Sorbian languages

The Sorbian languages are the Upper Sorbian language and Lower Sorbian language, two closely related and partially mutually intelligible languages spoken by the Sorbs, a West Slavic ethno-cultural minority in the Lusatia region of Eastern Germany. They are classified under the West Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages and are therefore closely related to the other two West Slavic subgroups: Lechitic and Czech–Slovak. Historically, the languages have also been known as Wendish or Lusatian. Their collective ISO 639-2 code is.
The two Sorbian languages, each having its own literary standard, are Upper Sorbian, spoken by about 20,000–25,000 people in Saxony, and Lower Sorbian, spoken by about 7,000 people in Brandenburg. The area where the two languages are spoken is known as Lusatia.

History

After the settlement of the formerly Germanic territories by the Slavic ancestors of the Sorbs in the 5th and 6th centuries CE, the Sorbian language had been in use in much of what was the southern half of Eastern Germany for several centuries. The language still had its stronghold in Lusatia, where it enjoys national protection and fostering to the present day. For people living in the medieval Northern Holy Roman Empire and its precursors, especially for the Saxons, the Wends were heterogeneous groups and tribes of Slavic peoples living near Germanic settlement areas, in the area west of the River Oder, an area later entitled Germania Slavica, settled by the Polabian Slav tribes in the north and by others, such as the Sorbs and the Milceni, further south.
The exact origin of the Sorbian language is uncertain. While some linguists consider it to be a transitory language between Lechitic and other non-Lechitic languages of West Slavic languages, others like Heinz Schuster-Šewc consider it a separate dialectical group of Proto-Slavic which is a mixture of Proto-Lechitic and South Slavic languages. According to him, "Sorbian spoken today in Upper and Lower Lusatia is what remains of an earlier extensive Old Sorbian dialect area between the Elbe/Saale rivers in the west and the Bober/Queis rivers in the east".
Furthermore, while some consider it a single language which later diverged to two major dialects, others consider these dialects two separate languages. There exist significant differences in phonology, morphology, and lexicon between them. Several characteristics in Upper Sorbian language indicate a close proximity to Czech language which again are absent in Lower Sorbian language. The Upper Sorbian is considered as representative of the old "Sorbian proper", while the Lower Sorbian would be a transitional hybrid language more akin to the Lechitic languages. According to some researchers the archaeological data cannot confirm the thesis about a single linguistic group yet supports the claim about two separated ethno-cultural groups with different ancestry whose respective territories correspond to Tornow-type ceramics and Leipzig-type ceramics, both derivations of Prague culture.
Outside Lusatia, the Sorbian language has been superseded by German. From the 13th century on, the language suffered official discrimination. Bible translations into Sorbian provided the foundations for its writing system.
Today, around 60,000 Sorbs live in Germany, about 40,000 in Saxony and 20,000 in Brandenburg. Since national affiliation is not officially recorded in Germany, and identification with the Sorbian nationality is voluntary, the exact number is only an estimate. The number of active Sorbian speakers is likely lower. Unlike Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian is considered critically endangered. According to projections, around 7,000 people actively speak Lower Sorbian, which could become extinct within 20 to 30 years, while around 13,000 speak Upper Sorbian. According to language experts, Upper Sorbian is expected to survive into the 21st century.
Currently, Sorbian is taught at 25 primary schools and several secondary schools. At the Lower Sorbian Gymnasium in Cottbus and the Upper Sorbian Gymnasium in Bautzen, it is compulsory. In many primary and Sorbian schools, lessons are held in the Sorbian language. The daily newspaper Serbske Nowiny is published in Upper Sorbian, and the weekly Nowy Casnik in Lower Sorbian. In addition, the religious weekly journals Katolski Posoł and Pomhaj Bóh are published. The cultural magazine Rozhlad appears monthly, along with one children's magazine each in Upper and Lower Sorbian, as well as the educational magazine Serbska šula.
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg also broadcast monthly half-hour TV magazines in Sorbian, as well as several hours of daily radio programming—the Sorbian radio. Wikipedia editions exist in both written forms of the Sorbian language.

Geographic distribution

In Germany, Upper and Lower Sorbian are officially recognized and protected as minority languages. In the officially defined Sorbian settlement area, both languages are recognized as second official languages next to German.
The city of Bautzen in Upper Lusatia is the centre of Upper Sorbian culture. Bilingual signs can be seen around the city, including the name of the city, "Bautzen/Budyšin".
To the north, the city of Cottbus/Chóśebuz is considered the cultural centre of Lower Sorbian; there, too, bilingual signs are found.
Sorbian was also spoken in the small Sorbian settlement of Serbin in Lee County, Texas, however no speakers remain there. Until 1949, newspapers were published in Sorbian. The local dialect was heavily influenced by surrounding speakers of German and English.
The German terms "Wends" and "Wendish" once denoted "Slav" generally; they are today mostly replaced by "Sorbs" and "Sorbian" with reference to Sorbian communities in Germany.

Endangered status

The use of Sorbian languages has been contracting for a number of years. The loss of Sorbian language use in emigrant communities, such as in Serbin, Texas, has not been surprising. But within the Sorbian homelands, there has also been a decrease in Sorbian identity and language use. In 2008, Sorbs protested three kinds of pressures against Sorbs: " the destruction of Sorbian and German-Sorbian villages as a result of lignite mining; the cuts in the network of Sorbian schools in Saxony; the reduction of financial resources for the Sorbian institutions by central government."
A study of Upper Sorbian found a number of trends that go against language vitality. There are policies that have led to "unstable diglossia". There has been a loss of language domains in which speakers have the option to use either language, and there is a disruption of the patterns by which the Sorbian language has traditionally been transmitted to the next generation. Also, there is no strong written tradition and there is not a broadly accepted formal standardized form of the language. There is a perception of the loss of language rights, and there are negative attitudes towards the languages and their speakers.

Linguistic features

Both Upper and Lower Sorbian have the dual for nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs; very few living Indo-European languages retain this as a productive feature of the grammar. For example, the word ruka is used for one hand, ruce for two hands, and ruki for more than two hands. As with most Slavic languages, Sorbian uses no articles.

Grammar

The Sorbian languages are declined in six or seven cases:

In Lower Sorbian, the vocative is preserved only in a few fossilized forms.
Notably, in addition to the singular and plural, the dual number, inherited from Old Slavic, has also been preserved.

Singular: ruka
Dual: ruce
Plural: ruki

In contrast to other West Slavic languages, Upper Sorbian literary language and some dialects have preserved the synthetic past tense to this day. This form was also common in Lower Sorbian literary language, but over the course of the 20th century, it has become increasingly rare and is hardly used today.
Lower Sorbian, however, has retained the supine, e.g.: njok spaś versus źi spat
Less demanding written texts in Sorbian can generally be understood by speakers of West Slavic languages.

Vocabulary comparison

The following is selected vocabulary from the two Sorbian languages compared with other Slavic languages.

English

Lower Sorbian

Upper Sorbian

person

clowek/luź

čłowjek

човек / човјек

човек

človek

člověk

człowiek

clawak

człowiek

czowiek

človek

человек

чоловік

чалавек

evening

wjacor

wječor

вече / вечер

вечер

večer

wieczór

vicer

wieczór

wieczōr

večer

вечер

вечір

вечар

brother

bratš

bratr

брат

brat

bratr

brat

brot

brat

брат

day

źeń

dźeń

дан

ден

dan

den

dzień

dôn

dzéń

dziyń

deň

день

дзень

hand

ruka

рука

рака

ръка

roka

ruka

ręka

rãka

rynka

ruka

рука

snow

sněg

sněh

снег / снијег

снег

сняг

sneg

sníh

śnieg

sneg

sniég

śniyg

sneh

снег

сніг

снег

summer

lěśe

lěćo

лето / љето

лето

лято / лето

poletje

léto

lato

ljutü

lato

leto

лето

літо

лета

sister

sotša

sotra

сестра

sestra

siostra

sestra

sostra

szwestra

sestra

сестра

сястра

fish

ryba

риба

riba

ryba

raibo

rëba

ryba

рыба

риба

рыба

fire

wogeń

woheń

огањ

оган

огън

ogenj

oheň

ogień

widin

òdżin

ôgyń

oheň

огонь

вогонь

агонь

water

wóda

woda

вода

voda

woda

wôda

wòda

woda

voda

вода

вада

wind

wětš

wětr

ветар / вјетар

ветер

вятър / ветер

veter

vítr

wiatr

wjôter

wiater

vietor

ветер

вітер

вецер

winter

zyma

зима

zima

zaima

zëma

zima

зима

зіма

Differences between the two written languages

There are several differences between the two written languages, Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian, particularly in the alphabet.

In the consonants

The two written languages differ significantly in terms of consonants. For example, the letter ć has been alphabetically placed after č in Upper Sorbian since 2005.

Upper Sorbian	Lower Sorbian	Examples	Meaning	Notes
h	g	hora – góra	mountain	g > h also occurs in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and in western Slovene dialects
h	g	hołb – gołub	dove	g > h also occurs in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and in western Slovene dialects
h	g	hordy – gjardy	proud	g > h also occurs in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and in western Slovene dialects
h	g	hród – grod	castle	g > h also occurs in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and in western Slovene dialects
h	g	kniha – knigły	book	g > h also occurs in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and in western Slovene dialects
h	g	hody – gódy	Christmas	g > h also occurs in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and in western Slovene dialects
č	c	čas – cas	time	č > c as in Polish and Lithuanian dialects, as well as in Polabian
č	c	čorny – carny	black	č > c as in Polish and Lithuanian dialects, as well as in Polabian
č	c	čert – cart	devil	č > c as in Polish and Lithuanian dialects, as well as in Polabian
č	c	česć – cesć	honor	č > c as in Polish and Lithuanian dialects, as well as in Polabian
č	c	ličba – licba	number	č > c as in Polish and Lithuanian dialects, as well as in Polabian
č	c	pčołka – pcołka	bee	č > c as in Polish and Lithuanian dialects, as well as in Polabian
š	s	štyri – styri	four	š > s in Lower Sorbian
š	s	štwórć – stwjerś	Quarter	š > s in Lower Sorbian
š	s	štwórtka – stwórtka	four	š > s in Lower Sorbian
š	s	štwórtk – stwórtk	Thursday	š > s in Lower Sorbian
ć	ś	ćeńki – śańki	thin, delicate	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	bić – biś	to hit	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	hić – hyś	to go	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	puć – puś	way	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	ćah – śěg	train	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	ćahnyć – śěgnuś	to pull	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	ćahać – śěgaś	to pull	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	ćim – śim	the	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	ćichi – śichy	quiet, calm	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
ć	ś	but: hósć – gósć	guest	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	dźeń – źeń	day	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	dźesać – źaseś	ten	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	hdźe – źo	where	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	hdźež^ⓘ/? – źož	where	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	dźowka – źowka	daughter	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	dźiwy – źiwy	wild	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	dźěło – źěło	work	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	dźak – źěk	thanks	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
dź	ź	but: hózdź – gózdź	nail	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian, except after sibilants
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	krasny – kšasny	magnificent	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	prawy – pšawy	right, correct	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	próstwa – pšosba	please	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	preč – pšec	away	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	bratr – bratš	brother	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	sotra – sotša	sister	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	wutroba – wutšoba	heart	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	trawa – tšawa	grass	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	jutry – jatšy	Easter	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	wótry – wótšy	sharp	r > š after voiceless consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
ń	j, '	dóńć – dojś	to go	ń in Upper Sorbian, similar to Kashubian, instead of j in Lower Sorbian
ń	j, '	nadeńć – nadejś	to meet, to find	ń in Upper Sorbian, similar to Kashubian, instead of j in Lower Sorbian
ń	j, '	přeńć – pśejś	to go over	ń in Upper Sorbian, similar to Kashubian, instead of j in Lower Sorbian
ń	j, '	přińć – pśiś	to come	ń in Upper Sorbian, similar to Kashubian, instead of j in Lower Sorbian
ń	j, '	rozeńć – rozejś	to separate	ń in Upper Sorbian, similar to Kashubian, instead of j in Lower Sorbian
ń	j, '	woteńć – wótejś	to go away	ń in Upper Sorbian, similar to Kashubian, instead of j in Lower Sorbian
ń	j, '	wuńć – wujś	to go out	ń in Upper Sorbian, similar to Kashubian, instead of j in Lower Sorbian
ń	j, '	njeńdu – njejdu	they do not go	ń in Upper Sorbian, similar to Kashubian, instead of j in Lower Sorbian

Vowels

Both Lower Sorbian and Upper Sorbian have eight vowels.

	Front	Central	Back
	oral	Central	oral
Close	i	y	u
Mid	e	ó	o
Open		a

Different number of syllables

In some words, the number of syllables differs because Upper Sorbian has shortened them here, similarly to Czech.
Differences in declension
Upper Sorbian have seven cases and Lower Sorbian have six cases.
Differences in case government

Upper Sorbian	Lower Sorbian	Meaning
mam dweju bratrow, dwaj konjej	mam dweju bratšowu, kónjowu	I have two brothers, horses
mam třoch bratrow, tři konje	mam tśoch bratšow, tśich kónjow/kóni	I have three brothers, horses
mam bratrow, konje	mam bratšy/bratšow, kónje	I have brothers, horses

Differences in vocabulary

Similarities

Grammatical Similarities

Preservation of the dual
Merger of the locative dual with the dative/instrumental dual
Stress on the first syllable
Broad generalization of the genitive plural ending -ow for nouns

Phonological development of Sorbian

Common developments and developments only in Lower Sorbian

As in Polish and Czech, the two Proto-Slavic reduced vowels ь and ъ in Sorbian developed early into e in stressed position. Full vowels, which stood in syllables before a reduced vowel in unstressed position, were lengthened after the fall of the reduced vowels. Over time, the opposition of short and long vowels was lost, and words were generally stressed on the first syllable; in Proto-Slavic the stress had been free. This development occurred under the influence of German and has a parallel in Czech.
The nasal vowels in Sorbian disappeared according to Jerzy Nalepa in the second half of the 12th century under Czech influence.
The affricate ʒ was, as in most other Slavic languages, simplified to z, cf. mjeza .
As in Polish and originally also in Kashubian, the soft dentals ť and ď in Sorbian changed into the affricates ć and dź. This transition already occurred in the 13th century. In Lower Sorbian, these affricates later also lost their plosive component: ć > ś, dź > ź, except after dental spirants: rjeśaz “chain”, daś “to give”, kosć “bone”, źiwy “wild”, měź “copper”, pozdźej “later”. This change occurred in the mid-16th century in the western dialects and 100 years later in the eastern dialects, whereby the central transitional dialects as well as the dialects of Muskau and Schleife were not affected.
Soft c', z', s' were hardened in Sorbian. When the sound i followed them, it changed to y: ducy “to go”, syła “strength”, zyma “winter”. This change probably took place in the early 15th century. A similar change occurred at the beginning of the 16th century with the soft č', ž', š: cysty “clean”, šyja “neck”, žywy “alive”.
In the mid-16th century, č'' became c: cas “time”, pcoła “bee”. This change did not occur only in the ending -učki and after spirants. In addition, č appears in loanwords and onomatopoeic words.
After p, t, and k, the sounds r and r' in Sorbian became ř and ř'. In Lower Sorbian, ř developed further to š and ř to ć'' : pšawy “right”, tśi “three”.
As in Polish, the voiceless ł in Lower Sorbian became bilabial w, with the first written records dating from the 17th century, and the soft ľ adopted the “European” alveolar articulation except before front vowels.
The sound w in Sorbian disappeared in initial clusters gw- and xw-, at the beginning of a word before a consonant, and after a consonant before u. This process probably began before the 13th century and ended in the 16th century. The soft “w” in the middle of words in intervocalic position and before consonants as well as at the end of words changed to “j”: rukajca “glove”, mužoju / mužeju “man”, kšej “blood”.
The sound e changed into a in the position after soft consonants and before hard consonants: brjaza “birch”, kolaso “wheel”, pjac “oven”, lažaś “lie”, pjas “dog”. This change was completed in the mid-17th century and again did not affect the dialects of Muskau and Schleife.
Phonological 'developments Only in Upper Sorbian'
In some positions, metathesis of or, ol, er, and el occurred in Upper Sorbian: in positions between consonants, these became ro, lo, re, and le, while at the beginning of a word, or, ol became either ra-, la- or ro-, lo- depending on the stress.
As in Polish and Czech, the two Proto-Slavic reduced vowels in stressed position changed to e in Sorbian as well. Unstressed full vowels in the syllable before the reduced vowel were lengthened with the disappearance of the reduced vowels. Long ē and ō in stressed position became mid vowels in Upper Sorbian, which are written in the modern Upper Sorbian literary language as ě and ó. Proto-Slavic ē merged with ě. Later, in the 19th century, ó became o before reflexive pronouns and labials: mloko – w mlóce. Over time, the contrast between long and short vowels was lost.
Syllabic ṛ became or in Upper Sorbian: *kъrmiti > kṛmiti > kormić, and similarly, ṛʼ before voiceless dentals also became or: *pьrstъ > pṛʼstъ > porst, while in other positions it softened to je: *prštěp > pṛʼštěp > pjeršćeń. Syllabic ḷ became oł: *dъlgъ > dḷgъ > dołh, or before voiceless dentals became ḷʼ: *rlnj > pḷʼpъ > połny, and in other positions became el: *vjlk > vḷʼkъ > wjelk.
The nasal vowels in Sorbian disappeared, according to J. Nalepa, in the second half of the 12th century under Czech influence, while in Polish they remain to this day. The vowel a between two soft consonants became e in Upper Sorbian: jeje, žel. Written evidence suggests this occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in some Upper Sorbian dialects, it has not occurred at all.
Just as in Czech, Slovak, and Ukrainian, the plosive g turned into the fricative h in Upper Sorbian. The g sound only appears in relatively recent loanwords or expressive words in Upper Sorbian. J. Nalepa dates the beginning of the shift g > h to the late 13th century, while J. Stone places it in the 12th century, stating that the change spread from south to north. Gunter Schaarschmidt, based on texts and toponyms, assumes that the transition occurred via the intermediate sound γ and that this sound γ already existed in Upper Sorbian in the 12th to 14th centuries. Later, h was mostly lost in Upper Sorbian, except before vowels and after consonants. In most dialects and in Upper Sorbian colloquial language, h also disappeared in intervocalic position. The first written evidence of this dates back to the beginning of the 17th century.
As mentioned, in the 13th century the soft dentals ť and ď in Sorbian became the affricates ć and dź: tělo > ćěło, devęt > dźewjeć. In Upper Sorbian, ć later merged with č, and dź with the allophone č – dž, which led to their phonologization. The Proto-Slavic combinations šč and ždž were first simplified to šť and žď respectively, and then by affrication of ť and ď to šć and ždź. Soft cʼ, zʼ, and sʼ were hardened, and the following i and ě changed to y: Proto-Slavic cělъ > cyły, Proto-Slavic sila > syła, Proto-Slavic zima > zyma. After p, t, k, the sounds r and rʼ in Sorbian changed to ř and řʼ; in Upper Sorbian, this sound later became š. Still later, the combination tš was simplified to cʼ.
The spirant x in Upper Sorbian changed to aspirated k at the beginning of a word before a vowel, and elsewhere to unaspirated k. This change is already evident in texts from the 16th century, though it is not reflected in modern Upper Sorbian orthography. Similar to Polish, hard ł was replaced with w in Upper Sorbian, except in the northeastern dialects, while soft lʼ assumed a “European” articulation, except when followed by a front vowel.
The sound w dropped in Sorbian in the initial clusters gw- and xw-, e.g. Proto-Slavic gvozdj > hózdź and Proto-Slavic hvogsttъ > chróst, specifically at the beginning of a word before a consonant, and after consonants before u. This process likely began before the 13th century and ended in the 16th century. The soft wʼ in the middle of a word in intervocalic position and before a consonant, as well as at the end of a word, became j: prajić , mužej , krej .
Before soft consonants at the end of a word or elsewhere before other consonants, an epenthetic j appeared in Upper Sorbian. When j follows e or ě, the preceding consonant becomes voiceless. The consonant ń is also hardened before other consonants. This change is not reflected in the spelling: dźeń , ležeć , tež , chěža . This epenthetic j likely already appeared in Upper Sorbian at the end of the 16th century.
The replacement of the dental r by the uvular r in several Upper Sorbian dialects is attributed to German influence.