Lower Sorbian language

"Lower Sorbian" redirects here. For the people, see Lower Sorbs.
Not to be confused with Serbian language.
Lower Sorbian
dolnoserbšćina, dolnoserbski
Pronunciation[ˈdɔlnɔˌsɛrskʲi]
Native toGermany
RegionBrandenburg
EthnicitySorbs
Native speakers
6,900 (2007)[1]
Latin (Sorbian alphabet)
Language codes
ISO 639-2dsb
ISO 639-3dsb
Glottologlowe1385
ELPLower Sorbian
Linguasphere53-AAA-ba < 53-AAA-b < 53-AAA-b...-d (varieties: 53-AAA-baa to 53-AAA-bah)
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Lower Sorbian (endonym: dolnoserbšćina) is a West Slavic minority language spoken in eastern Germany in the historical province of Lower Lusatia, today part of Brandenburg.

Standard Lower Sorbian is one of the two literary Sorbian languages, the other being the more widely spoken standard[clarify] Upper Sorbian. The Lower Sorbian literary standard was developed in the 18th century, based on a southern form of the Cottbus dialect.[2] The standard variety of Lower Sorbian has received structural influence from Upper Sorbian.[2]

Lower Sorbian is spoken in and around the city of Cottbus in Brandenburg. Signs in this region are typically bilingual, and Cottbus has a Lower Sorbian Gymnasium where one language of instruction is Lower Sorbian. It is a heavily endangered language.[3] Most native speakers today belong to the older generations.

  1. ^ Lower Sorbian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Björn Rothstein, Rolf Thieroff (2010). Mood in the Languages of Europe. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 376–377. ISBN 9789027205872.
  3. ^ Moseley, Christopher, ed. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2.