LL-L "Slavonic connections" 2004.09.28 (12) [E]

Tue Sep 28 23:59:50 UTC 2004

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From: Ingmar Roerdinkholder <ingmar.roerdinkholder at worldonline.nl>
Subject: LL-L "Introduction" 2004.09.28 (04) [E]

Speaking about the Lünenburgerheide (see below): I heard or read a long time
ago that untill quite recently, that is only a few hundred years ago,
a Slavonic language was spoken there as a Sprachinsel in the vast Lower
Saxon territory. Does someone know more about that (for instance Ron)?
  Ingmar

> > So you seem to be a real _Heidjer_ (name of a native of the Lunenburg
> Heath).  Right?
>
> I have relatives in Buchholz/Boukholt and Tostedt/Töst, too.  Actually, I
> lived in the former for 2-3 years before emigrating to Australia.
>
> By the way, folks, if any of you is planning on visiting Northern Germany,
I
> recommend a tour of the Lunenburg Heath (German _Lüneburger Heide_, LS
> _Lüünborger Hei(d')_, http://www.lueneburger-heide.de/, with English,
French
> and Spanish options).  The northern part (G. Nordheide_, LS
_Noordhei(d')_),
> which is the one Mike and I have been talking about here, is easily
> accessible from Hamburg/Hamborg.  There are busses and trains, but you get
> to see more of the less connected, often better preserved villages if you
> drive.   The Southern Heath (G. _Südheide_, LS _Süüdhei(d')_, ), which
also
> has a nice natural reserve
>
(http://www.reiseland-niedersachsen.de/lust-auf-natur/schutzgebiete/naturpar
> ks/suedheide/), can be toured from Celle.
>
> Regards,
> Reinhard/Ron

----------

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Slavonic connections

Hoi, Ingmar!

> Speaking about the Lünenburgerheide (see below): I heard or read a long
time
> ago that untill quite recently, that is only a few hundred years ago,
> a Slavonic language was spoken there as a Sprachinsel in the vast Lower
> Saxon territory. Does someone know more about that (for instance Ron)?

This is quite correct, Ingmar.  In the vicinity of Lüneburg (Hanover
Wendland, _Hannoversch Wendland_, Lüchow-Dannenberg) there used to be a West
Slavonic language enclave, specifically a Draveno-Polabian
(_draväno-polabisch_) one, of the Dravene tribe (_Dravä(h)nen_) of the area
called _Dravähn_.  They called Lunenburg (LS Lüünborg, G Lüneburg) by the
name Glain (which I reconstruct as *_Glin_ /g-liin/ *'place by/toward river
Lin'? > LS _Lüyne_ > _Lüün_, German _Lüne_).

The last native speaker of this variety died at the very end of the 18th
century.  Fortunately, some people compiled and published linguistic and
cultural notes, which are invaluable in Slavic studies, the only body of
data for Polabian varieties (German _Polabisch_, Polish _języki połabskie_ <
*po Łab(u)... 'upon/by the Elbe ...').  Interestingly, the language had
umlauts (!).  The speakers seem to have known Lowlands Saxon (Low German) as
well, some probably also German.  Local Lowlands Saxon dialects borrowed
from Polabian, and Polabian borrowed from them.  Some loans spread, such as
(*_dörnitse_ > _dörnts_ ~ _döönts_ ~ _döönss_ 'front room', 'parlor' (<
*_d(w)örnitse_ < _dvornica_ "room by the (front) door").  (I am collecting
Slavonic loans in Lowlands Saxon, by the way.)  Pomerania used to be
Slavonic-speaking, and Kashubian (Cassubian) of Northern Poland is by many
considered the remaining eastern dialect area of Pomerania (< *po moře 'by
the sea' = Baltic Sea ? cf. Polish _Pomorze_ 'Pomerania').

There seems to have been a fair bit of negative feeling against the local
Dravenes, probably prejudices held by dour Protestants who thought that
those people were much too fond of carousing and other "immoral conduct," a
line of prejudice going back at least to the beginning of Germanic
colonization, characterizing Slavs as immoral, way too easygoing.  (Why?!
They dared to have fun once in a while!)

Of course, this was not the only Slavonic-Saxon contact area but the only
one we have linguistic details about.  Nowadays, the only autochtonous
Slavonic-speaking enclave is Lusatia (German _die Lausitz_, Sorbian/Lusatian
_Łužica_, a tiny fraction of the former Lusatia, near Germany's borders with
Poland and the Czech Republic.

Slavonic language varieties used to be spoken as far west as Holstein (even
parts of Denmark), the eastern suburbs of Hamburg, past Hanover and down
through Eastern Franconia and Bavaria proper all the way to just east of
Venice.  Colonizers (beginning in the 12th cenury) did not only include
Germans and Saxons but also various people from what are now the Netherlands
and Belgium (if not also Northern France).  There were even sprinklings of
Scots, if you believe it or not!  A place near (in?) Gdańsk (Danzig): Nowe
Szkoty (Neu Schottland in German).

Take a look at the Lord's Prayer in various Slavonic languages:
http://www.sweb.cz/ls78/otcenas.htm
Draveno-Polabian is shown under "Polabian".

Here is an older written version:

   Nôße Wader,
   ta toy giß wa Nebisgáy,
   Sjungta woarda tügí Geima,
   tia Rîk komma,
   tia Willia schinyôt,
   kok wa Nebisgáy,
   tôk kak no Sime,
   Nôßi wißedanneisna Stgeiba doy nâm dâns,
   un wittedoy nâm nôße Ggrêch,
   kak moy wittedoyime nôßem Grêsmarim,
   Ni bringoy nôs ka Warsikónye,
   tay lösoáy nôs wit wißókak Chaudak.
   Amen.

Note the umlauts, and note the (older) Lowlands Saxon loans:

(vadder >) fader / Wader 'father'
(rîk, ryk >) rik / Rîk 'realm'
(kome >) komă / komma '(may) come'
(wille >) vil'ă 'will'
(bringe >) brind'oj / bringoj 'bring!'
(in versöyking >) kå farsükońě 'into temptation'
(löse >) lösoáy 'deliver!', 'redeem!'

The following German language page (about the troubadour Wizlaw III von
Rügen) contains some Polabian samples:
http://www.wizlaw.de/html/polabisch.html.

Note the many Middle Saxon loans, e.g., bauk (beech)*, badal (executioner),
bedą (to beg), bek (brook), betje (a bit), beze (angry), bode (messenger),
bôla (bull), bör (farmer), baurai (farmers)*, dik (dike), doro (gate), grobo
(ditch), growene (gray), güldan (guilder), ingelse (English!), ja (yes),
keko (kitchen), knecht (farmhand), krąs (wreath), krom (wares, stuff),
ljaibu (I love)*, lodot (to load), omar (hammer), opam (I hope), opo (ape,
monkey), paun (pound)*, rikote (rich), smutje (pretty), snider (tailor),
snitjer (carpenter), spelman (musician), stalja (stall), staul (chair)*,
stroto (street), swaina (swine, pig)*, tjarl (guy, man), torn (tower),
wainja môn (October)**, wedrü (weather), worstjü (sausage)

* ou > au and ei > ai seem to be a Polabian-internal shifts, so assumedly
bouri > baurai 'farmers'
** LS Wynmaand ("wine month")

Sjostje "German" < Sakse?
zürmôn 'March' < ?-maand?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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