Low Prussian dialect


Low Prussian, sometimes known simply as Prussian, is a moribund dialect of East Low German that developed in East Prussia. Low Prussian was spoken in East and West Prussia and Danzig up to 1945. In Danzig it formed the particular city dialect of Danzig German It developed on a Baltic substrate through the influx of Dutch- and Low German-speaking immigrants. It supplanted Old Prussian, which became extinct in the 17th century.
Plautdietsch, a Low German variety, is included within Low Prussian by some observers. Excluding Plautdietsch, Low Prussian can be considered moribund due to the evacuation and forced expulsion of Germans from East Prussia after World War II. Plautdietsch, however, has several thousand speakers throughout the world, most notably in South America, Canada and Germany.
Simon Dach's poem Anke van Tharaw, the best known East Prussian poem, was written in Low Prussian.

Vocabulary

According to , words very characteristic of Low Prussian are doa, joa, goah and noa, which feature the diphthong "oa" instead of the usual "o" or "a". The dialect is also marked by a substitution of "k" for "ch", such as in mannke, and a loan of High German-like words, such as zwei. Words are often shortened, in a manner similar to that of the neighboring East Pomeranian dialect, giving beet and baakove.
Some observers argue that it resembles Dutch and Flemish because of these features. Low Prussian also has a number of words in common with Plautdietsch, such as Klemp, Klopps, and Tsoagel.
Some other words are:
After the assimilation of the Old Prussians, many Old Prussian words were preserved within the Low Prussian dialect.
Low PrussianOld PrussianLatvianLithuanianStandard GermanEnglish
FlinsplīnksniplācenisblynasPfannkuchen,,
KaddigkaddegskadiķiskadagysWacholder
KurpkurpikurpekurpėSchuh
Kujelkūiliscūka, mežacūka, kuiliskuilys, šernasWildschwein
Margell, Marjellmērgāmeitene, meičamerga, mergelė, mergaitėMagd, Mädchen, Mädel,
PaparzpapartispapardepapartisFarn
Pawirpenalgādzis, strādniekspadienisLosmann
ZurissūrissierssūrisKäse

Low Prussian and Lithuanian

In addition to the words of Old Prussian origin, another source of Balticisms was Lithuanian. After the migration of Lithuanians in the 15th century, many Lithuanian loanwords appeared in the Low Prussian dialect.
Low PrussianLithuanianStandard GermanEnglish
AlusalusBier,
BurteninkerburtininkasWahrsager, Zauberer, Besprecher,,
kalbekenkalbėtisprechen,
Kausche, KauszelkaušasSchöpfkelle, Trinknapf
Krepsch, Krepsche, Krepszekrepšys, krepšasSack, Handsack, Ranzen
LorbasliurbisTölpel, Tolpatsch, Waschlappen,
Packrantkrantas, pakrantė, pakraštysRand, Küste,
PirschlispiršlysBrautwerber
Wabel, WabbelvabalasKäfer