Lower Sorbian:

• In the language itself: Dolnoserbski
• ISO 639-3 standard: dsb

Upper Sorbian:

• In the language itself: Hornjoserbšćina
• ISO 639-3 standard: hsb

UNESCO*	Ethnologue	Endangered Languages

^{1) UNESCO makes no distinction between Lower and Upper Sorbian. 2) The language vitality of Ethnologue and Endangered Languages reflect Upper Sorbian, not Lower Sorbian.}

• Classification: Indo-European → Slavic. For more information, see lowe1385 at Glottolog

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.

Sorbian education has varied with changing regimes: ¹⁾.

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 ²⁾ and 7 A-type schools in Brandenburg³⁾ covering primary, secundary and Gymnasium level.

• Lower Sorbian and Upper Sorbian are covered under Part III of the Charter⁴⁾.
• Download the latest Council of Europe report (2018) of Germany

• Sorbian is not an official language in Germany: the only official language in Germany is German⁵⁾.
• The Sorbian minority is recognised as one of the four autochthonous national minorities in Germany⁶⁾.
• The Sorbian language is recognised as one of the five autochthonous and regional languages in Germany⁷⁾.

Within the Free State of Saxony, Sorbian is recognised and protected in:

• Saxon Constitution in Section 1, Article 6 (May 1992)
• Law on the rights of Sorbs in the Free State of Saxony in (March 1999)
• Saxon Education Act in Section 1, Article 1.2 (Sept 2018)

Within the State of Brandenburg, Sorbian is recognised and protected in:

• Constitution of the state of Brandeburg in Section 4, article 25 (June 1992)
• Law on the organization of the rights of the Sorbs / Wends in the state of Brandenburg (July 1992)
• Brandenburg Education Act (July 2000)

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.

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 ⁸⁾.

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 ⁹⁾.

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 ¹⁰⁾.

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 ¹¹⁾.

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 part 2, section 2.38
• External evaluation of Sorbian language education is carried out by the Saxon Education Institute.

In the state of Brandenburg:

• Sorbian/Wendish is classified as a foreign language and the curriculum is based on this.

Especially Lower Sorbian dialects are vanishing due to the learning of the standard language in school.¹²⁾.

• The Institut za Sorabistiku, university of Leipzig offers a bachelor and a master in Sorbian Studies.

• Educational materials are developed by:
  • WITAJ Language Centre
  • Arbeitsstelle Bildungsentwicklung Cottbus.
  • Saxon Education Institute.

Different methods are available for teaching Sorbian as a first language, and as a foreign language.

• Training in Sorbian for pre-school 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).
  • Serbski Muzej, Sorbian museum with many educational activities.
• In primary education in Lower Lusatia, Arbeitsstelle Bildungsentwicklung Cottbus is responsible for training teachers in the Sorbian language.
• The Institut za Sorabistiku trains Sorbian language teachers for secondary education.

Read more about Sorbian language education in Mercator's Regional Dossier (2016).