Wiki on Minority Language Learning

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====== Sorbian in Germany ======

==== Language designations: ====
Lower Sorbian:
  * In the language itself: Dolnoserbski
  * [[general_information:glossary_of_terms#ISO 639-3|ISO 639-3]] standard: dsb

Upper Sorbian:
  * In the language itself: Hornjoserbšćina
  * [[general_information:glossary_of_terms#ISO 639-3|ISO 639-3]] standard: hsb

==== Language vitality according to: ====


^  ^ [[https://en.wal.unesco.org/search?keys=sorbian|UNESCO]] ^ [[https://www.ethnologue.com/subgroup/4255/|Ethnologue]] ^ [[http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/4280|Endangered Languages]] ^  [[https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/uppe1395|Glottolog]]  ^
| Lower Sorbian  |  {{:endangerment:yellow.png?nolink|Definitely endangered}}  |  {{:endangerment:orange.png?nolink|Endangered}}  |   {{:endangerment:yellow.png?nolink|Threatened}}  |  {{:endangerment:yellow.png?nolink|shifting}}  | 
| Upper Sorbian  |  {{:endangerment:yellow.png?nolink|Endangered/unsafe}}  |  {{:endangerment:orange.png?nolink|Endangered}}  |  {{:endangerment:blue.png?nolink|Vulnerable}}  |  {{:endangerment:yellow.png?nolink|threatened}}  | 

==== Linguistic aspects: =====
  * Classification: Indo-European → Slavic. For more information, see [[http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/lowe1385|lowe1385]] at [[http://glottolog.org/|Glottolog]]

==== Language standardization: ====

===== Demographics =====

==== 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). 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.

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==== Speaker number ====

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====== Language and education legislation: ======
===== History of language education: =====

Sorbian education has varied with changing regimes: ((Brĕzan, B. and M. Nowak. (2016) //Sorbian in Germany, 2nd edition//[[https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/sorbian_in_germany_2nd.pdff|Mercator's Regional Dossier]])).

Before 1945:
  * Limited opportunites for Sorbian education
After WWII:
  * Establishment of bilingual programmes from nursery schools to university.
  * Sorbian training college opened in Radibor in 1946 (later moved to Bautzen).
  * Sorbian schools made possible by 1948 law.
After 1950/during DDR:
  * Two types of schools established
    * A-type: Sorbian language as a medium  of  instruction
    * B-type: Sorbian language as foreign language
      *In 1955, there were 11 A-type schools and 94 B-type schools.
   * In 1962, Sorbian placed in inferior position by DDR-directive: not allowed as medium of instruction for chemistry, mathematics, physics and citizenship education
  * In 1964, Sorbian became voluntary subject
  * Sorbian marked as foreign language in school
      * In 1980s, there were around 7 A-type schools and 80 B-type schools.
 
In 2020 there are 16 type A schools in Saxony ((Sächsische Staatskanzlei. (n.d.).//Sorbische Schulen in Sachsen// Retrieved February 19, 2020, from [[https://www.schule.sachsen.de/166.htm]].)) and 7 A-type schools in Brandenburg((Bildungserver Berlin-Brandenburg. (n.d.). //Brandenburgische Schulen mit bilingualem Unterricht Sorbisch/Wendisch//. Retrieved February 19, 2020, from [[https://bildungsserver.berlin-brandenburg.de/unterricht/faecher/bilingualer-unterricht/brandenburgische-schulen-mit-bilingualem-unterricht-sorbischwendisch]].)) covering primary, secundary and Gymnasium level.
===== European legislation: ======

  * Lower Sorbian and Upper Sorbian are covered under [[general_information:glossary_of_terms#Part III of the European Charter for Regional and Minority languages|Part III]] of the Charter((CoE. (2018, January 1). //States Parties to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languagesand their regional or minority languages//. Retrieved 19 February, 2020, from [[https://rm.coe.int/states-parties-to-the-european-charter-for-regional-or-minority-langua/168077098c]].)).
  * Download the [[https://rm.coe.int/germanypr6-en/168078a778|latest Council of Europe report]] (2018) of Germany
===== National legislation =====

  *Sorbian is not an [[general_information:glossary_of_terms#Official language:|official language]] in Germany: the only official language in Germany is German((Adler, A. and R. Beyer. (2018). //Languages and language policies in Germany / Sprachen und Sprachenpolitik in Deutschland//. National  language  institutions  and  national languages.  Contributions  to  the  EFNIL  Conference  2017  in  Mannheim. Budapest: Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved February 19, 2020, from [[http://www.efnil.org/documents/conference-publications/mannheim-2017/EFNIL-Mannheim-27-Adler-Beyer.pdf]].)).
  *The Sorbian minority is recognised as one of the four autochthonous national minorities in Germany((Minderheitensekretariat. (n.d.). //Wen vertreten wir?// Retrieved February 19, 2020, from [[https://www.minderheitensekretariat.de/wen-vertreten-wir/uebersicht-und-selbstverstaendnis/]].)).
  *The Sorbian language is recognised as one of the five autochthonous and regional languages in Germany((Adler, A. and R. Beyer. (2018). //Languages and language policies in Germany / Sprachen und Sprachenpolitik in Deutschland//. National  language  institutions  and  national languages.  Contributions  to  the  EFNIL  Conference  2017  in  Mannheim. Budapest: Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved February 19, 2020, from [[http://www.efnil.org/documents/conference-publications/mannheim-2017/EFNIL-Mannheim-27-Adler-Beyer.pdf]].)).
===== Regional legislation =====

Within the Free State of Saxony, Sorbian is recognised and protected in:
  * [[https://www.revosax.sachsen.de/vorschrift/3975-Saechsische-Verfassung|Saxon Constitution]] in Section 1, Article 6 (May 1992)
  * [[https://www.revosax.sachsen.de/vorschrift/3019.3#p8|Law on the rights of Sorbs in the Free State of Saxony]] in  (March 1999)
  * [[https://www.revosax.sachsen.de/vorschrift/4192-Saechsisches-Schulgesetz#p4a|Saxon Education Act]] in Section 1, Article 1.2 (Sept 2018)

Within the State of Brandenburg, Sorbian is recognised and protected in:
  * [[https://bravors.brandenburg.de/de/gesetze-212792|Constitution of the state of Brandeburg]] in Section 4, article 25 (June 1992)
  * [[https://bravors.brandenburg.de/gesetze/swg|Law on the organization of the rights of the Sorbs / Wends in the state of Brandenburg]] (July 1992)
  * [[https://bravors.brandenburg.de/verordnungen/swschulv_2000|Brandenburg Education Act]] (July 2000)
 
===== Educational legislation: =====
==== 0-3 Years old: preschool education ====


Saxony: the State provides Sorbian groups with additional financial support for staff and education materials.

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.


==== 5-10 or 12 years old: primary education ====
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 ((Saechsisches-Schulgeset, Paragraph 2 (2004). [[https://www.revosax.sachsen.de/vorschrift/4192-Saechsisches-Schulgesetz#p4a]])).

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 ((//Sorbian / Wendish Schulverordnung// (2000). [[https://bravors.brandenburg.de/verordnungen/swschulv_2000]])).

==== 12-16/18 years old: secondary education ====
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 ((Saechsisches-Schulgeset, Paragraph 2 (2004). [[https://www.revosax.sachsen.de/vorschrift/4192-Saechsisches-Schulgesetz#p4a]])).

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 ((//Sorbian / Wendish Schulverordnung// (2000). [[https://bravors.brandenburg.de/verordnungen/swschulv_2000]])).

===== Institutional support for education of the language =====

In the Free state of Saxony:
  * The Regulation of the Saxon State Ministry of Education on the First State Examination for teaching at schools in the Free State of Saxony of 2012 defines the content of Sorbian studies in [[https://www.revosax.sachsen.de/vorschrift/12561-Lehramtspruefungsordnung-I#p38|part 2, section 2.38]]
  * External evaluation of Sorbian language education is carried out by the [[https://bildung.sachsen-anhalt.de/schulen/einrichtungen-fuer-die-schule/landesinstitut-fuer-schulqualitaet-und-lehrerbildung/|Saxon Education Institute]].


In the state of Brandenburg:
  * Sorbian/Wendish is classified as a foreign language and the [[https://bildungsserver.berlin-brandenburg.de/rlp-online/c-faecher/sorbischwendisch/kompetenzentwicklung/|curriculum]] is based on this. 
 

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====== Education in practice ======
Especially Lower Sorbian dialects are vanishing due to the learning of the standard language in school.((Brĕzan, B. and M. Nowak. (2016). //The Sorbian Language in Education in Germany, 2nd Edition//. Retrieved February 19, 2020, from [[https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/sorbian_in_germany_2nd.pdf]].)). 

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====== Learning resources and educational institutions ======
  *  The [[https://www.nhl.nl/|Institut za Sorabistiku]], university of Leipzig offers a bachelor and a master in Sorbian Studies.

  * Educational materials are developed by: 
    * [[http://www.witaj-sprachzentrum.de/|WITAJ Language Centre]]  
    * [[https://www.cottbus.de/wissenswert/sorbische_institutionen/|Arbeitsstelle Bildungsentwicklung Cottbus]]. 
    * [[http://www.sbi.smk.sachsen.de/|Saxon Education Institute]].

online resources: 

  * [[https://soblex.de/| Soblex]] German-Upper Sorbian / Upper Sorbian-German dictionary and inflection tables 
  * [[https://dolnoserbski.de/|Dolnoserbski:]] dictionaries, corpora and other resources for Lower Sorbian
  * [[https://hornjoserbsce.de/|Hornjoserbsce]] German-Upper Sorbian dictionary
  * [[https://sotra.app/|Sotra]] automatic translator between Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian and German

  * [[https://sprachkurs.sorbischlernen.de/#/welcome| Sorbisch Lernen:]] Both Upper and Lower Sorbian online course at A1 and A2 level (German and English as base languages) and for level B1 (Sorbian)
  * [[https://krokpokroku.sorbischlernen.de/lekcije|Krok po kroku]] - Upper Sorbian intermediate grammar online course
  * [[https://kšacpókšacu.sorbischlernen.de/lekcije/| Kšac pó kšacu]] Lower Sorbian intermediate grammar online course
  * [[http://www.sorbische-wendische-sprachschule.de/| Sorbische Wendische Sprachschule:]] website of the Lower Sorbian School of Language and Culture


  



Different methods are available for teaching Sorbian as a first language, and as a foreign language.
==== Teacher training ====
  * Training in Sorbian for pre-school group leaders is provided:
    * In Upper and Lower Lusatia by the [[http://www.witaj-sprachzentrum.de/|WITAJ Language Centre]];
    * In Lower Lusatia by the [[http://www.sorbische-wendische-sprachschule.de/|School for Lower Sorbian Language and Culture]];
    * In Upper Lusatia by the [[http://www.lipa-ev.de/|Serbske kubłanske srjedźišćo LIPA]] (Sorbian Family and Education Centre “LIPA” registered association).
    * [[http://sorbisches-museum.de/bildung-und-vermittlung/?lang=en|Serbski Muzej]], Sorbian museum with many educational activities.
  * In primary education in Lower Lusatia, [[https://www.cottbus.de/wissenswert/sorbische_institutionen/|Arbeitsstelle Bildungsentwicklung Cottbus]] is responsible for training teachers in the Sorbian language.
  * The [[https://www.nhl.nl/|Institut za Sorabistiku]] trains Sorbian language teachers for secondary education.

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====== Mercator's Regional Dossier ======

[[http://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/dossiers_pdf/sorbian_in_germany_web.pdf|{{:images:dossier.png?nolink|}}]][[https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/sorbian_in_germany_2nd.pdf|Read more]] about Sorbian language education in Mercator's Regional Dossier (2016).