Pō Naszymu: A Linguistic Portrait of Silesian

marsz_autonomii_slaska_forum.jpg, default, The Silesian Autonomy March, 2012, Katowice, photo: Forum / Forum, Pō Naszymu: A Linguistic Portrait of Silesian

#heritage

Silesia has always been a region desired by many. Several nations fought over it throughout the ages, and even geographers and archaeologists today are not unanimous when it comes to the borders of this region. Another conflict that is ongoing is the one over the status of the Silesian language: linguistic arguments weave in and out of political, historical and sociological ones.

Difficulties already begin with the etymology of the word ‘Silesia’ itself. The popular theory in the interwar period about the word’s link to the Old Germanic tribe of Silings was rejected by Polish researchers. They almost unanimously opt for the Old Slavonic etymology: the name of the Silesians tribe and the entire region originates from the name of the Ślęza River or Mount Ślęża. Additionally, the morpheme *slęg- (meaning ‘damp’) was retained in the cant word ślęgnąć (‘to get wet’).

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Road sign that reads ‘Mind the bajtels’ (Silesian for ‘children’), written in the Silesian dialect, Mikołów, photo: Maciej Jarzębiński / Forum

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With time, history divided the region into two parts: Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia (with the latter appearing in the 15^thcentury). While we rarely hear the Silesian vernacular in and around Wrocław, the Silesian language has survived in Opole, Rybnik, Katowice and Cieszyn, where the inhabitants use the language they grew up speaking. Officially, Silesian has the status of a dialect comprising a group of Silesian dialects, but there’s an ongoing fight – currently unsuccessful – for it to be recognised as a regional language. It’s currently used by nearly half a million people. One needs only to glance at the past to understand the important role of a common language with regard to integrating Silesians with each other but also with the Polish state.

A medieval re-touch

A page from a manuscript by Mikołaj of Koźle. The fragment blackened with ink contains the lyrics for the song 'Cantilena inhonesta', 1416, photo: Wikipedia

Numerous Slavic names along with the first sentence ever written in the Polish language can be found in the Book of Henryków. The Cistercian abbey chronicle, from the 13^th century, is just one of the many relics of Polish literature created on Silesian land. They all reflect the complicated cultural, and therefore also linguistic, situation of the region.

Cantilena Inhonesta, also known as Mourning a Maiden, is one of the texts that excite researchers, not least due to its erotic nature. The schoolboys’ chant was written by at the beginning of the 15^th century by the Franciscan monk Mikołaj of Koźle during his mission in Silesia and Moravia. Afterwards, the author probably blackened the text with ink, which admittedly protected the manuscript from fading but also made it more difficult to decipher. The one who nearly completely succeeded at this task at the end of the 19^th century was the Polish slavicist Władysław Nehring. The key part of the song – line 17 – was only deciphered in 2006 by Cracovian linguists Wacław Twardzik and Maciej Eder, who exposed a photo of the manuscript to UV radiation. The study was conducted in the Forensic Laboratory of the Police in Wrocław.

The cantilena became the subject of numerous studies, from paleographic, through musicological and literary. The most interesting, however, are the discrepancies between the philologists’ conclusions. Some consider the manuscript a relic of the Polish language, others – one of the Czech language, while others opt for ‘a multilingual mash-up’. Roman Jakobson’s breakthrough 1935 publication qualifies the text as Polish-Silesian, which is contradicted by Twardzik and Eder’s discovery (they point to a Czech pedigree of the song). Certain hesitation can be seen in Stanisław Rospond’s exploration of the topic (1959): ’The language is sprinkled with Bohemisms (…). It’s essentially a Polish text (…). The text seems to be a Lach one, from the Opawa region.’ Lach dialects are related to the Silesian ethnolect.

Silesian Rej

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The map of Upper Silesia, reflecting language relations, county borders and the raił network, Karol Miarka, 1904, publisher: Verlag von C. Flemming, photo: Polona National Library

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The linguistic rift is fully reflective of the geopolitical situation of medieval Silesia, which then constituted an object of a feud between Poland and Czechia. As early as in the 16^th century, when the Silesian land was already under Habsburg rule, Łukasz Górnicki asserted in Dworzanin Polski (Polish Courtier) that the region was dominated by Czech. One should not forget, however, the prominent Silesian pressmen (such as Hieronim Wietor and Jan Haller), working in early Renaissance Kraków. They modernised medieval spelling, laying the foundations for contemporary Polish orthography.

While one can talk about the visible weakening of cultural ties between Silesia and Polish lands at the brink of the 15^thcentury – especially when compared with previous centuries – they weren’t broken completely. The Renaissance Polish language of Mikołaj Rej and Jan Kochanowski is full of turns of phrase now present in different dialects. Those who then worked to preserve the Silesian vernacular were evangelicals, notably Adam Gdacjusz of Kluczbork (also known as the ‘Silesian Rej’). The charismatic preacher was a fervent opponent of Germanisation, who introduced Silesian into literature, and his sermons, collected in a volume titled Postilla Popularis, presented the difficult life of the Silesians and the deterioration of morality after the Thirty Years’ War. In 2019, the Academic Publishing House ‘Śląsk’ (Silesia) reprinted his most popular work.

Another, earlier noteworthy text, one that remained forgotten for years, is Walenty Roździeński’s poem Officina Ferraria (1612). The simple smelter manager and forge owner described the state of his industry, listing practical information while following the conventions of poetics and versification. It was the first ever text concerning the work of a miner and steelworker written in the Polish language. It was found in Gniezno 300 years later and translated into English in 1976.

Idiotisms & beauty

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‘Dziennik Górno-Szlązki’ (The Upper-Silesian Daily), fragment of page 1, 1848, issue 59 (30 December), photo: Polona National Library

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The 19^th century was not only a time of progressing Germanisation but also a time of uprooting dialects at schools and a ban on cultivating Slavic customs. Polish-language newspapers were released alongside German-language press, and mid-19^th century was a time when Polish-language Silesian literature started to develop (by authors such as Józef Lompa, Karol Miarka, Konstanty Damrot).

At the beginning of the 1930s, after the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty to determine ownership of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and the Second Polish Republic and the Silesian Uprisings, Zofia Kosak-Szczucka wrote in Nieznany Kraj (The Unknown Country): ’It’s a large area inhabited by around million people, speaking not another language like Polish but rather a beautiful Silesian dialect, dignified with its archaic, preserved forms.’

The reality, however, wasn’t quite as colourful. As early as 1849, Dziennik Górno-Szlązki (The Upper-Silesian Daily) included a column titled Idiotyzmy i Germianizmy szląskie (Silesian Idiotisms and Germanisms), aimed at polonising the language of the Silesians. They admonished the readers for saying siadłocha instead of kwaśne mleko (sour milk) and jata instead of szopa.. What was lacking, however, were tips on which regionalisms should be preserved. In 1880, in Gazeta Górnoszląska (Upper-Silesian Gazette), one would read:‘we don’t say kopidoł but grabarz (undertaker)’, even though it’s the allegedly Polish version grabarz that has German origins.

In Głosy znad Odry (Voices of the Odra River), released between 1918 and 1924, a the ‘Kącik Językowy’ (Language Corner) column appeared several times, contrasting the ‘weed-grown speech’ of the Upper Silesians with ‘pure language’. However, on top of German and other borrowed words and -isms, they also noticed ‘relics of Old Polish’ – words no longer present in the common literary language but preserved in that region. In issue 3/4 of Głosy from 1922, P. Piast insisted:

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An Upper Silesian doesn’t use the German ‘lichtarz’ because they have the native ‘świecznik’ (candlestick), they don’t need the Greek ‘inkaust’ or the Latin ‘atrament’, already having the Polish ‘czernidło’ (ink). […] They don’t look into a ‘zwierciadło’ but rather a ‘zdrzadło’ (mirror). When they accept an invitation, it’s not for a ‘kolacja’, as ‘wieczerza’ (supper) is better. […] For a fair, a holiday or a ‘radośnik’ (‘chrzciny’; christening) they will bake a ‘kołacz’ (kolach) rather than ‘placek’ (cake), cook a tasty bite of ‘owięzie’ meat (‘wołowe’; beef) with ‘moczka’ (capitalists only know the French ‘sauce’) and a calf ‘pieczonka’ (‘pieczeń’; roast).

The post-war changing of borders and forced resettlement resulted in the Silesians having to reassess their identity. Before that, they had strongly identified with a particular town or region, but all of a sudden were required to declare their nationality. The communist regime emphasised the development of official culture, excluding regional varieties. It was only after 1989 that democracy and freedom of speech allowed us to rediscover local histories and accept language variety.

Pō naszymu (Our way)

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Scene from a performance of Szczepan Twardoch’s ‘Drach’, directed by Robert Talarczyk, 2018, photo: Przemysław Jendroska / Silesian Theatre

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In the works of contemporary Silesian prose writers, language is not just a material or a tool of social communication. It becomes an element of culture, reflecting values and attitude towards the world, determining one’s actions. Language stores and consolidates experience, influences one’s way of thinking. It doesn’t only document reality, it also creates it. This way of understanding the language portrait of Silesia, and depicting the specificity of the region, can be found in Szczepan Twardoch’s novel Drach.

According to Prof. Bogusław Wyderka, ‘like a sociolinguist, [the author] depicts a repertoire of language and dialects typical for a 20^th-century Silesian community, their social usage and scope, outlines its history up until the end of the century.’ The complexity is visible in the names of towns or the spelling of names and surnames. Or, for instance in this fragment of the novel: ‘That’s why Josef isn’t szywŏłdziōny (of Schönwald) anymore, and in their dōma gŏdŏ się pō naszymu (‘in their house they talk our way’). ‘Po ślōnsku’. (In Silesian.) In wasserpolnisch (watered down Polish). In Polish, if you will. The newspapers have different names for this diffuse language, depending on the political needs and context.’

The narrator of Drach doesn’t avoid commentary on the history of language, he even pays attention to the exact pronunciation (‘Josef Magner responds, perplexed, in decent yet audibly Silesian German, with a vibrating »r« and indistinct »äu«’). Therefore Silesian appears not only in the characters’ dialogues but also in their articulation. Although the language code switching occurs naturally within the novel, it provokes resistance, especially in a reader that only uses regular Polish. Domesticating this unfamiliarity is made easier by multiple repetitions, abbreviated, descriptive and not always literal explanations and, first and foremost, the situational context, usually described over several pages and interspersed with other threads.

In Twardoch’s prose, the Silesianness manifesting itself in language is of mimetic and holistic character, encompassing phonetics, inflection and vocabulary. One might highlight that the author’s spelling is in accordance with the officially accepted convention of Silesian orthography, while the so-called ‘ślabikorzowy’ script (‘ślabikorz’ meaning spelling book) can be seen in all its glory in the Silesian translation of Drach (trans. Grzegorz Kulik).

Speaking about translation, it’s worth noting the Silesian translation of the Bible (beginning in the mid-1990s), of works by Polish authors such as Jan Kochanowski, Ignacy Krasicki, Jan Brzechwa and Julian Tuwim, as well as of fragments of world literature included in Marek Szołtyska’s book Ślązoki Nie Gęsi (Silesians Are Not Geese) [referring to the famous proverb from a verse by Mikołaj Rej: ‘Poles are not geese, they have their own tongue’, stressing the importance of national language – trans.], for example: ‘Na Konia Pozór Dejcie Trojoki’ (Deceive the Trojans with a Horse), that is, book 8 of The Odyssey; ‘O Wojoku Co Sie Proł z Wiatrakami’ (Of the Soldier Who Would Fight Windmills), a chapter of Don Quixote; ‘Ryba Biere!’ (The Fish Takes!), a fragment of the story Old Man and the Sea; ‘Bajtel z Furgającą Miotłą’ (A Kid with a Flying Broom), based on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Motherland, Silesian land

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Signs warning of an oncoming tram in Polish and Silesian, Katowice, photo: Tomasz Kawka / East News

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After the political transformation, the disputes concerning the status of Silesian were rekindled in Poland. Many would consider Silesian a regional language, confirming the linguistic (rather than national) separateness of the area. The proponents of this idea emphasise that without appropriate education, the possibility of obtaining national and EU funds for the development of Silesian press, literature or theatre, the Silesian language won’t survive. Such an opportunity was granted to Kashubian – so far Poland’s only regional language, officially acknowledged as such in 2005. Since then, it’s been taught at schools and one can even take the matura (matriculation) exam in Kashubian. There are radio and TV shows in this language (not to mention press) and there’s Kashubian literature of all genres. Why not create similar development opportunities for Silesian? In June 2019, the Sejm decided against discussing a legislation project – the fifth one since 2007 – regulating this issue.

Among linguists, opinions differ. Professor Jolanta Tambor, leading the works of the Silesian language codification group, believes that, considering the benefits of ‘a minority group having their own language, there’s no reason not to consider the speech of the Silesians a regional language’. At the same time, one ought to remember all its types: Upper Silesian, Cieszyn and Opole. Meanwhile, Professor Jan Miodek, born in Tarnowskie Góry, sees no need for a top-down codification and highlights that ‘the literary variety of Silesian is Polish’. Professor Bogusław Wyderka, who has edited the multiple-volume Słownik Gwar Śląskich (Dictionary of Silesian Dialects) since 2000, proves in his research papers that historically, the Silesian dialect was a variety of Polish, although nowadays it’s impossible to stop the Silesian language movement.

The arguments related to different linguistic traits of Silesian are either non-existent or successfully challenged. The vocabulary and phonetic features characteristic for the region are to a large extent shared by other varieties of Polish. What mostly distinguishes the inhabitants of Silesia who use their native vernacular is the strong sense of Silesian identity, the willingness to preserve and develop their own tradition and culture. Professor Tambor emphasises that today, recognising Silesian as a regional language is an exclusively legal-political issue.

Sources:

Czesak, Artur. Współczesne Teksty Śląskie na Tle Procesów Językotwórczych i Standaryzacyjnych Współczesnej Słowiańszczyzny (Contemporary Silesian Texts against the Background of Language-Making and Standardising Processes of Contemporary Slavonic Languages), Kraków, 2015;

Wyderka, Bogusław. ‘Gwara w Twórczości Nowej Fali Prozaików Śląskich: Wojciech Kuczok i Szczepan Twardoch’ (Dialect in the Works of the New Wave of Silesian Prose Writers: Wojciech Kuczok and Szczepan Twardoch), Stylistyka, 2016;

Wiszowaty, Elżbieta. Sprachliches und Ethnisches Bewusstsein der Schlesier (Świadomość Językowa i Etniczna Ślązaków) (The Ethnic and Language Awareness of the Silesians), Vienna 2013;

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