Ponaschemu

In today's world, Ponaschemu has become a topic of great importance and interest to a wide spectrum of people. From experts in the field to those simply looking for general information, Ponaschemu is a topic that has captured the attention of many. With the growing impact that Ponaschemu has had on different areas of society, it is crucial to further understand its relevance and how it directly affects our lives. In this article, we will explore different aspects related to Ponaschemu, with the aim of providing a broader and more complete vision of this topic that has generated so much debate and interest today.

Ponaschemu is a mixed language that was formed by mixing German and Lower Sorbian. Sometimes it is taken as a dialect of German.

By definition, some linguists would call Ponaschemu not a mixed language (= intertwined language) but rather a code mixing and/or code switching of the last bilingual generation in the formerly monolingual community in Lower Lusatia. At an early stage, the embedding language was Lower Sorbian and laterly Lusatian German substituted by the variety of Berlin.

It was used extensively until the 1950s, especially in Spreewald, in the villages where the Germans and the Sorbs were living together. Today, only about 500 people speak it.

Examples

Children's rhythm of 1890, written by Wiliball von Schulenburger:

  • "Morgenrot, swinja tot. Škla grochow, zwerjcha knochow. Šklicka rajsa, zwerjcha šajsa."