Sorbian languages
Two closely related West Slavic languages of the Sorb people in eastern Germany (Lusatia), known as Upper and Lower Sorbian; legally protected, with regional media, schools and diaspora communities.
The Sorbian languages are a small branch of the West Slavic group of Indo‑European languages spoken by the Sorbs (also historically called Wends), a Slavic minority concentrated in the region of Lusatia in eastern Germany. Today the Sorbian speech community is conventionally divided into two standardized languages: Upper Sorbian in Saxony and Lower Sorbian in Brandenburg. Both use Latin alphabets with diacritics and share many core features with neighboring West Slavic tongues, but each has distinct phonological, morphological and lexical characteristics.
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Overview
Upper Sorbian (hornjoserbsce) and Lower Sorbian (dolnoserbski) are treated as separate languages for cultural and administrative purposes. Upper Sorbian has traditionally been centered around the town of Bautzen (Budyšin) and is the larger of the two by number of speakers. Lower Sorbian is concentrated near Cottbus (Chóśebuz) and surrounding communities in Brandenburg. Both varieties are used in local media, schools and public signage in parts of Lusatia, and both enjoy legal protection as minority languages in Germany.
Characteristics
- Classification: West Slavic, related to Polish and Czech but retaining unique regional vocabulary and pronunciation.
- Writing systems: Latin script with additional diacritics for specific Sorbian sounds; standardized orthographies exist for both Upper and Lower Sorbian.
- Grammar: Typical Slavic features such as noun cases, verbal aspect and a system of inflection, though each language has developed its own paradigms and regularizations.
- Dialects: Each language includes local dialect variation; the standardized forms are used in education and publishing.
History and development
The Sorbian languages descend from the Slavic languages spoken by tribes that migrated into central Europe in the early medieval period. Over centuries the Sorbs remained a minority within German‑speaking territories, which led to bilingualism and language contact effects. Their languages were historically referred to in German as "Wendish" or "Lusatian". Modern codification, publishing and school instruction in Sorbian grew in the 19th and 20th centuries, and legal recognition and state support increased after World War II and under later minority‑language frameworks.
Use, preservation and cultural importance
Both Upper and Lower Sorbian are used in local radio, newspapers and religious services; there are Sorbian schools and cultural institutions that teach the languages and promote literature, music and festivals. Official bilingual signage is visible in many towns of Lusatia, reflecting municipal policies that treat Sorbian and German as coequal in designated areas. Diaspora communities exist, notably a small settlement in Serbin, Texas, where a Wendish/Sorbian heritage has been maintained for generations, though such communities often show influence from surrounding majority languages.
Notable distinctions and modern challenges
Despite institutional support, both languages face demographic pressure from German and are classed as endangered by many linguists because of declining intergenerational transmission. Efforts to sustain them include bilingual schooling, community media, cultural programming and legal protections under regional and European minority language instruments. The terms "Sorb" and "Wend" remain in use; some diaspora groups prefer the older ethnonym "Wendish."
Further resources
- Overview of Slavic language classification
- Indo‑European language family information
- Sorbs: ethnic and cultural background
- Lusatia (eastern Germany) regional profile
- Upper Sorbian language information
- Saxony: regional context for Upper Sorbian
- Brandenburg: regional context for Lower Sorbian
- Historical names and German‑language sources on Lusatia
- European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
- Bautzen (Budyšin) cultural centre
- Cottbus (Chóśebuz) and Lower Sorbian cultural life
- Serbin, Texas: Wendish/Sorbian diaspora
- Language contact and bilingualism with German and English
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.
See also: Sorbian school system
· 
Upper Sorbian-German sign in Nebelschütz
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Bilingual street signs in Cottbus (Chóśebuz) in German and Lower Sorbian
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Bilingual place name sign in Bautzen (Budyšin) with German and Upper Sorbian
· 
Bilingual street sign in Bautzen with German and Upper Sorbian
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Bilingual information board on the A 13 motorway
· 
Bilingual station sign at the station in Kamenz
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. |
| nan | nan | štom | bom | wokno | wokno | |
| nana | nana | štoma | boma | wokna | wokna | |
| Dat. | nanej | nanoju | štomej | bomoju | woknu | woknoju, woknu |
| nana | nana | štom | bom | wokno | wokno | |
| Instr. | z nanom | z nanom | ze štomom | z bomom | z woknom | z woknom |
| where nanje | wó nanje | na štomje | na bomje | na woknje | na woknje | |
| Vok. | nano | - – | štomo | - – | - – | - – |
| Case | ramjoShoulder | ramje | žonaWoman | žeńska1Female | rukaHand | |
|
| Upper Sorb. | Lower Sorb. | Upper Sorb. | Lower Sorb. | Upper Sorb. | Lower Sorb. |
| ramjo | ramje | žona | žeńska | ruka | ||
| ramjenja | ramjenja | žony | žeńskeje | ruki | ||
| Dat. | ramjenju | ramjenjeju, ramjenju | žonje | žeńskej | ruce | |
| ramjo | ramje | žonu | žeńsku | ruku | ||
| Instr. | z ramjenjom | z ramjenim | ze žonu | ze žeńskeju | toot-toot | |
| 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 | ||||||
| Upper Sorbian | Lower Sorbian | 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b | c | č | ć | d | dź | f | g | h | ch | j | k | ł | l | m | n | ń | p | (q) | r | s | š | t | (v) | w | (x) | z | ž | |
| Lower Sorb. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b | c | č | ć | d | f | g | h | ch | j | k | ł | l | m | n | ń | p | (q) | r | s | š | t | (v) | w | (x) | z | ž | |||
| Upper Sorb. | Lower Sorb. | Examples | Meaning | Comments |
| h | g | hora - góra | Mountain | g > h also in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Western Slovenian dialects. |
|
| Pigeon | |||
| hordy - gjardy | proudly | |||
|
| 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 | ||||
| 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 | |||
|
| 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 | oral |
| ||
| closed | i [i] | y [ɨ] | u [u] |
|
| ó [ʊ] |
| |||
| medium | e [ɛ] |
| o [ɔ] |
|
| open |
| a [a |
|
|
| Monophthongs of Lower Sorbian | ||||
|
| front | central | at the back |
|
| oral | 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 |
| 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 |
|
| 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, |
| yay | pódpołdnjo | South | Upper Sorb. = Czech. jih, |
| wuchod | pódzajtšo | East | |
| zapad | pódwjacor | West | Lower Sorb. cf. Polish wieczór (evening) |
| wopica | nałpa | Monkey | Upper Sorb. = Czech. opice, |
| 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. |
| haj6 | jo | yes | Upper Sorb. = Slovak. hejLower Sorb |
| 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 |
- 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.
Related articles
Author
AlegsaOnline.com Sorbian languages Leandro Alegsa
URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/91961