Kashubian language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kashubian | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kaszëbsczi | ||
| Spoken in |  Poland |
|
| Region | Pomerania | |
| Total speakers | 50,000 | |
| Language family | Indo-European
|
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| Official status | ||
| Official language in | In official use, as a regional language, in some communes of Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland | |
| Regulated by | No official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | None | |
| ISO 639-2 | csb | |
| ISO 639-3 | csb | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian: kaszëbsczi jãzëk, pòmòrsczi jãzëk, kaszëbskò-słowińskô mòwa; Polish: język kaszubski) is one of the Lechitic languages, a subgroup of the Slavic languages.
Kashubian is assumed to have evolved from the language spoken by some tribes of Pomeranians called Kashubians, in the region of Pomerania, on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula and Oder rivers.
It is closely related to Slovincian, and both of them are dialects of Pomeranian. Until recently many linguists considered it a dialect of Polish.
Similarly to Polish, Kashubian includes numerous loanwords from Low German, such as kùńszt (art), and some from German. Other sources of loanwords include the Baltic languages, Russian and Polish.
The first printed documents in Kashubian date from the end of the 16th century. The modern orthography was first proposed in 1879.
In the 2002 census, 53,000 people in Poland declared that they mainly use Kashubian at home. All Kashubian speakers are also fluent in Polish. A number of schools in Poland teach in Kashubian as a lecture language. It is used as an official alternative language for local administration purposes in Sierakowice, Pomeranian Voivodeship and in parts of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Kashubian is also spoken by Kashubians living in Canada.
Important for Kashubian literature was Xazeczka dlo Kaszebov by doctor Florian Ceynowa (1817-1881). Hieronim Derdowski (1852-1902) was another important author who wrote in Kashubian, as did doctor Aleksander Majkowski (1876-1938) from Kościerzyna. Jan Trepczyk was a poet of the language.
Since 2005 Kashubian has enjoyed legal protection in Poland as an official regional language. It is the only tongue in Poland with this status. It was granted to it by the act of Polish Parliament from January 6, 2005.
[edit] Gallery
 Bilingual sign in Polish and Kashubian in Pogórze, Puck County, Poland, on road from Gdynia to Rewa |
[edit] See also
- Pomeranian language
- Kashubian alphabet
- Kashubian-Pomeranian Association
- Pomerelia
- Gdańsk Pomerania
- Old Prussian language
[edit] External links
- Cassubia Slavica
- Wejherowo Land
- Following the trail of manor houses and castles of the Northern Kashubian Region
- Northern Kashubia Heritage
- Kashubian resources; include phrasebooks
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