Silesian language

Silesian or Upper Silesian (Silesian: ślōnskŏ gŏdka, ślůnsko godka, Czech: Slezština, Polish: język śląski / etnolekt śląski) is a West Slavic lect, related to Polish and Czech. Its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by Central German due to the existence of numerous Silesian German speakers in the area prior to World War II and after, until the 1990s.

There is no consensus on whether Silesian is a separate language or a somewhat divergent dialect of Polish.

Distribution

Silesian speakers currently live in the region of Upper Silesia, which is split between southwestern Poland and the northeastern Czech Republic. At present Silesian is commonly spoken in the area between the historical border of Silesia on the east and a line from Syców to Prudnik on the west as well as in the Rawicz area. Until 1945 Silesian was also spoken in enclaves in Lower Silesia.

Lower Silesian, a variety of Central German, was spoken by the ethnic German majority population of that region until their mass deportation to Germany after World War II.