Old Prussian

The old Prussian is a language belonging to the Baltic group of the Indo-European Langues, practically extinct following the conquest of the Teutoniques Knights, with the massacres and the successive assimilations.

History

The Aesti whose Tacite making mention in Germania could have been people speaking well old Prussian. Tacit compares them with the Suèves, a group of Germanic people, but having a language resembling the Celtic Langues.

Towards fifth century BC, theBaltic one the sub-groups of the Eastern Baltic Langues separates to train and the Baltic Langues Western. At the beginning of the Christian era, the sub-group Western is subject to the influence of the Goths. As from the 5th century, a new division appeared to create the old Prussian, the Sudovien and the Curonien, this last passing shortly after to the sub-group Eastern under the influence of the Latvian and the Latgalien.

The Christian Slavic Poles undergoing attacks on behalf of the pagan Baltic Prussians, called upon the Germanic knights Teutoniques to get rid of a less evil and to acquire the worst since a powerful Germanic state located at the north of the Royaume of Poland will develop gradually to give one birth day to the Royaume of Prussia, embryo of the modern German unit. The deformation of the name of the indigenous Baltic people, the Borusses gave its name to the Prussia.

The knights teutonic began the christianization and the germanisation of the area at the beginning of the 13th century, within the framework of the Baltic Croisades. It is however only the century according to whether the Vocabulaire Elbing were written, a dictionary Saxon Prussian-old man comprising about a thousand of words and the most important document having survived until our days.

During and after the Reform, of the Protestant groups of Austria, Germany, Poland and Lithuania took refuge in Prussia. The Luthéranisme allowed the translation of a catechism as an old Prussian. However, this immigration amorça a decline in the use of the old Prussian by his inhabitants who adopted the languages of the newcomers until the end of the 17th century. At the 18th century, this language disappeared almost completely following the assimilation from the Prussians by the Germans, but partly also by the Lithuanians and the Poles.

Traces of the old man-Prussian were still visible in the German dialects of the Prussia-Eastern , but the Second world war carried a fatal blow to them. The province was conquered by the Soviet army as from January 1945 after hard combat, then divided between Russia and the Poland following the conferences of Yalta and Potsdam. The inhabitants who did not have flee in the west before arrived of the Russians were expelled or massacred, with some rare exceptions.

An experimental community trying to restore the use of a rebuilt form of the language currently exists in the area of Klaipėda in Lithuania.

Classification

It was connected more with the Galindan (spoken in the south) and with the Sudovien (in the east) now disappeared, that with the Lituanien and the Latvian . However, one seeks analogies with these two languages in order to find roots of words common. The linguists often claim that the antiquated structure of the old Prussian would be at the base of the Indo-European .

Distribution

This language was spoken on the territories ranging between the the Vistula and the Niémen.

One spoke it in Eastern Prussia, on the occupied territories today by Poland and part of Lithuania and enclave of Kaliningrad before the colonization of the area by the Poles and the Germans as of the 13th century. In Mazovie, the Prussians could find refuge and the dialect of the old Prussian spoken in Mazurie could develop to with it.

Writing

Théodoric Large the exchanged correspondence with the Prussian and those sent present to him to the court. But like the Prussians almost nothing consigned in writing, little of written documents still exist. Most important is undoubtedly the Vocabulaire Elbing . The other texts go back especially to the 16th century. One wrote the old Prussian with the Latin alphabet.

Grammar

In the few texts, the writing did not follow any precise orthography, so that the translation of the words of this language remains quite as vague. The reconstitution of the language is thus difficult. The list of words contained in the Vocabulaire Elbing does not give any information on grammar and the only structured texts (of catechisms) go back to one time when the old Prussian had already been subject to since centuries the influence of the German language of the immigrants and leaders. Some German dialects having disappeared after the Second world war also comprised traces of the old Prussian.

Vocabulary

Here a table illustrating some terms resulting from the Vocabulary Elbing .

Here a table illustrating some terms close to Latin.

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • Rebuilding of the old Prussian
  • the vocabulary Elbing

Beats-smg: Prūsu kalba

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