Controversies concerning the Kashubian language: A sociolinguistic perspective

Dušan-Vladislav Paždjerski / Danuta Stanulewicz

University of Gdańsk

(vp@wp.pl)

In the past, controversies concerning the Kashubian language were related to the debate whether Kashubian was an independent language or a Polish dialect. The latter view was expressed mainly by scholars who associated the opinions of some researchers and Kashubian activists with possible separatist tendencies.

The founder of the Kashubian movement, Florian Ceynowa (1817-1881), was criticized by Polish intellectuals for his publications in Kashubian, attempts to create Kashubian spelling norms, emphasis on the Kashubian linguistic identity and for his article in the newspaper Szkoła Narodowa (1850) in which he stressed the need to create texts in Kashubian, which would serve to oppose the Germanizing tendencies of the Prussian state.

In 1893, the first volume of the Kashubian-Polish dictionary compiled by Stefan Ramułt was published. Ramułt treated Kashubian as a language, which was reflected in the title of the dictionary. Following Ceynowa, he confirmed this view in the preface to the dictionary (Treder 2006). It should be noted that Ramułt initiated a discussion on the status of Kashubian among Slavic researchers (e.g. Baudouin de Courtenay in 1897).

At the beginning of the 20th century, Ceynowa’s followers, the so-called Młodokaszubi (Young Kashubians), including Aleksander Majkowski, Jan Karnowski and others, published an important magazine, Gryf, which was partly in Kashubian. They presented proposals concerning a reform of Kashubian spelling. In 1938, the most famous novel, Life and Adventures of Remus by Majkowski, was published. Those activities were also perceived as separatist tendencies, and that is why some Kashubian people, being freed from German rule after World War I, were disappointed with the new state.

After World War II, the idea of Kashubian being a language was actually promoted by the publication of the dialect atlas (1964-1978), the dictionary of Kashubian dialects compiled by Bernard Sychta (1967-1976) and some research works. Interestingly enough, the term language was not used in reference to Kashubian at that time. However, researchers stressed its characteristic features distinguishing it from Polish.  

Kashubian was officially declared a regional language in 2005. It should be emphasized that the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association, an organization representing Kashubian people, contributed to bringing the present status to Kashubian. The association supported the work on the reform of Kashubian spelling (completed in 1996) and the publication of Kashubian grammar (Breza and Treder 1981). The association has also published the monthly Pomerania (containing texts in Polish and Kashubian) since 1963. In 2006 the Council of the Kashubian Language was founded. The main aim of the council is the standardization of Kashubian. What should also be mentioned is the presence of Kashubian in education. It has been taught at school since 1991.  Moreover, the University of Gdańsk offers BA studies training teachers of this language.

The controversies concerning the Kashubian language have  frequently been of a political nature. In the past, discussions on its status concentrated on the criterion of mutual intelligibility (Zieniukowa 2001). At present, sociolinguistic and extralinguistic factors are taken into consideration as well (Stone 1970, 1972; Majewicz 1986, 1989).