Samlandic was a

Low Prussian dialect Low Prussian (), sometimes known simply as Prussian (''Preußisch''), 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 bas ...

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

. It was divided into Ostsamländisch and Westsamländisch. Both were from

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

.Thorwald Poschenrieder, ''Deutsch- und baltischsprachige Preußen des Memellandes'', in: ''Collegium Europaeum Jenense an der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena: Deutsch-litauische Kulturbeziehungen: Kolloquium zu Ehren von August Schleicher an der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena vom 19. bis 20. Mai 1994. Herausgegeben von Gertrud Bense, Maria Kozianka, Gottfried Meinhold. Ausgabe 1995'', Jena, 1995, p. 109–150, here esp. p. 130 (map ''Die Sprachen und deutschen Mundarten Ostpreußens'')

Geography

Westsamländisch was spoken West of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. Westsamländisch had a border with Ostsamländisch. Ostsamländisch was spoken around

, Labiau and

Wehlau Znamensk (; ; ; ) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Gvardeysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pregolya River at its confluence with the Lava River east of Kaliningrad. Population figures: Histo ...

. Ostsamländisch had a border with

Natangian Natangian () was a Low Prussian dialect, Low Prussian dialect, spoken in Natangen, East Prussia. Geography It was spoken in Natangen around Zinten, Bartoszyce, Bartenstein, Pravdinsk, Friedland, Srokowo, Drengfurt and Kętrzyn, Rastenburg. Nat ...

, Westsamländisch and

Eastern Low Prussian Eastern Low Prussian (, lit. ''dialect of the Eastern territory'') is a subdialect of Low Prussian that was spoken around Angerburg (now Węgorzewo, Poland), Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk, Russia), Memelland (Klaipėda County, Lithuania), and Tilsit ...

. Samlandic was spoken around Neukuhren and Heydekrug.Walther Ziesemer: ''Die ostpreußischen Mundarten''. Ferdinand Hirt, 1924, p. 127

Phonology

Westsamländisch has, in contrast to the remainder of Samlandic, for (I) ''go'', (I) ''stand'' etc. ''jon'', ''schton'' etc. ''O'' before R is spoken with a long vowel. It has ''ick sint'' meaning ''I am'' and ''tije'' for ''ten''. Westsamländisch has long u as long ü. ''A'' is palatal. It has (with the ''ach''-Laut) for High German ''durch'', English ''through''.

History

During the latter age of the

Teutonic order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

, Latvian-Curonian fishermen came to nowadays Pionerski,

Primorye Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The city of Vladivostok on the southern coast of the krai is its administrative center, an ...

, and Filino.Walther Ziesemer: ''Die ostpreußischen Mundarten''. Ferdinand Hirt, 1924, p. 128

Culture

Anke van Tharaw is a poem written in Samlandic.

Bibliography

* Wanda Nimtz-Wendlandt: ''Die Nehringer'', Elwert, 1986. .

References

East Prussia Low Prussian dialect Languages of Russia {{germanic-lang-stub