Sorbian languages

Author: Leandro Alegsa Creation date: November 13, 2022

The Sorbian languages are Slavic languages, a branch of the Indo-European languages.

They are the Sorbs' native languages, who are a Slavic minority in eastern Germany. The languages used to be known as Wendish or Lusatian.

There are two languages: Upper Sorbian (hornjoserbsce), spoken by about 40,000 people in Saxony, and Lower Sorbian (dolnoserbski), spoken by about 10,000 people in Brandenburg. Both languages are spoken is an area known as Lusatia (Łužica in Upper Sorbian, Łužyca in Lower Sorbian and Lausitz in German).

In Germany, Upper and Lower Sorbian are officially recognized and protected as minority languages by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In the home areas of the Sorbs, both languages are officially equal to German.

The city of Bautzen, Upper Lusatia, is the centre of Upper Sorbian culture. Bilingual signs can be seen around the city, including the name of the city, "Bautzen/Budyšin".

The city of Cottbus (Chóśebuz) is considered the cultural centre of Lower Sorbian. Cottbuss also has bilingual signs.

Sorbian is also spoken in the small Sorbian (“Wendish”) settlement of Serbin in Lee County, Texas. Until recently newspapers were published in Sorbian there. The local dialect has been heavily influenced by surrounding speakers of German and English.

American and Australian communities often prefer to call themselves “Wends” or “Wendish” since think that “Sorb” and “Sorbian” are bad words.

Present

A total of about 60,000 Sorbs live in Germany today, about 40,000 of them in Saxony and 20,000 in Brandenburg. Since the nationality affiliation is not officially recorded in Germany and the confession of Sorbian nationality is free, there are only estimates about the exact number. The number of active speakers of Sorbian is probably lower. Unlike Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian is considered to be in acute danger of extinction. According to projections, about 7,000 people actively speak Lower Sorbian, which could become extinct in as little as 20 to 30 years, and about 13,000 Upper Sorbian. According to language experts, Upper Sorbian will outlast the 21st century.

Today, Sorbian is taught at 25 primary schools and several secondary schools. At the Lower Sorbian Grammar School Cottbus and the Sorbian Grammar School Bautzen it is compulsory. At many primary schools and Sorbian schools the lessons are held in Sorbian. The daily newspaper Serbske Nowiny in Upper Sorbian and the Lower Sorbian weekly Nowy Casnik are published, as well as the religious weeklies Katolski Posoł and Pomhaj Bóh. The cultural magazine Rozhlad, a children's magazine in Upper and Lower Sorbian (Płomjo and Płomje respectively) and the educational magazine Serbska šula are published monthly. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg also broadcast monthly half-hourly television magazines in Sorbian, as well as several hours of daily radio programming, Sorbischer Rundfunk. Wikipedia language versions exist in both written languages.

Grammar

Both standard Sorbian varieties (written languages) nominally have seven cases, although the vocative is not fully pronounced:

Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Instrumental
Locative
Vocative

Case	nanFather		štomTree	bomTree	woknoWindow
	Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.
Nom.	nan	nan	štom	bom	wokno	wokno
Gen.	nana	nana	štoma	boma	wokna	wokna
Dat.	nanej	nanoju	štomej	bomoju	woknu	woknoju, woknu
Acc.	nana	nana	štom	bom	wokno	wokno
Instr.	z nanom	z nanom	ze štomom	z bomom	z woknom	z woknom
Lok.	where nanje	wó nanje	na štomje	na bomje	na woknje	na woknje
Vok.	nano	- –	štomo	- –	- –	- –

Case	ramjoShoulder	ramje shoulder, armpit	žonaWoman	žeńska1Female , Woman	rukaHand
	Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.
Nom.	ramjo	ramje	žona	žeńska	ruka
Gen.	ramjenja	ramjenja	žony	žeńskeje	ruki
Dat.	ramjenju	ramjenjeju, ramjenju	žonje	žeńskej	ruce
Acc.	ramjo	ramje	žonu	žeńsku	ruku
Instr.	z ramjenjom	z ramjenim	ze žonu	ze žeńskeju	toot-toot
Lok.	where ramjenju	wó ramjenju	where žonje	wó žeńskej	w ruce

^1The form žona is literary in Lower Sorbian. The Lower Sorbian declension is adjectival because of the ending -ska.

In Lower Sorbian, the vocative is preserved only in some congealed forms.

It is noteworthy that besides singular and plural, the numerus dual (the number of two) has also been preserved from Old Slavonic. Singular: ruka ("hand") Dual: ruce ("two hands") Plural: ruki ("more than two hands")

In contrast to other West Slavic languages (Czech, Slovak, Polish, Kashubian), the synthetic preterite (aorist, imperfect) has also survived in the Upper Sorbian written language and some of the dialects up to the present day. This form was also common in Lower Sorbian written language, but has become increasingly rare in the course of the 20th century and is hardly used today.

Lower Sorbian, however, has preserved the supine (as a variant of the infinitive after verbs of motion) for this purpose, e.g. "njok spaś" (I don't want to sleep) versus "źi spat" (go to sleep).

Not too demanding written texts of Sorbian can be understood by speakers of West Slavic languages in general.

Language comparison

Some words of the two Sorbian languages with German translation and West Slavic cognates
German	Upper Sorbian	Lower Sorbian	Czech	Slovak	Polish	Polabian
Human	čłowjek	cłowjek	člověk	človek	człowiek	clawak
Brother	bratr	bratš	bratr	roast	roast	bread
Sister	sotra	sotša	sestra	sestra	siostra	sestra
Hand	ruka	ruka	ruka	ruka	ręka	ręka
Day	dźeń	źeń	the	deň	dzień	dan
Evening	wječor	wjacor	večer	večer	wieczór	wicer
Summer	lěćo	lěśe	léto	leto	lato	ljutü
Fall	nazyma	nazyma	podzim	jeseň	jesień	prenya zaima
Winter	zyma	zyma	zima	zima	zima	zaima
Fish	ryba	ryba	ryba	ryba	ryba	raibo
Fire	woheń	wogeń	oheň	oheň	ogień	widin
Water	voda	wóda	voda	voda	voda	wôda
Snow	sněh	sněg	sníh	sneh	śnieg	sneg
Wind	wětr	wětš	vítr	vietor	wiatr	wjôter

Differences between the two written languages

There are some differences between the two written languages Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian, especially in the alphabet.

Phonetic differences

For consonants

The two written languages differ greatly in the consonants. The letter ć has been placed after č in Upper Sorbian since 2005.

Upper Sorb.

dź

(q)

(v)

(x)

Lower Sorb.

(q)

(v)

(x)

Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Examples	Meaning	Comments
h	g	hora - góra	Mountain	g > h also in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Western Slovenian dialects.
		hołb^{? /i} - gołub	Pigeon
		hordy - gjardy	proudly
		hród^{? /i} - grod	Castle
		kniha - knigły	Book
		hody - gódy	Christmas
č	c	čas - cas	Time	č > c as in Polish and Lithuanian dialects and in Polabian
		čorny - carny	black
		čert - cart	Devil
		česć - cesć	Honor
		ličba - licba	Number
		pčołka - pcołka	Bee
š	s	štyri - styri	four	š > s in Lower Sorbian
		štwórć - stwjerś	Quarter
		štwórtka - stwórtka	Four
		štwórtk - stwórtk	Thursday
ć	ś	ćeńki - śańki	thin, delicate	ć > ś in Lower Sorbian except after sibilants
		bić - biś	beat
		hić - hyś	go to
		puć - puś	Way
		ćah - śěg	Train
		ćahnyć - śěgnuś	drag
		ćahać - śěgaś	drag
		ćim - śim	the
		ćichi - śichy	still, quiet
		but: hósć - gósć	Guest
dź	ź	dźeń - źeń	Day	dź > ź in Lower Sorbian except after sibilants
		dźesać - źaseś	ten
		hdźe - źo	where
		hdźež^{? /i} - źož	where (rel.)
		dźowka - źowka	Daughter
		dźiwy - źiwy	wild
		dźěło - źěło	Work
		dźak - źěk	Thanks to
		hózdź - gózdź	Nail
kr, pr, tr	kš, pš, tš	krasny - kšasny	splendid	r > š after unvoiced consonants before a, o, u in Lower Sorbian
		prawy - pšawy	right, proper
		próstwa - pšosba	Please
		preč - pšec	away
		bratr - bratš	Brother
		sotra - sotša	Sister
		wutroba - wutšoba	Heart
		trawa - tšawa	Grass
		jutry - jatšy	Easter
		wótry - wótšy	hot
ń	j, '	dóńć - dojś	go there	ń in Upper Sorbian similar to Kashubian instead of j in Lower Sorbian.
		nadeńć - nadejś	(meet, find
		přeńć - pśejś	go over
		přińć - pśiś	come
		rozeńć - rozejś	diverge
		woteńć - wótejś	go away
		wuńć - wujś	(go out
		njeńdu - njejdu	they do not go

For the vowels

Both Lower and Upper Sorbian have eight vowels.

Upper Sorbian monophthongs
	front	central	at the back
	oral	central	oral
closed	i [i]	y [ɨ]	u [u]
closed	i [i]	y [ɨ]	ó [ʊ]
medium	e [ɛ]		o [ɔ]
open		a [a

Monophthongs of Lower Sorbian
	front	central	at the back
	oral	central	oral
closed	i [i]	y [ɨ]	u [u]
medium	e [ɛ]	ó [ɨ, ɛ, ʊ]¹	o [ɔ]
open		a [a

¹ The first two variants are written. In dialect, [ɔ] and the third variant also occur.

Diphthong of both languages

ě [iə]

Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Examples	Meaning	Comments
'a	ě, e	mjaso - měso	Meat	from ursl. ę
		dźak - źěk	Thanks to
		časty - cesty	frequent
		hladać - glědaś	see, look, gaze
		dźesać - źaseś	ten
		rjad - rěd	Series
		rjany - rědny	nice
		swjatki - swětki	Pentecost
'e	'a	mjeza - mjaza	Rain	'e > 'a also in Polish, Belarusian and Bulgarian with other rules
		čert - cart	Devil
		jedyn - jaden	an
		dźesać - źaseś	ten
		njesć - njasć	Wear
		pjec - pjac	Bake; fry
		wjeselo - wjasele	Joy
		wjes - wjas	Village
		wječor - wjacor	Evening
e	o	hdźe - źo	where	e > o in Lower Sorbian
		-će - -śo, -ćo	(3rd person plural ending)
		ćeta - śota	Auntie
		wčera - cora	Yesterday
i	y	hić - hyś	go to	Lower Sorbian diminution of i to y after ž, š, h and c (from č), analogous in Polish; in the East Slavic languages this phonetic tendency is also evident.
		wužiwar - wužywaŕ	User, User
		wužiwać - wužywaś	use, apply
		žiwy - žywy	alive(er)
		činić - cyniś	do, do
		šija - šyja	Neck
		šiška - šyška	Pin
o	'a	pos - pjas	Dog	from original ь (cf. Polish ie in pies)
o	e	susod^{? /i} - sused	Neighbour	e > o in Upper Sorbian
		so - se	sich
		won - who	out
y	e, ě	cyły - ceły	whole, entire, complete	e/ě > y in Upper Sorbian after c, s, d
		cyłosć - cełosć	wholeness, totality
		dyrbjeć - derbiś, derbjeś	must, shall
		cypy - cepy	Flail
		cyn - cen	Tin
		cyrkej - cerkwja	Church
		dyrić - deriś	Stagger blow/shock
		syć - seś	Web
		symjo - semje	Seeds
oł	łu	tołsty - tłusty	thick, strong	from ьl or ъl after hard dental
		dołhi - dłujki	lang
		dołh - dług	Debt
		stołp - słup	Column
or	ar (jar to g/k)	hordy - gjardy	proudly	from original ъr
		horbaty - gjarbaty	humpbacked
		horb - gjarba	Humpback
		hordło - gjardło	Goiter; Throat
		hornc - gjarnc	Pot
or	ar	čorny - carny	black	from original ьr before hard consonants, otherwise uniform er (in: smjerć - smjerś "death").

¹ The variant žona as in Upper Sorbian is literary.

Different syllable count

In some words the number of syllables differs, because Upper Sorbian has shortened here, similar to Czech.

Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Meaning
stać	stojaś	stand
přećel	pśijaśel	Friend
horcy	górucy	hot
kobła	kobyła	Mare
kelko	keliko, kelko (arch.)¹	how much
corto	kóryto	Trough
kotry	kótary	which

¹ The usual form is (kak) wjele.

Differences in declension

Upper Sorb. 7 cases - Lower Sorb. 6 cases
Differences in case reduction

Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Meaning
mam dweju bratrow, dwaj konjej	mam dweju bratšowu, kónjowu	"I have two brothers/horses"
mam třoch bratrow, tři konje	mam tśoch bratšow, tśich kónjow/kóni	"I have three brothers/horses"
mam bratrow, konje	mam bratšy/bratšow, kónje	"I have brothers/horses"

Different genus

Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Meaning	Comments
huso (n)	gus (f)	Goose	f = feminine/female, m = masculine/male, n = neuter/actual
swinjo (n)	swinja (f)	Pig
jězor (m)	jazoro (n), jazor (m)	See
carp (m)	karpa (f)	Carp

Differences in conjugation

Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Comments
Preservation of aorist, imperfect tense	In the written language
a-, i-, e-conjugation	o-, a-, i-, j-conjugation1
Verbs like pisać after a-conjugation (1st and 2nd person singular present indicative active: pisam, pisaš).	Verbs like pisaś after o-conjugation (1st and 2nd person singular present indicative active: pišom, pišoš).	The Lower Sorbian o-conjugation corresponds to the e-conjugation of Upper Sorbian, except for the shift of some verbs like pisać.

^1The perfective verbs of the a- and i-conjugations form their present tense forms today mostly after the o-conjugation.

Vocabulary differences

Upper Sorb.	Lower Sorb.	Meaning	Comment
swoboda	lichota	Freedom
swobodny	lichy	free
chěža	wjaža	House
prajić	groniś	say, speak	groniś resembles polabian gornt
patoržica	gwězdka	Christmas Eve, Christmas Day
zo	až	that
sewjer	pódpołnoc	North	Upper Sorb. = Czech. sever, Lower Sorb. cf. Polish. północ
yay	pódpołdnjo	South	Upper Sorb. = Czech. jih, Lower Sorb. cf. polish. południe
wuchod	pódzajtšo	East
zapad	pódwjacor	West	Lower Sorb. cf. Polish wieczór (evening)
wopica	nałpa	Monkey	Upper Sorb. = Czech. opice, Lower Sorb. = Polish. małpa
běrna	kulka1	Potato
dyrbjeć	musaś3, dejaś	must, shall	Lower Sorb. = Czech. muset, Polish. musieć
hač4	ako5	than (with increase)
jara	wjelgin	very
całta	guska	Roll	Upper Sorb. = Old Czech. Lower Sorb. = Czech. houska
haj6	jo	yes	Upper Sorb. = Slovak. hejLower Sorb . = Czech. jo (there next to ano)
holca	źowćo	Girls	Lower Sorb. = Polish dziewczę, dziewczyna, Czech. děvče, holka
štom	bom7	Tree	Lower Sorb. from German "Baum"/Upper Sorb. from German "Stamm".
porst	palc	Finger	Upper Sorb. = Czech. prstLower Sorb . = Polish. palec

¹ Means also: ball; lump.
³ Means only: must.
⁴ Means also: until (especially before do); whether
⁵ Means also: as (in attributes); the, the, the (relative pronoun), as.
⁶ From this difference derives the derisive name Hajak, once widespread in Lower Sorbian, for middle-class urban Sorbs of Upper Lusatia.
⁷ According to Starosta, štom has the meaning tree only in dialect, otherwise it means tree trunk.
= here stands for corresponds.

Questions and Answers

Q: What languages are the Sorbian languages?

A: The Sorbian languages are Slavic languages, a branch of the Indo-European languages.

Q: Where is the Sorbian language spoken?

A: The Sorbian language is spoken by a Slavic minority in eastern Germany, specifically in an area known as Lusatia. It is also spoken in Serbin, Texas.

Q: How many people speak Upper and Lower Sorbian?

A: About 40,000 people speak Upper Sorbian and about 10,000 people speak Lower Sorbian.

Q: What city is considered the centre of Upper Sorbian culture?

A: The city of Bautzen, Upper Lusatia, is considered the centre of Upper Sorbian culture.

Q: What city is considered the cultural centre of Lower Sorbain?

A: The city of Cottbus (Chóśebuz) is considered the cultural centre of Lower Sorbain.

Q: Are both languages officially recognized and protected as minority languages in Germany?

A Yes, both Upper and Lower Sorbain are officially recognized and protected as minority languages by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Germany.

Q: Why do some American and Australian communities prefer to call themselves “Wends” or “Wendish” instead of “Sorb” or “Sorbian”?

A Some American and Australian communities prefer to call themselves “Wends” or “Wendish” because they think that "Sorb" and "Sorbian" are bad words.