Die deutsche Sprache in Oberschlesien am Beispiel des Sprachinseldeutschen von Kostenthal/Gościęcin

Abstract

As one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, German is not in any way a uniform form of communication. The present contribution will deal with German in Silesia particularly the German spoken in the Upper Silesian language island (Sprachinsel) of Kostenthal (Gościecin). Following an introduction to the historical development of this language island, I will present several particularities of this German variety. The idiosyncrasies of the base dialect of Kostenthal that are reflected in the predominant German Umgangssprache spoken locally today will then be shown.