Alzenau (endonym: Aljznerisch, Altsnerisch, Päurisch; German: Altsnerisch; Polish: etnolekt hałcnowski), also known as Halcnovian and Haltsnovian, is an East Central German dialect spoken in Hałcnów, formerly a village, and now part of the city Bielsko-Biała in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It was the vernacular language of Hałcnów until 1945, when ethnic Germans were expelled from Poland. Some examples of the language were recorded in the works of Karl Olma, who was active as a journalist in the Halcnovian exile community in West Germany after World War II. The dialect has been researched from a linguistic standpoint by Marek Dolatowski. In 2016 researchers traced a handful of native speakers of Halcnovian still resident in Hałcnów, and recorded them in order to help preserve the language. It belongs to the dialect group of the former Bielsko-Biała language island, which includes the Wymysorys language.

St. Hedwig linden tree in Hałcnów churchyard, commemorating inhabitants of the village expelled to Germany after 1945 (inscriptions in Polish and literary German)

Sample text

Dər Līga-Jirg.

Dər Līga-Jirg. Ma hīrt guǫr oft di Loit huǫrt kluǫin dǫ hoit-zotāg werd veil geloin an wār nė güt betrīga kǫn, dǭs ei kai ǭgeſāner Mǭn. Do lōw ėch mir di ālde Węlt, di wuǫr of andre Fis geštęlt! [...]

[citation needed]

See also

Sources