Silesian language#Dialect vs. language

Silesian speakers currently live in the region of Upper Silesia, which is split between southwestern Poland and the northeastern Czech Republic. At present Silesian is commonly spoken in the area between the historical border of Silesia on the east and a line from Syców to Prudnik on the west as well as in the Rawicz area.

Until 1945, Silesian was also spoken in enclaves in Lower Silesia, where the majority spoke Lower Silesian, a variety of Central German. The German-speaking population was either evacuated en masse by German forces towards the end of the war or deported by the new administration upon the Polish annexation of the Silesian Recovered Territories after its end. Before World War II, most Slavic-language speakers also knew German and, at least in eastern Upper Silesia, many German speakers were acquainted with Slavic Silesian.

According to the last official census in Poland in 2021, about 460,000 people declared Silesian as their native language, whereas in the country's census of 2011, the figure was about 510,000.{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/LUD_raport_z_wynikow_NSP2011.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021013327/https://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/LUD_raport_z_wynikow_NSP2011.pdf|archive-date=21 October 2012|title=Raport z wyników: Narodowy Spis Powszechny Ludności i Mieszkań 2011|trans-title=Report of results: National Census of Population and Housing, 2011.|language=pl|work=Central Statistical Office of Poland|date=2011}} In the censuses in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, nearly 900,000 people declared Silesian nationality; Upper Silesia has almost five million inhabitants, with the vast majority speaking Polish in the Polish part and declaring themselves to be Poles and the vast majority speaking Czech in the Czech part and declaring themselves to be Czechs.{{cite web|url=https://notes2.czso.cz/cz/sldb2011/cd_sldb2011_11_12/index_html_files/PVCR062.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131022340/https://notes2.czso.cz/cz/sldb2011/cd_sldb2011_11_12/index_html_files/PVCR062.pdf |archive-date=31 January 2012 |title=Obyvatelstvo podle národnosti podle krajů |publisher= Czech Statistical Office }}{{cite web|url=https://www.cvvm.cas.cz/upl/nase_spolecnost/100023s_Samanova-narodnost.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613165802/https://www.cvvm.cas.cz/upl/nase_spolecnost/100023s_Samanova-narodnost.pdf|archive-date=13 June 2006 |title=Národnost ve sčítání lidu v českých zemích |access-date=16 August 2012}}[https://www.greekhelsinki.gr/bhr/english/special_issues/CEDIME-unwgm2001/un%20wgm%20slovakia%20appendix%20on%20minorities%203a%2015-5-01.doc National Minorities in the Slovak Republic] – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic

{{main|Silesian grammar}}

Although the morphological differences between Silesian and Polish have been researched extensively, other grammatical differences have not been studied in depth.

A notable difference is in question-forming. In standard Polish, questions which do not contain interrogative words are formed either by using intonation or the interrogative particle {{lang|pl|czy}}. In Silesian, questions which do not contain interrogative words are formed by using intonation (with a markedly different intonation pattern than in Polish) or inversion (e.g. {{lang|szl|Je to na karcie?}}); there is no interrogative particle.

According to Jan Miodek, standard Polish has always been used by Upper Silesians as a language of prayers.{{Cite web | url=https://www.dziennikzachodni.pl/artykul/384010,jan-miodek-dyskusja-o-jezyku-slaskim-w-pismie-jest-zenujaca,id,t.html | title=Jan Miodek: Dyskusja o języku śląskim w piśmie jest żenująca| date=26 March 2011}}

The Lord's Prayer in Silesian, Polish, Czech, and English:

{{unreferenced section|date=July 2019}}

File:Gwary śląskie wg Zaręby.png

Silesian has many dialects:

• Dialects spoken in areas which are now part of Poland, former Prussian Silesia:
• Kluczbork Silesian dialect (1)
• Opole Silesian dialect (2)
• Niemodlin Silesian dialect (3)
• Prudnik Silesian dialect (4)
• Gliwice Silesian dialect (5)
• Sulkovian Silesian dialect
• Borderland Silesian-Lesser Polish dialect (6a & 6b)
• Borderland Silesian-Lach dialect (9)
• Dialects spoken on both sides of the Czech–Polish border, former Austrian Silesia:
• Cieszyn Silesian dialect (7)
• Jabłonków Silesian dialect (8)
• Lower Silesian dialect group
• Chwalim dialect
• Lach dialects spoken in areas which are now part of the Czech Republic, often considered linguistically apart from the ones mentioned above:
• Opava subdialect
• Ostrava subdialect
• Frenštát subdialect

File:Requiescat ponaszymu.JPG at Lutheran cemetery in Střítež near Český Těšín. The inscription, which says "Rest in Peace", is in the Cieszyn Silesian dialect.]]

File:Marsz Równości 2022 Katowice - język śląski.jpg in Katowice. "We want Silesia, where every boy can take a vow to his chosen one in the Silesian language."]]

File:Dej pozōr na banka - napis po śląsku (Chorzów).jpg]]

File:Gorolski Święto 2019 - alcohol sign.jpg, Poland. The text notifies readers that people under the age of 18 will not be served alcohol.]]

Opinions are divided among linguists regarding whether Silesian is a distinct language, a dialect of Polish, or, in the case of Lach, a variety of Czech. The issue can be contentious, because some Silesians consider themselves to be a distinct nationality within Poland. When Czechs, Poles, and Germans each made claims to substantial parts of Silesia as constituting an integral part of their respective nation-states in the 19th and 20th centuries, the language of Slavic-speaking Silesians became politicized.

Slavicist of Upper Silesian extraction, Rudolf Abicht, who worked at the University of Breslau and proposed an early standardization of the Belarusian language, clearly recognized that standardizing and making Silesian into a language is a socio-political process. In 1920, he expressed his opinion on the subject in an extensive essay on the 'Upper Silesian language question.'[https://www.sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication//11147/edition/10317 Rudolf Absicht. 1920. Die oberschlesische Sprachenfrage

im Lichte der Sprachwissenschaft (Part 1) (p. 1). Der Oberschlesier, Vol. 2, No. 34, 21 August.][https://www.sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/11174/edition/10333/content Rudolf Absicht. 1920. Die oberschlesische Sprachenfrage

im Lichte der Sprachwissenschaft (Part 2) (pp. 2-3). Der Oberschlesier, Vol. 2, No. 36, 4 September.]

Some, like Óndra Łysohorsky (a poet and author in Czechoslovakia), saw the Silesians as being their own distinct people, which culminated in his effort to create a literary standard which he called the "Lachian language". Silesian inhabitants supporting the cause of each of these ethnic groups had their own robust network of supporters across Silesia's political borders which shifted over the course of the 20th century prior to the large-scale ethnic cleansing in the aftermath of World War II.

In 2011, Tomasz Kamusella and Andrzej Roczniok published a Silesian-language article on the standardization of the Silesian language.[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/79116851.pdf T. D. Kamusella & A. Roczniok. 2011. Sztandaryzacyjo ślōnski godki / Standaryzacja języka śląskiego (pp. 288-294). In Lingvokul’turnoe prostranstvo sovremennoi Evropy cherez prizmu malykh i bolshikh iazykov. K 70-letiiu professora Aleksandra Dimitrievicha Dulichenko. Slavica Tartuensis, Vol. 9. Tartu, Estonia: Tartu University.]

Some linguists from Poland, such as Jolanta Tambor,"Ekspertyza naukowa prof. UŚ Dr hab. Jolanty Tambor" (en: "Scientific expertise by Juan Lajo"), 2008{{full citation needed|date=November 2014}} Juan Lajo,"Ekspertyza naukowa pana Juana Lajo" (en: "Scientific expertise by Juan Lajo"), 2008{{full citation needed|date=November 2014}} Tomasz Wicherkiewicz,"Ekspertyza naukowa dra Tomasza Wicherkiewicza" (en: "Scientific expertise by Tomasz Wicherkiewicz"), 2008{{full citation needed|date=November 2014}} philosopher Jerzy Dadaczyński,"Ekspertyza naukowa ks. dra hab. Jerzego Dadaczyńskiego") (en: "Scientific expertise by Jerzy Dadaczyński"), 2008{{full citation needed|date=November 2014}} sociologist Elżbieta Anna Sekuła,"Ekspertyza naukowa dr Elżbiety Anny Sekuły" (en: "Scientific expertise by Elżbieta Anna Sekuła"), 2008{{full citation needed|date=November 2014}} and sociolinguist Tomasz Kamusella,{{cite book |title=Schlonzska mowa – Język, Górny Śląsk i nacjonalizm |trans-title=Silesian speech – language, Upper Silesia and nationalism |author=Tomasz Kamusella |isbn=83-919589-2-2 |language=pl|year=2005 |publisher=Narodowa Oficyna Śląska }}{{cite web |url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/1351/HEC03-01.pdf?sequence=1 |title=The Szlonzoks and their Language: Between Germany, Poland and Szlonzokian Nationalism |author=Tomasz Kamusella |publisher=European University Institute — Department of History and Civilization and Opole University |year=2003 }} support its status as a language. According to Stanisław Rospond, it is impossible to classify Silesian as a dialect of the contemporary Polish language because he considers it to be descended from Old Polish."Polszczyzna śląska" – Stanisław Rospond, Ossolineum 1970, p. 80–87{{Original research inline|date=November 2014}} According to Kamusella, "between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, several popular Silesian-Polish dictionaries were published, some of which were quite extensive. Initially, they referred to Silesian as a gwara (dialect) but then increasingly termed it a language."{{cite journal |author-link=Tomasz Kamusella |first=Tomasz |last=Kamusella |page=101 |title=Silesian: From Gwara to Language after 1989 |doi=10.35757/RPN.2016.24.05 |year=2016 |url=https://czasopisma.isppan.waw.pl/rpn/article/view/783 |volume=24 |issue=1 |journal=Rocznik Polsko-Niemiecki|doi-access=free }}

Other Polish linguists, such as Jan Miodek and Edward Polański, do not support its status as a language.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} Jan Miodek and Dorota Simonides, both of Silesian origin, prefer to see the preservation of the entire range of Silesian dialects rather than standardization.{{cite web|url=https://www.abstract.xlibx.com/a-history/74611-8-the-silesian-language-the-early-21st-century-speech-community.php|title=The Silesian Language in the Early 21st Century: A Speech Community on the Rollercoaster of Politics Tomasz Kamusella|work=xlibx.com|date=11 December 2012|access-date=11 June 2015}}

The German linguist Reinhold Olesch was greatly interested in the "Polish vernaculars" of Upper Silesia and other Slavic varieties such as Kashubian and Polabian.{{cite book |title=Neue deutsche Biographie |trans-title=New German biography |author=Ernst Eichler |year=1999 |page=519|language=de}}{{cite book |title=Zur schlesischen Sprachlandschaft: Ihr alter slawischer Anteil |trans-title=On the Silesian language landscape: their old Slavic share |author=Reinhold Olesch |year=1987 |pages=32–45 |language=de}}{{cite book |title=Śląski był jego językiem ojczystym: Reinhold Olesch, 1910–1990 |trans-title=Silesian was his mother tongue: Reinhold Olesch, 1910–1990 |author=Joanna Rostropowicz |language=pl}}{{cite book |title=Śląsk bogaty różnorodnością – kultur, narodów i wyznań. Historia lokalna na przykładzie wybranych powiatów, miast i gmin |trans-title=Silesia, a rich diversity – of cultures, nations and religions. Local history, based on selected counties, cities and municipalities |author=Krzysztof Kluczniok, Tomasz Zając |publisher=Urząd Gm. i M. Czerwionka-Leszczyny, Dom Współpracy Pol.-Niem., Czerwionka-Leszczyny |year=2004 |isbn=83-920458-5-8 }} Miodek argues that "there is no major grammatical feature within Silesian, which would not function simultaneously in the dialects of Lesser Poland or Greater Poland, Mazovian or Kashubian".

The United States Immigration Commission in 1911 classified it as one of the dialects of Polish.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofrace00unitrich#page/105/mode/1up|title=Dictionary of Races or Peoples|last1=Dillingham|first1=William Paul|last2=Folkmar|first2=Daniel|last3=Folkmar|first3=Elnora|publisher=Washington, Government Printing Office|others=United States. Immigration Commission (1907–1910)|year=1911|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=104–105}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofrace00unitrich#page/128/mode/1up/search/Silesian|title=Dictionary of Races or Peoples|last1=Dillingham|first1=William Paul|last2=Folkmar|first2=Daniel|last3=Folkmar|first3=Elnora|publisher=Washington, Government Printing Office|year=1911|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=128}} In their respective surveys of Slavic languages, most linguists writing in English, such as Alexander M. Schenker,Alexander M. Schenker, "Proto-Slavonic", The Slavonic Languages (1993, Routledge), pages 60–121. Robert A. Rothstein,Robert A. Rothstein, "Polish", The Slavonic Languages (1993, Routledge), pages 686–758. and Roland Sussex and Paul CubberleyRoland Sussex & Paul Cubberley, The Slavic Languages (2006, Cambridge University Press). list Silesian as a dialect of Polish, as does Encyclopædia Britannica.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/544121/Silesian |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Silesian }} On the question of whether Silesian is a separate Slavic language, Gerd Hentschel wrote that "Silesian ... can thus ... without doubt be described as a dialect of Polish" ("{{lang|de|Das Schlesische ... kann somit ... ohne Zweifel als Dialekt des Polnischen beschrieben werden}}").{{cite web |url=https://wwwg.uni-klu.ac.at/eeo/Schlesisch.pdf |author=Gerd Hentschel |title=Schlesisch |language=de}}{{cite book |author=Gerd Hentschel |title=Mitteleuropa – Osteuropa. Oldenburger Beiträge zur Kultur und Geschichte Ostmitteleuropas |year=2001 |chapter=Das Schlesische – eine neue (oder auch nicht neue) slavische Sprache? |publisher=P. Lang |isbn=3-631-37648-0}}Gerd Hentschel: Das Schlesische – eine neue (oder auch nicht neue) slavische Sprache?, Mitteleuropa – Osteuropa. Oldenburger Beiträge zur Kultur und Geschichte Ostmitteleuropas. Band 2, 2001 {{ISBN|3-631-37648-0}}

In contrast, Silesian linguist Henryk Jaroszewicz who codified Silesian, argues that Silesian constitutes a separate language, and bases his view on the need to prioritize extralinguistic factors of the intralinguistic ones:

{{blockquote|text=The narrative discussed above, according to which the Silesian ethnolect is currently a dialect of the Polish language, is not acceptable in the light of contemporary linguistic theories. The basic mistake committed by the quoted researchers - J. Miodek, J. Wronicz or A. Markowski - is to adhere to the view that the status of certain linguistic codes can be determined, solely on the basis of facts of intra-linguistic nature: genetic or structural. Modern linguistics, however, proved as early as the 1960s that there are no intralinguistic criteria that would ‘stand the more serious test of verification’ and unquestionably allow one to separate languages from dialects (Haugen 1980: 169). This is because it is not intralinguistic properties, but extralinguistic features that have a decisive influence on the final arrangement of linguistic typologies. Among these, the self-consciousness of the users, ‘the will of the users and the respect for this will expressed by their fellow citizens’ (Czesak 2008a: 22), plays a key role, secondarily the steps taken by a given community to codify its own ethnolect.{{cite journal |year=2019 |journal=Slavia Occidentalis |volume=76 |issue=1 |doi=10.14746/so.2019.76.2 |issn=0081-0002 |first=Henryk |last=Jaroszewicz |author-link=:pl:Henryk Jaroszewicz |publisher=Uniwersytet Wrocławski |title=Krytyka prób emancypacji śląszczyzny. Płaszczyzna naukowa (lingwistyczna) |pages=21–47 |url=https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/so/article/view/25134}}}}

Polish linguist Kazimierz Polański wrote: "The problem of distinguishing languages from dialects is not a purely linguistic problem, it is rather a sociological, psychological problem. To a certain extent, it is also political. It is not possible to establish linguistic criteria to distinguish between a language and a dialect. The main issue here is linguistic awareness, which causes a linguistic community to mature at a certain point and decide to become independent: it develops a dictionary of its language, codifies the rules of its use, its spelling, choice of alphabet, etc. From this point onwards, it is possible to speak of a separate language. From this point onwards, it is possible to speak of a distinct language."{{cite journal |department=O nauce i języku |year=1997 |title=Rozmowa Piotra Żmigrodzkiego z prof. Kazimierzem Polańskim

|journal=Śląsk |volume=6 |issue=20 |pages=37–38 |language=pl}}

Among the linguists who argue that Silesian is a language, Witold Mańczak wrote that "the defining feature between ethnolects is lexical, not grammatical, convergence".{{cite book |last=Mańczak |first=Witold |author-link=Witold Mańczak |year=1996 |title=Problemy językoznawstwa ogólnego |location=Wrocław |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich |language=pl |page=173}} In this context, Silesian has a lexical similarity of 53% with Polish; similarly, English language was evaluated to have a lexical similarity of 60% with the German language.{{cite journal |last1=Morrison |first1=Cassandra |first2=Vanessa |last2=Taler |year=2023 |title=ERP Differences between Monolinguals and Bilinguals: The Role of Linguistic Distance |journal=Bilingualism: Language and Cognition |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=293–306 |doi=10.1017/S1366728922000657 |doi-access=free }} Percentages higher than 85% usually indicate that the two languages being compared are likely to be related dialects.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-21 |title=Methodology |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/methodology/#Dialects |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}

In Czechia, disagreement exists concerning the Lach dialects which rose to prominence thanks to Óndra Łysohorsky and his translator Ewald Osers.{{cite book |title=Silesian Idiom and Language |author=Ewald Osers |location=New York |year=1949 }} While some have considered it a separate language, most now view Lach as a dialect of Czech.{{cite web |url=https://wwwg.uni-klu.ac.at/eeo/Tschechisch.pdf |title=Tschechisch |author=Dušan Šlosar |language=de}}{{cite web|url=https://wwwg.uni-klu.ac.at/eeo/Maehrisch.pdf|title=Lexikon der Sprachen des europäischen Ostens|trans-title=Encyclopedia of Languages of Eastern Europe|language=de|author=Aleksandr Dulichenko|author-link=Aleksandr Dulichenko}}{{cite web |url=https://www.osu.cz/fpd/kcd/dokumenty/cestinapositi/igstema1.htm |title=Útvary českého národního jazyka |trans-title=Structures of the Czech National Language |author=Pavlína Kuldanová |year=2003 |language=cs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902040929/https://www.osu.cz/fpd/kcd/dokumenty/cestinapositi/igstema1.htm |archive-date=2 September 2012 }}

{{main|Silesian orthography}}

{{main|Silesian orthography}}

File:Chorzów, reklama Canal+ na przystanku, język śląski, alfabet Steuera.jpg TV channel at a bus stop in Chorzów in the Silesian language written in the Steuer spelling. The translation is "Watch Ruch (Chorzów) matches on Canal+"|left]]

There have been a number of attempts at codifying the language spoken by Slavophones in Silesia. Probably the most well-known was undertaken by Óndra Łysohorsky when codifying the Lachian dialects in creating the Lachian literary language in the early 20th century.

Ślabikŏrzowy szrajbōnek is the relatively new alphabet created by the Pro Loquela Silesiana organization to reflect the sounds of all Silesian dialects. It was approved by Silesian organizations affiliated in Rada Górnośląska. Ubuntu translation is in this alphabet{{cite web|url=https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-l10n-szl |title="Silesian Ubuntu Translation" team |publisher=Launchpad.net |date=5 July 2009 |access-date=11 June 2015}} as is some of the Silesian Wikipedia, although some of it is in Steuer's alphabet. It is used in a few books, including the Silesian alphabet book.Mirosław Syniawa: Ślabikŏrz niy dlŏ bajtli. Pro Loquela Silesiana. {{ISBN|978-83-62349-01-2}}

: Letters: A, Ã, B, C, Ć, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, Ł, M, N, Ń, O, Ŏ, Ō, Ô, Õ, P, R, S, Ś, T, U, W, Y, Z, Ź, Ż.

One of the first alphabets created specifically for Silesian was Steuer's Silesian alphabet, created in the Interwar period and used by Feliks Steuer for his poems in Silesian. The alphabet consists of 30 graphemes and eight digraphs:

: Letters: A, B, C, Ć, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, Ł, M, N, Ń, O, P, R, S, Ś, T, U, Ů, W, Y, Z, Ź, Ż

: Digraphs: Au, Ch, Cz, Dz, Dź, Dż, Rz, Sz

Based on the Steuer alphabet, in 2006 the {{ill|Silesian Phonetic Alphabet|szl|Ślōnski alfabet fōnetyczny}} was proposed:

: Letters: A, B, C, Ć, Č, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, Ń, O, P, R, Ř, S, Ś, Š, T, U, Ů, W, Y, Z, Ź, Ž.

Silesian's phonetic alphabet replaces the digraphs with single letters (Sz with Š, etc.) and does not include the letter Ł, whose sound can be represented phonetically with U. It is therefore the alphabet that contains the fewest letters. Although it is the most phonetically logical, it did not become popular with Silesian organizations, with the argument that it contains too many caron diacritics and hence resembles the Czech alphabet. Large parts of the Silesian Wikipedia, however, are written in Silesian's phonetic alphabet.

Sometimes other alphabets are also used, such as the "Tadzikowy muster" (for the National Dictation Contest of the Silesian language) or the Polish alphabet, but writing in this alphabet is problematic as it does not allow for the differentiation and representation of all Silesian sounds.

{{Culture of Upper Silesia}}

Silesian has recently seen an increased use in culture, for example:

• {{Ill|Wachtyrz.eu|szl}}, online news and information platform (founded in January 2018){{cite web |url=https://wachtyrz.eu/ |title=Home |website=wachtyrz.eu}}
• YouTube personalities such as Niklaus Pieron{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnl8wEwDayK72E4Jodun7ZQ|title=Niklaus Pieron – YouTube|website=www.youtube.com}}
• TV and radio stations (for example: TV Silesia, Sfera TV, TVP3 Katowice, Slonsky Radio,{{Cite web|url=https://www.slonskyradio.eu/|title=SlonskyRadio|website=SlonskyRadio}} Radio Piekary, Radio Silesia, Radio Fest);
• Music groups (for example: {{Ill|Jan Skrzek|pl}}, Krzysztof Hanke, Hasiok, {{Ill|Dohtor Miód|pl}}, FEET);
• Theatre{{cite web |url=https://www.e-teatr.pl/pl/artykuly/57112.html |title=Po śląsku w kaplicy |trans-title=Once in the chapel of Silesia |publisher=e-teatr.pl |access-date=6 April 2012 |language=pl}} (for example: Polterabend in Silesian Theatre{{cite web |url=https://www.teatrslaski.art.pl/przedstawienia/polterabend.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070624085950/https://www.teatrslaski.art.pl/przedstawienia/polterabend.php |archive-date=24 June 2007 |title=Stanisław Mutz – Polterabend |publisher=Silesian Theatre |language=pl}});
• Plays[https://jednoaktowka.pl/poczytaj/ Jednoaktówki po śląsku]
• Film (for example: {{Ill|The Sinful Life of Franciszek Buła|pl|Grzeszny żywot Franciszka Buły|Grzeszny żywot Franciszka Buły}} ("Grzeszny żywot Franciszka Buły")
• Books (for example, the so-called {{Ill|Silesian Bible|pl|Silesian Bible}}; poetry: "Myśli ukryte" by Karol Gwóźdź)
• Teaching aides (for example, a Silesian basal reader){{in lang|szl}} {{cite news|url=https://katowice.gazeta.pl|title=Ślabikorz dlo Slůnzokůw|author=Przemysław Jedlicki, Mirosław Syniawa|date=13 February 2009|work=Gazeta Wyborcza Katowice|archive-url=https://bi.gazeta.pl/im/6/6274/m6274016.jpg|archive-date=13 February 2009}}

File:Książki w języku śląskim - Ksiōnżki we ślōnskij gŏdce - Books in Silesian.jpg, The Little Prince or A Christmas Carol]]

File:Silesian language - kwiaciarnia Blumy i Geszynki.JPG (Katowicy): Polish Kwiaciarnia ("florist") and Silesian Blumy i Geszynki ("flowers and gifts"). The latter also exemplifies the Germanisms in Silesian (cf. German Blumen und Geschenke).]]

In 2003, the National Publishing Company of Silesia ({{lang|pl|Narodowa Oficyna Śląska}}) commenced operations.{{cite web|url=https://www.narodowaoficynaslaska.friko.pl/|title=Narodowa Oficyna Śląska|trans-title=National Publishing Company of Silesia|language=szl|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904145609/https://www.narodowaoficynaslaska.friko.pl/|archive-date=4 September 2007}} This publisher was founded by the Alliance of the People of the Silesian Nation ({{lang|pl|Związek Ludności Narodowości Śląskiej}}) and it prints books about Silesia and books in Silesian language.

In July 2007, the Slavic Silesian language was given the ISO 639-3 code szl.{{cite web |url=https://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=szl |title=ISO documentation of Silesian language |publisher=SIL International }}

On 6 September 2007, 23 politicians of the Polish parliament made a statement about a new law to give Silesian the official status of a regional language.{{cite web |url=https://katowice.naszemiasto.pl/wydarzenia/865999.html |title=Śląski wśród języków świata |trans-title=Silesian Among the Languages of the World |author=Dziennik Zachodni |year=2008 |publisher=Our News Katowice |language=pl|author-link=Dziennik Zachodni }}

On 7 September 2007, the MPs of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland, League of Polish Families, People's National Movement and the Polish People's Party submitted a bill recognizing Silesian as a regional language in Poland. The bill did not pass because the Sejm was dissolved before it could be voted on, triggering a snap election.

The first official National Dictation Contest of the Silesian language ({{lang|pl|Ogólnopolskie Dyktando Języka Śląskiego}}) took place in August 2007. In dictation as many as 10 forms of writing systems and orthography have been accepted.{{in lang|szl|pl}} {{cite web |url=https://www.dyktando.org |title=National Dictation contest of the Silesian language }}Orthography: diacritic, Czech, phonetic, Hermannowa, Polish, Polish plus, Steuer's, Tadzikowa, Wieczorkowa, multisigned.

On 30 January 2008 and in June 2008, two organizations promoting Silesian language were established: Pro Loquela Silesiana and {{lang|szl|Tôwarzistwo Piastowaniô Ślónskij Môwy "Danga"}}.{{cite web |url=https://www.dz.com.pl/?tekst,2484 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620224607/https://www.dz.com.pl/?tekst,2484 |archive-date=20 June 2008 |title=Śląski wśród języków świata |trans-title=The Silesian language is a foreign language |work=Dziennik Zachodni |year=2008 |language=pl}}

On 26 May 2008, the Silesian Wikipedia was founded.{{cite web |url=https://technologie.gazeta.pl/technologie/1,82008,5248211,Slaska_Wikipedia_juz_dziala.html |title=Śląska Wikipedia już działa |trans-title=Silesian Wikipedia already operating |work=Gazeta Wyborcza-Gospodarka |year=2008 |language=pl}}[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Requests_for_new_languages/Wikipedia_Silesian Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Silesian. 2008. Wikimedia Meta-Wiki. 27 May.]

On 30 June 2008 in the edifice of the Silesian Parliament in Katowice, a conference took place on the status of the Silesian language. This conference was a forum for politicians, linguists, representatives of interested organizations and persons who deal with the Silesian language. The conference was titled "Silesian – Still a Dialect or Already a Language?" ({{lang|pl|Śląsko godka – jeszcze gwara czy jednak już język?}}).{{in lang|pl}} File:Wikinews-logo.svg {{cite news |url=https://pl.wikinews.org/wiki/Katowice:_konferencja_dotycz%C4%85ca_statusu_%C5%9Bl%C4%85skiej_mowy |title=Katowice: konferencja dotycząca statusu śląskiej mowy |trans-title=Katowice: Conference concerning the status of the Silesian language |newspaper=Polish Wikinews |date=1 July 2008 |access-date=6 April 2012 }}

In 2012, the Ministry of Administration and Digitization registered the Silesian language in Annex 1 to the Regulation on the state register of geographical names;[https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU20120000309 Dz.U. 2012 nr 0 poz. 309] – Internet System of Legal Acts however, in a November 2013 amendment to the regulation, Silesian is not included.[https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU20130001346 Dz. U. z 2013 r. poz. 1346]

On 26 April 2024, the Sejm voted 236-186 with five abstentions to recognise Silesian as a regional language.{{cite web |url=https://tvpworld.com/77207969/polish-parliament-recognizes-silesian-as-official-regional-language |title=Polish parliament recognizes Silesian as official regional language |work=TVP World |date=26 April 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |date=2024 |title=Język śląski uznany za język regionalny. Sejm uchwalił ustawę |trans-title=Silesian language recognized as a regional language. The Sejm passed the act. |url=https://www.bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Jezyk-slaski-uznany-za-jezyk-regionalny-Sejm-uchwalil-ustawe-8736376.html |work=Bankier.pl |language=pl}}{{cite web |date=2024 |title=Sejm uznał mowę śląską za język regionalny. |trans-title=The Sejm recognized the Silesian language as a regional language. |url=https://katowice.wyborcza.pl/katowice/7,35063,30922907,sejm-uznal-mowe-slaska-za-jezyk-regionalny-co-trzeba-wiedziec.html |work=Gazeta Wyborcza |language=pl}} On 29 May 2024, President Andrzej Duda vetoed the bill.{{Cite web |last=S |date=2024-05-29 |title=President Duda Vetoes Bill to Recognize Silesian Dialect as Regional Language |url=https://polanddaily24.com/president-duda-vetoes-bill-to-recognize-silesian-dialect-as-regional-language/politics/42199 |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=PolandDaily24.com |language=en-US}}

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On 26 June 2024, Silesian was added to the languages offered in the Google Translate service.[https://support.google.com/translate/answer/15139004?visit_id=638554307175779141-4093546030&p=TranslateNewLanguages2024&rd=1 What’s new in Google Translate: More than 100 new languages. 2024. Google Translate Help. 27 Jun.][https://blog.google/intl/en-in/google-translate-new-languages-2024/ 110 new languages are coming to Google Translate. 2024. Google India Blopg. 27 Jun.][https://www.slazag.pl/milowy-krok-dla-promocji-jezyka-slaskiego-tlumacz-google-wlaczyl-go-do-swoich-jezykow-nie-jest-idealnie-glownie-smiesznie Katarzyna Pachelska. 2024. Milowy krok dla promocji języka śląskiego!? Tłumacz Google włączył go do swoich języków. Nie jest idealnie, głównie - śmiesznie. Slązag. 28 Jun.]

File:Czerwony Hasiok - kontener z napisem po śląsku.jpg|A waste container with the inscription in Silesian Czerwony Hasiok (red trash can)

File:Galeria Katowicka, reklama po śląsku.jpg|An advertising billboard of Galeria Katowicka shopping mall that means "Black Friday. Buy something and get a bag with a graphic designed by Roobens"

File:Gryfnyj rajzy po Rybniku - język śląski w przestrzeni publicznej.jpg|A promotional poster of the ZTZ Rybnik bus company with the phrase Gryfnyj rajzy po Rybniku, which means "Have a nice trip around Rybnik"

File:Helios, reklama po śląsku.jpg|An advertising billboard in Silesian which means "True comfort in the cinema returns to Katowice! Helios"

File:Jeżech na sztrom - język śląski w Rybniku, komunikacja miejska.jpg|Public transport bus in Rybnik with the inscription "Jeżech na sztrom" (I'm electric)

File:Rebel Garden Cafe - język śląski 02.jpg|"Leave the empty glasses here so there is no mess" as a cartoon speech of Jerzy Ziętek (former general and governor of Katowice) in Rebel Garden Café in Chorzów

• List of Silesian-language films
• Silesian German
• Texas Silesian
• Wymysorys, West Germanic language in Wilamowice, Silesian Voivodeship
• Alzenau, East Central German dialect spoken in the former village of Hałcnów, which is now a district of Bielsko-Biała, Silesian Voivodeship
• Cieszyn Silesian

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• Paul Weber. 1913. [https://archive.org/details/diepoleninobersc00webeuoft Die Polen in Oberschlesien: eine statistische Untersuchung]. Verlagsbuchhandlung von Julius Springer in Berlin (in German)
• [https://www.morciniec.eu/13,curricullum_vitae_de Norbert Morciniec]. 1989. Zum Wortgut deutscher Herkunft in den polnischen Dialekten Schlesiens. Zeitschrift für Ostforschung, Bd. 83, Heft 3 (in German)
• Joseph Partsch. 1896. [https://www.sbc.org.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=3315&dirds=1&tab=1 Schlesien: eine Landeskunde für das deutsche Volk. T. 1., Das ganze Land] (die Sprachgrenze 1790 und 1890; pp. 364–367). Breslau: Verlag Ferdinand Hirt. (in German)
• Joseph Partsch. 1911. [https://www.sbc.org.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=3316&dirds=1&tab=1 Schlesien: eine Landeskunde für das deutsche Volk. T. 2., Landschaften und Siedelungen]. Breslau: Verlag Ferdinand Hirt. (in German)
• Lucyna Harc et al. 2013. [https://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/49790/Cuius_regio_vol_1.pdf Cuius Regio? Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of the Historical Region of Silesia (c. 1000–2000) vol. 1., The Long Formation of the Region Silesia (c. 1000–1526)]. Wrocław: eBooki.com.pl {{ISBN|978-83-927132-1-0}}
• Lucyna Harc et al. 2014. [https://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/73766/Cuius_regio_vol_2.pdf Cuius regio? Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of the Historical Region of Silesia (c. 1000–2000) vol. 2., The Strengthening of Silesian Regionalism (1526–1740)]. Wrocław: eBooki.com.pl {{ISBN|978-83-927132-6-5}}
• Lucyna Harc et al. 2014. [https://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/64229/Cuius_regio_vol_4.pdf Cuius regio? Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of the Historical Region of Silesia (c. 1000–2000) vol. 4., Region Divided: Times of Nation-States (1918–1945)]. Wrocław: eBooki.com.pl {{ISBN|978-83-927132-8-9}}
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2014. Ślōnsko godka / The Silesian Language. Zabrze: NOS, 196 pp. {{ISBN|9788360540220}}
• Tomasz Kamusella and Motoki Nomachi. 2014. The Long Shadow of Borders: The Cases of Kashubian and Silesian in Poland (pp 35–60). The Eurasia Border Review. Vol 5, No 2, Fall.[https://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/eurasia_border_review/ebr_v5n2/EBR_v5n2_35.pdf "The Long Shadow of Borders: The Cases of Kashubian and Silesian in Poland"]
• Review: Mark Brüggemann. 2013. Ślōnsko godka. The Silesian language[https://web.archive.org/web/20150210191347/https://www.pol-int.org/pl/publikationen/l-nsko-godka-silesian-language Tomasz Kamusella (2013): "Ślōnsko godka. The silesian language" - Review by Mark Brüggemann]
• Review: Michael Moser (uk). 2013. Zeitschrift für Slawistik (pp 118–119). Vol 58, No 1. Potsdam: Universität Potsdam.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2014. Warszawa wie lepiej Ślązaków nie ma. O dyskryminacji i języku śląskim [Warsaw Knows Better – The Silesians Don't Exist: On Discrimination and the Silesian Language]. Zabrze, Poland: NOS, 174 pp. {{ISBN|9788360540213}}.
• Review: {{Ill|Michael Mose|uk|Міхаель Мозер}}. 2013. Zeitschrift für Slawistik (pp 118–119). Vol 58, No 1. Potsdam: Universität Potsdam.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2013. The Silesian Language in the Early 21st Century: A Speech Community on the Rollercoaster of Politics (pp 1–35). Die Welt der Slaven. Vol 58, No 1.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2011. Silesian in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: A Language Caught in the Net of Conflicting Nationalisms, Politics, and Identities (pp 769–789). 2011. Nationalities Papers. No 5.
• {{cite journal|first1=Tomasz|last1=Kamusella|title=Language: Talking or trading blows in the Upper Silesian industrial basin?|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1038580|journal=Multilingua – Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication|date=2011|issn=1613-3684|pages=3–24|volume=30|issue=1|doi=10.1515/mult.2011.002|s2cid=144109393}}
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2009. Échanges de paroles ou de coups en Haute-Silésie: la langue comme 'lieu' de contacts et de luttes interculturels [Exchange of Words or Blows in Upper Silesia: Language as a "Place" of Contacts and Intercultural Struggles] (pp 133–152). Cultures d'Europe centrale. No 8: Lieux communs de la multiculturalité urbaine en Europe centrale, ed by Delphine Bechtel and Xavier Galmiche. Paris: CIRCE.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2007. Uwag kilka o dyskryminacji Ślązaków i Niemców górnośląskich w postkomunistycznej Polsce [A Few Remarks on the Discrimination of the Silesians and Upper Silesia's Germans in Postcommunist Poland]. Zabrze, Poland: NOS, 28 pp. {{ISBN|978-83-60540-68-8}}.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2006. Schlonzsko: Horní Slezsko, Oberschlesien, Górny Śląsk. Esej o regionie i jego mieszkańcach [Schlonzsko: Upper Silesia. An Essay on the Region and Its Inhabitants] (2nd, corrected and enlarged edition). Zabrze, Poland: NOS, 148 pp. {{ISBN|978-83-60540-51-0}}.
• Review: Anon. 2010. The Sarmatian Review. Sept. (p 1530).
• Review: Svetlana Antova. 2007. Bulgarian Ethnology / Bulgarska etnologiia. No 4 (pp 120–121).
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2009. Codzienność komunikacyjno-językowa na obszarze historycznego Górnego Śląska [The Everyday Language Use in Historical Upper Silesia] (pp 126–156). In: Robert Traba, ed. Akulturacja/asymilacja na pograniczach kulturowych Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej w XIX i XX wieku [Acculturation/Assimilation in the Cultural Borderlands of East-Central Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries] (vol 1: Stereotypy i pamięć [Stereotypes and memory]). Warsaw: Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN and Niemiecki Instytut Historyczny.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2009. Czy śląszczyzna jest językiem? Spojrzenie socjolingwistyczne [Is Silesian a Language? A Sociolinguistic View] (pp 27–35). In: Andrzej Roczniok, ed. Śląsko godka – jeszcze gwara czy jednak już język? / Ślōnsko godko – mundart jeszcze eli już jednak szpracha. Zabrze: NOŚ.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2006. Schlonzska mowa. Język, Górny Śląsk i nacjonalizm (Vol II) [Silesia and Language: Language, Upper Silesia and Nationalism, a collection of articles on various social, political and historical aspects of language use in Upper Silesia]. Zabrze, Poland: NOS, 151 pp. {{ISBN|83-919589-2-2}}.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2005. Schlonzska mowa. Język, Górny Śląsk i nacjonalizm (Vol I) [Silesia and Language: Language, Upper Silesia and Nationalism, a collection of articles on various social, political and historical aspects of language use in Upper Silesia]. Zabrze, Poland: NOS, 187 pp. {{ISBN|83-919589-2-2}}.
• [https://www.herder-institut.de/rezensionen/2006_55_611_613.pdf Review: Kai Struve. 2006. Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung. No 4. Marburg, Germany: Herder-Institut (pp 611–613).]
• Review: Kai Struve. 2007. Recenzyjo Instituta Herdera [Herder-Institute’s Review] (pp 26–27). Ślůnsko Nacyjo. No 5, Jul. Zabrze: NOŚ.
• Review: Jerzy Tomaszewski. 2007. Czy istnieje naród śląski? [Does the Silesian Nation Exist] (pp 280–283). Przegląd Historyczny. No 2. Warsaw: DiG and University of Warsaw.
• Review: Jerzy Tomaszewski. 2007. Czy istnieje naród śląski? [Does the Silesian Nation Exist] (pp 8–12). 2007. Ślůnsko Nacyjo. No 12, Dec. Zabrze: NOŚ.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2004. The Szlonzokian Ethnolect in the Context of German and Polish Nationalisms (pp. 19–39). Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism. No 1. London: Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism. {{doi| 10.1111/j.1754-9469.2004.tb00056.x}}.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 2001. Schlonzsko: Horní Slezsko, Oberschlesien, Górny Śląsk. Esej o regionie i jego mieszkańcach [Schlonzsko: Upper Silesia. An Essay on the Region and Its Inhabitants]. Elbląg, Poland: Elbląska Oficyna Wydawnicza, 108 pp. {{ISBN|83-913452-2-X}}.
• Review: Andreas R Hofmann. 2002. Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung. No 2. Marburg, Germany: Herder-Institut (p 311).
• Review: Anon. 2002. Esej o naszym regionie [An Essay on Our region] (p 4). Głos Ludu. Gazeta Polaków w Republice Czeskiej. No 69, 11 June. Ostrava, Czech Republic: Vydavatelství OLZA.
• Review: Walter Żelazny :eo:Walter Żelazny. 2003. Niech żyje śląski lud [Long Live the Silesian People] (pp 219–223). Sprawy Narodowościowe. No 22. Poznań, Poland: Zakład Badań Narodowościowych PAN.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 1999. Język a Śląsk Opolski w kontekście integracji europejskiej [Language and Opole Silesia in the Context of European Integration] (pp 12–19). Śląsk Opolski. No 3. Opole, Poland: Instytut Śląski.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 1998. Das oberschlesische Kreol: Sprache und Nationalismus in Oberschlesien im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert [The Upper Silesian Creole: Language and Nationalism in the 19th and 20th Centuries] (pp 142–161). In: Markus Krzoska und Peter Tokarski, eds. . Die Geschichte Polens und Deutschlands im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Ausgewählte Baiträge. Osnabrück, Germany: fibre.
• Tomasz Kamusella. 1998. Kreol górnośląski [The Upper Silesian Creole] (pp 73–84). Kultura i Społeczeństwo. No 1. Warsaw, Poland: Komitet Socjologii ISP PAN.
• Andrzej Roczniok and Tomasz Kamusella. 2011. Sztandaryzacyjo ślōnski godki / Standaryzacja języka śląskiego [The Standardization of the Silesian Language] (pp 288–294). In: I V Abisigomian, ed. Lingvokul’turnoe prostranstvo sovremennoi Evropy cherez prizmu malykh i bolshikh iazykov. K 70-letiiu professora Aleksandra Dimitrievicha Dulichenko (Ser: Slavica Tartuensis, Vol 9). Tartu: Tartu University.
• Robert Semple. London 1814. [https://archive.org/details/observationsmad00sempgoog Observations made on a tour from Hamburg through Berlin, Gorlitz, and Breslau, to Silberberg; and thence to Gottenburg] (pp. 122–123)

{{Wikibooks|Silesian}}

{{Commons category|Silesian language}}

{{Wikinews|Silesian language granted ISO code}}

{{InterWiki|code=szl}}

• {{in lang|szl}} [https://www.republikasilesia.com/jynzyk-szloonski/index.html {{lang|szl|Jynzyk S'loonski}}]

{{Languages of Poland}}

{{Languages of the Czech Republic}}

{{Slavic languages}}

{{Silesia topics}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silesian Language}}

Category:Languages of Germany

Category:Languages of Poland

Category:Languages of the Czech Republic

Category:Lechitic languages

Category:Slavic languages written in Latin script

Category:Culture of Silesian Voivodeship

Category:Culture of Opole Voivodeship