Silesian/Lesson 2
Lesson 2 - Greetings and other basics
Now, when you know exactly how to read in Silesian, you are ready to learn the basics. Each time you meet someone, it's necessary to greet him/her! And when you do that in Silesian instead of Polish, people love you! So, let's start with the basic dialogs - in the first one two good friends are meeting. In the second one - a man greets an elderly lady.
Note: Read both dialogs and then the vocabulary. There's also the translation, which is available when you click the title of the dialog, but try not to use it.
DIALOGUE 2.1
Jůn: Witej, Pyjter!
Pyjter: O, witej, Jůn! Jak ći śe daři?
Jůn: Jako tam, dźynki. Třim śe!
Pyjter: Pyrsk!
DIALOGUE 2.2
Půn Klučńok: Dobry dźyń, půńi Bjaukowa.
Půńi Bjaukowa: Dobry dźyń, půńe Klučńok. Jak śe wům daři?
Půn Klučńok: Dobře, dźynkuja. Do widzyńo!
Půńi Bjaukowa: Do widzyńo!
Vocabulary
Each time we will give you all new vocabulary items. Each word from a phrase will not always be given - only the most important for now.
| Word or phrase | IPA pronunciation | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Witej | ['vitɛj] | Hello | informal |
| Jak ći śe daři? | [jak ʨi ɕɛ 'daʒi] | How are you? | informal, lit. How does it present to you? |
| jak | [jak] | how | Can also be used as in Pardon?, What did you say? |
| Jako tam | ['jakɔ tam] | So-so | |
| Dźynki | ['ʥɨŋki] | Thanks | informal |
| Třim śe | ['tʂim ɕɛ] | Bye | lit. Keep yourself |
| Pyrsk | [pɨrsk] | Bye | Is exactly the same as Třim śe |
| Dobry dźyń | ['dɔbrɨ ʥɨɲ] | Good day, hello | |
| půńe | ['poɲɛ] | Mr. | in vocative |
| půn | [pon] | Mr. | in nominative, m |
| půńi | ['poɲi] | Ms. | both in nominative and vocative, f |
| Jak śe wům daři? | [jak ɕɛ wom 'daʒi] | How are you? | formal, lit. How does it present to you? Can also be used for more than one person |
| Dobře | ['dɔbʐɛ] | Well | |
| Dźynkuja | [ʥɨŋ'kuja] | Thank you | formal |
| Do widzyńo | [dɔvi'ʣɨɲɔ] | Goodbye | lit. Until seeing, To the seeing |
Grammar
Today we are not going to actually analyze the grammar in Silesian. This lesson is for you to see how the Silesian looks and how it sounds.
Nominative vs. vocative
As you see in the dialogs, in Silesian we use different cases. The basic case is nominative and it appears also in English in bank, pencil, tree and so on. When we address someone in Silesian, we usually change the form of a name (you won't learn how to do this yet). You would say This is Půn Jůn (lit. Mr. John). But if this is a person you're talking with, you say eg. Půńe Jůńe, jak śe wům daři? (Mr. John, how are you?). Some words are the same in nominative and vocative, eg. půńi.
Additional vocabulary
| Word or phrase | IPA pronunciation | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ja | [ja] | Yes | |
| Ńy | [ɲɨ] | No | |
| Witejće | [vi'tɛjʨɛ] | Hello | informal, to more than one person |
| Ńy rozůmja | [ɲɨrɔ'zumʲa] | I don't understand. | |
| Ślůnsk | [ɕlonsk] | Silesia | |
| ślůnsko godka | ['ɕlonskɔ 'gɔtka] | Silesian language | |
| Godom pů ślůnsku | ['gɔdɔm po 'ɕlonsku] | I speak Silesian. | |
| Ńy godom pů ślůnsku | [ɲɨ 'gɔdɔm po 'ɕlonsku] | I don't speak Silesian. | |
| Godom pů ślůnsku jyno mauowjela | ['gɔdɔm po 'ɕlonsku 'jɨnɔ mawɔ'vʲɛla] | I speak only a little Silesian. | lit. I speak in the Silesian way only a bit. |
Exercises
1. Without looking at the lesson, try to say or write how you would answer a person saying:
a) Witej!
b) Jak ći śe daři?
c) Pyrsk!
d) Kaj mjyškoš?
Answers to the exercises
