Silesian language

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Silesian Ślůnsko godka
Spoken in:	Silesian Voivodeship and Opole Voivodeship in Poland, Moravian-Silesian Region and Olomouc Region (only Jeseník District) in Czech Republic, Germany and USA
Region:	Upper Silesia / Silesia
Total speakers:	> 1 250 000^{[citation needed]}
Language family:	Indo-European Slavic West Slavic Silesian
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	`–`
ISO 639-3:	`szl`
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

This article is about the West Slavic language. For the Germanic language, see Lower Silesian language. For other uses see Silesian (disambiguation).

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Silesian or Upper Silesian (Silesian: Ślůnsko godka, Polish: Język śląski) is an ethnic language of Silesia. The ISO 639-3 language code is szl.

1 Distribution
2 Example
3 Dialect vs. language
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Distribution

Silesian speakers currently live in the region of Upper Silesia, which is split between southwestern Poland and the northeastern Czech Republic. At present Silesian is commonly spoken in the area between historical border of Silesia on the east, and a line from Syców to Prudnik on the west, as well as in the Rawicz area (Khazaks). Until 1945 Silesian was also spoken in enclaves in Lower Silesia, as Lower Silesian language was spoken by the ethnic German majority populace of that region at the time.

According to the last official census in Poland (2002), 60,000 people declared Silesian as their first language (native language), and over 173,000 people declared Silesian nationality. However, the total number of Silesian speakers exceeds two million^{[citation needed]}. There are also about 100,000 Silesian (Cieszyn Silesian) speakers living in the Czech Republic; Cieszyn Silesian is also commonly spoken in the Polish part of Cieszyn Silesia. Speakers of Cieszyn Silesian dialect usually identify themselves on the nationality level as Poles^[1]. According to the last official census in Czech Republic, 10,878 people in declared Silesian nationality.

[edit] Example

"Our Father" in Silesian, Polish and Czech.

Silesian

Fadře noš, keryś je w ńybjy,

bydź pośwjyncůne mjano Twojy.

Přidź krůlestwo Twojy.

Bydź wola Twojo, kej we ńybje,

tak tyž na źymjy.

Chlyb noš každodźynny dej nům dźiśej.

A uodpuść nům noše winy,

kej a my uodpuščůmy nošym winńikům.

A ńy wůdź nos na pokušyńi,

nale zbow nos uod zuygo. Amyn.

Polish

Ojcze nasz, któryś jest w niebie,

święć się imię Twoje,

przyjdź królestwo Twoje,

bądź wola Twoja jako w niebie tak i na ziemi.

Chleba naszego powszedniego daj nam dzisiaj.

I odpuść nam nasze winy,

jak i my odpuszczamy naszym winowajcom.

I nie wódź nas na pokuszenie,

ale zbaw nas ode złego. Amen.

Czech

Otče náš, jenž jsi na nebesích,

posvěť se jméno Tvé

Přijď království Tvé.

Buď vůle Tvá, jako v nebi, tak i na zemi.

Chléb náš vezdejší dej nám dnes

A odpusť nám naše viny,

jako i my odpouštíme naším viníkům

a neuveď nás v pokušení,

ale zbav nás od zlého. Amen.

[edit] Dialect vs. language

Opinions are divided between Polish linguists as to whether Silesian is a distinct language or another dialect of Polish. The issue can be contentious since some Silesians consider themselves to be a distinct ethnic minority or nationality within Poland.

When classified as a dialect, it is the most prominent regional dialect of the Polish language. When classified as a language, it is considered closely related to Polish and Czech with some influence from German.