Cieszyn Silesian dialect

Rest in peace grave inscription in Cieszyn Silesian dialect.

Cieszyn Silesian dialect (Polish: gwara cieszyńska or dialekt cieszyński; Czech: těšínské nářečí, locals using this dialect say they speak "po naszymu") is one of the Silesian dialects. It has its roots mainly in Polish and has also strong Czech and German influences and even Vlachs' and Slovak. It is spoken in Cieszyn Silesia, a region on both sides of the Polish-Czech border. It lacks some official codification and remains a spoken language. The dialect is better preserved today than dialects of many other West Slavic regions.^[1]

Polish and Czech linguists differ in their views on the classification of the dialect. Czechs tend to sort it along with the Moravian and Lachian dialects.^[2] Polish tend to classify it under the Silesian dialects of Polish language.^[3] Although the dialect has its roots mainly in Polish (phonology and morphology are consistently shared with Polish)^[4], the diachronic development of the dialect is that of a transitional nature.^[1]

On the Czech side of the border (in Zaolzie) it is spoken mainly by the Polish minority.^[5] It is used in Zaolzie to reinforce a feeling of regional solidarity. Before World War II dialect was strongly influenced mainly by the German language. In 1920 Cieszyn Silesia was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia. After that division dialect in the Czech part of the region was and still is strongly influenced mainly by the Czech language (mainly lexicon and syntax).^[4] On the other hand in the Polish part it was and still is influenced by the Polish language.^[6]

Writers and poets who wrote in Cieszyn Silesian dialect include Adolf Fierla, Paweł Kubisz, Władysław Młynek, Józef Ondrusz, Karol Piegza and Adam Wawrosz.

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} Hannan 1996, 191.
2. ^ Hannan 1996, 85-86.
3. ^ Hannan 1996, 88.
4. ^ ^{a b} Hannan 1996, 129.
5. ^ Hannan 1996, 162.
6. ^ Hannan 1996, 159-161.

References

• Dejna, Karol (1993). Dialekty Polskie. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. ISBN 83-04-04129-4. 

• Hannan, Kevin (1996). Borders of Language and Identity in Teschen Silesia. New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 0-8204-3365-9. 

• Zahradnik, Stanisław; and Marek Ryczkowski (1992). Korzenie Zaolzia. Warszawa - Praga - Trzyniec: PAI-press. OCLC 177389723. 

Further reading

• Basara, Jan (1975). Słownictwo polskich gwar Śląska na terenie Czechosłowacji. Wrocław: Polska Akademia Nauk and Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. OCLC 2531024. 

External links

• Cieszyn Silesian-Czech Dictionary
• The Lord's Prayer in Cieszyn Silesian