Lower Sorbian language

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Lower Sorbian (Template:Langx) is a West Slavic minority language spoken in eastern Germany in the historical province of Lower Lusatia, today part of Brandenburg.

Standard Lower Sorbian is one of the two literary Sorbian languages, the other being the more widely spoken Upper Sorbian. The Lower Sorbian literary standard was developed in the 18th century, based on a southern form of the Cottbus dialect.[1] The standard variety of Lower Sorbian has received structural influence from Upper Sorbian.[1]

Lower Sorbian is spoken in and around the city of Cottbus in Brandenburg. Signs in this region are typically bilingual, and Cottbus has a Lower Sorbian Gymnasium where one language of instruction is Lower Sorbian. It is a heavily endangered language.[2] Most native speakers today belong to the older generations.

Phonology

File:Bilinguale Straßenbeschilderung Cottbus.jpg
Bilingual road sign in Cottbus, Germany

The phonology of Lower Sorbian has been greatly influenced by contact with German, especially in Cottbus and larger towns. For example, German-influenced pronunciation tends to have a voiced uvular fricative Script error: No such module "IPA". instead of the alveolar trill Script error: No such module "IPA".. In villages and rural areas, German influence is less marked, and the pronunciation is more "typically Slavic".

Consonants

Consonant phonemesTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
Labial Dental/
Alveolar 		Postalveolar Dorsal Glottal
hard soft hard soft hard soft hard soft
Nasal Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) (Template:IPA link)
Plosive voicelessScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link)
voicedScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link)
Affricate Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Fricative voicelessScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link
voicedScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Trill Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Approximant Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". are bilabial, whereas Script error: No such module "IPA". are labiodental,Template:Sfnp Script error: No such module "IPA". are labiovelar,[3] although the latter may be a labial–palatal approximant.
  • Consonants in parentheses are allophones of another consonant before another consonant or vowel, for example Script error: No such module "IPA". may palatalize to Script error: No such module "IPA". before front vowels or Script error: No such module "IPA"., and Script error: No such module "IPA". may assimilate to Script error: No such module "IPA". before velar consonants.
  • The Proto-Slavic contrasts between Script error: No such module "IPA". and their palatalized counterparts has been lost phonetically in Lower Sorbian, with the marginal phonemes occurring only before certain vowels. The contrasts between Script error: No such module "IPA". and their palatalized counterparts has evolved into a contrast between Script error: No such module "IPA". and Script error: No such module "IPA".. The contrast between Script error: No such module "IPA". and its palatalized counterpart has evolved into a contrast between Script error: No such module "IPA". while the contrasts between Script error: No such module "IPA". and their palatalized counterparts has remained intact and the contrasts between Script error: No such module "IPA". and their palatalized counterparts no longer exists.[4]
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". are alveolar Script error: No such module "IPA"., whereas Script error: No such module "IPA". are dental Script error: No such module "IPA"..Template:Sfnp
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". have been variously transcribed with Template:Angbr IPATemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp and Template:Angbr IPA.Template:Sfnp Their actual phonetic realization is flat postalveolar Script error: No such module "IPA".[5] in all of the Lower Sorbian-speaking area. This is unlike in standard Upper Sorbian, where these are palato-alveolar Script error: No such module "IPA"..Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Final devoicing and assimilation

Lower Sorbian has both final devoicing and regressive voicing assimilation:Template:Sfnp

  • dub Script error: No such module "IPA". "oak" is pronounced Script error: No such module "IPA".
  • susedka Script error: No such module "IPA". "(female) neighbor" is pronounced Script error: No such module "IPA".
  • licba Script error: No such module "IPA". "number" is pronounced Script error: No such module "IPA".

The hard postalveolar fricative Script error: No such module "IPA". is assimilated to Script error: No such module "IPA". before Script error: No such module "IPA".:Template:Sfnp

  • šćit Script error: No such module "IPA". "protection" is pronounced Script error: No such module "IPA".

Vowels

The vowel inventory of Lower Sorbian is exactly the same as that of Upper Sorbian.Template:Sfnp It is also very similar to the vowel inventory of Slovene.

Vowel phonemesTemplate:Sfnp
Front Central Back
Close Template:IPA link (Template:IPA link) Template:IPA link
Close-mid Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Open-mid Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Open Template:IPA link
Diphthong i- -j -w
Close Script error: No such module "IPA". Script error: No such module "IPA". Script error: No such module "IPA".
Mid Script error: No such module "IPA". Script error: No such module "IPA".
Open Script error: No such module "IPA". Script error: No such module "IPA".
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". is retracted to Script error: No such module "IPA". after hard consonants.
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". are diphthongized to Script error: No such module "IPA". in slow speech.Template:Sfnp
  • The Script error: No such module "IPA". and Script error: No such module "IPA". distinctions are weakened or lost in unstressed syllables.Template:Sfnp
  • Script error: No such module "IPA". is phonetically central Template:IPAblink.Template:Sfnp

Stress

Stress in Lower Sorbian normally falls on the first syllable of the word:Template:Sfnp

  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "Lusatia"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "friend"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "Cottbus"

In loanwords, stress may fall on any of the last three syllables:Template:Sfnp

  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "boarding school"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "control"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "September"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "police"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "organization"

Most one-syllable prepositions attract the stress to themselves when they precede a noun or pronoun of one or two syllables:Template:Sfnp

  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "on the courtyard"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "near me"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "into the city" (the Script error: No such module "IPA". of Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". becomes Script error: No such module "IPA". when unstressed)

However, nouns of three or more syllables retain their stress:

  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "in front of the teacher"
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "IPA". "on a journey"

Orthography

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The Sorbian alphabet is based on the Latin script but uses diacritics such as the acute accent and caron.

Lower Sorbian Alphabet
a b c č ć d e ě f g h ch i j k ł l m n ń o p r ŕ s š ś t u w y z ž ź
A B C Č Ć D E Ě F G H Ch I J K Ł L M N Ń O P R Ŕ S Š Ś T U W Y Z Ž Ź
a b ts tʃ tɕ d ɛ iɪ̯ f g h x i j k w l m n nʲ ɔ p r rʲ s ʃ ɕ t u w ɨ z ʒ ʑ

Sample

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Lower Sorbian:

Script error: No such module "Lang". (All people are born free and equal in their dignity and rights. They are given reason and conscience and they shall create their relationships to one another according to the spirit of brotherhood.)[6]

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Bibliography

Template:Refbegin

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  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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Template:Refend

External links

Template:Sister project Template:Sister project Template:Sister project

Dictionaries

Czech-Lower Sorbian and Lower Sorbian-Czech

German–Lower Sorbian

Lower Sorbian–German

Template:Languages of Germany Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Authority control

  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ This transcription follows Template:Harvcoltxt. Other scholars may transcribe these sounds differently.
  6. ↑ Omniglot
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