Also Known As: Kaszubski,Cashubian,Cassubian,Kashubian
Description:
Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian: kaszëbsczi jãzëk, pòmòrsczi jãzëk, kaszëbskò-słowińskô mòwa; Polish: język kaszubski) is one of the Lechitic languages, a subgroup of the Slavic languages.
Kashubian is assumed to have evolved from the language spoken by some tribes of Pomeranians called Kashubians, in the region of Pomerania, on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula and Oder rivers.
It is closely related to Slovincian, and both of them are dialects of Pomeranian. Until recently many linguists considered it a dialect of Polish.
Similarly to Polish, Kashubian includes numerous loanwords from Low German, such as kùńszt (art), and some from German. Other sources of loanwords include the Baltic languages, Russian and Polish.
The first printed documents in Kashubian date from the end of the 16th century. The modern orthography was first proposed in 1879.
In the 2002 census, 53,000 people in Poland declared that they mainly use Kashubian at home. All Kashubian speakers are also fluent in Polish. A number of schools in Poland teach in Kashubian as a lecture language. It is used as an official alternative language for local administration purposes in Sierakowice,..... full article at Wikipedia |