Baltic German

Common card · No. 395272

Baltic German (German: Baltendeutsch or Baltisches Deutsch; Latvian: Baltijas vācu valoda; Estonian: baltisaksa keel) refers to a variety of German sociolects spoken by German settlers in Latvia and Estonia before World War II. Due to centuries of contact with neighbouring peoples, Baltic German phonology, lexicon, and syntax has been influenced by Latvian, Estonian, Russian, and to a lesser extent Swedish. The designation Baltisches Deutsch applies to the present-day territories of Estonia and Latvia (excluding Latgale), and covers the historic Baltic provinces of Russian Empire. Baltic Germans also settled in Saint Petersburg during the Tsarist era. Philologist Wolfgang Laur divided Baltic German into three distinct social strata: the upper-class sociolect, which closely resembled Standard German with only minor Baltic regional features; the urban middle-class sociolect; and the lower-class sociolect, which had the strongest substratum influence. The upper class oriented itself towards...

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