Low Prussian (German: Niederpreußisch), sometimes known simply as Prussian (Preußisch), is a dialect of East Low German that developed in East Prussia. Low Prussian was spoken in East and West Prussia and Danzig up to 1945. It developed on a Baltic substrate through the influx of Dutch and Low German speaking immigrants. It overruled Old Prussian, which then became extinct in the 17th Century. Simon Dach's poem Anke van Tharaw, the best known East Prussian poem, was written in Low Prussian. Plautdietsch, a Low German variety, is included within Low Prussian by some observers. If Plautdietsch is excluded from it, Low Prussian can be considered moribund due to the evacuation and expulsion of Germans from East Prussia after World War II. Plautdietsch, however, has several thousands of speakers throughout the world, most notably in South America and Canada.
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Vocabulary
According to a Brief descriptions of most of the major Low German dialects, words very characteristic of the dialect are doa ('dor', there), joa ('jo', yes), goah ('goh', go) and noa ('nober', neighbor), which use the "oa" instead of the usual "o" or "a". There is a substitution of "k" for "ch", such as in mannke ('minsch', person) and a loan of High German-like words, such as zwei ('twee', two). Words are often shortened, somewhat similar to the neighboring Pommern dialect, such as beet (beten, little bit) and baakove ('bakåben', bake oven), the same source states.
It could be well argued, that several of the forementioned examples clearly resemble Dutch or Flemish words, as do other words like dood (dead), for instance. Some of the vocabulary that Low Prussian has in common with Plautdietsch are: Klemp (cow), Klopps (lumb, ball of earth), and Tsoagel (tail). Some other words, (to be found in Riemann, Erhard (ed.): Preußisches Wörterbuch, Vol. 1, Issue 1. Neumünster (Wachholtz) 1974), are:
- Boffke - boy, lad
- dätsch - dumb
- Dubs - bum
- Flins - pan cake
- Gnaschel - little child
- jankere - yearn
- Kobbel - mare
- Kujel - boar
- Lorbas - cheeky boy
- Marjell - maiden, girl
- Pungel - pouch
- schabbere - talk
- Schischke - pine-cone
- Schucke - potato(es)
Varieties
- 1. Übergangsmundart zum Ostpommerschen, transitional dialect with East Pomeranian
- 2. Mundart des Weichselmündungsgebietes, around Danzig (Gdańsk)
- 3. Mundart der Frischen Nehrung und der Danziger Nehrung, around the Vistula Lagoon
- 4. Mundart der Elbinger Höhe, around Elbing (Elbląg)
- 5. Mundart des Kürzungsgebietes, around Braunsberg (Braniewo)
- 6. Westkäslausch, around Mehlsack (Pieniężno)
- 7. Ostkäslausch, around Rößel (Reszel)
- 8. Natangisch-Bartisch, around Bartenstein (Bartoszyce)
- 9. Westsamländische Mundart, around Pillau (Baltiysk)
- 10. Ostsamländische Mundart, around Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Labiau (Polessk) and Znamensk (Wehlau)
- 11. Mundart des Ostgebietes, around Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk), Memel (Klaipėda) and Sovetsk (Tilsit)
Low and Old Prussian
After the assimilation of the Old Prussians, many Old Prussian words were preserved within the Low Prussian dialect.
| Low Prussian | Old Prussian | Latvian | Lithuanian | Standard German | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flins | plīnksni | plācenis | blynas | Pfannkuchen | pancake, scone, biscuit |
| Kaddig | kaddegs | kadiķis | kadagys | Wacholder | juniper |
| Kurp | kurpi | kurpe | kurpė | Schuh | shoe |
| Kujel | kūilis | cūka, mežacūka | kuilys, šernas | Wildschwein | boar |
| Margell, Marjell | mērgā | meiča | merga, mergaitė | Magd, Mädchen, Mädel | maiden, girl |
| Paparz | papartis | paparde | papartis | Farn | fern |
| Pawirpen | (from pawīrps) | algādzis, strādnieks | padienis | Losmann | freelancer |
| Zuris | sūris | siers | sūris | Käse | cheese |
Low Prussian and Lithuanian
In addition to the words of Old Prussian origin, another source of Balticisms was Lithuanian. After the migration of Lithuanians in the 15th century, many Lithuanian loanwoards appeared in the Low Prussian dialect.
| Low Prussian | Lithuanian | Standard German | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alus | alus | Bier | beer |
| Burteninker | burtininkas | Wahrsager, Zauberer, Besprecher | magician |
| kalbeken | kalbėti | sprechen | to talk |
| Kausche, Kauszel | kaušas | Schöpfkelle, Trinknapf | dipper |
| Krepsch, Krepsche, Krepsze | krepšys, krepšas | Sack, Handsack, Ranzen | basket |
| Lorbas | liurbis | Tölpel, Tolpatsch, Waschlappen | loser, fumbler |
| Packrant | krantas, pakrantė, pakraštys | Rand, Küste | edge, coast |
| Pirschlis | piršlys | Brautwerber | |
| Wabel, Wabbel | vabalas | Käfer | bug |
References
- Bauer, G.: Baltismen im ostpreußischen Deutsch. In: Annaberger Annalen, Nr.13, 2005, p.5-82.
- Mitzka, Walther. Grundzüge nordostdeutscher Sprachgeschichte. (= DDG 59) Marburg (Elwert) 1959
- Riemann, Erhard. Die preußische Sprachlandschaft. In: Festschrift für Friedrich von Zahn Bd.2
Köln/Wien 1971, 1-34
- Riemann, Erhard (Hrsg.). Preußisches Wörterbuch. Bd. 1, Lf. 1. Neumünster (Wachholtz) 1974
- Ziesemer, Walther. Die ostpreußischen Mundarten. Proben und Darstellungen. Breslau 2005
See also
External links
- Map of German dialects in 1897 (German)
- Brief descriptions of most of the major Low German dialects
- http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~naeser/probe08.htm - Mundartprobe (German)
- http://www.plautdietsch-freunde.de - Plautdietsch-Freunde e.V. (German)
