normalization to promote and save the ethnolect.
In 2016, the online dictionary Glosbe introduced Masurian to their data.
Books in Masurian
The oldest book written in Masurian probably is Ta Swenta Woyna, written by Jakub Szczepan in 1900.In 2018, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry was translated to Masurian.
Dialect or language
Several scientists consider Masurian to be a separate language in its own right; others argue that Masurian is a dialect of Polish, or even just a subdialect.Linguistic features
- Mazurzenie: the consonants corresponding to Standard Polish cz, sz, dż, ż are pronounced c, s, dz, z
- Asynchronous pronunciation of soft labials b', p', f', w' – bj/bź, pj/pś, fj/fś, wj/wź
- Sometimes, intensive palatalization of k, g, ch to ć, dź, ś
- Labialization of the vowel o initially
- Vowel y approaching i
- Before ł vowels i and y pronounced like u, e.g. buł, zuł
- Denasalization of the nasal vowels ą and ę as o and e
- In some varieties ę becomes ã, which is pronounced after denasalization an, analogical changes for groups eN, like. dzień – dzian
Dialects of Masurian
- Ostróda dialect – Denasalization of the nasal vowels ą and ę as o and e – No Mazurzenie – Common á – Labialization – Before ł vowels i and y pronounced like u, e.g. buł, zuł.
- West-Masurian dialect – Irregularly occurring á and labialization – Mni where Polish mi – As in Ostróda district appear and have dominant position psi, bzi, zi, f to pchi, bhI etc. - Denasalization of the nasal vowels ą and ę as o and e.
- Center-Masurian dialect – The most common intermediate á – The most common archaic ř – Frequent labialization – Appear and have dominant position pchi, bhI to psi, bzi etc. - Dominate pronunciation ni instead of mni – niasto, kanień etc. - Soft k, g, ch when is before a for example kia, gia, chia – Polish ą i ę like ón, on, én, en.
- East-Masurian dialect – Polish ś, ć, ź pronounced like sz, cz, ż – Á almost does not exist – Frequently a is something between a and e – Synchronous pronunciation of soft labials b', p', f', w' change to bj, pj, fj, wj – Ch change to ś – Less frequent é and ó.
- North-Masurian dialect – in the early 20th century almost disappeared, in the area Węgorzewa known for up to a few percent of the population, in district of Gołdap 1%. - Very archaic sound for r – A relatively frequent á.''
Grammar
Inflectional cases
The verb "to be"
In the singular it is possible to replace u with ÿ for example: buł/bÿł, tÿsź buł/bÿł, buł/bÿł. It is also possible to create the future perfect tense with the structure +, for example: Bénde koménderowač.Present tense conjugation
''-ač''
The conjugation of regular verbs usually ending in -ač, for example znač.| Já | znám |
| Tÿ | znás |
| Ón/Óna | zná |
| Mÿ | znawa |
| Wÿ | znata |
| Óni/Óne | znajó |
á will shorten to a if the word has more than one syllable. For example:
- dumač – to think
- kupač – to buy
''-eč''
| Já | mÿšle |
| Tÿ | mÿšlis |
| Ón/Óna | mÿšli |
| Mÿ | mÿšlim/mÿšliwa |
| Wÿ | mÿšlita |
| Óni/Óne | mÿšló |
''-ovač''
The conjugation of regular verbs usually ending in -owač ", for example "koménderowač".| Já | koménderuje |
| Tÿ | koménderujes |
| Ón/Óna | koménderuje |
| Mÿ | koménderujém |
| Wÿ | koménderujeta |
| Óni/Óne | koménderujó |
Conditional
To create the conditional, as in the majority of Slavic languages, the verb root is taken → znabÿ.bÿ in Masurian has also one more function, where it can be placed at the beginning of a sentence to make questions, or also to mean "whether"/"or"/"if". For example, Lejduje ni niénso/niéso, bÿ sźwÿnina, bÿ réntozina, which in standard Polish: Lubię mięso, czy to wieprzowinę, czy wołowinę.
Grammatical differences between Masurian and Standard Polish
| Masurian | Polish | |
| Formal forms | Wÿ/Pan/Pani robziče Matkia mogli | Pan/Pani robi Matka mogła |
| Past tense | Niáł | Miał |
| Present tense | Mám, Dám Má, Padá Zró | Mam, Dam Ma, Pada, Żrą |
| Present Pasive Participle | Zrobziónÿ | Zrobiony |
| Transgressive | Robzióncÿ | Robiąc |
| Reflexive Verb | Zrobzióno bÿło | Zrobiło się |
| Noun | Francÿjá, stacÿjá | Francja, stacja |
| Noun | Matkia, Dékia | Matka, Nakrycie |
| Accusative case | Gádkie, Zÿcherkie | Gadkę, Agrafkę |
| Instrumental case | Ludžani / Ludžoma Łapani / Łapóma | Ludźmi Łapami |
| Genitive | Zÿčá, Pisaniá | Życia, Pisania |
| Dative | Ludžám Džečám | Ludziom Dzieciom |
| Dative | Psoziu Kónikoziu | Psu Konikowi |
| Adjective | Dobréch Głupsiéch | Dobrych Głupich |
| Adjective | Dobrém | Dobrym |
| Adjective | Mazurski Dobrÿ | Mazurskiej Dobrej |
| Adjective | Małégo Ziélgiégo | Małego Wielkiego |
| Adjective | Náziénksÿ | Największy |
| Adjective | Zÿtnÿ Ôstatnÿ | Żytni Ostatni |
| z + s z + z | z sobó z zgniłéch | ze sobą ze zgniłych |
| w + w | w Francÿji | we Francji |
Grammatical constructions with sense verbs
Here, the structure is sense verb + object + verb.| Masurian | Standard Polish | English |
| Zidżiáł go stojicź | Widział, jak stał | He saw him standing |
| Pozawcor já słÿsała jéch spsiéwacź kole kosźczioła | Przedwczoraj słyszałam ich, jak śpiewali koło kościoła | The day before yesterday, I heard them singing near the church |
| Já wténcas zidżiał go w tÿ jizbzie stojicź | Wówczas widziałem go, jak stał w tym pokoju | I then saw him, standing in this room |
Writing system
| Masurian alphabet | Examples |
| a, A | pask, Nikołajki |
| á, Á | wáju |
| ä, Ä | matkä |
| b, B | bór |
| c, C | cółno |
| cz, Cz | spacz |
| d, D | dóra |
| dż, Dż | Dżiałdowo |
| e, E | psies |
| é, É | mléko |
| f, F | fejfka |
| g, G | giesz, gesz |
| h, H | hut |
| i, I | migi |
| j, J | jo |
| k, K | klémpa |
| l, L | listkárż |
| ł, Ł | głupsi |
| m, M | moznoszcz |
| n, N | nelkä |
| ń, Ń | prżińdó |
| o, O | muchór |
| ó, Ó | dómb |
| ô, Ô | ôcziec |
| p, P | prask |
| r, R | rek |
| rż, Rż | wéngorż |
| s, S | saniec |
| sz, Sz | szwam |
| ś, Ś | psiwo, Gołdapś |
| t, T | tlo |
| u, U | muszi |
| û, Û | ûlica |
| w, W | wáju |
| ÿ, Ÿ | sÿpsie |
| z, Z | zégáwkä |
| ż, Ż | kiżlák |
| ź, Ź | bzije, gołómbź |
Phonetics
- rż – Raised alveolar non-sonorant trill
- ó – Close-mid back rounded vowel
- á – Open back unrounded vowel
- é – Close-mid front unrounded vowel
- ä – Near-open front unrounded vowel
- w – Voiced bilabial fricative
- f – Voiceless bilabial fricative
- sz – Voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant
- ż – Voiced palato-alveolar sibilant
- cz – Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate
- dż – Voiced palato-alveolar affricate
- ÿ – Near-close near-front unrounded vowel
Vocabulary
Small dictionary
| Masurian | German | Polish |
| abštÿsikant | Junggeselle | walarek, zalotnik |
| aštÿchnÿ | hastig | porywczy |
| bach | Kind | dziecko |
| best | flieder | bez |
| bónowač | herumschwirren | bzykać |
| bónÿ | Bohnen | fasola |
| brédek | Brötchen | bułka |
| buber | Saubohne | bób |
| bulwÿ | Kartoffeln | ziemniaki |
| bursa | Geldbörse | portmonetka |
| cajtunek | Zeitung | gazeta |
| cegój | warum? | dlaczego? |
| čiskač | werfen | rzucić |
| chrachór | Taucher | nurek |
| cÿtrona | Zitrone | cytryna |
| dek | Dach | dach |
| drómel | Trommel | bęben |
| drón | Drohn | truteń |
| drózdÿ | Stare | szpaki |
| durowač | bestehen | trwać |
| dÿšlo | Deichsel | dyszel |
| érdbera | Walderdbeere | poziomka |
| fana | Fahne | flaga |
| farÿna | Zucker | cukier |
| feler | Fehler | błąd |
| fifák | schlitzohr | nieszczery |
| flanca | Sämling | sadzonka |
| frÿštÿk | Frühstück | śniadanie |
| gbur | Bauer, Landwirt | rolnik, gospodarz |
| geš | Gans | gęś |
| giérÿ | Beine | nogi |
| gréfnÿ | flink | sprytny |
| gřniota | Gewitter | burza z piorunami |
| háka | Hacke | motyka |
| háuptniasto | Hauptstadt | stolica |
| hučik | Hut | kapelusz |
| huncfot | Weiberheld | kobieciarz |
| jébel | Hobel | strug |
| jegoda | Heidelbeere | jagoda |
| káfej | Kaffee | kawa |
| káncÿnał | Gesangbuch | śpiewnik kościelny |
| kasta | Kasten | skrzynia |
| keksÿ | Kekse | ciasteczka |
| klapštula | Butterbrot | kanapka |
| kléta | Gerücht | plotka |
| kléwer | Klee | koniczyna |
| knéfel | Knopf | guzik |
| klónkra | Holzlöffel | drewniana łyżka |
| kokošiniec | Hühnerstall | kurnik |
| košór | Feuerhaken | pogrzebacz |
| kówera | Umschlag | koperta |
| krakia | Krähe | wrona |
| krÿstómbrÿ | Stachelbeeren | agrest |
| kukáwkia | Kuckuck | kukułka |
| kupač | kaufen | kupować |
| kurpsie | Latschen | chodaki |
| łapém | offen | otwarte |
| Mazurÿ | Masuren | Mazurzy |
| méntel | Schmetterling | motyl |
| muchor | Fliegenpilz | muchomor |
| nicht | niemand | nikt |
| niések | Sack | worek, torba |
| ôbléta | Kleidung | odzież |
| oddazinÿ | Hochzeit | ślub |
| piláki | Entenküken | kaczuszki |
| pitróla | Petroleum | nafta |
| plik | Glatze | łysina |
| plómpa | Pumpe | pompa |
| plumÿ | Pflaumen | śliwki |
| práwÿ | Röhrling | borowik |
| prÿnc | Prinz | książę |
| psiwo, bir | Bier | piwo |
| pupa | Puppe | lalka |
| redošč | freude | radość |
| régal | Wandregal | półka |
| rektór | Lehrer | nauczyciel |
| scérnÿ | echter | prawdziwy |
| scubeł | Hecht | szczupak |
| stérač | verlieren | zgubić |
| stimač | fotografieren | fotografować |
| stréfle | Strümpfe | pończochy |
| šurek | Knabe | chłopczyk |
| šwam | Badeschwamm | gąbka |
| táskia | Tasse | filiżanka |
| téja | Tee | herbata |
| tÿna | Tonne | beczka |
| topek | Töpfchen | nocnik |
| tropki | Tropfen | kropelki |
| waba | Wabe | włoszczyzna |
| wálnÿ | gross | duży |
| wašlap | Geschirrtuch | ścierka |
| wej lo! | sieh mal! | spójrz tylko! |
| wéla | Welle | fala |
| wérÿ | Bett | łóżko |
| zaft | Saft | sok |
| za šiła | ziemlich viel | zbyt wiele |
| zaûsnik | Ohrring | kolczyk |
| zdrednie | Gefährlich | niebiezpiecznie |
| zégáwka, zégáwkia | Brennesseln | pokrzywa |
| zietř | Wind | wiatr |
| zrének | Morgen | poranek |
| zÿcher ze jo | selbstverständlich | oczywiście |
Toponymy
Names of months
Examples
Lord's Prayer
| Masurian | Polish | Czech | English | ||
| Ôjce nas, chtórnÿš je w niebzie Niech še šwénči Twoje mniano, Niech přÿńdže Twoje królestwo ji béndže Twoja wola Jek w niebzie tozéz ji na žémni. Chléba naségo powsedniégo daj náma džišaj. Ji ôtpušč náma nase zinÿ, Jek ji mÿ ôtpuscawa nasém zinowajcám. Ji nie wódž náju na pokusenie Lo zbaw’ náju ôt złégo Amen | SongA short Masurian song.
PoemRéjzasiodám ná koło kiej féin pogodá dumám tédÿ nád zÿciem Mazurá ajw násu ziamiá ôddÿcha w dáli ány rÿchtÿk pozwalá mniá do dumániá nád mójá réjzá přéd siébie chućko jidé ná drogách zÿciá chtóré ûmÿká chtórégo nie zabácé po śmiérci, chtóra z latámi přéniká … wsÿtko je féin ajw ji téraz jék budzié po tym co přÿjdzié nié ziém…? jédno jé péwné zé ajw jé féin ná mójéj réjzié.. |