Žemaitiu kalba
Samogitian
Indo-European (Baltic, East)
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
20 core words in Samogitian
Water
vondou
/vɔndɔu/
Fire
ognės
/ɔɡneːs/
Sun
saulė
/sauleː/
Moon
mienou
/mʲeːnɔu/
Mother
mama
/mama/
Father
tievs
/tʲieːvs/
Eat
valgītė
/vaɫɡʲiːteː/
Drink
gertė
/ɡʲɛrteː/
Love
meilė
/mʲɛileː/
Heart
šėrdės
/ʃʲeːrdʲeːs/
Tree
medis
/mʲɛdʲɪs/
House
noms
/nɔms/
Dog
šou
/ʃɔu/
Cat
katė
/katʲeː/
Hand
ronka
/rɔŋka/
Eye
akės
/akʲeːs/
Hello
labs
/labs/
Thank you
ačiū
/atʃuː/
One
vins
/vʲɪns/
Good
gers
/ɡʲɛrs/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Baltic, East) languages
| Meaning | Samogitian | Lithuanian | Latvian | Old Prussian | Swedish | Norwegian | Norwegian Nynorsk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | vondou /vɔndɔu/ | vanduo /vɐnˈduɔ/ | ūdens /uːdɛns/ | undan /undan/ | vatten /vatːɛn/ | vann /vɑnː/ | vatn /vɑːtn/ |
| Fire | ognės /ɔɡneːs/ | ugnis /uɡʲˈnʲɪs/ | uguns /uɡuns/ | panno /panːo/ | eld /ɛld/ | ild /ilː/ | eld /ɛld/ |
| Sun | saulė /sauleː/ | saulė /ˈsaʊlʲeː/ | saule /saulɛ/ | saule /saule/ | sol /suːl/ | sol /suːl/ | sol /suːl/ |
| Moon | mienou /mʲeːnɔu/ | mėnulis /mʲeːˈnʊlʲɪs/ | mēness /meːnɛs/ | menins /menins/ | måne /moːnɛ/ | måne /moːnə/ | måne /moːnə/ |
| Mother | mama /mama/ | motina /ˈmotʲɪnɐ/ | māte /maːtɛ/ | mūti /muːti/ | mamma /mamːa/ | mor /muːr/ | mor /muːr/ |
| Father | tievs /tʲieːvs/ | tėvas /ˈtʲeːvɐs/ | tēvs /teːvs/ | tāws /taːws/ | pappa /papːa/ | far /fɑːr/ | far /fɑːr/ |
| Eat | valgītė /vaɫɡʲiːteː/ | valgyti /ˈvɐlɡʲiːtʲɪ/ | ēst /eːst/ | īst /iːst/ | äta /ɛːta/ | spise /spiːsə/ | eta /eːtɑ/ |
| Drink | gertė /ɡʲɛrteː/ | gerti /ˈɡʲɛrtʲɪ/ | dzert /d͡zɛrt/ | poūton /poʊton/ | dricka /drɪkːa/ | drikke /drɪkːə/ | drikka /drɪkːɑ/ |
| Love | meilė /mʲɛileː/ | meilė /ˈmʲɛɪlʲeː/ | mīlestība /miːlɛstiːba/ | milīt /miliːt/ | kärlek /ɕæːɭɛk/ | kjærlighet /çæːɾliheːt/ | kjærleik /çæːrlɛik/ |
| Heart | šėrdės /ʃʲeːrdʲeːs/ | širdis /ˈʃʲɪrdʲɪs/ | sirds /sirds/ | sīran /siːran/ | hjärta /ˈjæʈːa/ | hjerte /jæɾtə/ | hjarte /jɑːrtə/ |
| Tree | medis /mʲɛdʲɪs/ | medis /ˈmʲɛdʲɪs/ | koks /kuɔks/ | garrin /ˈɡarin/ | träd /trɛːd/ | tre /treː/ | tre /treː/ |
| House | noms /nɔms/ | namas /ˈnamɐs/ | māja /maːja/ | butt /butː/ | hus /hʉːs/ | hus /hʉːs/ | hus /huːs/ |
| Dog | šou /ʃɔu/ | šuo /ʃuɔ/ | suns /suns/ | sūns /suːns/ | hund /hɵnd/ | hund /hʉnː/ | hund /hʉnd/ |
| Cat | katė /katʲeː/ | katė /ˈkatʲeː/ | kaķis /kacis/ | katto /katːo/ | katt /katː/ | katt /kɑtː/ | katt /kɑtː/ |
| Hand | ronka /rɔŋka/ | ranka /rɐŋˈkɐ/ | roka /ruɔka/ | rancko /ranko/ | hand /hand/ | hånd /hɔnː/ | hand /hɑnd/ |
| Eye | akės /akʲeːs/ | akis /ˈakʲɪs/ | acs /at͡s/ | ackis /akis/ | öga /øːɡa/ | øye /øjə/ | auga /æʉɡɑ/ |
| Hello | labs /labs/ | labas /ˈlabɐs/ | sveiki /svɛiki/ | kaīls /kaiːls/ | hej /hɛj/ | hei /hɛɪ/ | hei /hɛɪ/ |
| Thank you | ačiū /atʃuː/ | ačiū /ˈɐtʃʲuː/ | paldies /paldiɛs/ | dīnkun /diːnkun/ | tack /takː/ | takk /tɑkː/ | takk /tɑkː/ |
| One | vins /vʲɪns/ | vienas /ˈvʲɪɛnɐs/ | viens /viɛns/ | ains /ains/ | en /eːn/ | en /eːn/ | ein /ɛɪn/ |
| Good | gers /ɡʲɛrs/ | geras /ˈɡʲɛrɐs/ | labs /labs/ | labs /labs/ | bra /brɑː/ | bra /brɑː/ | god /ɡuːd/ |
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