Prūsiska bila
Old Prussian
Indo-European
Old Prussian (Prūsiska bila, "Prussian language") was the principal language of the West Baltic Pruzzians (also Aestii, Pruzzi), inhabitants of East Prussia until they were Germanized after the Teutonic Order conquest (1230s-1410s). Distinct from East Baltic Lithuanian and Latvian, Old Prussian shows archaic Indo-European features lost in those languages: preservation of nominative singular -s in some classes, simpler consonant alternations, and Germanic-style declension simplification. Reconstructed primarily from three surviving Catechisms (1545-1561) and the 14th-century Elbing Vocabulary. A modern Old Prussian revival movement, led by linguists since the 1980s, attempts to make Old Prussian a usable second language.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Old Prussian
Water
undan
/undan/
Fire
panno
/panːo/
Sun
saule
/saule/
Moon
menins
/menins/
Mother
mūti
/muːti/
Father
tāws
/taːws/
Eat
īst
/iːst/
Drink
poūton
/poʊton/
Love
milīt
/miliːt/
Heart
sīran
/siːran/
Tree
garrin
/ˈɡarin/
House
butt
/butː/
Dog
sūns
/suːns/
Cat
katto
/katːo/
Hand
rancko
/ranko/
Eye
ackis
/akis/
Hello
kaīls
/kaiːls/
Thank you
dīnkun
/diːnkun/
One
ains
/ains/
Good
labs
/labs/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European languages
| Meaning | Old Prussian | Latvian | Samogitian | Old Frisian | Middle English | Gothic | Greenlandic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | undan /undan/ | ūdens /uːdɛns/ | vondou /vɔndɔu/ | wetir /vetiɾ/ | water /watər/ | 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉 /wɑtoː/ | imeq /imeq/ |
| Fire | panno /panːo/ | uguns /uɡuns/ | ognės /ɔɡneːs/ | fiur /fjuːɾ/ | fyr /fyːr/ | 𐍆𐍉𐌽 /foːn/ | ikuallaq /ikuaɬːaq/ |
| Sun | saule /saule/ | saule /saulɛ/ | saulė /sauleː/ | sunne /sunːe/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 /sunːoː/ | seqineq /seqineq/ |
| Moon | menins /menins/ | mēness /meːnɛs/ | mienou /mʲeːnɔu/ | mōna /moːnɑ/ | mone /moːnə/ | 𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌰 /meːnɑ/ | qaammat /qaːmːat/ |
| Mother | mūti /muːti/ | māte /maːtɛ/ | mama /mama/ | moder /moːdeɾ/ | moder /moːdər/ | 𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌴𐌹 /aiθiː/ | anaana /anaːna/ |
| Father | tāws /taːws/ | tēvs /teːvs/ | tievs /tʲieːvs/ | feder /fædeɾ/ | fader /faːdər/ | 𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌰 /ɑtːɑ/ | ataata /ataːta/ |
| Eat | īst /iːst/ | ēst /eːst/ | valgītė /vaɫɡʲiːteː/ | eta /etɑ/ | eten /eːtən/ | 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 /mɑtjɑn/ | nerivoq /neɾivoq/ |
| Drink | poūton /poʊton/ | dzert /d͡zɛrt/ | gertė /ɡʲɛrteː/ | drinka /dɾinkɑ/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌺𐌰𐌽 /driŋkɑn/ | imerpoq /imeɾpoq/ |
| Love | milīt /miliːt/ | mīlestība /miːlɛstiːba/ | meilė /mʲɛileː/ | minne /minːe/ | love /lʊvə/ | 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌰𐌸𐍅𐌰 /friɑθwɑ/ | asaaq /asaːq/ |
| Heart | sīran /siːran/ | sirds /sirds/ | šėrdės /ʃʲeːrdʲeːs/ | herte /heɾte/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍄𐍉 /hɛrtoː/ | uummat /uːmːat/ |
| Tree | garrin /ˈɡarin/ | koks /kuɔks/ | medis /mʲɛdʲɪs/ | bām /baːm/ | tre /treː/ | 𐌱𐌰𐌲𐌼𐍃 /bɑɣms/ | orpik /oɾpik/ |
| House | butt /butː/ | māja /maːja/ | noms /nɔms/ | hūs /huːs/ | hous /huːs/ | 𐍂𐌰𐌶𐌽 /rɑzn/ | illu /iɬːu/ |
| Dog | sūns /suːns/ | suns /suns/ | šou /ʃɔu/ | hund /hund/ | hound /huːnd/ | 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃 /hunds/ | qimmeq /qimːeq/ |
| Cat | katto /katːo/ | kaķis /kacis/ | katė /katʲeː/ | katte /katːe/ | catte /katːə/ | *𐌺𐌰𐍄𐍄𐍃 /kɑtːs/ | qitsuk /qitsuk/ |
| Hand | rancko /ranko/ | roka /ruɔka/ | ronka /rɔŋka/ | hond /hond/ | hand /hand/ | 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐍃 /hɑndus/ | assak /asːak/ |
| Eye | ackis /akis/ | acs /at͡s/ | akės /akʲeːs/ | āge /aːɣe/ | eye /iːə/ | 𐌰𐌿𐌲𐍉 /ɑuɣoː/ | isi /isi/ |
| Hello | kaīls /kaiːls/ | sveiki /svɛiki/ | labs /labs/ | heil /heil/ | hail /hɛːl/ | 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃 /hails/ | aluu /aluː/ |
| Thank you | dīnkun /diːnkun/ | paldies /paldiɛs/ | ačiū /atʃuː/ | thank /θank/ | gramercy /ɡraːmɛrsiː/ | 𐌸𐌰𐌲𐌺𐍃 /θɑŋks/ | qujanaq /qujanaq/ |
| One | ains /ains/ | viens /viɛns/ | vins /vʲɪns/ | ān /aːn/ | oon /oːn/ | 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 /ains/ | ataaseq /ataːseq/ |
| Good | labs /labs/ | labs /labs/ | gers /ɡʲɛrs/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ | good /ɡoːd/ | 𐌲𐍉𐌸𐍃 /ɡoːθs/ | ajunngilaq /ajuŋːilaq/ |
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