# Low Lusatian German

Low Lusatian German or the Low Lusatian dialect (in German: Niederlausitzer Mundart) is a variety of Central German spoken in northern Saxony and southern Brandenburg within the regions of Lower Lusatia (Cottbus) and the northern part of Upper Lusatia (Hoyerswerda). It is well-defined from the Low German dialects around and north of Berlin, as well as the Upper Saxon dialect group of present-day Saxony and the Slavic language of the Sorbs.
Both regions were strongly influenced by different dialects, especially after World War II. Refugees from East Prussia and Silesia settled there after their dispossession from former German areas. After the foundation of the German Democratic Republic and an economical development because of a stronger extraction of lignite, people from Mecklenburg, Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt moved to the Lusatia region to benefit from the development. Due to this influence of other German dialects, Low Lusatian never formed a too strong variation from standard German. For people moving now into this area, the dialect is easy to learn and influences their spoken language quite quickly.

## Language

Low Lusatian German lacks region-specific words. It contains syncopes and apocopes, which are used in nearly every German dialect. The only somewhat different articulation is the guttural ⟨r⟩, where Standard German's ⟨er⟩ [ɐ] ending is instead ⟨a⟩ [a]:
| English | Standard German | Standard German | Lower Lusatian German | Lower Lusatian German |
| English | spelling | IPA | spelling | IPA |
| water | Wasser | [ˈvasɐ] | Wassa | [ˈvasa] |
| hammer | Hammer | [ˈhamɐ] | Hamma | [ˈhama] |
| sister | Schwester | [ˈʃvɛstɐ] | Schwesta(r) | [ˈʃvɛsta] |
At the beginning of a word, the ⟨r⟩ is always spoken, but it is nearly inaudible within a word. The same effect can be seen on the letter ⟨e⟩ [ɛ] which also mostly vanishes in the endings, the changing of ⟨au⟩ [aʊ] to ⟨o(h)⟩/⟨oo⟩ [oː], and the stretching of ⟨ei⟩/⟨ai⟩ [aɪ] to ⟨ee⟩ [eː]:
| English | Standard German | Standard German | Lower Lusatian German | Lower Lusatian German |
| English | spelling | IPA | spelling | IPA |
| to rake | harken | [ˈhaʁkn̩] | haakn | [ˈhaːkn̩] |
| to work | arbeiten | [ˈaʁbaɪtn̩] | abeitn | [ˈabeːtn̩] |
| to buy | kaufen | [ˈkaʊfn̩] | kohfn | [ˈkoːfn̩] |
| as well | auch | [aʊx] | ooch | [oːx] |
| on | auf | [aʊf] | ohf | [oːf] |
| one | ein (m.) eine (f.) eines (n.) | [aɪn] [ˈaɪnə] [ˈaɪnəs] | een eene eens | [eːn] [ˈeːnə] [eːns] |
| small | kleine | [ˈklaɪnə] | Kleene | [ˈkleːnə] |
The short ⟨i⟩ [ɪ] is spoken similarly to the Standard German ⟨ü⟩ ([y] or [ʏ]):
| English | Standard German | Standard German | Lower Lusatian German | Lower Lusatian German |
| English | spelling | IPA | spelling | IPA |
| table | Tisch | [tɪʃ] | Tüsch | [tʏʃ] |
| church | Kirche | [ˈkɪʁçə] | Kürche | [ˈkʏa̯çə] (in smaller villages the word Kerke is used.) |
| cherry | Kirsche | [ˈkɪʁʃə] | Kürsche | [ˈkʏa̯ʃə] |
Another sign is a different form of the perfect:
| English | Standard German | Standard German | Lower Lusatian German | Lower Lusatian German |
| English | spelling | IPA | spelling | IPA |
| it was switched off | es wurde abgeschaltet | [ɛs ˈvʊʁdə ˈapɡəʃaltət] | es wurde abgeschalten | [ɛs vua̯də ˈapɡəʃaltn̩] |