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Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian: kaszëbsczi jãzëk, pòmòrsczi jãzëk, kaszëbskò-slowinskô mòwa; ) is one of the Lechitic languages
Lechitic languages

The Lechitic languages include three languages spoken in Central Europe, mainly in Poland, and historically also in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, and Vorpommern, in the north-eastern region of modern Germany....
, a subgroup of the Slavic languages
Slavic languages

File:Slavic europe.svgThe Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia....
.

Kashubian is assumed to have evolved from the language spoken by some tribes of Pomeranians
Pomeranians

The Pomeranians were a group of West Slavs tribes who lived along the shore of the Baltic Sea between Oder and Vistula Rivers . They spoke the Pomeranian language belonging to the Lechitic languages branch of the West Slavic languages....
 called Kashubians
Kashubians

Kashubians , also called Kashubs, Kaszubians, Kassubians or Cassubians, are a West Slavs ethnic group in Pomerelia, north-central Poland....
, in the region of Pomerania
Pomerania

Pomerania is a historical region on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdansk in the East....
, on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53?N to 66?N latitude and from 20?E to 26?E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Denmark islands....
 between the Vistula
Vistula

The Vistula , is the longest river in Poland at 1,047 km in length. It drains an area of 194,424 km? , of which 168,699 km? lies within Poland ....
 and Oder
Oder River

The Oder is a river in Central Europe Europe. It begins in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line....
 rivers.

It is closely related to Slovincian
Slovincian

Slovincian, now extinct, was spoken by the Slovincians living between the lakes Lake Gardno and Lake Lebsko near Slupsk in Pomerania, an area former eastern territories of Germany and History of Pomerania ....
, and both of them are dialects of Pomeranian
Pomeranian language

Pomeranian is a group of Lechitic languages dialects which were spoken in the Middle Ages on the territory of Pomerania. They are most closely related to Polabian language dialects, which they bordered in the west, and to Polish language dialects, which they bordered in the south....
.






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Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian: kaszëbsczi jãzëk, pòmòrsczi jãzëk, kaszëbskò-slowinskô mòwa; ) is one of the Lechitic languages
Lechitic languages

The Lechitic languages include three languages spoken in Central Europe, mainly in Poland, and historically also in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, and Vorpommern, in the north-eastern region of modern Germany....
, a subgroup of the Slavic languages
Slavic languages

File:Slavic europe.svgThe Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia....
.

Kashubian is assumed to have evolved from the language spoken by some tribes of Pomeranians
Pomeranians

The Pomeranians were a group of West Slavs tribes who lived along the shore of the Baltic Sea between Oder and Vistula Rivers . They spoke the Pomeranian language belonging to the Lechitic languages branch of the West Slavic languages....
 called Kashubians
Kashubians

Kashubians , also called Kashubs, Kaszubians, Kassubians or Cassubians, are a West Slavs ethnic group in Pomerelia, north-central Poland....
, in the region of Pomerania
Pomerania

Pomerania is a historical region on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdansk in the East....
, on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53?N to 66?N latitude and from 20?E to 26?E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Denmark islands....
 between the Vistula
Vistula

The Vistula , is the longest river in Poland at 1,047 km in length. It drains an area of 194,424 km? , of which 168,699 km? lies within Poland ....
 and Oder
Oder River

The Oder is a river in Central Europe Europe. It begins in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line....
 rivers.

It is closely related to Slovincian
Slovincian

Slovincian, now extinct, was spoken by the Slovincians living between the lakes Lake Gardno and Lake Lebsko near Slupsk in Pomerania, an area former eastern territories of Germany and History of Pomerania ....
, and both of them are dialects of Pomeranian
Pomeranian language

Pomeranian is a group of Lechitic languages dialects which were spoken in the Middle Ages on the territory of Pomerania. They are most closely related to Polabian language dialects, which they bordered in the west, and to Polish language dialects, which they bordered in the south....
. Though the Kashubian language can hardly be understood by Polish speakers, until recently many Polish linguists
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
 considered it a dialect of Polish
Polish language

Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography....
, although this has been caused mostly by political decree.

Similarly to Polish, Kashubian includes numerous loanword
Loanword

A loanword is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept whereby it is the Meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself....
s from Low German
Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands....
, such as kùnszt (art), and some from German
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
. Other sources of loanwords include the Baltic languages
Baltic languages

The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European languages language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe....
, Russian
Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
 and Polish
Polish language

Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography....
.

The first printed documents in Kashubian date from the end of the 16th century. The modern orthography was first proposed in 1879.

In the 2002 census, 53,000 people in Poland declared that they mainly use Kashubian at home. All Kashubian speakers are also fluent in Polish. Research shows that many Kashubian-speaking parents use Polish rather than Kashubian at home, because they believe that if they spoke Kashubian, their children would find it more difficult to learn Polish. A number of schools in Poland teach in Kashubian as a lecture language, and it is used as an official alternative language for local administration purposes in parts of the Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship

File:Pomorskie Logo.jpgFile:Brosen ContainerTerminaGdansk.jpgFile:Pomeranian density 2007.pngThe Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Pomerelian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, or province, in north-central Poland....
. Kashubian is also spoken by Kashubians living in Canada
Polish Canadians

Polish Canadians are Canadians of Polish ancestry. According to the 2001 census by Statistics Canada, 984,585 Canadians claim full or partial Polish ancestry....
.

Since 2005 Kashubian enjoys legal protection in Poland as an official regional language
Regional language

A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a Federalism state or province, or some wider area....
. It is the only tounge in Poland with this status. It was granted to it by the act of Polish Parliament
Polish parliament

Polish parliament is an expression referring to the historical Sejm walny. It implies chaos and general disorder, and that no real decision can be reached during sessions....
 from January 6, 2005.

Gallery


See also

  • Pomeranian language
    Pomeranian language

    Pomeranian is a group of Lechitic languages dialects which were spoken in the Middle Ages on the territory of Pomerania. They are most closely related to Polabian language dialects, which they bordered in the west, and to Polish language dialects, which they bordered in the south....
  • Kashubian alphabet
    Kashubian alphabet

    The Kashubian alphabet is the script of the Kashubian language. It was created in 1879 by Florian Ceynowa and is partially based on the Polish alphabet....
  • Kashubian-Pomeranian Association
    Kashubian-Pomeranian Association

    The Kashubian-Pomeranian Association is a regional non-governmental organization of the Kashubians , Kociewiacy and other people interested in the regional affairs of Kashubia and Pomerania in northern Poland....
  • Pomerelia
    Pomerelia

    Pomerelia is a Historical regions of Central Europe in northern Poland. Pomerelia was situated in eastern Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, centered on the city of Gdansk at the mouth of the Vistula....
  • Gdansk Pomerania
  • Old Prussian language
    Old Prussian language

    Prussian is an extinct Baltic languages language, once spoken by Old Prussians of Prussia in an area of what later became East Prussia and eastern parts of Pomerelia ....


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