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Dialects of Polish

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Subdivision of Polish dialects according to Karol Dejna
Subdivision of Polish dialects according to Stanisław Urbańczyk
Translations:

Polish dialects are regional vernacular varieties of the Polish language, and often show developments starting from an earlier stage of the language, often Old Polish or Middle Polish, namely the development of the so-called "pitched" or "slanted" vowels (Polish samogłoski pochylone).

Four major dialect groups (termed dialekt) are typically recognized, each primarily associated with a particular geographical region, and often further subdivided into dialects (termed gwara in Polish).[1][2] They are:

  • Greater Polish, spoken in the west
  • Lesser Polish, spoken in the south and southeast
    • Goral, spoken in the mountains on the Poland-Slovakia border
  • Masovian, spoken throughout the central and eastern parts of the country
  • Silesian[3][4] spoken in the southwest (sometimes also considered a separate language)

The regional differences correspond mainly to old ethnic or tribal divisions from around a thousand years ago. As a result of 19th century measures taken by occupying powers, expulsions plus other displacements of Poles during and after World War II, as well as language policy in the Polish People's Republic, supplemented by broadcast media, the Polish language has become extremely homogeneous. In the modern day, dialectal variation can be found among mostly older generations.

Traditionally two additional dialect groups were treated alongside the aforementioned, adding to a total of six.[5] These varieties have been put at risk of extinction due to historic geopolitical population movements. They are:

Often the usage of dialects are avoided due to negative associations and low prestige, and as such, there is often a preference for Standard Polish, and many dialects are slowly being abandoned, and instead regionalisms within Standard Polish are more common. However, some dialects are still widely used.[7][8]

Notation

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In order to accurately notate phonetic differences in dialects, letters outside standard Polish orthography are sometimes used, or some letters have uses different than in Standard Polish. Namely, they are:[9][10][11]

  • á for the slanted a (Polish pronunciation: [ɒ]) (as opposed to a for (Polish pronunciation: [a]
  • é for the slanted e (Polish pronunciation: [e]) (as opposed to e for (Polish pronunciation: [ɛ]
  • ó for the slanted ó (Polish pronunciation: [o]) (as opposed to o for (Polish pronunciation: [ɔ]
  • ô for labialized o (Polish pronunciation: [wɔ])
  • û for labialized u (Polish pronunciation: [wu])
  • ÿ (in Masurian) or ý (Goral dialects) for non-palatalizing Polish pronunciation: [i].

Dialect and language distinctions

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Although traditional linguistic divisions continue to be cited, especially in Polish sources, the current linguistic consensus tends to consider Kashubian a separate language, or at least as a distinct lect that cannot be grouped at the same level as the four major modern Polish dialects.[12][13][14][15] Prior to World War II, Kashubian speakers were mainly surrounded by German speakers, with only a narrow border to the south with Polish speakers. Kashubian contains a number of features not found in other Polish dialects, e.g. nine distinct oral vowels (vs. the six of standard Polish), evolution of the Proto-Slavic TorT group to TarT (a feature not found in any other Slavic language) and (in the northern dialects) phonemic word stress, an archaic feature preserved from Common Slavic times and not found anywhere else among the West Slavic languages.

The two Kresy dialects are spoken in Kresy, the former eastern Polish territories annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945 and currently absorbed into Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.[citation needed] Both dialect groups have been in decline since World War II as a result of expulsions of millions of Poles from Kresy.[citation needed] Poles living in Lithuania (particularly in the Vilnius region), in Belarus (particularly in the northwest), and in northeast Poland continue to speak the Northern Kresy dialect, which sounds (in Polish described as zaciąganie z ruska) as if speaking with a Russian drawl, and is quite distinctive.[citation needed]

The majority of Poles expelled from Kresy were settled in newly annexed regions in northern and western Poland, and thereby their manner of speech evolved into so-called new mixed dialects. However, among the declining older generation there are still traces of Kresy dialect with its characteristic Ukrainian or Rusyn sounds, especially in the use of the East Slavic velarised L where standard Polish has it already vocalised (/w/) and of elongated vowels.

List of dialects

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Pronunciation of sibilants in Polish dialects.
  Standard pronunciation (/s.../–/ʂ.../–/ɕ.../ distinction)
  Mazurzenie (/s.../–/ʂ.../ merger)
  Jabłonkowanie (/ʂ.../–/ɕ.../ merger)
  Kaszubienie [pl] (/s.../–/ɕ.../ merger)

Many dialects on the edges of dialect groups show traits belonging to the groups it borders, and are usually classified as transitional dialects, whose exact classification is often debated.[16]

Greater Poland dialect group

[edit]
Main article: Greater Poland dialect group

Descended from the Western Slavic language spoken by the Polans, the dialects are:[17]

Masovian dialect group

[edit]
Main article: Masovian dialect group

Descended from the language of the Masovians,[18][19] the dialects are:[20]

Lesser Poland dialect group

[edit]
Main article: Lesser Poland dialect group

Descended from the language of the Vistulans, is the most numerous dialectal group in modern Poland.[21] the dialects are:[22]

The Goral ethnolect (the name for the many dialects spoken by Gorals in Western Carpathians bordering Poland and Slovakia),[23] [24] which include:

  • Carpathian-Podgórze Goral dialects

The dialects spoken by Silesian Gorals are considered closer Silesian but are referred to as Goral by Silesian Gorals in Poland, due to them feeling more Goral than Silesian.[25] Silesian Gorals in Zaolzie usually consider themselves more Silesian and are more likely to call it Silesian.[26][27]

Northern Borderlands dialect

[edit]
Main article: Northern Borderlands dialect

In modern times the dialect is still spoken mainly by the Polish minorities in Lithuania and in northwestern Belarus.[28][29]

Southern Borderlands dialect

[edit]
Main article: Southern Borderlands dialect

Often considered a derivative of a mixture of Old Polish and Old Ruthenian, as was spoken in Red Ruthenia in the Middle Ages.[28][30] See especially, the Lwów dialect, Polish: gwara lwowska.[30]

New mixed dialects

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Main article: New mixed dialects
  • Northern new mixed dialect
  • Northwestern new mixed dialect
  • Southern new mixed dialect

Silesian

[edit]
Main article: Silesian language

Silesian (Silesian: ślōnskŏ gŏdka, Polish: język śląski, dialekt śląski) is a lect spoken in the regions of Upper Silesia. Some regard it as one of the four major dialects of Polish,[31][32][33][34] while others classify it as a separate regional language, distinct from Polish.[35][36][37] Many Silesians consider themselves a separate ethnicity and have been advocating the recognition of Silesian as a distinct language. In the 2021 Polish census, about 460 thousand people declared that they speak Silesian.[38]

Language organizations such as SIL International and various linguistic resources such as Ethnologue recognize Silesian as a distinct language.[39][40] In 2007, Silesian was assigned its language code szl within the ISO 639-3 standard.

Those who regard Silesian as a separate language tend to include the Lach dialects (Polish: gwary laskie) of the Czech Republic as part of this language. However, other linguistic sources on Slavic languages normally describe them as dialects of the Czech language,[41][42] or sometimes as transitional Polish–Czech dialects.

For a list of dialects, see dialects of Silesian.

Common isoglosses

[edit]

Dialects are often divided based on isoglosses in pronunciation, grammar (namely declension and syntax), and word-formation.

In terms of the most important, dialect groups are usually divided based on the presence of masuration (present in Masovian and Lesser Polish dialects) and voicing of word-final consonants before vowels and liquids in the next word or sometimes the personal verb clitics -m, -ś, -śmy, -ście as in byliśmy (e.g. jak jestem may be realized as Polish pronunciation: [[jaɡ jestem]] in Lesser Polish and Greater Polish dialects, but as Polish pronunciation: [[jak jestem]] in Masovia).

Common phonetic isoglosses in terms of vowels include the development of slanted vowels, or their retention;[43] and the treatment of nasal vowels.[44]

Common phonetic isoglosses in terms of consonants include Jabłonkowanie, Siakanie, Szadzenie, and the insertion of prothetic consonants before initial (and sometimes medial) vowels.[45]

Another important factor is the pressence of contracted forms of bać and similar verbs (regionally and originally bojeć).[46]

A common grammatical isogloss is the formation of first-person plural verb forms, which in Standard Polish is usually with -my in the present/future tense or with -śmy in the past tense. Many dialects show much variation, including ‑m, ‑ma, ‑me, ‑wa.[47][48]

A common lexical or word-formation isogloss is how nouns denoting young animals and people are formed, where in the south and in Standard Polish it is typically formed with -ę, as in źrebię, but in the north it is often -ak, as in źrebiak.[49] Both suffixes are subject sound changes.

A common isogloss in verb formation is the preferred ending for imperfective or frequentative verbs; in Standard Polish and the north they are usually formed with -ywać, but in the south -ować is often preferred.[50] Also important is the formation of adjectives, with many different suffixes being used in different regions that are usually different from the formation in Standard Polish.[51]

Notes

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  1. ^ Also considered a separate language

References

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  1. ^ Roland Sussex and Paul Cubberley (2006). The Slavic Languages. Cambridge University Press. P. 530.
  2. ^ Robert A. Rothstein (1994). "Polish". The Slavonic Languages, edited by Bernard Comrie and Greville G. Corbett. Routledge. Pp. 754–756.
  3. ^ Dillingham, William Paul; Folkmar, Daniel; Folkmar, Elnora (1911). Dictionary of Races or Peoples. United States. Immigration Commission (1907–1910). Washington, D.C.: Washington, Government Printing Office. p. 105.
  4. ^ Dillingham, William Paul; Folkmar, Daniel; Folkmar, Elnora (1911). Dictionary of Races or Peoples. Washington, D.C.: Washington, Government Printing Office. p. 128.
  5. ^ Zofia Kurzowa (2007). Szpiczakowska Monika, Skarżyński Mirosław (ed.). Z przeszłości i teraźniejszości języka polskiego (in Polish). Kraków: Universitas. p. 726. ISBN 978-83-242-0691-9.
  6. ^ a b Karaś, Halina (2010). "Kresowe odmiany polszczyzny". dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  7. ^ Karaś, Halina (2010). "3.4. Stan, sytuacja i perspektywy dialektów i gwar ludowych". dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  8. ^ Wronicz, Jadwiga. "Status gwary w języku polskim". Socjolingwistyka (in Polish). XXX. ISSN 0208-6808.
  9. ^ Piotr Szatkowski (Psioter ôt Sziatków) (2019). Mazurski fÉBEL abo Mazurská Fibla czyli Elementarz mowy mazurskiej. Ełk: Ełckie Centrum Kultury. pp. 25–29. ISBN 978-83-955884-0-2. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Nasza Pisownia Podhalańka – Zwięzłe Przedstawienie Zasad Zapisu". www.facebook.com. Gwara Góralsko Skolnego Podholo. January 18, 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  11. ^ Kucharzyk, Renata; Niezabitowska, Anna; Reichan, Jerzy; Tokarz, Maria; Wójcicka, Wiktoria; Wronicz, Jadwiga, eds. (2010). Mały słownik gwar polskich (in Polish). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Lexis. p. 8—10.
  12. ^ Jadwiga Wronicz (March–April 2007). "Pozycja dialektu wobec innych odmian polszczyzny". Język polski (in Polish). LXXXVII (2): 91–96.
  13. ^ Roland Sussex and Paul Cubberley (2006). The Slavic Languages. Cambridge University Press. Pp. 531–532.
  14. ^ Gerald Stone (1994). "Cassubian". The Slavonic Languages, edited by Bernard Comrie and Greville G. Corbett. Routledge. Pp. 759–794.
  15. ^ Bronisław Jakubowski (1999). "Język czy dialekt?". Wiedza i Życie (in Polish) (4).
  16. ^ Karaś, Halina (2010). "Gwary przejściowe". dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  17. ^ Karaś, Halina (2010). "Dialekt wielkopolski". dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  18. ^ Bronisław Wieczorkiewicz (1968). Gwara warszawska dawniej i dziś (in Polish). Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. p. 516.
  19. ^ Halina Karas, Gwary Polskie, Dialects and gwary in Poland Archived 2011-04-14 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Karaś, Halina (2010). "Dialekt mazowiecki". dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  21. ^ Stanisław Urbańczyk, ed. (1992). "Dialekt małopolski". Encyklopedia języka polskiego (in Polish) (II ed.). Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków: Ossolineum. p. 60.
  22. ^ Karaś, Halina (2010). "Dialekt małopolski". dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  23. ^ www.goralske-narecie.estranky.sk. "gorali". goralské nárečie (in Slovak). Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  24. ^ Wajda, Ludwika (1976). "Pogranicze gwarowe Góralsko-Lachowskie" [The Goral-Lach dialectal borderlands]. Rocznik Naukowo-Dydaktyczny. Prace Językoznawcze (in Polish). 3: 273–290. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  25. ^ Zbigniew Greń (2000). "Zależności między typami poczucia regionalnego i etnicznego". Śląsk Cieszyński. Dziedzictwo językowe. Warszawa: Towarzystwo Naukowe Warszawskie. Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk. p. 121. ISBN 83-86619-09-0.
  26. ^ J.w. s. 132.
  27. ^ 4:00: „[…] miyndzy nami gorolami […]” w: "Soužití Čechů a Poláků". www.ceskatelevize.cz (in Czech). 2010-04-30.
  28. ^ a b Zofia Kurzowa (2007). Szpiczakowska Monika, Skarżyński Mirosław (ed.). Ze studiów nad polszczyzną kresową (in Polish). Kraków: Universitas. p. 518. ISBN 978-83-242-0683-4.
  29. ^ Zofia Kurzowa (2006). Szpiczakowska Monika, Skarżyński Mirosław (ed.). Język polski Wileńszczyzny i kresów północno-wschodnich (in Polish). Kraków: Universitas. ISBN 83-242-0738-4.
  30. ^ a b Zofia Kurzowa (2006). Szpiczakowska Monika, Skarżyński Mirosław (ed.). Polszczyzna Lwowa i kresów południowo-wschodnich do 1939 (in Polish). Kraków: UNIVERSITAS. p. 439. ISBN 83-242-0656-6.
  31. ^ Tambor, Jolanta; Skudrzykowa, Aldona, eds. (2002). Gwara Śląska – świadectwo kultury, narzędzie komunikacji. Katowice: „Śląsk". ISBN 83-7164-314-4. OCLC 830518005.
  32. ^ „Słownik gwar Śląskich". Opole, Bogusław Wyderka (eds.)
  33. ^ „Dialekt śląski" author: Feliks Pluta, publication: Wczoraj, Dzisiaj, Jutro. – 1996, no 1/4, pp 5–19
  34. ^ „Fenomen śląskiej gwary" author: Jan Miodek publication: Śląsk. – 1996, no 5, pp 52
  35. ^ Ptak, Alicja (2022-12-28). "Supermarket introduces bilingual Polish-Silesian signs". Kraków: Notes from Poland. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  36. ^ Norman Davies, Europe: A History, Oxford 1996 pp 1233
  37. ^ Jolanta Tambor. Opinia merytoryczna na temat poselskiego projektu ustawy o zmianie Ustawy o mniejszościach narodowych i etnicznych oraz o języku regionalnym, a także niektórych innych ustaw, Warszawa 3 maja 2011 r. (English: Substantive opinion on the parliamentary bill amending the Act on national and ethnic minorities and on the regional language, as well as some other acts, Warsaw, May 3, 2011.)
  38. ^ "585,7 tys. osób deklaruje się jako Ślązacy. "Je to blank dobry wynik"". oko.press (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  39. ^ "ISO documentation of Silesian language". SIL International. Archived from the original on 2012-10-03.
  40. ^ "List of languages with ISO codes". Ethnologue. SIL International.
  41. ^ Roland Sussex and Paul Cubberley (2006). The Slavic Languages. Cambridge University Press. P. 533.
  42. ^ David Short (1994). "Czech". The Slavonic Languages, edited by Bernard Comrie and Greville G. Corbett. Routledge. P. 530.
  43. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Samogłoski pochylone". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  44. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Samogłoski nosowe". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  45. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Spółgłoski". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  46. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Kontrakcja". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  47. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Formy 1. os. lmn. czasu teraźniejszego". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  48. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Formy 1. os. lmn. czasu przeszłego". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  49. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Słowotwórstwo rzeczowników". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  50. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Słowotwórstwo czasowników". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  51. ^ Halina Karaś (2010). "Słowotwórstwo przymiotników". www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
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