East Low Saxon
East Low Saxon (also called
East Low German) is a group of
Low Saxon dialects spoken in Northeast
Germany as well as by minorities in northern
Poland. Together with
West Low Saxon, it constitutes
Low Saxon.
East Low Saxon belongs to the
dialect continuum of the continental
West Germanic languages.
In the West it fades into West Low Saxon. The distinction is usually made referring to the plural endings of the verbs: East Low Saxon endings are based on the old first/third person ending: -e(n), whereas West Low Saxon endings are based on the old second person ending: -(e)t. The categorization of the Low Saxon dialects into an Eastern and a Western group is not made by all linguists.
In the South, it fades into
East Central German. The difference is that the East Low Saxon varieties have not been affected by the
High German consonant shift. The areas affected by the High German consonant shift are still expanding today, especially the
Berlinerisch dialect that is gaining ground on the
Brandenburgisch dialect by which it is surrounded.
East Low Saxon dialects are:
* In
Germany:
**
Brandenburgisch (in
Brandenburg)
**
Mecklenburgisch-Pommersch (eastern parts)
* In
Poland:
**
Low Prussian (spoken by minorities around
Gdańsk in northern Poland; nearly extinct since 1945, considered to include Plautdietsch by some observers)
**
East Pomeranian (spoken by minorities in
Pomerania and
Brazil)
It also includes
Plautdietsch (originating from
Danzig), which is spoken by
Mennonites in
North America and a few other places in the world.
Berlinerisch (in
Berlin) was a version of Brandenburgisch in medieval times until they split off; it is now seen as an East High German dialect.
Baltendeutsch is a
High German variety influenced by East Low Saxon formerly spoken by Germans in the Baltic states.
: Ons Voda em Himmel,: lot dien Nome jeheilicht woare;: lot dien Ritjdom kome;: lot dien Welle jedone woare,: uck hia oppe Ed, soo aus em Himmel;: jeff ons Dach fe Dach daut Broot, daut ons fehlt;: en vejeff ons onse Schult,: soo aus wie den vejewe, dee sich jeajen ons veschuldicht ha;: en brinj ons nich en Vesetjunk nenn,: oba rad ons von Beeset.
Fritz Reuter is one of the most famous Low Saxon writers.
*
Prussia*
Plautdietsch Freunde e.V.
