Wymysojer
Wymysojer (
Wilamowicean) is a
West Germanic language spoken in the small town of
Wilamowice (Wymysau in Wymysojer), on the border between
Silesia and
Little Poland. In origin, Wymysojer derives probably from 12th century
High German strongly influenced by
Low Saxon,
Dutch,
Frisian,
Polish and
Scots.
The inhabitants of Wilamowice are thought to be descendants of
Dutch,
German and
Scottish settlers who arrived in Poland in the
13th century. The inhabitants of Wilamowice always strongly refused any connections with Germany and proclaimed their Dutch origins. Wymysojer was the vernacular language of Wilamowice until
1945–
1949. After
World War II, local
communist authorities forbade the use of the language. Despite the fact that the ban was lifted after
1956, Wymysojer has been gradually replaced by Polish, especially amongst the younger generations. At present, there are about 100 native users of Wymysojer, the majority of them elderly people; Wymysojer is therefore an
endangered language.
Wymysojer was the language in which the
poetry of
Florian Biesik was written, during the
19th century.
Short dictionary
\nA short dictionary of Wymysojer with German, Dutch and English translations. Note that ł is read in Wymysojer like English w and w like v:
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"\n|- \n! style="background:#efefef;" | Wymysojer\n! style="background:#efefef;" | German\n! style="background:#efefef;" | Dutch\n! style="background:#efefef;" | English\n|- \n| ałan || allein || alleen || alone \n|- \n| ana, an || und || en||and\n|- \n| bryk || Brücke || brug || bridge\n|- \n| duł || dumm || dom || dull\n|- \n| fuylgia || hören || horen || to hear (but cf. Dutch volgen "to follow", which also means "to understand, hear")\n|- \n| ganc || ganz || gans || entirely\n|- \n| gyrycht || gericht || gerechtshof || court\n|- \n| dyr hymół || Himmel || hemel || heaven\n|- \n| a mikieła || bisschen || een beetje || a bit (cf. Old English "mickle")\n|- \n| muter || mutter || moeder || mother\n|- \n| myttółt || Mittel || middel || middle\n|- \n| nimanda || niemand || niemand || no-one\n|- \n| ny || nein || nee || no\n|- \n| ödum || atem || adem || breath (cf. Anglo-Saxon "aedhum")\n|- \n| olifant || Elefant || olifant || elephant\n|- \n| öwyt || abend || avond || evening\n|- \n| śraeiwa || schreiben || schrijven || to write\n|- \n| syster || schwester || zuster || sister\n|- \n| śtaen || stein || steen || stone\n|- \n| tove || Liebe || liefde || love\n|- \n| trynkia || trinken || drinken || to drink\n|- \n| uöbroz || Bild || beeld || picture\n|- \n| wełt || welt || wereld || world\n|- \n| wynter || winter || winter || winter\n|- \n| zyłwer || Silber || zilver || silver\n|- \n| zyjwa || sieben || zewen || seven\n|}
Example lullaby
\nA lullaby in Wymysojer with English translation:
- Śtöf duy buwła fest!\n:Skumma frmdy gest,\n:Skumma muma ana fettyn,\n:Z’ brennia nysła ana epułn,\n:Stöf duy Jasiu fest!
- Sleep, my boy, soundly! \n:Foreign guests are coming, \n:Aunts and uncles are coming, \n:Bringing nuts and apples, \n:Sleep Johnny sound
Category:High German languages
