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High Prussian dialect
High Prussian (German: Hochpreußisch) is a group of East Central German dialects in former East Prussia, in present-day Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Poland) and Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia). High Prussian developed in the 13th–15th centuries, brought in by German settlers mainly from Silesia and Thuringia, and was influenced by the Baltic Old Prussian language.
High Prussian is a Central German dialect formally spoken in Prussia. It is separated from its only adjacent German dialect, Low Prussian, by the Benrath line and the Uerdingen line, the latter dialect being Low German. This was once one of the, if not the hardest linguistic border within the German dialects.
It shares some features with Low Prussian, differentiating it from other Central German dialects east of the Germersheim line [de].
Those Borussisms are:
J. A. Lilienthal, a teacher from Braunsberg, first recorded the term "Breslauisch" for High Prussian as an endonym in Warmia in 1842. Thereafter, it was considered obvious that Warmia was settled by Silesians, who brought their dialect with them. Based on a comparison of toponymy, at least for Oberländer, Thuringia was seen as a potential origin, too. The prevailing assumption was that the upper class emigrating to Prussia, most of which is known have come from Thuringia, would have brought their peasants with them. Walther Mitzka disputed this insisting on using linguistic criteria only. He determined that High Prussian deviated from the Silesian characteristics recognized as such in linguistics, leading him to conclusion that High Prussian could not be of Silesian origin. Instead, within the East Central German dialects, he found the greatest linguistic affinity with the dialects of Lower Lusatia, the core of which lay between Lübben in the west and Guben in the east. Based on those findings, Mitzka developed the theory that Central German settlers, whose arrival can be precisely determined by numerous tangible facts, left Mark Lausitz between 1290 and 1330, when political turmoils made settling in Prussia appear more attractive.
Erhard Riemann tested Mitzka's theory using further toponymy and concluded that the material was not sufficient to allow a reliable location of the origin of High Prussian. While the spread of words like brüh ("hot") and Mache ("girl) would lead to the conclusion of High Prussian being of Silesian origin, other words contradict it. These lead to different regional dialects in Eastern Central Germany or to even wider spread among the dialects of Central German. According to Riemann, we must therefore reckon with a stronger mixture of origins of the settlers and, when deriving Breslau, we should be satisfied with the statement that its origin lies somewhere in a very large area in East Central German, within which Lower Silesia and Lower Lusatia may have formed focal points.
Almost all High Prussian speakers were evacuated or expelled from Prussia after 1945. Since the expellees scattered throughout Western Germany (with some exceptions, like the Ermländer settlement on a former military training area in Heckenbach/Eifel) the dialects are now moribund. Most of the High Prussian speakers not expelled after World War II relocated from Poland to Western Germany in the 1970s and 1980s as so-called late repatriates (Spätaussiedler). Today, the language is almost extinct, as its use is restricted to communication within the family and gatherings of expellees, where they are spoken out of nostalgia. In Poland, the language of the few non-displaced people was subjected to severe repression after 1945, which meant that the active use of the language was even lower than in Germany. In both countries, the High Prussian dialects were not transmitted to the next generation, therefore, few elderly speakers remain. The German minority in Poland, recognized since 1991, uses Standard German.
Subdialects of High Prussian are:
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High Prussian dialect AI simulator
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High Prussian dialect
High Prussian (German: Hochpreußisch) is a group of East Central German dialects in former East Prussia, in present-day Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Poland) and Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia). High Prussian developed in the 13th–15th centuries, brought in by German settlers mainly from Silesia and Thuringia, and was influenced by the Baltic Old Prussian language.
High Prussian is a Central German dialect formally spoken in Prussia. It is separated from its only adjacent German dialect, Low Prussian, by the Benrath line and the Uerdingen line, the latter dialect being Low German. This was once one of the, if not the hardest linguistic border within the German dialects.
It shares some features with Low Prussian, differentiating it from other Central German dialects east of the Germersheim line [de].
Those Borussisms are:
J. A. Lilienthal, a teacher from Braunsberg, first recorded the term "Breslauisch" for High Prussian as an endonym in Warmia in 1842. Thereafter, it was considered obvious that Warmia was settled by Silesians, who brought their dialect with them. Based on a comparison of toponymy, at least for Oberländer, Thuringia was seen as a potential origin, too. The prevailing assumption was that the upper class emigrating to Prussia, most of which is known have come from Thuringia, would have brought their peasants with them. Walther Mitzka disputed this insisting on using linguistic criteria only. He determined that High Prussian deviated from the Silesian characteristics recognized as such in linguistics, leading him to conclusion that High Prussian could not be of Silesian origin. Instead, within the East Central German dialects, he found the greatest linguistic affinity with the dialects of Lower Lusatia, the core of which lay between Lübben in the west and Guben in the east. Based on those findings, Mitzka developed the theory that Central German settlers, whose arrival can be precisely determined by numerous tangible facts, left Mark Lausitz between 1290 and 1330, when political turmoils made settling in Prussia appear more attractive.
Erhard Riemann tested Mitzka's theory using further toponymy and concluded that the material was not sufficient to allow a reliable location of the origin of High Prussian. While the spread of words like brüh ("hot") and Mache ("girl) would lead to the conclusion of High Prussian being of Silesian origin, other words contradict it. These lead to different regional dialects in Eastern Central Germany or to even wider spread among the dialects of Central German. According to Riemann, we must therefore reckon with a stronger mixture of origins of the settlers and, when deriving Breslau, we should be satisfied with the statement that its origin lies somewhere in a very large area in East Central German, within which Lower Silesia and Lower Lusatia may have formed focal points.
Almost all High Prussian speakers were evacuated or expelled from Prussia after 1945. Since the expellees scattered throughout Western Germany (with some exceptions, like the Ermländer settlement on a former military training area in Heckenbach/Eifel) the dialects are now moribund. Most of the High Prussian speakers not expelled after World War II relocated from Poland to Western Germany in the 1970s and 1980s as so-called late repatriates (Spätaussiedler). Today, the language is almost extinct, as its use is restricted to communication within the family and gatherings of expellees, where they are spoken out of nostalgia. In Poland, the language of the few non-displaced people was subjected to severe repression after 1945, which meant that the active use of the language was even lower than in Germany. In both countries, the High Prussian dialects were not transmitted to the next generation, therefore, few elderly speakers remain. The German minority in Poland, recognized since 1991, uses Standard German.
Subdialects of High Prussian are: