Polish dialects

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The Polish dialects are divided into seven groups according to the linguistic tradition, with each dialect group of the Polish language mainly associated with a specific geographic region. The dialects (Polish: dialect ) are further subdivided into subdialects called gwara or region . Since the second half of the 20th century at the latest, there has been a strong trend towards standardization of the Polish language, which is partly a result of the mass migration process after the Second World War . Nevertheless, the standard Polish is still spoken a little differently in the various regions of the country, although the differences between the dialects compared to German dialects are weak. Dialects are usually not difficult for Poles to understand, and non-native speakers are often unable to easily distinguish between them.

History of the Polish Dialects

Early medieval tribes from which the Polish dialects derive.

prehistory

In the 8th and 9th centuries, the old Polish dialects split up from the ancient Slavonic unit and then from the West Slavonic unit. They were formed against the background of piastic ethnic and linguistic assemblies that corresponded to the territories and arrangements of the cultural tribal centers of the time. Thus, the Polish language was not uniform at the beginning of its history and five dialect groups were formed within the tribal borders, which can be assigned to certain river areas:

Dialect development in the Polish state

During the formation of the Polish states around the year 1000, the translation of religious texts and sermons began to systematically record Polish, which had not been written before. The first Polish spelling existed in the 13th century. Until the development of the Polish literary language in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Polish dialects formed the basic form of communication for all social classes - with the exception of the intellectual elite of the time. From the 16th century onwards, educated classes such as the clergy, aristocratic officials, parts of the nobility and the rich bourgeoisie used a common Polish language. There is no unanimous opinion on what basis the Polish literary language is based: Either Wielkopolska, since Wielkopolska was the central area of ​​the church in the 10th and 11th centuries and Gniezno was the first capital of Poland. Or Lesser Poland, since in 1038 the capital was relocated to Krakow and there was the Polish center of culture, literature and education for several centuries. Masovian also influenced the common Polish language after Warsaw became the new capital of Poland in 1596. The uniform common Polish language was spoken by ever larger layers, so that the Polish dialects were gradually pushed back from around 1600 and developed into the language of the common people. During this period, differences between the common Polish language and the dialects of the people became increasingly apparent. Both the main and city dialects began to emerge.

During the partitions of Poland from 1772 onwards, the supra-regional character of the language took a back seat for about 150 years, although the Polish language was a connecting element for Poles at this time and from the middle of the 19th century more and more workers became less and less dialect languages. From 1918 onwards, Polish was subject to further standardization in the resurrected Polish state, which was promoted by the development of the school system. Rural exodus and the nationwide spread of the mass media (press, radio, and later television) have ensured that the historically formed dialects of the people have faded since the 1960s at the latest.

Traditional division with selected dialects

Division according to the Polish linguist Stanisław Urbańczyk (1909-2001)
Division according to the Slavist Karol Dejna (1911-2004)
  • Wielkopolska dialects
  • Mazovian dialects
  • Lesser Poland dialects
  • Slovincian ( Gwara Słowińska ) died out in the 20th century. Whether it can be viewed as a separate language or a dialect of Kashubian is debatable.
  • Silesian (dialect śląski) - here too there are efforts to be recognized as an independent language.

The two following dialects are also summarized under the term Eastern Polish and are largely threatened with extinction due to the loss of the former Polish Eastern Territories (Kresy) .

  • Północnokresowy ("Northeastern Polish") is spoken in northeastern border areas and mainly by the Polish minority in Lithuania and Belarus .
  • Południowokresowy ("Southeastern Polish") is spoken in southeastern border areas.

New mixed dialects

New mixed dialects (Nowe dialekty mieszane) are dialects that emerged after the Second World War in the formerly German areas that were settled by Poles and Lemks from the east. The linguistic situation in these areas is mixed. Although there are no noticeable clusters of certain dialect features, one can find in the cities, for example in Wroclaw with the Lviv dialect, features from the Polish heartland as well as those from the Eastern Polish dialects Północnokresowe and Południowokresowe . Since the population there differed greatly in terms of language, in the so-called “regained” areas, standard Polish replaced regional dialects particularly quickly, making informal communication possible in the first place.

Polish dialects abroad

Polish dialects abroad occur as an extension of the dialects of today's territory of the Republic of Poland only in the Czech Republic and Slovakia . This mainly includes the Cieszyn Silesian dialect (gwary cieszyńskie) , the dialects gwary czadeckie which Orawische dialect (gwary orawskie) and the Zipser dialects (gwary Spiskie) .

Larger and smaller Polish-speaking accumulations emerged in the former Polish border areas in the east, i.e. in today's Belarus , Lithuania and Latvia (former Polish northern border ), in Ukraine (former Polish southern border ), as well as as a result of deportations to Kazakhstan and Russia , especially in Siberia . Polish dialects of settlers, mainly from the former Galicia , were also preserved in Romania ( Bukowina , Moldova ), Hungary ( Istvánmajor , a district of Emőd ) and Turkey ( Polonezköy ). Some characteristics of the dialects were also preserved in the language of the Polish emigrants who emigrated to Western Europe and America. In English-speaking countries, standard Polish mixed with the English language to create a new mixed language called Ponglish .

All Polish dialects abroad were more or less intensely influenced by the foreign characteristics. The youngest generation of emigrants is the quickest to get rid of their regional dialect features. The probability that dialects will be preserved abroad is greatest when the speakers in Polish-speaking congregations come from former settlements in ethnically non-Polish areas, from areas near the border or former areas of the Polish state, despite foreign influences.

Dialectal special features

In terms of vocabulary, syntax , pronunciation, and morphology , each dialect has features that differ from standard Polish. An example is the pronunciation of nasal consonants without nasal resonance in various areas of Poland, as found, for example, in Silesian, while in other areas, such as Mazovian, the sound can be pronounced nasalized. The inflection of the ending inflection used in the dialects has retained some of the properties of ancient Polish, such as those found in Lesser Poland. There is also a tendency to simplify the inflected language structure .

Distribution according to certain characteristics

The Polish dialects can be divided according to the following characteristics:

  • In Masuria, instead of the consonant series cz, sz, ż, dż, the consonants c, s, z take their place. Non-Masurian dialects have both series.
  • The pronunciation of final consonants before initial voiced consonants and sonorants is voiced or unvoiced (for example brad instead of brat for "brother").
  • Other phonetic features are, for example, the pronunciation of closed vowels or old long vowels, the synchronous and asynchronous realization of the nasal vowels and the realization of the bilabial palatalized consonants.
  • Morphological and lexical features occur less frequently.

Grammatical features of the main dialect groups

  • Great Polish characterized by a lack of Masurieren. There is also no final hardening before initial voiced consonants and sonorants. The nasal vowels are realized in the same way as in standard Polish and there are diphthongs. The pronunciation of v after voiceless consonants is voiced ( kvas instead of kvass for “acid”; kvat instead of kwiat for “flower”). In addition, the first person plural past tense ends in -ma instead of -my ( siedźma instead of siedźmy for "to sit down")
  • Lesser Poland uses Masurian in the western part of Lesser Poland, while it is absent in the south-eastern parts of the dialect area. In addition, finals before initial voiced consonants and sonorants are not hardened. A final -ch changes into -k , but is a property that is on the decline ( grok instead of groch for "pea"). In addition, there are dialects in Lesser Poland that have retained ancient features. For example, the Podhal dialect still has the initial accent and the old ři ( gřiby instead of grzyby for "mushrooms"). In addition, the nasal vowels are realized inconsistently. Some areas differ in their vowel quality . There the anterior nasal is realized as ą ( prądzy instead of prędzej for “faster”). In other areas, the two nasal vowels either coincide in o ( śfoty instead of święty for "holy"; prondzy instead of prędzej for "faster") or are completely denased ( geś instead of gęś for "goose").
  • Masovian uses Masuria. The final sound is hardened before initial consonants and sonorants. The pronunciation of the palatalized labials p, b, f, v and m is asynchronous and biphonematic, often even tripled ( mńasto or ńasto instead of miasto ). For the most part, no distinction is made between the open and the closed a . There are also numerous morphological features. The first and second person plural ends in -wa or -ta instead of -my or -cie ( chodziwa instead of chodzimy for “we go”; chodzita instead of chodzicie for “you go”) and nouns often have the suffix -ak ( dziewczak instead of dziewczę for "girls").
  • Silesian is positioned between Lesser Poland and Greater Poland. The Masurian language shares Silesian with the western part of Malopolska, and the diphthongs with Greater Poland. The voiced pronunciation of final consonants before initial voiced consonants and sonorants can be found in all three dialect areas. Typical examples of the Silesian pronunciation are tši instead of trzy for "three", kšivy instead of krzywy for "crooked" or bžitki instead of brzydki for "ugly". A final -ę is realized as -a ( widza ta baba instead of widzę tę babę for “I see this old woman”). Another noticeable differentiator is the large number of German loanwords .
  • Kashubian occupies a special position among the Polish dialects and is characterized by a large number of special features that differ greatly from Polish.

The social role of dialects

Dialects and small languages ​​are extremely socially stigmatized in Poland and Polish language policy is based on protecting the “correct” standard Polish from “provincialisms”. The standard language is associated with higher education and gives the speaker a higher social prestige. There is even a regular TVP television program called Profesor Miodek odpowiada (“Professor Miodek answers”), in which the well-known linguist Jan Miodek has been teaching the Poles the “correct” Polish since 1995 . The social role of dialects is thus limited to communication within the family, in everyday life and to stylize literary texts. Although there is an independent dialect poetry, this is limited to folklore. In addition to the sociolects , the dialects are an inexhaustible source of colloquial language. In dialectology it is pointed out that the dialects are fading, which was caused by the industrialization and urbanization of society, which is also heavily influenced by the mass media. This process began at the latest in the post-war years, when illiteracy was almost eliminated and radio and television became widespread. As a result, the dialects lost their prestige, and particularly distinctive features of the dialects disappear, for example the Masuria and the open pronunciation of the nasal vowels ( gamba instead of gęba for "mouth"). In certain regions, for example in Silesia , in Kashubia or in Podhale , the dialects are used and cultivated as a means of cultural identification.

References

See also

literature

Web links

  • Dialekty i gwary polskie Polish dialects and vernaculars (Polish)
  • Polish (PDF; 689 kB) Władysław Lubaś and Jerzy Molas on the Polish language (German)