Silesian/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.

Kamraty
Dwa kamraty – Pyjter a Jōn – trefiōły sie we banie.
Jōn: Witej, Pyjter!
Pyjter: O, hej, Jōn! Jak ci sie darzi?
Jōn: Jako tam, dziynki. Trzim sie!
Pyjter: Pyrsk!

Sōmsiŏdy
Dwa sōmsiŏdy – Pōn Kluczniŏk a Pōni Żymołka – trefiōły sie wele dźwiyrzōw ôd familŏka.
Pōn Kluczniŏk: Dobry dziyń, pōni Żymołka.
Pōni Żymołka: Szczynść Boże, pōnie Kluczniŏk. Jak sie wōm darzi?
Pōn Kluczniŏk: Dobrze, dziynkujã. Do widzyniŏ!
Pōni Żymołka: Z Pōnbōczkym!

2 ~ 1: 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
Hej	[xɛj]	Thanks	informal
Jak ci sie darzi?	[jak ʨi ɕɛ 'daʒi]	How are you?	informal
jak	[jak]	how	Can also be used as in Pardon?, What did you say?
Jako tam	['jakɔ tam]	So-so
Dziynki	['ʥɨŋki]	Thanks	informal
Trzim sie	['tʃim ɕɛ]	Bye	lit. Keep yourself
Pyrsk	[pɨrsk]	Bye	Is exactly the same as Trzim siee
Dobry dziyń	['dɔbrɨ 'ʥɨɲ]	Good day, hello
Szczynść Boże	['ʂt͡ʂɨɲʑ 'bɔʐɛ]	Good day	lit. Bless, god, a bit outdated
pōnie	['poɲɛ]	Mr.	in vocative
pōn	[pon]	Mr.	in nominative, m
pōni	['poɲi]	Ms.	both in nominative and vocative, f
Jak sie wōm darzi?	[jak ɕɛ vom 'daʒi]	How are you?	formal Can also be used for more than one person
Dobrze	['dɔbʐɛ]	Well
Dziynkujã	[ʥɨŋ'kuja]	Thank you	formal
Do widzyniŏ	[dɔ viˈd͡zɨɲɔ]	Goodbye	quite popular, but it's necessery to mention it's just borrowed from Polish
Z Pōnbōczkym	[s ponˈbot͡ʂkɨm]	Goodbye	lit. With God, a bit outdated

2 ~ 2: Grammar

Today we are not going to actually analyse 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 Pōn Jōn (Mr. John). But if this is a person you're talking with, you say eg. Pōnie Jōnie, jak soe wōm darzi? (Mr. John, how are you?). Some words are the same in nominative and vocative, eg. pōni. On the other hand, it is noticeable that the vocative case is a bit obsolete and usually occurs only in some traditional and polite phrases.

2 ~ 3: Exercises

1. Without looking at the lesson, try to say or write how you would answer a person saying:

a) Witej!
b) Jak ci sie darzi?
c) Pyrsk!
d) Szczynść Boże!

2. What had been said before?

a) ...
– Z Pōnbōczkym!
b) ...
– Dobrze, dziynkujã.
c) ...
– Pyrsk!
d) ...
– Dobry dziyń!

3.* Can you answer the questions below?

a) Kaj sie trefiōli Pyjter a Jōn?
b) How do we say friend in Silesian?
c) How do we say neighbor in Silesian?
d) What's the name of a traditional Silesian workers' house for many families?


Answers to the exercises

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To the lesson 3