Where are the Sorbian languages spoken?

The Sorbian languages (Serbsce and Serbski) are two closely related languages spoken by the Sorbs, a Slavic minority in the Lusatia (Lausitz) region of eastern Germany. They are classified under the West Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Historically the languages have also been known as Wendish or Lusatian. Their collective ISO 639-2 code is wen. They are closely related to Polish, Kashubian, Czech, and Slovak.

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

Since the settlement of the formerly Germanic territories (the part largely corresponding to the former East Germany) by the Sorbs' Slavic ancestors in the 5th and 6th centuries, the Sorbian language (or its predecessors) has been in use in much of what was the southern half of East Germany for several centuries, and still has its stronghold in (Upper and Lower) Lusatia, where it enjoys national protection and fostering until today. Outside Lusatia, it has been superseded by German, following official discrimination from the 13th century on.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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26 Comments

Mercedes Farinas

Very good question. Very few people have knowledge of the region where these languages are spoken.

GONavarini

An excellent question, that's not (quite) a trick question. Ether you know, or you don't.

Helga U. Williams

I grew up in Berlin, Germany and never met anyone who spoke Sorbian, not even in Brandenburg. The State of Brandenburg adjoins the State of Berlin, so I am surprised. I also heard of Lausitz and Sudetenland, never of Sorbia. 🙄

Frank Sherwood

Lawanta, Kashubian is considered closer to Polish but was part of the Austrian and Prussian migration into Polish and Czechlands. They did overlap in Silesia but the the Kashubians were more centered on the Vistula toward Danzig/Gdansk area and in Pomerania (to give it its old German name).

Frank Sherwood

Actually, I would have preferred Czech Republic except most were expelled after WW2 before which the area was called Sudeten after the Sudeten Mts.

teacherchicky

That region is often referred to as Sorbia, so technically, either answer would have been correct! Great question but you shouldn't have included Sorbia as an answer unless it was a correct one!