South Jutlandic

South Jutlandic or South Jutish (South Jutish: ; da, Sønderjysk; german: Südjütisch or Plattdänisch) is a dialect of the Danish language. South Jutlandic is spoken in Southern Jutland (''Sønderjylland''; also called Schleswig or Slesvig) on both sides of the border between Denmark and Germany.

Variants of the dialect include Western and Eastern South Jutlandic (including Alsisk). The former variant in Angeln (Danish: ''Angel'') and Schwansen (''Svansø'') was known as Angel Danish.

The other dialects classified as belonging to the Jutlandic or Jutish (''Jysk'') group of dialects are West, East, and North Jutlandic.

Usage

Northern Slesvig

Many older people will still speak a distinct South Jutlandic dialect, both in towns and rural areas. Younger people and children are more likely to use a dialect-tinted version of Standard Danish, but everything ranging from relatively pure dialect to Standard Danish can be found. Many are able to switch between both varieties.

A renewed popular interest in preserving the South Jutlandic dialect has been seen in recent years. This revival has been fuelled by the works of several local artists and authors as well as Æ Synnejysk Forening, a society working for the promotion of the dialect.

Several schools now offer the dialect as an optional subject, but ''Rigsdansk'', the official Danish, remains a compulsory subject.

Members of the South Jutlandic minority on the German side of the border tend to emphasize their South Jutlandic identity. Many members of this minority are in one way or another connected with agriculture, the dialect being more prevalent in rural communities. The German minority usually speak South Jutlandic with each other and with Danish-minded people alike, but prefer German for writing and official occasions such as meetings. Standard Danish is mastered as well and is taught in schools, along with Standard German.

Southern Slesvig

South Jutlandic is still spoken to some degree in villages up to about 15 km south of the Danish-German border, but hardly in the major city of Flensburg, where the Danish speakers speak Standard Danish. Most people will be able to speak or understand Low German and sometimes North Frisian. All will know High German, often being the only language of young people and children. Members of the Danish minority are taught Standard Danish as well in schools, but often choose to communicate in German in everyday life.

Language, especially spoken language, is not necessarily linked with national identification. Family ties and informal local contact across the border used to be very common, with South Jutlandic being the first language of both Danish-minded and German-minded people. Sometimes, the purest South Jutlandic may be found among older people who identify as German. Since they have not attended Danish schools, their speech is not influenced by Standard Danish. With urbanisation in the recent decades, the crisscross of dialects and national sentiment has faded, with High German becoming the first choice everywhere, but some South Jutlandic words are often retained in the vocabulary.

History

Historically, the Danish language had a much larger extension in South Slesvig than today. South Jutlandic was spoken down to the Danevirke wall south of Schleswig town, close to the Viking town of Hedeby, and to Eckernförde on the east coast. South of this was a sparsely inhabited area which after the Viking Age became populated with Saxon settlers whose language is now better known as Low German. The western islands and the west coast were settled by Frisians. A little further inland Frisians and Danes were mixed.

With the reformation in the 16th century the national language was installed in church instead of Latin. In Slesvig this meant not the language of the peasantry, but that of the dukes and gentry, being first Low German and later High German. German was the language of administration in all of Slesvig. In Northern Slesvig, however, priests were educated at the chapter of Haderslev in 1920.

During the 17th and the 18th centuries, the population in the area south of the Schlei (Sli) inlet switched to Low German, few details being known about their former South Jutlandic dialect. The people of Angeln (Danish ''Angel''), the countryside between Flensburg and the Schlei where the Angles who settled England also originally came from, kept to their South Jutlandic dialect for a longer time, but often had some knowledge of Low German as well.

The Angel dialect became extinct around 1900. A few records of it exist and show that it was similar to the South Jutlandic of the Sønderborg

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases