languages:lower_sorbian_in_germany
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Table of Contents
Sorbian in Germany
Language designations:
Lower Sorbian:
- In the language itself: Dolnoserbski
- ISO 639-3 standard: dsb
Upper Sorbian:
- In the language itself: Hornjoserbšćina
- ISO 639-3 standard: hsb
Language vitality according to:
*UNESCO makes no distinction between Lower and Upper Sorbian
Standardized orthography:
Linguistic classification:
A little history
The Sorbs, together with other West Slavonic tribes, came from north of the Carpathian Mountains during the migration wave of the Slavs in the sixth century. They colonised an area which covered an area between the Oder, Queis and Bober rivers in the east and the Saale in the west. It stretched as far as the Erz and Fichtel Mountains in the south, up to Berlin’s northern suburbs. The first documented evidence of the Sorbs is in a Franconian chronicle dating from 631 AD in which they are mentioned as the Surbi 1).
Read more in Mercator's Regional Dossier
Language area
Lower Sorbian (dolnoserbska rěc or Wendish) and Upper Sorbian (hornjoserbska rěč) are western Slavonic languages spoken in Lower Lusatia (located in the German state Land of Brandenburg) and Upper Lusatia (located in the German state Free State of Saxony). Especially Lower Sorbian dialects are vanishing due to the major role of formal learning of the standard language in school. In central parts of Upper Lusatia there are still villages where Upper Sorbian is the first language and the family language of all generations. In Lower Lusatia the language is rarely passed on to to the next generation.
operating instructions
Various functions are available as part of the map.
mouse/touch operation
- moving by grabbing the map with a mouse-click you can move the map around
- overview map using the < button in the bottom right of the map you can expand an overview map
- zooming in and out using the + and - buttons in the top left of the map you can obtain more or less detail in the map
- switching themes or maps clicking on the ≡ icon on the right-hand side of the map you can view and select available maps and themes
- retrieving information the map may contain elements that contain more information, by clicking these a popup will show this information
- fullscreen display using the ⛶ button the map can be maximized to fullscreen display, use the ▢ button to return to page display.
keyboard operation
Keyboard operation becomes available after activating the map using the tab key (the map will show a focus indicator ring).
- moving using the arrow keys you can move the map
- overview map using the + button in the bottom right of the map you can expand an overview map
- zooming in and out using the + and - buttons in the top left of the map or by using the + and - keys you can obtain more or less detail in the map
- switching themes or maps clicking on the ≡ icon on the right-hand side of the map you can view and select available maps and themes
- retrieving information the map may contain elements that contain more information, using the i key you can activate a cursor that may be moved using the arrow keys, pressing the enter will execute an information retrieval. press the i or the escape key to return to navigation mode
- fullscreen display using the ⛶ button the map can be maximized to fullscreen display, use the ▢ button to return to page display.
It's possible that some of the functions or buttons describe above have been disabled by the page author or the administrator
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Demographics
Language and education legislation:
European legislation:
Lower Sorbian is covered under Part III of the Charter
Modified: 23-08-2016, 16:24
National legislation
Lower Sorbian is not an official language in Germany: the only official language in Germany is German.
Modified: 23-08-2016, 16:24
0-3 Years old: preschool education
Legislation
Brandenburg: daycare centres are obliged to teach about Sorbian language and culture. They receive financial support from the Foundation for Sorbian People. The Federal State is obliged to support Sorbian education of the group leaders and to provide pedagogical materials.
Saxony: the State provides Sorbian groups with additional financial support for staff and education materials.
Teacher training
Training in Sorbian for group leaders is provided:
- In Upper and Lower Lusatia by the WITAJ Language Centre;
- In Lower Lusatia by the School for Lower Sorbian Language and Culture;
- In Upper Lusatia by the Serbske kubłanske srjedźišćo LIPA (Sorbian Family and Education Centre “LIPA” registered association).
Educational materials
Educational materials are developed by WITAJ Language Centre
5-10 or 12 years old: primary education
Legislation
Saxony: the Sorbian language may be used as a language of instruction, and taught as a subject. Basic knowledge about the history and culture of the Sorbs has to be taught at school 2).
Brandenburg: schools are obliged to inform parents about the possibilities to learn Sorbian. Basic knowledge about the history and culture of the Sorbs has to be taught at schools 3).
Teacher training
In Lower Lusatia, Arbeitsstelle Bildungsentwicklung Cottbus is responsible for training teachers in the Sorbian language.
Educational materials
Educational materials are developed by
Different methods are available for teaching Sorbian as a first language, and as a foreign language.
In practice
Regard for the minority language in class
Teacher skills
12-16/18 years old: secondary education
Legislation
Saxony: the Sorbian language may be used as a language of instruction, and taught as a subject. Basic knowledge about the history and culture of the Sorbs has to be taught at school 4).
Brandenburg: schools are obliged to inform parents about the possibilities to learn Sorbian. Basic knowledge about the history and culture of the Sorbs has to be taught at schools 5).
Teacher training
- The Institut za Sorabistiku trains Sorbian language teachers.
Educational materials
Educational materials are developed by
Different methods are available for teaching Sorbian as a first language, and as a foreign language.
Adult education
- The Institut za Sorabistiku, university of Leipzig offers a bachelor and a master in Sorbian Studies.
Evaluation of language education
Saxony: external evaluation of Sorbian language education is carried out by the Saxon Education Institute.
Educational resources
- Serbski Muzej, Sorbian museum with many educational activities.
Online resources:
- Sociolinguistic bibliography at Glottolog: http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/lowe1385
- Record at Olac
- Record at Wikipedia
languages/lower_sorbian_in_germany.1475747651.txt.gz · Last modified: 2016/10/06 11:54 by johanneke