Vilamovian language

[Roy]

Vilamovian or Wilamowicean (Wymysiöeryś) is a West Germanic language spoken in the small town of Wilamowice (Wymysoj in Vilamovian) near Bielsko-Biała, on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland in the historical region of Galicia. At present, there are probably between 70 and 100[2] native users of Vilamovian, virtually all bilingual and the majority of them are elderly people; Vilamovian is therefore a moribund language. About 500 of people fully understand this language.

History

In origin, Vilamovian appears to derive from 12th century Middle High German, with a strong influence from Low German, Dutch, Frisian, Polish and Old English. The inhabitants of Wilamowice are thought to be descendants of German, Flemish and Scottish settlers who arrived in Poland in the 13th century. However, the inhabitants of Wilamowice always denied any connections with Germany and proclaimed their Flemish origins.[3] While related to German, Vilamovian is not mutually intelligible with that language.[4]

Vilamovian was the vernacular language of Wilamowice until 1939–1945. However, it seems it has been in decline since late 19th century. In 1880 as much as 92% of the town's inhabitants spoke the language (1525 out of 1662), in 1890 - only 72%, in 1900 - 67%, in 1910 - 73% again.[5] While Vilamovian was taught in local schools (under the name of "local variety of German"), since 1875 the basic language of instruction in most schools in Austro-Hungarian Galicia was Polish.[5] During World War II and the German occupation of Poland the language was openly promoted by the Nazi administration, but after the war the tables turned: local communist authorities forbade the use of the language in any form.[5] While common bilingualism saved most local residents from being forcibly resettled to Germany, many of them stopped teaching their children their language or even use it in daily life.[6] Although the ban was lifted after 1956, Vilamovian has been gradually replaced by Polish, especially amongst the younger generations.

Because of the proposal by Tymoteusz Król, who was 14 years old in that time, the Library of Congress added the Vilamovian language to the register of languages on July 18, 2007.[7] It was also registered in the International Organization for Standardization, where it got the wym ISO code.[8] In a 2009 UNESCO report the language has been reported as "severely endangered".[7]

Vilamovian was the language in which the poetry of Florian Biesik was written, during the 19th century.

[Roy]

bump. Any thoughts?

[sioned]

It is said to be of Flemish origin, so I have read once .