Relationship spoken language – script,an attempt at language analysis of the chosen German entries in the oldest city book from Zgorzelec (Görlitz) Cover Image

Relacja mowa–pismo, czyli próba analizy językowej wybranych niemieckich adnotacji w najstarszej księdze miejskiej Zgorzelca (1305–1343)
Relationship spoken language – script,an attempt at language analysis of the chosen German entries in the oldest city book from Zgorzelec (Görlitz)

Author(s): Piotr A. Owsiński
Subject(s): Language studies, Cultural history, Library and Information Science
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: spoken language; script; phoneme; grapheme; sound change

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the results of the phonemic-graphemic analysis of the German dispositions upon death drawn up by spouses from the first half of the 14th century, which come from the town council of Zgorzelec (Görlitz). The dispositions constitute a part of the first liber civitatis of Zgorzelec (Görlitz). The aim of the paper is to answer the question how far the script fixes the features of the spoken language. Due to the analysis it could be unambiguously proved, the German used in the text corresponds to the level of development of the German language within the periodization of history of the language as it contains the standard Early New High German features as well as the dialectal structures and the sound changes, which are characteristic for the Silesian dialect. The text can therefore be classified as one of the linguistic monuments of the East Central German of Silesian tradition. All the results of the exploration are supported with the appropriate examples.

  • Issue Year: 16/2022
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 167-191
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: English, Polish