Talk:Silesian language

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Phonology

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There is no section of this article on phonology which is very important in terms of language 2A00:23C7:588B:CA01:5177:ECE8:8B83:1098 (talk) 00:39, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]



Materials created by professional academic scholars from the University of Silesia in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the National Centre for Culture, the City of Katowice, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) could be helpful for creating such a section:
https://slaskiportal.us.edu.pl/podreczniki-materialy/podreczniki/



References

Jerczyński, D., Roczniok, A., & Tambor, J. (2009). Gōrnoślōnski ślabikŏrz [Upper Silesian Primer] (1st ed.). Katowice: Stowarzyszenie Pro Loquela Silesiana. — An introductory textbook designed to teach the Silesian language to children.

Tambor, J., & Maciołek, M. (2010). Silesian Phonemes. Katowice: University of Silesia Press. — A detailed phonological study of the Silesian language by two linguists from the University of Silesia. The work analyses the distinct sound system of Silesian in comparison with standard Polish and Czech, supporting its classification as an autonomous West Slavic language.

Tambor, J. (Ed.). (2012). Known and Unknown in Silesia. Katowice: University of Silesia Press. — An edited academic volume by Professor Jolanta Tambor, presenting linguistic, cultural, and sociological studies on Silesia. Several chapters analyse the Silesian language’s phonology, lexicon, and sociolinguistic identity, reinforcing its status as a distinct regional language rather than a dialect of Polish.

Tambor, A. (2024). Ślōnske ścieżki filmowe [Silesian Film Paths]. Katowice: GNOME — Scientific and Artistic Publishing. — A trilingual (Polish–Silesian–Ukrainian) educational work edited by Agnieszka Tambor, with a linguistic introduction by Jolanta Tambor. The section “Krótko o języku / Krōtko ô jynzyku” outlines key phonological traits of Silesian — such as the mid vowel “o pochylone”, archaic -ch endings, and Germanic–Czech lexical influence — highlighting its structural independence from Polish.

Not Czechoslovak variety

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The source cited for putting Silesian within the Czech-Slovak group was Glottolog, which is a tertiary source like Wikipedia.

The sources cited by Glottolog itself do not seem to support the claim that it belongs to the Czech-Slovak bloc of West Slavic, but rather class it as a Lechitic variety, either as its own language (at the same rank as Polish and Kashubian) or subsumed within Polish.

I have removed the statement in the leading section of the article about Silesian being a Czech-Slovak variety, as it does not seem to be supported by valid sources. saɪm duʃan Talk|Contribs 09:13, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Saimdusan I will note that probably the thing referenced is a lect in the Czech republic also sometimes called Silesian - however the vast majority of the time people are referring to the variety spoken in Poland, which has very clear phonetic reflexes from this specific branch, in particular most people claim it comes from Old Polish or even Middle Polish (though more often Old Polish), and this is how it is handled on Wiktionary. Vininn126 (talk) 14:29, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
You are completely ignoring historic aspects of case - Silesia was de iure not a part of Poland since XIV century, de facto since XIII century. It was huge historic land between Czechia, Poland and Holy Roman Empire. Due to process of Ostsiedlung, "Ślōnsko godka" has become much more different than polish language. And even before XIII century silesian culture and language was different than polish due to constant connection to czech and german cultural influences. I recommend literature:
"Czy Ślązacy są narodem?" written by Arkadiusz Faruga, to better understand dynamic aspects of Silesian identity and language case Kamil993eu (talk) 22:22, 9 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Request move to Silesian dialect

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Silesian is a dialect of Polish, not a language. Aside from loanwords from German, it is practically a relic of Old Polish. FeldmarschallGneisenau (talk) 03:30, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The Silesian language (Ślōnsko godka) has its own ISO 639-3 code: "szl" :
https://iso639-3.sil.org/code/szl
It's is a regional language, used by almost a half milion people. This topic is highly politicazed in Poland by polish right and far-right "scientist". Silesian Language is not recognised in Poland due to veto of former nationalistic president. Same happen to right to national identity. But Poland just lost a case in European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, were those all aspects of this case were debated. I don't have an expierience in editing wikipedia, I'm just a member of small national minority opressed by Poland and polish nationalists and try to provide factual information to international community. I would like to provide more information. Its crucial to proper undestand this case and take a part in discussion:
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-231550%22]} Kamil993eu (talk) 22:52, 9 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Significance for Silesian Language and Culture
The judgment de facto confirms the right to publicly use the term “Silesian nationality” in names, documents, and public discourse.
The Court held that preserving regional culture, language, and identity is consistent with the spirit of democracy and cannot be regarded as a threat to the state.
Thus, it represents a direct recognition of the right of Silesians to linguistic and cultural self-identification, even if Polish law does not grant them the status of a national minority. Kamil993eu (talk) 23:02, 9 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]
For more useful information about political aspect of this case:
https://www.prawo.pl/samorzad/ustawa-o-mniejszosciach-narodowych-i-etnicznych-oraz-o-jezyku-regionalnym-senat,526852.html - recommend this good analysys with auto-translate option Kamil993eu (talk) 22:56, 9 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The claim that Silesian is “merely a Polish dialect” is not supported by the majority of linguistic and sociolinguistic literature or by international classification authorities.
1. Institutional recognition:
Silesian (szl) has been recognised as a distinct language by ISO 639-3 since 2007, based on the independent linguistic documentation and grammatical studies submitted by Tomasz Wicherkiewicz and Tomasz Kamusella. It also appears in Glottolog (code sile1253, “Silesian”) as a separate entity from Polish.
2. Academic consensus:
Contemporary scholarship (Kamusella 2007; Tambor 2008; Wicherkiewicz 2011; Šrámek 2015; European Language Equality 2022) describes Silesian as a West Slavic microlanguage with features transitional between Polish, Czech, and Moravian, but exhibiting sufficient phonological and morphological divergence to qualify as a separate lect.
3. UNESCO and European references:
The UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger lists Silesian as a language spoken in Poland, not as a dialect.
The Council of Europe (ECRML and ECHR frameworks) refers to Silesian speakers as a language community.
4. Sociolinguistic argument:
In modern sociolinguistics, language status is determined not only by structural distance but also by codification, community identity, and functional independence (see Haugen 1966, Fishman 1972).
The ongoing standardisation (e.g. Gōrnoślōnski ślabikŏrz, 2009; Silesian Wikipedia; school primers) demonstrates precisely such codification.
5. Historical context:
Silesian developed under a distinct political and cultural trajectory — within the Bohemian Crown and later the Habsburg and Prussian states — with long-term linguistic influences from German and Czech not shared with Polish dialect continua.
Conclusion:
The question is not whether Silesian is “part of Polish identity,” but whether it constitutes an independent linguistic system — and the current academic, institutional, and legal evidence confirms that it does. Kamil993eu (talk) 04:04, 10 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Language family - question of East Lechitic

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Why this information is incorrect
The previous version of the English Wikipedia infobox incorrectly listed Silesian as belonging to an “East Lechitic” subgroup under the Lechitic languages. This classification is not supported by any modern linguistic source (including Glottolog, ISO 639-3, Ethnologue, or WALS).

Correct scholarly classification
According to all major linguistic authorities, the accepted classification is as follows:
Indo-European → Balto-Slavic → Slavic → West Slavic → Lechitic → Polish–Silesian → Polish / Silesian

There is no such subgroup as “East Lechitic.” The term Lechitic is used as a historical-genetic label, referring to the Polish–Kashubian–Polabian continuum of West Slavic languages — not as a typological or directional division.

Supporting references
• Glottolog 5.0: Silesian [sile1253] — classified under Polish–Silesian within the Lechitic branch of West Slavic.
• ISO 639-3 (2007): Language code szl, officially registered as distinct from Polish.
• Ethnologue (2024): Silesian (szl) — defined as a West Slavic language belonging to the Lechitic group.
• Bethin, C. (1998). Slavic Prosody: Language Change and Phonological Theory. Cambridge University Press.
• Stone, G. (2001). The Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian-Ukrainian Continuum. In The Slavonic Languages. Routledge.

Summary
The previous version, which included an “East Lechitic” hyperlink, incorrectly redirected to “Dialects of Polish language.” This was false information inconsistent with international linguistic databases and peer-reviewed scholarship.