#upper sorbian

[rjana-luzica]

Catholic upper sorbian wedding photos, 1951/53

[gwendolynlerman]

Deutschribing Germany

Languages

Most of the languages native to Germany belong to the Germanic family, though some are Slavic. German is the official language, and over 95% of the population speaks Standard German or one of its dialects as their first language.

There are six recognized minority languages: Danish, Lower Sorbian, North Frisian, Romani, Saterland Frisian, and Upper Sorbian. The most commonly spoken immigrant languages are Arabic, Dutch, Greek, Italian, Kurdish, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Tamil, Turkish, and Ukrainian.

German (Deutsch)

German is a West Germanic language spoken by 95 million people. It is an official language in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, as well as South Tyrol in Italy. It is also a recognized minority language in ten other countries spanning four continents.

German Standard German is the standardized variety of German spoken in Germany. Its pronunciation is similar to the German spoken in Hanover. The German alphabet has 30 letters: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ä ö ü ß. Most German vocabulary is of Germanic origin, but around one-fifth comes from French or Latin. This post explains German dialects and varieties in detail.

Romani (rromani ćhib)

Sinte Romani (sintitikes) is the variety of Romani spoken in Germany and neighboring countries. It belongs to the Northwestern Romani dialect group, which in turn is part of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. Around 195,000 people speak Sinte Romani, which is not mutually intelligible with other Romani varieties.

There is no standard pronunciation or grammar. The alphabet contains 31 letters: a b c č čh d dž e f g h i j k kh l m n o p ph r s š t th u v x z ž.

Danish (dansk)

Danish is a North Germanic language with six million native speakers. It is the official language of Denmark and the Faroe Islands, as well as a recognized minority language in Schleswig-Holstein and Greenland.

The Danish alphabet has 29 letters, including the 26 found in the English one and æ, ø, and å.

Upper Sorbian (hornjoserbšćina)

Upper Sorbian (Obersorbische Dialekte in the map), which belongs to the West Slavic branch, is recognized as a minority language in Saxony, where its 13,000 native speakers reside.

Its alphabet has 34 letters: a b c č ć d dź e ě f g h ch i j k ł l m n ń o ó p r ř s š t u w y z ž.

North Frisian (Nordfriisk)

North Frisian is part of the West Germanic branch and is spoken natively by 10,000 people in Schleswig-Holstein. It comprises ten dialects, which are divided into two groups: insular and mainland.

Its phonology and orthography vary by dialect. There are 32 basic letters: a ä å b ch d dj đ/ð e f g h i j k l lj m n ng nj o ö p r s sch t tj u ü w.

Lower Sorbian (dolnoserbšćina)

Lower Sorbian (Niedersorbische Dialekte in the map of Sorbian dialects) is a West Slavic language spoken by 6,900 people in Brandenburg.

It uses the same letters as Upper Sorbian, but it also uses ś and ź and ŕ instead of ř, bringing the total number of letters to 36.

Saterland Frisian (Seeltersk)

Saterland Frisian belongs to the West Germanic branch and is recognized as a minority language in Lower Saxony. It is spoken by 2,200 people and has three fully mutually intelligible dialects.

Its orthography has not yet been standardized yet, but there are 31 common letters: a ä b ch d e f g h i ie j k/kk ks kw l m n ng o oa ö p r s sch t u ü v w.

Below is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the native languages of Germany:

German: Alle Menschen sind frei und gleich an Würde und Rechten geboren. Sie sind mit Vernunft und Gewissen begabt und sollen einander im Geist der Brüderlichkeit begegnen.

Romani: Sa e manušikane strukture bijandžona tromane thaj jekhutne ko digniteti thaj capipa. Von si baxtarde em barvale gndaja thaj godžaja thaj trubun jekh avereja te kherjakeren ko vodži pralipaja.

Danish: Alle mennesker er født frie og lige i værdighed og rettigheder. De er udstyret med fornuft og samvittighed, og de bør handle mod hverandre i en broderskabets ånd.

Upper Sorbian: Wšitcy čłowjekojo su wot naroda swobodni a su jenacy po dostojnosći a prawach. Woni su z rozumom a swědomjom wobdarjeni a maja mjezsobu w duchu bratrowstwa wobchadźeć.

North Frisian: Ali Mensken sen frii, likwērtig en me disalev Rochten bēren. Ja haa Forstant en Giweeten mefingen en skul arküđer üs Bröđern öntöögentreer. (Sylt/Sölring dialect)

Lower Sorbian: Wšykne luźe su lichotne roźone a jadnake po dostojnosći a pšawach. Woni maju rozym a wědobnosć a maju ze sobu w duchu bratšojstwa wobchadaś.

Saterland Frisian: Aal do Moanskene sunt fräi un gliek in Wöide un Gjuchte gebooren. Joo hääbe Fernunft un Gewieten meekriegen un schällen sik eenuur as Bruure ferhoolde. (Ramsloh dialect)

Translation: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

[lingcharts]

Colors in some languages of Germany.

All are West Germanic Languages, with the exception of Upper Sorbian which is a West Slavic language.

I condensed Low Alemannic into “Alemannic” here (as high Alemannic is also spoken in the Southernmost part of the west side of Germany) mostly because the resources for these dialects are really limited, even for someone who speaks decent Hochdeutsch (standard German).

Note: spelling and/or full words may differ based on region or locale (with the exception of Upper Sorbian all of these languages cover a pretty large area)

[ravenlesslangblr]

I’ve just written like five emails asking for language learning platform passwords and materials, because I’m missing the first two weeks of uni, but still wanna learn on my own.  I also told some of the courses that I learn best alone, but I like having a course to push me forward and to fall back on.  How to learn 6+ languages at once with Beth 101

[livinglanguages]

Moodboard: Sorbian Languages.

Upper Sorbian (Hornjoserbsce) is a West Slavic language spoken in the region of Lusatia, in eastern Germany. Together with its sister language, Lower Sorbian (Dolnoserbski), they are the only Slavic languages spoken entirely in a non-Slavic majority country. Both Upper and Lower Sorbian are enlisted as “Definitely endangered” languages, with Upper Sorbian having about 13,000 native speakers and Lower Sorbian having as little as 6,900. 

Polish, Czech, Slovak, Kashubian and Silesian are the closest relatives of the Upper and Lower Sorbian languages. 

[meikoriley]

Looking for slavist tumblrs!

I study Slavistics / Slavic studies and I need a Slavic tumblr family ♡

[serbskawutroba-blog]

Hi everyone, I finally decided to launch my own langblr on here!

So now the next step is to get to follow other people so here’s what this blog will be about:

Languages I know

German, Spanish, English, French

Languages I’d like to learn

Upper Sorbian, Scottish Gaelic, Crimean Tatar, Maori, Nahuatl, Basque, Syriac/Assyrian/Neo-Aramaic, Arabic, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Ukrainian, Cornish, Yucatec Maya, Xhosa, Maltese, Russian, Khoekhoe, Chechen, Swahili, Farsi

Other topics

Minority rights, racism, indigenous peoples, culture etc

[nanastudies]

Slavic time!

Days of the week series - Wednesday

Origin of the word - The word Wednesday comes from proto-slavic word serdà meaning middle, therefore Wednesday in all slavic languages has a meaning of “middle of the week”.

Russian -  Среда (sreda) Ukrainian -  Cереда (sereda) Belarusian -  Cерада (serada)

Bulgarian -   Cряда (sryada) Macedonian -  Среда (sreda) Serbian - Среда (sreda) Slovene - Sreda Bosnian - Srijeda Croatian - Srijeda

Polish -  Środa Slovak - Streda Czech -  Středa

+  Lower Sorbian - Srjoda Upper Sorbian -  Srjeda Kashubian - Strzoda