Silesian German language

Common card · No. 411825

Silesian German is a nearly extinct German dialect once spoken in Silesia. It is also known as Lower Silesian to distinguish it from the West Slavic Silesian language, the regional Polish variety characteristic of Upper Silesia further east. Its name in German is Schlesisch or locally Schläsisch or Slä'sch. It is part of the East Central German language area with some Polish or Czech influences. Silesian German emerged as the result of Late Medieval German migration to Silesia, which had been inhabited by Lechitic or West Slavic peoples in the Early Middle Ages. Until 1945, variations of the dialect were spoken by about seven million people in Silesia and neighboring regions of Bohemia and Moravia. After World War II, when the province of Silesia was incorporated into Poland, with small portions remaining in northeastern Czech Republic and in former central Germany, which henceforth became eastern Germany, the local communist authorities expelled the German-speaking population and forbade...

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