Wymysorys language

Wymysojer
Wymysöryś
Native to	Poland
Region	Wilamowice
Native speakers	70
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic High German Wymysojer
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	-
Regulated by	no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-2	?
ISO 639-3	?

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. At present, there are about 100 native users of Wymysojer, the majority of them elderly people; Wymysojer is therefore an endangered language.

History

In origin, Wymysojer appears to derive from 12th century Central German, with a strong influence from Low German, Dutch, Frisian, Polish and Old English. The inhabitants of Wilamowice are thought to be descendants of Dutch, German and Scottish settlers who arrived in Poland in the 13th century. However, the inhabitants of Wilamowice always 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.

Wymysojer was the language in which the poetry of Florian Biesik was written, during the 19th century.

Short dictionary

A short dictionary of Wymysojer with German, Dutch and English translations. Note that ł is read in Wymysojer like English w and w like v:

Wymysojer	German	Dutch	English
ałan	allein	alleen	alone
ana, an	und	en	and
bryk	Brücke	brug	bridge
duł	dumm	dom	dull
fuylgia	hören	horen	to hear (but cf. Dutch volgen and German folgen "to follow", which also mean "to understand, hear", also cf. eng "follow?" "understand")
ganc	ganz	gans	entirely
gyrycht	Gericht	gerecht	court (cf. German Recht "{legal} right" and English right)
dyr hymół	Himmel	hemel	heaven
łove	Liebe	liefde	love
a mikieła	ein bisschen	een beetje	a bit (cf. Old English "micel")
muter	Mutter	moeder	mother
myttółt	Mitte	middel	middle
nimanda	niemand	niemand	no one
ny	nein	nee	no
ödum	Atem	adem	breath (cf. Old English "ǽðm" and archaic German Odem)
olifant	Elefant	olifant	elephant
öwyt	Abend	avond	evening
śraeiwa	schreiben	schrijven	to write (cf. English "scribe")
syster	Schwester	zuster	sister
śtaen	Stein	steen	stone
trynkia	trinken	drinken	to drink
uöbroz	Bild	beeld	picture (cf. Polish obraz and cognates in other Slavonic languages)
wełt	Welt	wereld	world
wynter	Winter	winter	winter
zyłwer	Silber	zilver	silver
zyjwa	sieben	zeven	seven

Example lullaby

A lullaby in Wymysojer with English translation:

Śtöf duy buwła fest!

Skumma frmdy gest,

Skumma muma ana fettyn,

Z' brennia nysła ana epułn,

Śtöf duy Jasiu fest!

Sleep, my boy, soundly!

Foreign guests are coming,

Aunts and uncles are coming,

Bringing nuts and apples,

Sleep Johnny sound

Further reading

• Ludwik Młynek, "Narzecze wilamowickie", Tarnów. 1907: J.Pisz.
• Józef Latosiński, "Monografia miasteczka Wilamowic", Kraków, 1909.
• Hermann Mojmir, "Wörterbuch der deutschen Mundart von Wilamowice" (Słownik niemieckiej gwary Wilamowic), Kraków, 1930-1936: Polska Akademia Umiejętności.
• Adam Kleczkowski, "Dialekt Wilamowic w zachodniej Galicji. Fonetyka i fleksja". Kraków, 1920: Polska Akademia Umiejętności.
• Adam Kleczkowski, "Dialekt Wilamowic w zachodniej Galicji. Składnia", Poznań, 1921: Uniwersytet Poznański.
• Maria Katarzyna Lasatowicz, "Die deutsche Mundart von Wilamowice zwischen 1920 und 1987". Opole, 1992: Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna.
• Tomasz Wicherkiewicz, The Making of a Language: The Case of the Idiom of Wilamowice, Mouton de Gruyter, 2003, ISBN 3-11-017099-X