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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 671

Part of General Paper Session (Other abstracts in this session)

Revitalisation through Documentation - the Case of Wilamowicean, a Micro-Minority Language in Southern Poland

Authors: Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz (1); Król, Tymoteusz (2)
Submitted by: Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland)

The town of Wilamowice is located close to the historical boundaries between the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia. The settlement together with its inhabitants have been regarded as a unique ethnolinguistic enclave within the area of Polish-German(ic) southern borderland.
In the first part, the authors will familiarize listeners with the historical, cultural, linguistic, and dialectological background, to continue with an outline of the modern sociolinguistic situation of the enclave. According to historiographic research, the settlement was founded in the 13th century by settlers for the central-western part of German-speaking area. The inhabitants of Wilamowice, however, regard themselves as descendants of colonists from Flanders, Friesland, Holland or even England and Scotland. That endo-ethnotheory of origin has had a significant influence on the modern (sociopolitical) history of the community. The core values of the distinct culture of the town have been its ethnolect and folklore.
Nowadays, Wilamowicean (Wymysöeriš) is probably the smallest Germanic language in the world. It is understood by approximately eighty people, and actively spoken by no more than thirty elderly persons. Despite a significantly weaker position than the dominant Polish language, it has preserved its genuine Germanic character, with remarkable traces of German(ic)-Slavic language contact.
The main part of the paper will focus on the state of (sociolinguistic) research and documentation of Wilamowicean. Aside from presenting the documenting efforts and (descriptive) linguistic materials already prepared and edited, the authors will focus on the recent activities aiming at revitalisation of the language and upgrading its position and status within the community and beyond.
Subsequently, Tymoteusz Król – the only young native speaker of Wilamowicean – will demonstrate the use of the language as well as a short documentary where people with the best Wilamowicean competence speak about their language and cultural history.