Ostkäslausch is a

Low Prussian dialect Low Prussian (), sometimes known simply as Prussian (''Preußisch''), is a moribund dialect of East Low German that developed in East Prussia. Low Prussian was spoken in East and West Prussia and Danzig up to 1945. In Danzig it formed the bas ...

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

spoken in an area of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, that used to be part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

It used to be or is spoken in

Warmia Warmia ( ; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian subdialect, Warmian: ''Warńija''; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia (reg ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. Ziesemer, Walther. ''Die ostpreußischen Mundarten''. Ferdinand Hirt, 1924, p. 137. Its border ran through Warmia.Mitzka, Walther. ''Grundzüge nordostdeutscher Sprachgeschichte''. Elwert, 1959, p. 51 Ostkäslausch used to be spoken around

Reszel Reszel (; Prussian: ''Resel'' or ''Resl'') is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northeastern Poland. As of 2012 the population was 4,896. A small medieval town situated in the historical Warmia region, Reszel possesses many archite ...

and used to have borders to

Breslausch High Prussian () is a group of East Central German dialects in former East Prussia, in present-day Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Poland) and Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia). High Prussian developed in the 13th–15th centuries, brought in by German ...

Natangian Natangian () was a Low Prussian dialect, Low Prussian dialect, spoken in Natangen, East Prussia. Geography It was spoken in Natangen around Zinten, Bartoszyce, Bartenstein, Pravdinsk, Friedland, Srokowo, Drengfurt and Kętrzyn, Rastenburg. Nat ...

and

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

. It has features of Eastphalian, Westphalian and

East Pomeranian dialect East Pomeranian (') or Farther Pomeranian (') is an East Low German dialect moribund in Europe, which used to be spoken in the region of Farther Pomerania when it was part of the German Province of Pomerania, until World War II, and today is ...

. The Eastern border of Ostkäslausch was the old border of Catholic Warmia to Protestant

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order () was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region ...

, it bordered to Natangian. It occurred, that Ostkäslausch and High Prussian were spoken in the same village.

Phonology

There is gutturalisation of ''nd'' and ''nt'' to ''ng''; usually an ''i'' added (''Schtuing'' 'hour', cf. Standard German ''Stunde''), but not in the preterite of strong verbs (''jebunge'' 'bound', cf. Standard German ''gebunden'').Ziesemer, Walther. ''Die ostpreußischen Mundarten''. Ferdinand Hirt, 1924, p. 130. Ostkäslausche also has diphthongization of ''e'' and long ''o'' after ''ei'' and ''ou''. ''O'' frequently has become ''io'' or ''iu''.Ziesemer, Walther. ''Die ostpreußischen Mundarten''. Ferdinand Hirt, 1924, p. 131. Ostkäslausch has influence of

High Prussian High Prussian () is a group of East Central German dialects in former East Prussia, in present-day Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Poland) and Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia). High Prussian developed in the 13th–15th centuries, brought in by Germa ...

. Most cases of Natangian diphthongization of e to ei and every o to ou occur in Ostkäslausch.

Grammar

It has the preterite forms ''kam'' and ''nam''.Walther Ziesemer: ''Die ostpreußischen Mundarten'' Ferdinand Hirt, Breslau, 1924, p. 132

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostkäslausch East Prussia Low Prussian dialect German dialects Languages of Poland