Jaka jesteś, gwaro dyneburska?
The traces of the Dyneburg dialect

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to present chosen traces of the language spoken by the eldest generation of Poles, living in the old Inflantian city Dyneburg – today Latvian Daugavpils. According to the data of the Population Census, in year 2000 Dyneburg, the second largest Latvian city, was inhabited by 17 209 Poles, who formed almost one third of all Latvian Poles (28.9%). Our informants are one male and six females aged 71 to 85 years. The material was obtained using methods of unstructured and autobiographical interview, which enabled the author to acquire information on descent, life and languages of the informants. The analysis of recordings allows to conclude that the language used by local Poles can be described as a specific blend of standard Polish idiolects with archaic and northern-peripheral Polish elements, and northern-peripheral idiolects with a quantitative and qualitative diversity of traces, attributed to the dialect.

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