The development and current state of the linguistic landscape – the case of the Wymysorys language
The development and current state of the linguistic landscape – the case of the Wymysorys language

Summary/Abstract: Wymysorys is a micro-language with Germanic roots spoken by residents of Wilamowice, a small Silesian town situated between Oświęcim and Bielsko-Biała, where it was brought by settlers from Western Europe in the thirteenth century. It has been the subject of scholarly interest among specialists in a number of fields, not only linguistics and ethnology, since the early twentieth century. Following a ban issued by local authorities in 1945, the use of Wymysorys was prohibited and public manifestations of local culture were severely punished. This policy resulted in a drastic decline of the number of its users. The recent interest of researchers is focused not only on the documentation of Wymysorys or its sociolinguistic situation in the past and today, but also on the effects of its revitalization in the last decade. Despite the lack of institutional support, the users’ community has been engaged in grassroots initiatives leading to the emergence of Wymysorys in the cultural landscape. Recent activity of its users indicates that the language has already spread beyond the circles of local activists and, after years of persecution, functions again in society, evolving and taking new forms.

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