Texas Silesian ( szl, Teksasko gwara;

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Gwara teksaska'') is a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

of the

Silesian language Silesian * Polish: ''etnolekt śląski'', ''język śląski'', ''gwara śląska'', ''śląszczyzna'' * german: link=no, Schlonsakisch, Wasserpolnisch or Upper Silesian is a West Slavic ethnolect of either the Lechitic group or the Czech� ...

used by descendants of immigrant

Silesians Silesians ( szl, Ślōnzŏki or Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: ''Schläsinger'' ''or'' ''Schläsier''; german: Schlesier; pl, Ślązacy; cz, Slezané) is a geographical term for the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region in Central Europ ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

settlements from 1852 to the present. It is a variant of Silesian derived from the

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

dialect. The dialect evolved after Silesian exile around the village of Panna Maria. It contains a distinctive vocabulary for things which were unknown for

Silesians. Allegedly, Texas Silesian is less influenced by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

because its speakers emigrated before the ''

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...

'', which added many Germanisms to the continental Silesian The language is tended by its speakers, but they know it only in the spoken form. Texas Silesian has not been replaced by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

because the Silesian community is strongly isolated. Nevertheless, Texas Silesian has adopted some words from English. One of the characteristic features of Texas Silesian

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

is called

mazuration Mazurzenie () or mazuration is the replacement or merger of Polish's series of postalveolar fricatives and affricates (written ) into the dentialveolar series (written ). This merger is present in many dialects, but is named for the Masovian dia ...

, in which all ''cz'', ''sz'', ''ż'' are pronounced , whereas in the stereotypical Silesian of the

Katowice urban area The Katowice urban area ( pl, Konurbacja katowicka, ), also known as the Upper Silesian urban area ( pl, Konurbacja górnośląska, ), is an urban area/ conurbation in southern Poland, centered on Katowice. It is located in the Silesian Voivo ...

they are pronounced . Texas Silesian has given the name for Cestohowa village in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

- the name is derived from

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

, but, due to this phonetic process, ''cz'' became ''c''.

Typical words unlike Silesian

References

{{authority control Silesian-American culture in Texas Silesian-American history Silesian language Silesian emigrants to the United States Diaspora languages Languages of Texas Slavic languages spoken in North America