Žemaitiu kalba

Samogitian

Indo-European (Baltic, East)

FamilyIndo-European (Baltic, East) Speakers~500K ScriptLatin (multiple competing orthographies; Pabrėža 2009 standard) CountriesLithuania (Žemaitija region — Telšiai, Mažeikiai, Plungė, Šiauliai counties) Official inNo (Standard Lithuanian is the only official language); recognized Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3sgs

Samogitian (Žemaitiu kalba, "Lowlander's language") is the principal regional Baltic language of northwestern Lithuania (Žemaitija). Traditionally classified as a dialect of Lithuanian, but its phonological and lexical divergence is substantial — including the preservation of archaic features lost in Standard Lithuanian (e.g., the diphthong ou < *ā). Multiple writing standards have been proposed; the Pabrėža (2009) orthography is now the most widely used. Samogitian Wikipedia (2006) was one of the first regional-language Wikipedias and helped revitalise written Samogitian.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Samogitian

Water

vondou

/vɔndɔu/

Fire

ognės

/ɔɡneːs/

Sun

saulė

/sauleː/

Moon

mienou

/mʲeːnɔu/

Star

žvaigždė

/ʒvaɪɡʒdeː/

Mother

mama

/mama/

Father

tievs

/tʲieːvs/

I

/aʃ/

You

/tʊ/

Name

vards

/vards/

Eye

akės

/akʲeːs/

Hand

ronka

/rɔŋka/

Heart

šėrdės

/ʃʲeːrdʲeːs/

Love

meilė

/mʲɛileː/

Tree

medis

/mʲɛdʲɪs/

House

noms

/nɔms/

Dog

šou

/ʃɔu/

Cat

katė

/katʲeː/

Eat

valgītė

/vaɫɡʲiːteː/

Drink

gertė

/ɡʲɛrteː/

One

vins

/vʲɪns/

Two

du

/dʊ/

Hello

labs

/labs/

Thank you

ačiū

/atʃuː/

Good

gers

/ɡʲɛrs/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Indo-European (Baltic, East) languages

Meaning SamogitianLithuanianLatvianOld PrussianBulgarianLatgalianSwedish
Water vondou /vɔndɔu/ vanduo /vɐnˈduɔ/ ūdens /uːdɛns/ undan /undan/ вода /vɔda/ iudiņs /ˈiudʲinʲtsʲ/ vatten /vatːɛn/
Fire ognės /ɔɡneːs/ ugnis /uɡʲˈnʲɪs/ uguns /uɡuns/ panno /panːo/ огън /ɔɡɤn/ guņs /ˈɡunʲtsʲ/ eld /ɛld/
Sun saulė /sauleː/ saulė /ˈsaʊlʲeː/ saule /saulɛ/ saule /saule/ слънце /slɤntsɛ/ saule /ˈsaulʲæ/ sol /suːl/
Moon mienou /mʲeːnɔu/ mėnulis /mʲeːˈnʊlʲɪs/ mēness /meːnɛs/ menins /menins/ луна /luna/ mienesnīks /ˈmʲienʲesnʲiːks/ måne /moːnɛ/
Star žvaigždė /ʒvaɪɡʒdeː/ žvaigždė /ʒvɐɪɡʒˈdʲeː/ zvaigzne /ˈzvaɪɡzne/ lauxnos /ˈlauksnɔs/ звезда /zvɛzˈda/ zvaigzne /ˈzvaiɡznʲæ/ stjärna /ˈɧæːɳa/
Mother mama /mama/ motina /ˈmoːtʲɪnɐ/ māte /maːtɛ/ mūti /muːti/ майка /majka/ muote /ˈmuotʲæ/ mamma /mamːa/
Father tievs /tʲieːvs/ tėvas /ˈtʲeːvɐs/ tēvs /teːvs/ tāws /taːws/ баща /bɐʃˈta/ tāvs /ˈtaːvs/ pappa /papːa/
I /aʃ/ /ɐʃ/ es /æs/ as /as/ аз /as/ es /ˈæs/ jag /jɑːɡ/
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