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Silesian Ślůnsko godka
Spoken in:	Silesian Voivodeship and Opole Voivodeship in Poland, Moravian-Silesian Region and Olomouc Region (only Jeseník District) in Czech Republic, Germany and USA
Region:	Upper Silesia / Silesia
Total speakers:	> 1 250 000
Language family:	Indo-European  Slavic   West Slavic    Silesian
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	—
ISO 639-3:	szl
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

This article is about the West Slavic language. For the Germanic language, see Lower Silesian language. For other uses see Silesian (disambiguation).

Silesian or Upper Silesian (Silesian: Ślůnsko godka, Polish: Język śląski) is an ethnic language of Silesia. Language has code ISO 639-3: SZL.

Contents 1 Distribution 2 Example 3 Dialect vs. language 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Silesian speakers currently live in the region of Upper Silesia, which is split between southwestern Poland and the northeastern Czech Republic. At present Silesian is commonly spoken in the area between historical border of Silesia on the east, and a line from Syców to Prudnik on the west, as well as in the Rawicz area (Khazaks). Until 1945 Silesian was also spoken in enclaves in Lower Silesia, as Lower Silesian language was spoken by the ethnic German majority populace of that region at the time.

According to the last census in Poland (2002), some 70,000 people declared Silesian as their first language, and some ~0.2 million people declared Silesian nationality. However, the total number of Silesian speakers (the majority of whom do not consider it as a separate language) exceeds two million. There are also about 100,000 Silesian (Cieszyn Silesian) speakers living in the Czech Republic; Cieszyn Silesian is also commonly spoken in the Polish part of Cieszyn Silesia. Speakers of Cieszyn Sileisan dialect identify themselves on the nationality level as Poles.^[1] 10,878 people in Czech Republic declared Silesian nationality. Aside from Poland and the Czech Republic, Silesian is also spoken in several other parts of the world, but most of them declare their mother tongue as Polish.

"Our Father" in Silesian, Polish and Czech.

Silesian

Uojćec naš, keryś je w ńebjy,

bydź pośwjyncůne mjano Twojy.

Přidź krůlestwo Twojy.

Bydź wola Twoja, kjej we ńebje,

tak tyž na źymjy.

Chlyb naš každodźynny dej nům dźśoj.

A uodpuść nům naše winy,

kjej my uodpuščůmy našym winńikům.

A ńe wůdź nos na pokušyńi,

nale zbow nos uod zuego.

Bo Twůje je krůlestwo a můc,

a suawa na wjeki. Amyn.

Polish

Ojcze nasz, któryś jest w niebie,

święć się imię Twoje,

przyjdź królestwo Twoje,

bądź wola Twoja jako w niebie tak i na ziemi.

Chleba naszego powszedniego daj nam dzisiaj.

I odpuść nam nasze winy,

jak i my odpuszczamy naszym winowajcom.

I nie wódź nas na pokuszenie,

ale zbaw nas ode złego. Amen.

Czech

Otče náš, jenž jsi na nebesích,

posvěť se jméno Tvé

Přijď království Tvé.

Buď vůle Tvá, jako v nebi, tak i na zemi.

Chléb náš vezdejší dej nám dnes

A odpusť nám naše viny,

jako i my odpouštíme naším viníkům

a neuveď nás v pokušení,

ale zbav nás od zlého. Amyn.

Opinions are divided as to whether Silesian is a distinct language or another dialect of Polish. The issue can be contentious since some Silesians consider themselves to be a distinct ethnic minority or nationality within Poland.

When classified as a dialect, it is the most prominent regional dialect of the Polish language. When classified as a language, it is considered closely related to Polish and Czech with some influence from German.

• Silesian alphabet
• Cieszyn Silesian dialect
• Lower Silesian language
• Wymysorys

• (Silesian) Pů našymu - djalykt ślůnski kodyfikowůny
• (Silesian) Slonsko Lauba
• (Silesian) http://dyktando.org/?id=dyktando2007 - listen to modern Silesian (spoken text from a Silesian language official dictation contest)