Kashubian - heritage Low German as su- perstrate, dominant Polish as substrate
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For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
Kashubian – heritage Low German as su-
perstrate, dominant Polish as substrate
Werner Abraham (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, University of Vienna) & Piotr Bartelik
(University of Zielona Góra) & Andrzej Kątny (University of Gdańsk)
Abstract: Kashubian is a West Slavic lect belonging to the Lechitic subgroup along
with Polish and Silesian. It is spoken as a minority language in Poland (in the Region
of Pomerania with the cities Gdańsk and Gdynia). Although often classified as a lan-
guage in its own right, it is sometimes viewed as a dialect of Pomeranian or as a dialect
of Polish.1 The following article characterizes Kashubian in terms of its German herit-
age quality. Ac cording to the census of 2011, it has 108,000 native speakers. Typo-
logically, it is West Slavic with a strong (Middle)Low German heritage. The latter is
lexical with syntactic derivational morphology. As expected, there is less syntactic Ger-
man influence in Kashubian. Yet, one main typological characteristic of Slavic
Kashubian and Polish, the cross-Slavic aspect paadigm, has been expanded by the
miec-HAVE and the bëc-BE periphrases expressing tense in the sense of the German
perfect tense using the verbal bracket.2 We trace the change from the pretemporal
periphratstic tense and attributive pattern in Kashubian as opposed to the superstate
German tense periphrasis and the verbal bracket and its link to the Polish aspect and
simplle tense pattern. And we ask the question: Are there evolutionary genetic compo-
nents in the heritage situation that might lead to genetic patterns of natural L-change
and grammaticalization. This paper is based on the view that grammar change in a
heritage L is not a case of Darwinian (genetic) evolution in that that the targets are
seldom cognitively encapsulated, procedural parts of grammar. Such as the German
verbal bracketMuch rather, the cognitively accessible, declarative content of grammars
is open for social changes (lexical inventoires).
1. Kashubian: its short history
Kashubian is assumed to have evolved from the language spoken by some tribes
of Pomeranians called Kashubians, in the region of Pomerania, on the southern coast of
the Baltic Sea between the Vistula and Oder rivers. The first medieval indentations of the
name Cassubia connect it with areas of Mecklemburg and with the area around Gdansk
(Danzig). Hilferding made the first attempt to illustrate the geographical scope of Kas-
shubian (Treder 2006: 69-72). Later, the scope of the Kashubian dialects was changed
several times as a result of the varying historical circumstances. The Pomeranians were
said to have arrived before the Poles, and certain tribes managed to maintain their lan-
guage and traditions despite German and Polish settlements. It first began to evolve sep-
arately in the period from the 13th to the 15th century as the Polish-Pomeranian linguistic
1
The view that Kashubian is a dialect of Polish has not prevailed in the literature. There is ample motivation for
our view. In addition to many phonological properties (e.g. the peculiar shwa ë, i.e. the changee of d, z, c and
dz), it has many archaic word-forming suffixes (-iczé, etc.). We therefore naintain that Castalese is an independ-
ent language, both structurally and functionally. For the specific vocabulary, which has also retained many ar-
chaisms from Old or Middle Polish, see: Breza 1992 (ed.).
2
The original aspect paradigm has been extended to include these tense forms. In addition, there is the archaic,
analytical "perfect" (which has been synthesized in Polish) and the "simple" preterite (almost as in Polish). In
general, the divergences in the verb inflexion of Kashubian–Polish are actually small (since also in Polish the
mieć' forms are expansive).
1For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
area began to divide based around important linguistic developments centered in the
western (Kashubian) part of the area.
1.1. Related languages
There is a debate between many scholars whether Kashubian should be recognized
as a Polish dialect or separate language. From the diachronic view it is a Lechitic West
Slavic language but from the synchronic point of view it is a Polish dialect. Kashubian
is closely related to Slovincian, while both of them are dialects of Pomeranian. Slo-
vincian was "discovered" by Hilferding (prepared in 1856 by a travelogue, where he
referred precisely to Kashubian and Slovincian). After Treder, Slovincian formed the
northernmost dialects of Kashubian, which, thanks to their geographically peripheral
location had maintained many archaisms, although at the same time were exposed to
great influences of modern German (Lorentz 1903).
Many linguists, in Poland and elsewhere, consider Kashubian a divergent dia-
lect of Polish. Dialectal diversity is so great within Kashubian that a speaker of southern
dialects has considerable difficulty in understanding a speaker of northern dialects.
The spelling and the grammar of Polish words written in Kashubian, which is most of
its vocabulary, is highly unusual, making it difficult for native Polish speakers to com-
prehend written text in Kashubian.
Like Polish, Kashubian includes about 5% loanwords from German. These are
mostly from Low German and only occasionally from High German. These estimates
are based on Hinze (1965) and have been repeated again and again. We believe that
there is more than 5% in modern Kashubian. The older layers of borrowings may well
be Low German, but we believe that most of the loanwords in modern Kashubsian
come frommodern High German dialects (or the standard language). This becomes
most obvious from the "replacement" of the older Lower German forms by "High Ger-
man" variants. Consider szëpla > szëfla 'Schaufel shovel’, copac > cofac 'zurück
gehen, go back', where nd. [p] corresponds to hd. [f]).
According to Mordawski (2005), ithe number of speakers of Kashubian varies
widely from source to source, ranging from as low as 4,500 to the upper 366,000. In
the 2011 census, over 108,000 people in Poland declared that they mainly use Kash-
ubian at home. At the 2011 census, 108 thousand reported they used Kashubian in
everyday life (but only about 13 thousand reported it as a native language). According
to Treder (2012),, Polish-Kashubian language contacts gives the number of 300,000
people who use Kashubian (mainly orally). More on this is peovided by Mordawski Jan
(2005). These estimates vary in literature, however, because most can speak
Kashubian but have not mastered ortography. Of these only 10 percent consider
Kashubian to be their mother tongue, with the rest considering themselves to be native
speakers of both Kashubian and Polish. All Kashubian speakers are also fluent in
Polish.
A number of schools in Poland use Kashubian as a teaching language (see
Treder 2006:119-123). It is an official alternative language for local administrative pur-
poses in several communitites. (Treder 2006:114-118).
1.3. German superstrate and Pomerian-Polish substrate yield Kashubian
Kashubian has long been seen as a language characterized by retarding processes of
linguistic contact thanks to its geographical location on the north-western border of the
2For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
Slavic languages and due to historical circumstances (cf. Treder 2006, Bartelik
2019). As a direct continuum of Old Pomeranian dialects, which developed the Slavic
language substrate into a basical Kashubian and had no autonomous language sys-
tem, it was exposed to several periods of influence of the German superstrat in subse-
quent periods of its linguistic development. Thus, Kashubian is not a homogeneous
language, also thanks to dialectal diversity, which has externally determined language
contact results as well as native language units in all its subsystems. However, it is
also possible to follow other, internal changes, which have been determined and trig-
gered by language contact, but which have taken on an autonomous character in their
further course. Individual subsystems of a language are characterized by different "as-
similation power" of foreign units. The layers predestined for the inclusion of speech-
related results are the closed system of syntax and the lexic, which is at least "open"
to phonetics (cf. Zabrocki 1961; Grucza 1968: 126).
1.4. Linguistic heritage
Heritage languages are linguistic varieties in foreign contexts such as contemporary
Turkish varieties spoken in Berlin, the Spanish used in Los Angeles, or the Kiez in
Berlin in which several individual heritges have coaslesced into one single language
mix unrelated to one individual oeiginal by itself (Wiese 2018). They are non-dominant
languages, used inside families or special genetic groups in the streets often with little
prestige like the Kiez in Berlin (Wiese 2018). Their speakers also speak the dominant
language of the country they live in. Often heritage languages undergo changes due
to their special social status and the length of time they are exposed to the dominant
(roof) lanugage. They have received scholarly attention and provide a link between
academic concerns and educational issues.
The present article expands the synchronic heritage by a diachronic contact per-
spective. We consider the language of Kashubian from the perspective of its history, its
substrate interaction and growth with superstrate (Low) German with dominant Polish,
both in its lexical and syntactic structural properties. According to Weinreich (1976:
15), two or more languages are in contact with each other when they are used alter-
nately by the same persons. The individuals using the languages can be foreign or re-
lated to one another while the place where the contact takes place can remain identical,
- for example, one and the same family or street gang. Linguistic research focuses on
linguistic traces left by the contact history. Linguistic contact influences change in par-
ticular the open subsystems of the language, the lexics. In the case of long and intensive
contact, however, contact-induced change can occur also in the grammatical area. This
is the case in Kashubian, where, among other things, the periphrastic perfect is formed
according to the German pattern, a tense totally foreign to Slavic in general.
1.5. Change on the closed inventory.
The causes and motives of borrowings include need for designation, identification
economy, communicative needs (enveloping or euphemistic expression, precision,
style variation, appeal of the foreign lexeme, eye-catching and local color). The number
of borrowings and the influence of other subsystems of the language depends primarily
on the contact intensity. The following factors are relevant for the determination of con-
tact intensity: contact duration, number of speakers, number of bilingual speakers, so-
cio-economic domicile, recruitment of speakers (see Thomason 2001: 66ff.; Ko-
cyba 2007: 51ff.).
The large number of German loanwords in Polish or Kashubian is due to the
long contact time, the number of bilingual speakers, and the socio-economic domi-
nance of the Germans. In this context, the East colonization (medieval German East
3For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
Settlement) and its economic and cultural significance is of primary influence. The
eastern settlement under German law developed from the 13th century onwards. The
settlers brought knowledge, new tools and machines. The cities were founded under
Magdeburg, Lübeck and Cologne legality and were positive because they created the
legal basis for urban life according to the West European model (Mazur-Karszniewicz
1988: 17). The cities were built according to uniform 3 plans and had comparable legal
and economic forms. The new cities were not merely an extension of the existing set-
tlements, but independent foundations next to the old centers. This was also reflected
in the planned, regular and generous urban complex and the wall independent of the
castle settlement (Rogall 1996: 64). With the foundation of villages and with the new
settlers (farmers), there were innovations and progress in agriculture (new equipment,
crop rotation, melioration). Since the 13th and 14th centuries, iron scythes, harrows
with iron spikes, threshing flails, solid barns and fertilizer have also spread. The ox as
a working animal was replaced by the horse (Rogall 1996: 70). Since the new settlers
had some advantages and more effective working methods, the villages established
under the law were able to develop more quickly.
2. Kashubian: a “language in statu nascendi”
Sociolinguistically viewed, Kashubian is "still a literary language in statu nascendi"
(Breza 1997: 323). A similar opinion is also expressed by Treder (2002: 102;
2005). Breza points out that the writers bring the elements of their native dialect or
dialect into their works. And, according to Treder. “the Kashubian norm is still not clear
enough, very elastic, to a great extent depend on domestic dialect of the writer or
speaker” (translated from Treder 2006: 187).
The Kashubian dialects are generally divided into three groups: The Northern
Kashubian, the Southern dialects and those of Central Kashubian (cf. Treder 2006:
281) There are differences between them in the pronunciation and partly in the vocab-
ulary (Treder 1997); the North Kashubian dialects, for example, have more German
heritage than those of South Kashubia. One may assume that the northern dialects
have retained more of the older, especially Low German, borrowings. Most of them are
related to fishing or boating, e.g.: gafla ('Gaffelsegel, sail', nd. Gaffelsegel, nhd. Gabel);
kùtel ('the inner bag of the reuse, a type of net').
Recal that linguistic literature has been the subject of discussions for years on the
status of Kashubian. For a group of Polish linguists, Kashubian is a dialect of Polish,
for others it is a separate language (see Zieniukowa 2001).
Thanks to the National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional Language Act of 6th Jan-
uary 2005, Kashubian has attained the legal status of a regional language; under the
"European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages", according to which the respec-
tive country may decide which language variety is granted the status of a regional lan-
guage. Article 7 of the Charter sets out objectives and principles recommended by the
Parties for implementation. Thanks to various measures, Kashubian is being revital-
ised: It is is taught in several schools, teachers are trained in Kashubian at the Univer-
sity of Gdansk, there are broadcasts on radio and regional television in The Kashubian
language, works by Kashubian writers are re-edited (series "Biblioteka Pisarzy
3
"The Kulmische Recht (legislation), recorded in 1397, emerged from the K.H. [Kulmer Handfeste], which was
based on Magdeburg law. It remained in force in principle until 1620 in Prussia, in Gdansk as a statuary right
even until 1857. The K.H. was designed to promote the settlement of colonists in the land of the Order"
(Fuchs/Raab 2007: 452).
4For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
Kaszubskich") and many more. In the 2011 census, 228,000 respondents registered
to belong to the Kashubian ethnic group.
When two or more languages are said to be contact languages, it is not the lan-
guages, but their spokespersons who are in contact with each other. Language con-
tacts can be studied from a system-linguistic, sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic and prag-
malinguistic perspective; There are fluid transitions between these perspectives or re-
search areas. Linguistic research focuses on linguistic traces left by the contact; lin-
guistic contact influences in particular the open subsystems of the language, i.e. the
lexics; closed subsystems — morphology and word formation — are much morre-
sistant to influence. In the case of long and intensive contact, however, contact-in-
duced change can occur in the gto influence rammatical area – this is the case in
Kashubian, where, among other things, the perfect is formed according to the German
pattern.
The causes and motives of borrowings include need for designation, identifica-
tion economy, communicative needs (enveloping or euphemistic expression, precision,
style variation, appeal of the foreign lexem, eye-catching and local colour). The number
of borrowings and the influence of other subsystems of the language depends primarily
on the contact intensity. The following factors are relevant for the determination of con-
tact intensity: contact duration, number of speakers, number of bilingual speakers, so-
cio-economic domicile, recruitment of speakers (see Thomason 2001: 66ff.; Ko-
cyba 2007: 51ff.).
The large number of German loanwords in Polish or Kashubian is related to the
long contact time, the number of bilingual speakers and the socio-economic domi-
nance of the Germans. In this context, the East colonisation (medieval German East
Settlement) and its economic and cultural significance should be mentioned. The east-
ern settlement under German law developed from the 13th century onwards. The set-
tlers brought knowledge, new tools and machines. The cities were founded under Mag-
deburg, Lübisch Recht (legislation) and Kulmisch Recht and were positive because
they created the legal basis for urban life according to the Western European model
(cf. Mazur-Karszniewicz 1988: 17). The cities were built according to uniform plans and
had comparable legal and economic forms. "The new cities were not merely an exten-
sion of the existing settlements, but independent foundations next to the old cen-
tres. This was also reflected in the planned, regular and generous urban complex and
the wall independent of the castle settlement" (Rogall 1996: 64).
With the foundation of villages and with the new settlers (farmers) there were
innovations and progress in agriculture (new equipment, crop rotation, meliora-
tion). "Since the 13th and 14th centuries, iron scythes, harrows with iron spikes, thresh-
ing flails, solid barns and fertilizer have also spread. The ox as a misowing animal was
replaced by the horse, [...]" (Rogall 1996: 70). Since the new settlers had some ad-
vantages and more effective working methods, the villages established under the law
were able to develop more quickly.
"The introduction of German law was not imposed on Polish villages and cities
by the German authorities, but was carried out on the initiative of local landlords,
i.e. princes, bishops, monasteries and wealthy magnates. As a result of this re-
form, the foundations were laid for the urbanization of the whole country, for the
emergence of the bourgeoisie through the social division of labour and for the
creation of development conditions for the money-goods economy through the
exchange of goods between the village and the city [...]" (Labuda 2001: 62).
3. German loan words in selected areas of Kashubian
5For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
By the German loan words, we understand direct takeovers from High German and its
(mainly Low German) dialects, the borrowings from other languages conveyed through
German, as well as the Germanisms conveyed via Polish. Borrowings from German
formed the basis for the emergence of the individual specialist languages of The Casth-
pan (Polish) and/or contributed to their expansion. "The speciality of the specialist lan-
guages [...] is in its special vocabulary, which is tailored to the needs of the subject
concerned, the transitions to the common language and which also contains common-
language and general-speaking words" (Fluck 1996: 12).
The basic sources for the excerpt of Germanisms are the dictionaries of Ra-
mułt4, Gołąbek and partly of Lorenz (1965), the monograph of Wosiak-Śliwa (2011)
and some regional journals and interviwees. In the following, only those borrowings
that do not occur in contemporary Polish are listed. Some of the borrowings are tied to
one of the dialect groups of Kashubian.5
3.1. Culinaries
By the term 'culinary' we capture the names for food products, drinks, and dishes. 6
blutka ('Blutwurst, blood sausage'), brót ('Laib Brot, bread'), buterkùch ('Butterku-
chen, butter cake'), durszlach ('Durchschlag, colander, strainer') , flészer
('Fleischer, butcher'), frisztëk ('Frühstück, breakfast'), kafeszrót ('coffee scrap, malt
coffee'), kùch ('Kuchen, cake'), nudle ('Nudel, noodle'), pankùch (nd. Pannekoek,
pannkoken, nhd. Pfannkuchen, 'Pfannkuchen, pancake'), pòmùchel/pòmùchla
('Dorsch, codfish'), sznaps ('Schnaps, liquor'), szpiek ('Speck, bacon'), taska ('Tas-
se, cup'), zédel ('Seidel, a half liter'), sztrojsel ('Streusel, crumble'), szmaka ('Ges-
chmack, taste, flavour'), bómk ('Bonbon, candy'), trëchtel ('Trichter, hopper'),
hafefloczi ('Haferflocken, oat flakes'), gewërc ('Gewürz, spice'), kana\kanka
('Kanne, pot, can'), bratfana ('Bratpfanne, frying pan'), kùch ('Kuchen, cake, pie'),
lasfór\lasfóra ('Lachsforelle, salmon, trout'), mãdla ('Mandel, almond'), deka
('Tischdecke, tablecloth'), léberka ('Leberwurst, liver sausage'), kraftmél ('Kartof-
felmehl, potato flour').
Some of culinaria are used only in the north of Kashubia (cf. Wosiak-Śliwa 2011), such
as:
fëszbina ('Sülze, fish leg 'gelee'), kałdunë ('Kaldaunen, Kutteln, Kallbsvormagen a
dish of the striped beef'), flôda ('Fladen, cake, pita').
3.2. Crop plants
bón/bónk ('Bohne, bean'), bùkwita ('Buchweizen, buckwheat'), cukerriva/cukerriva
('Zuckerrübe, sugar beet'), dil ('Dille, dill'), kléwer (pr.-dt. klêwer, klêber, 'Klee, clover'),
kòlãder ('Holunder, holunder'), krëzbùla ('Stachelbeere, christberry'), radiska ('Ra-
dischen, raddish'), szabelbón ('Saubohne, broad bean'), wrëk ('Wrucke, swede'),
szampelión ('Champignons, white mushrooms') majs ('Mais, maize'), ingber\ingwer
4
The editor of the dictionary, Treder (p. 14) points out that the newly reedited dictionary listed only Germanisms
have been retained which are used in contemporary Kashubian.
5
We certainly do not want to diminish the value of the vocabulary of Wosiak-Sliwa, but below we provide evi-
dence listed in the new Polish-Kashubian's Great Dictionary. Most of them can also be found in the dictionary of
Lorentz or the best dictionary of Kasschubian of Sychta (1967-1976: Słownik gwar kaszubskich na tle kultury
ludowej [Dictionary of Kashubian dialects in context of folk culture], Volume I-VII, Wrocław). We have also
looked up all the given documents given by Hinze (1965).
6
Abbreviations: mhg. = Middle High German, mnd. = Mittelniederdeutsch/Middle Low German, nd . = nieder-
deutsch/Low German, nhd. = neuhochdeutsch/modern High German, pr.-dt. = preußisch-deutsch.
6For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
('Ingwer, ginger'), peperling\peperlëszka ('Pfifferling, chanterelle'), tomata ('Tomate, to-
mato'), knobloch ('Knoblauch, garlic').
3.3. Household, agriculture
bakhùz ('Backhaus, backhouse', nd. back(h)ûz), becher ('Becher, cup'), breńtuz ('Bran-
thaus, Brennerei, distillery'), bùchta ('Buchte, Verschlag für Tiere, crate for animals',
nd. bucht, cf. Kluge 1995: 142), czéda ('Kette, chain', nd. kedde), czipa\czipka (at
Hinze 1965: 295 as kipa, 'Kiepe, basket worn on the back with 2 handles', mnd. kepe),
czista\kista ('Kiste, box'), draszowac ('dreschen, threshing'), fóra (nd. fôre, 'Fuhre, load,
fare'), fùter, fùder (nd. fudder, 'Futter, food'), fùdrowac /fùtrowac ('füttern, feeding'),
gafla ('Gabel, fork', nd. gaffel, gawel), gafle, gable ('Heugabel, straw fork'), kara
('Karre, cart'), krutop (nd. kruttopp, 'Krauttopf, flower pot'), lómk ('Lamm, lamb'), landara
('Landauer, Gerümpel, Rumpelkasten, unbehaglicher Wohnraum; unpleasant living
room'), lécka / lécczi ('Leitseil, guide rope'), rum ('Raum, room', mnd. rûm), szruwa
('Schraube, screw', mhg. schrûwe), szraga ('Schragen, cross-standing wooden feet
under tables', Duden: 2990, mhd. schrage), szrót ('Schrott, scrap, junk'), sztëga
('Stiege, 20 pieces' 2. 'a row of put-up sheaves'), szëmel ('Schimmel, mould'), szlach-
tować ('schlachten, slaughter'), szpédżel ('Spiegel, mirror'), topdëk\ toptuch ('Abwisch-
tuch, Topftuch, wipe flaps, pot cloth', pr.-dt. topdöck), topk\top ('Topf, Wasserkocher,
pot, kettle'), paczétnica ('Paketenträger, trunk'), bager ('Bagger, excavator', sznëptuch
('Taschentuch, handkerchief'), trëker ('Trekker, tractor'), fùńsztuk ('Pfundstück, weight
of one pound, weight'), dél ('Brett, board, plank', mnd. deel), tëpich ('Teppich, carpet'),
tréger ('Träger, beam, carrier'), fùńt\pùńt ('Pfund, pound'), brëmza ('Bremse, brake'),
szwóng ('Schwung, zest, energy'), winkel ('Winkel, angle, place, spot'), szituz
('Scheißhaus, lavatory', nd. szithûs), wila\wilëca ('Feile, file', nd. wile), wilowac ('feilen,
file, rasp'), fóksszwanc ('Fuchsschwanz, foxtail', zófa ('Sofa, Couch, sofa, couch'),
lińcuch\leńcuch ('Kette, chain'), szlipsztén ('Schleifstein, grindstone', nd. Sliepsteen).
3.4. Clothing and decoration
alsczéda ('Halskette, necklace'), bùksë ('Hose, pants, underpants', mnd. buxe from
*buck-pants 'pants made of fenugreek [Hinze 143]), czitel ('Oberkleid, jacket, smock'
also ‘kittel' (kittel), fùter\fùder ('Futterstoff, lining', nd. fudder), hùwa ('Haube, women's
hat with ribbons, hood', mnd. hûve), jupa ('kurze Jacke, Joppe, short jacket', pr.-dt.
jûpe, jôpe), kapùza ('Kapuze, hood' ), knąpa ('Knopf, button', nd. knôp), stréfla
('Socken, sock, stocking'), sznëpdëk/sznëptuch/ sznëpeldëk ('Schneuztuch, Schnup-
ftuch, sniffing cloth, handkerchief', nd. sznëpdëk/sznëptuch/ sznëpeldëk), szorc
('Schürze, Schorz, apron'), sztof ('Stoff, material, substance'), farba\farwa ('Farbe, col-
our'), liwk\westka ('Weste, waistcoat'), rejsfeszlos ('Reißverschluss, zipper'), bruny
('braun, brown', nd. brûn), fejn ('fein, fine, delicate'), fardich\fertich ('fertig, ready, com-
plete'), tasza ('Tasche, Hosentasche, pocket, bag, trouser pocket'), óring ('Ohrring,
earring'), sztëpdëka ('Bettdecke, blanket, duvet'), wiks ('Wichse, Schuhcreme, shoe
polish'), mańtel ('Mantel, coat'), flëkòwac ('flicken, patch'), czéda\czédka ('(Hals)kette,
chain, necklace'), lumpë ('Klamotten, Lumpen, clothes, clobber').
3.5. People, occupations, kinship designations
beniel ('Bengel, bastard, young man'), bùzer ('Schurke, rogue, rascal'), rojber
('Schurke, rogue, rascal'), bówka ('Schurke, rogue, rascal', pr. Buwe), brutka ('Braut,
Backfisch, bride, young woman, teenage girl', nd. Brut), brutman ('Bräutigam, bride-
groom', pr.-dt. bûtman, mhd. bûtman), fôder (old for 'father', nd. vader, vôder), knôp
('Junge, boy', mhg. knappe), knurps ('Knirps, young boy'), mùder ('Mutter, mother', nd.
7For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
môder, möder), szurk ('Rotznase, Grünschnabel, Halbwüchsiger, teener' , cf. SEK V:
124), szwadżer ('Schwager, brother-in-law'), brifka ('Briefträger, postman'), flészer
('Fleischer, slaughter', nd. flêscher), fórman ('Fuhrmann, carriage driver', nd. fôrman),
fërszta ('Förster, forester'), kùczer ('Kutscher, coacher'), lózbùksa (,Galgenvogel, scal-
awag, wastrel', combination from lóz 'lose, loose, slack' + buxe 'Hose, pants'), méster
('Meister, master, foreman'), trzãsebùksa ('Weichei, wimp, pansy' combination from
trzãsc 'zittern, shiver, shake' + buxe 'Hose, pants'), garnéra ('Gärtner, gardener'),
krëpel\kripel ('Krüppel, cripple, gimp'), óma ('Oma, grandmother'), ópa ('Opa, grandfa-
ther'), nara ('Narr, fool, jerk'), erba ('der Erbe, heir'), erbòwac ('erben, inherit').
Only the most important loan words (most of which are still in use) were pre-
sented in the article; a large number of borrowings are found in the older language
layers and dialects. The older borrowings, which originate dwell from Low German, are
replaced by the New High Germans or are disappearing (in particular, names from
agriculture, fisheries); this is easy to see by analyzing Hinze’s dictionary (1965).
3.6. The Second Great Consonant Shift in the borrowings from Low
German
The second (Old High German) sound shift has the Low German (including the Low
German dialects) not influenced, i.e. the stops remained unshifted. In the Upper Ger-
man area (and partly in Central German), the tenues (p,t,k) passed in: p > pf, t > tz, z
and k > kch inside a word and after m, n, l, r; after a vowel; the following shifts occurred:
p > f, t > s and k > ch. The closing consonantss became voiceless: b > p, d > t and g
> k (cf. Mettke 1970: 109-117; Tschirsch 1974: I, 83-89). New High German diph-
thongation: the long vowels became diphthongs; Low German was not influenced
(mhd. mîn niuwes hûs, m’n niewe huus, nhd. mein neues Haus ‘my new house’).
"Main source of the nd. Loan words of Kaschubian were the nd. dialectsof Hinter-
pommern (especially for Slovincian) and West Prussia. Only recently (since about
1900) did the influence of the modern High German. written language noticeable
[...]" (translated from Kaestner 1983: 687). Individual Kashubian patterns:
bakuz – 'Backhaus, baking house', brutka – 'Braut, bride', cedel – 'Zettel, note' (nd.
zeddel), flészer – 'Fleischer, butcher', gastuz – 'Gasthaus, inn', dana – 'Tanne, fir' (nd.
danne), duwa – 'Taube, pigeon' (nd. d'we), antiquated fôder – 'Vater, father', fùder –
'Futter, food', gbùr – 'Bauer-farmer' (mhd. / nd. gebûr), krutop – 'Kraut-/Blumentopf'
(nd. kruttopp, 'flower pot'), among others.
Old Low German variants occasionally occur together with a modern vriant: the
older ones in the north, the younger High German ones in Middle and South
Kashubian: szëpla vs. szëfla 'Schaufel, shovel', pùńt vs. fùńt 'Pfund, pound', fùder vs.
fùter 'Futter, fudder’ (cf. fùdrowac vs. fùtrowac 'füttern, munch'). There is no norm,
however. The older and less frequent Low German variants seem to prevail.
4. Other select cases of agreement
As in Polish, the nouns of German (feminine) emanating on -e in Kashubian get the
ending -a (they are also feminine);
alsczéda – 'Halskette, necklace', bazuna – 'Posaune, trombone', czela - 'Kelle, trowel',
deka – 'Decke, blanket', fliza – 'Fliese, tile', gasa – 'Gasse, lane', jaka – 'Jacke, jacket',
lëpa – 'Lippe, lip', szraga – 'Schrage,rod', , sztrôfa / sztrôf – 'Strafe, punishment'; tasza
- 'Tasche, bag' tińta – 'Tinte, ink' (among others)
8For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
With the suffix -a (in places with -ka, which do not always have a diminutive function),
nouns in other genders are also assigned to the feminine in Kashubian (Polish):
Bord 'board' - borta (Trepczyk 1994), nd. bucht 'Verschlag für Tiere (Kluge 1995: 142),
box for keeping animals'– buchta; Fusslappen 'footwrap' – fùslapa; Kasten 'box' –
kasta; Knopf 'button' (nd. knôp) – knãpa; Tasse 'cup' – taska.
• The stops g, k are pronounced in front of the front tongue vowels e, i to the af-
fricats cz [č] und dż [dž] (and partly soft variants). This applies to both the loans
from German as well as all other words. The beginning of this change is fixed
in the literature on the middle of the 19th century:
cãdżi ('Zange, tongs'), czeda ('Kette, chain', nd. kedde), czinderspiel
('Kinderspiel, children's play'), czista ('Kiste, box'), szpédżel ('Spiegel, mirror'),
szwadżer ('Schwager, brother-in-law'), nodżi ('Beine, legs', poln. nogi).
Sometimes two equally valid variants occur: kist(k)a and czista 'Kiste, box';
cãdżi 'Zange, pliers' (For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
For the constructions formed from the auxiliarly used miec (have) or bëc (be) and cor-
responding participles (jachóny 'gefahren, left' widzóny 'gesehen, seen' , jadłé
'gegessen, eaten', czëté ,gehört, heard' etc.), which have in more recent times been
formed in broad contexts parallel to the German perfect (resultative) forms (cf. Bartelik
2011, 2018) or with similar additions in other Slavic languages (especially in present-
day Polish, cf. Kątny 1999, 2011; Nomachi 2006, 2011; Piskorz 2011), the following
examples are patterned transparently.7:
(4) Jô to miôł widzóny Kashubian KSN 603i
8
.I it Acc have seen.PPP n.Acc
(4’) Ich hatte es gesehen – I had seen it
(5) Jô mù to móm gôdóné Kashubian KSN 122
I him.Dat. it.Ac have.1.Ps.Sg.Pres. said.PPP.Acc
(5’) Ich habe es ihm gesagt – I told him
(6) To nie je prôwda, le òni sa to mają zmëszloné Kashubian KSN
664
Es ist nicht wahr, sie Pl. N. sich D. es Acc. haben: 3. Ps. Pl. Pres. ausgedacht
PPP n Acc
(6’) Es ist nicht wahr, sie haben es sich ausgedacht – it is not true, they invented
it.
(7) Jô miôł do niego pisóné Kashubian KSN 348
Ich N. haben: 1. Ps. Sg. Pret. er Acc. geschrieben PPP n Acc.
(7’) Ich hatte an ihn geschrieben – I had written to him.
Regarding the increasingly used mieć-constructions in Polish, which are placed on the
periphery of the standard-language tense-gender system (Kątny 1999, 2011; Piskorz
2011), the Kashubian citations (from KSN) display some essential divergences, which
are based on their semantic-grammatical nature, in that they imply a very different
developmental status. In view of the main characteristics of these Kahubian and Polish
constructions, the following findings can be obtained
(8) The fact that the primary semantics of the auxiliaries in question (Kashubian.
miec and bëc, Polish mieć) were degraded in favor of a secondary, gram-
matical coding function is in Kashubian at a stage different from the Polish
one. Typical constructional restrictions, which largely result from the "pos-
sessive" semantics of Polishmieć, are not present in Kashubian in quite a lot
of evidence (see Bartelik 2011. 2018). As a result, the Kashubish verbs miec
und bëc are to be seen as solid tense codings (i.e. also finite and variable)
components of periphrastic constructions. Though in Polish, mieć has not
completely lost its original lexical meaning, this is hardly a valid reason for
rejecting the presupposition of an (at least partially) auxiliarized mieć for
Polish – something that is also assumed in Piskorz (2011) and Abraham/
Piskorz (2014).
(9) dassCOMP dem MannDat das ProblemAcc jemandNom erklären mussV0
that the man the problem someone explain must verbal bracket Comp̶Vo
7
See also. BARTELIK ( 2011, 2018); KĄTNY (2011).
8
Abbreviations: Acc. – accusative, D. – dative, Gen. – genitive, N. – nominative, Pl – plural, Pers – person, PPP
– passive participle of a perfectiv verb, PPI – passive participle of an im perfective verb. Pres – present, Pret –
oreterit, Sg – singular.
10For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
e. że mężczyźnie.Dat dom.Acc pokazał V0 Jacek.Nom (Polish)
that (to) man house showed Jacek no verbal bracket
f. że chłopòwi.Dat chałëpa.Acc pòkôzôł V0 Jacek.Nom no verbal bracket
(Kashubian)
For Kashubian there is not only one composed Perfekt-tense form, but there are two:
(10) a. the Old-Slavic Perfekt (jô jem béł), synthezised in Modern Polish ja byłem.
b. all forms containing mieć and bëc to the extent that we consider the peri-
phrastic construction loaned from German as quasi-Perfek tense, i.e. all
forms containing mieć and bëc.
The contradiction between the possessive semantics of miec and the contrabenefac-
tive meaning of the partcciples comes to the fore in:
(11) òn ma zabróné Kashubian
er haben:3Sg.Pres. mitnehmen:PP
er hat mitgenommen – he has taken along
or
‘passively’ ihm wurde weggenommen – it was taken away from him
(12) òn miôł ukradłé Kashubian
he have:3Sg.Pret. stolen:PP
er hat(te) gestohlen - he hs/ad stolen
The decision between the perfect tense and the passivie reading is sometimes tough
to make. However, even the combination with the PPs at hand makes us assume that
what is at work is the dismantling of the semantics of miec ‘have’.
(13) a I [CP XDP have [VP YAgree-Z [Attribute ZAgree-Y]]]
b Ju wiãcy jak rok piszã felietone pòzwóné
already more than a year I am writing essays titled under
„ze szkòcczich përdëgónów”, a jesz jem nie wëwidnił,
„From the far Scotland”, but I still do not know
dlôcze prawie taczé miono móm jima dóné
why just this title have.1Sg.Pres. I them giiven.PP
„For more than a year I have written essays titled “From the far Scotland”,
and I still do not know why I have given them this title.”(Bartelik 2015:
220)
Importantly, significant differences between the Kashubian and Polish constructions
are also noticeable in the combinations of imperfective or intransitive verbs with miec/
mieć (or bëc). While Kashubian allows formation of imperfective aspect (cf. Bartelik
2011, 2018), such constructions are generally not possible in Polish. However, in the
case of both languages, the transitivity condition can no longer be regarded as relevant
and distinctive. These facts also constitute a higher degree of grammaticalizationof the
Kashubian mieć-/bëc-constructions.
(14) a Kashubian:
[CP XDP je/is [VP [DO YAgree-Z [ZAgree-Y [IO A]]]]
11For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
≠/
Polish:
[CP XDP je/is [VP YAgree-Z [Attribute ZAgree-Y]]]
b Kashubian:
Òna nie je wespónô bò
Sie nicht ist ausgeschlafen weil
mô w nocë le dwie gòdzënë spóne (KSN 490)
have:3Sg.Pres. in der Nacht nur zwei Stunden schlafen:PP
„She is not well awake because she only slept two hours“
c Polish („goes to sleep“, no auxiliary mieć):
*On ma spane
he has:3Sg.Pres. slept:PP.
Polish agreement of the object (indirect or direct) and the participle (in the sense of its
morphological derivational affix) which always exists in Polish, is abolished in the
Kashubian case in the default case. The differentiation of the participle affix due to
case, number and last but not least gender (cf. Kątny 2011; Piskorz 2011) has been
replaced in Kashubian by a uniform neutral ending, which fixes the participles to occur
in infinite, invariable parts of the miec-/bëc constructions. The occasionally signaled
agreement in the Kashubian citations (see Nomachi 2011 may be due to Polish inter-
ference.
(15) a Polish:
[CP XDP have [VP [DO YAgree-Z [ZAgree-Y [IO A]]]] … [+transitivtye/DO constraint]
≠/
Kashubian
[CP XDP have [VP YAgree-Z [Attribute ZAgree-Y]]] … [-transitivty/eDO constraint]
b Polish: With the predicate “hat gegeben”, PPP-agreement (congruence)
on gender and number is obligatory in Polish:
Mam zupę ugotowaną
haben:1Sg.Pres. die Suppe kochen:PP.F.
“I have cooked the soup.”
(16) a in Kashubian, uniform neutral inflection ending –é on predicative PPP:
Mëmka mô dzëckù dóné bùdla
Mutter hat:3Sg.Pres. dem Kind gegeben:PPP Flasche
“Mother has given the baby the bottle.”
b Tatk mô dóné bògato jałmùżna
Vater hat:3Sg.Pres. gegeben:PPP reiches Almosen
“Father has given rich alms.”
The fixed position of the participle in the Kashubian default case differs significantly
from the relatively free position of the participle in Polish mieć-sentences. See (15)-
(17).
(17) Mam popsuty samochód Polish (PISKORZ 2011: 177)
Ich habe ein kaputtes Auto
“I have a broken car.”
(18) Nasza sąsiadka ma ciągle remontowane mieszkanie (PISKORZ 2011: 178)
Unsere Nachbarin hat die Wohnung immer wieder renoviert
“Our neighbour has redone her apartment again and again.”
12For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
vs.
(19) Òni mają tã firmã zlëkwidowóné Kashubian (BARTELIK 2011: 191)
Sie haben die Firma liquidiert.
“They have liquidated the business.”
While in Polish the free pre-auxiliary position of the participle evokes an "attributive"
reading, the postposition in Kashubian is obligatorily predicative. See (18):
(20) Polish [CP XDP have [VP [DO [ZAgree-Y YAgree-Z [ZAgree-Y [IO A]]]] … VO-base
≠/
Kashubian [CP XDP have [VP YAgree-Z [Attribute ZAgree-Y]]] OV-base, V-bracket
Polish:
a Mam ugotowaną zupę
‘I have cooked soup’ … attributive [Adj[iagreement]N[iagreement]]
“I have cooked soup.”
or
b Mam zupę ugotowaną …appositive [N[iagreement][Adj[iagreement]]
„Ich habe die Suppe (als) gekochte“ – “I have the soup (as) cooked.” .
In both cases, the PPP receives an attributive reading. In Kashubian, postposition after
the auxiliary is almost obligatory and certainly most frequent and ends on gender-neu-
tral –é. See (19).
(19) Nder-neutralczma w Lëpińcach mia òtemkłé dwiérze / òtemkłé
bar in Lepińce has:3Sg.Pret. opened:PP.Neut door (Bartelik 2015: 223)
,Die Kneipe in Lepińce hatte geöffnete Tür/die Tür geöffnet.‘
“The bar in L. had the door opened.”
The semantic invariant Polish mieć- und Kaschubian miec-/bëc-constructions are
based on resultativity (see Czarnecki 1998). Most Polish mieć-constructions encode a
preceding action of the subject and imply a post-state. The same applies to Kashubian:
(20) Polish:
[CP XDP have [VP [DO [Zresult-Y YAgree-Z [IO A]]]] … VO-base
=/ wrt resultativity of the past participle/PPP
Kashubian:
[CP XDP have [VP Yresult-Z [Attribute Zresult-Y]]] … OV-base, V-bracket
In Polish, the causative ùspóné, einschläfern’ does not match with mieć ‚haben‘ to form
the binary tense construction, much in contrast to Kashubian miec. See (19).
(21) Kashubian:
Mëmka mô dzecko ùspóné
Mutter hat:3Sg.Res. Kindchen eingeschläfert:PP.Neut. V-bracket
5.2. Constructional restrictions of miec + PP
The results of the grammaticalization of the Polishmieć + Passive participle (J. Piskorz
13) are these.
13For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
(22) Formation restrictions of mieć + PP
• most frequent with perfective, transitive verbs/tV (68%) on of imperfective tv (23
%), the majority iterative
• Rare occurrence of perfective intrnansitive verbs/iV (9%)
• Restrictions on imperfective intransitive verbs as well as verbs of motion, imper-
fective n verbs of perception and modal verbes.
• See the irrevervable universal process for periphrastic tensing (with the auxiliary
HAVE) from an aspectual base (Leis s 2000)- The later in this hierarchy, the more
difficult, and eventually later, the respective verbs enter the process of the per-
iphrastic past (“Perfekt”): [t+perfective V] ‘(habe mich in ihn) verliebt – have
fallen in love with him’ < perfectiveV (habe mich) verliebt’ < t+imperfective V
‘(hahe ihn) geliebt’) < perfectiveV (habe) geliebt’.
(23) Corpus extractions on modern spolen (dialectal) Polish (“tense periphrasis”̶
“verbal bracket”)
Perfective Perfective Imperfective Imperfective
transitive Verbs Intransitive Verbs transitive Verbs Intransitive Verbs
68% (151) 9% (20) 23% (51) 0%
(24) Temporalization cline: From speaker’s local (out vs. inner) distance to speak-
er’s temporal (before vs. after the event):
• Recategorization ((aspectual) speaker’s inner vs. outer distance toward the
event converses to speaker’s before, simultaneous with, and after the event
distance;
• Delexification (getting independent frim verbal syntactic and aspectual classifi-
cation)
• Predication split into carroers of person, number, and tense
• morpology and content (lexicAl PPP/supine)
• auxiiecliarization of possessive miec”have” and existential bet “be”.
• Constituency safeguarded by juxtaposition pf auxiliary+PPP.
• Verbal bracketting is the result of structuralizing the state of juxtaposition pf aux-
iliary+PPP, i.e. *Aux+XP+PPP and *PPP+XP+Aux against DO+PPP+Aux (sruc-
tural link with Comp and the w-characteristic)..
5.3. Syntactic heritage issues in Kashubian
5.3.1. From an aspect-L to tense-L
In Kashubian, a new perfect tense has emerged following a cross-linguistic logic: As-
pectual perfectivity (Polish/Pommeranian -→presentative resultative →resultative per-
fect tense→ analytic/periphrastic preterite (Kashubian; for details in Old High German
see Leiss 1992: 280) (generally, see also Litvinov / Nedjalkov 1888: 4; Breu 1988: 57;
Bybee / Pagliuca / Perkins 1994: 68ff.; Bybee / Dahl 1985: 56f.; Abraham 2004, 2011;
Heine / Kuteva 2006: 144ff.; Kotin 2007, Piskorz 201; among others).). In other words,
the transition from aspect in Polish to a temporal system may not be triggered by Ger-
man influence in the first place, but it may be the result of a shuffle in the native aspect
systen. Notably, the aspect system in Kashubish undergoes a number of weakenings.
Which are the grammaticalization characteristics of mieć+passive participle?
(25) grammaticalization parameters: formal restrictions
•temporal meaning oft he construction and collocations with temporal adverbials
•agreement between predicative PPP and the object
14For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
• Direct Object cannot remain unrealized
•Syntactic and semantic properties of the subject
•Expropriation of the possessive verb miec and the existential verb bëc to
auxiliary verb.
•Fixed word order and paradigmatization.
(for the individual parameters see Litvinov / Nedjalkov 1988; Bybee / Dahl 1989;
Leiss 1992; Lehmann 1995; Kuroda 1999; Abraham 2000, 2005; Dahl 2000;
Kotin 2006; Heine / Kuteva 2006; Öhl 2009)
The fact that PPP-forms in predicative function (appositive position) in Kashubian turns
out as a self-inflicted weakening of the Polish aspect system. Likewise, the very occur-
rence of non-resultative, i.e. imperfective PPP forms in Kashubian confirms the weak-
ening of the Polish aspect system. Verb loans appear either Slavicized with the ending
-ac like redac ‘save’ (from nd. redden, High German retten) or with the (secondary)
imperfective ending -wac (draszowac 'dreschen, thresh', fùdrowac/fùtrowac 'füttern,
feed’). We conclude from these wac-derivations that Kashubian verbs are taken to be
perfectives (“count verbs” in English terminology) as in German generally. Perfectivity
signaling preverbs like po-, na- etc. do not seem to be used for derivational purposes.
5.3.2. Adverbials and the vernacular article in the periphrasis
Tense and aspect systems differ decidedly with respect to the progressive.
German uses a prepositional construction, while Kashubian (like Polish) simply con-
strues the imperfective aspect. Kashubian still has preserved from German:
(26) prasować bügeln “strike” →
prasuję (właśnie ,eben, gerade’). – 1Sg.Pres. ich bin (gerade) am
Bügeln, ich bügle (gerade) “I am (just) striking“
prasowałem – 1Sg.Pret. ich war am Bügeln, ich bügelte “I was (just) stri-
king”
Ad erbials of temporal extension coact with aspect and definiteness on the DO. No-
tice that neither Polish nor Kasgubian have regularly formed (in)definite articles in
written style.
(27) Imperfective: Er hat (den ganzen Tag) Holz gespalten – he was (all day)
splitting wood
Polish On rąbał drewno
he split:3Sg.Pret. wood
Kasuhian Òn rznął drzewò
(28) Perfective: **Er hat (den ganzen Tag) das Holz gespalten – *he was splitting
the wood (all day long)
Polish On rąbał to drewno
er spalten:3Sg.Pret. das Holz
Kasuhian Òn rznął to drzewò
(29) a. Polish (On) piłIPF kawęAcc i jadłIPF chlebACC
b. Kasuhian Òn piłIPF kawãAcc i jôdłIPF chlébAcc
c. Er trank KaffeeAcc und aß BrotAcc
d. He was drinking coffee and eating a sandwich.
15For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
(30) a. Polish (On) wypiłPF kawęAcc i zjadłPF chlebAcc … simple past
b. Kasuhian Òn wëpiłPF kawãAcc i zjôdłPF chlébAcc… simple past
c. Er trank den Kaffe Acc und aß das BrotAcc … simple past
d. ‘ Er hat den KaffeAcc (aus)getrunken und das BrotAcc aufgegessen’
…V-bracket for perfect
e. He drunk (up) the coffee and ate (up) the bread.
In Kashubian, PPP unexceptionally occurs in postsentntial position, a fact that we take
safeguarding the verbal bracket structure and type-structurally OV.
(31) Òn mô ten lëst widzóny V-bracket
he has:3Sg.Pres. the letter seen:PP
‘er hat den Brief gesehen’ – ‘he has seen the letter’
This sentence has also the alternative form:
(32) Òn mô widzóny ten lëst no V-bracket
he has:3Sg.Pres. tseen:PP the letter
,er hat den Brief gesehen’ – ‘he has seen the letter’
In bëc-coPP is postsentential without exception.
(33) Òna je terô wëjachónô V-bracket
she be:3Sg.Pres now left:PP
,Sie ist jetzt weggefahren’ – ‘She has left now‘
The terminology “prenominal” in Polis is the “attributive” function.
(34) mam przygotowane miejsce
have:1Sg.Pres. prepared:PP seat
,I have a prepared seat’
What is terminologically the postnominal positin of the Kashubian PP does not exclude
the attributive reading, but has the preferable reading of the temporal “periphrastic per-
fect”.
(35) Mam miejsce przygotowane V-bracket
(36) have:1Sg.Pres. location reserved:PP
,Ich habe einen Platz vorbereitet’ – ‘I have reserved a seat.‘
See what is distinguished in Polish:
(37) a prezydenckie wybory ,die Wahl des Präsidenten/the election of the
president‘’
b wybory prezydenckie ,die Präsidentschaftswahl//tge presidential
election’.
Given adequate contexts, either choice, pre- or postnominality, can yield either the
nominal attributive reading or the predicative “temporal perfect” reading. The rule of
PPP-postnominality (end of the sentence) is more strongly, i.e. more frequently
16For the Heritage WS University of Utrecht 10th October, 2020
adhered to in Kaschubischen than in Polish. Note that only PPP-postnominality guar-
antees V-bracketting ({S[DO V]]). PPP-prenominality does not. As goes for agreement
between DO-erpdicate-PPP, there is regular agreement morphology in Polish on the
mieć-constituents – for example the neuter -e on the PP agreeing with the neuter DO+
miec.. By contrast, this is no longer the case in -kashubian except for a number of ëc-
constituents.
The occurrence of the partitive genitive is restricted to mass nouns in the singular
or in the plural of count nouns (see (38a). They are excluded, however, in the singular
(see 38a).
(38) Polish
a. (On) wypiłPF kawyGen.Sg., zjadłPF chlebaGen.Sg. i ogórkówGen.Pl.
Kashubian
b. Òn wëpiłPF kawëGen.Sg., zjôdłPF chlebaGen.Sg. i gurkówGen.Pl.
c. ‘Er hat vom Kaffee getrunken, etwas Brot und Gurken gegessen’
d. ‘He drunk some coffee, ate (up) some bread und some cucumbers’.
(39) Polish
a. On kupiłPF (sobie) *cytryny/cytryn.
Kashubian
b. Òn kùpiłPF (so) *cytrónë / cytrónów
c. Er kaufte sich *etwas ZitroneGen.Sg. / ZitronenGen.Pl.
Note that the alternation between accusative and genitive works only on verbs with
incremental arguments.
The younger literature on the topic is divided between those who conclude that
the Polish aspect system is weakening and, consequently rearranging means of refer-
ence (definiteness vs. indefiniteness; see J. Piskorz (2011) for Polish; see the survey
in Czardybon 2017). Kinga Piskorz’s (2011, 2017) courageous attempt at deriving the
article from the demonstrative ten.ta.to has not found general acceptance. What we
know from most Slavic languages is this: (c.f. Birkenmaier 1977, 1979; Abraham 1997,
2020; Leiss 1997; Kabakciev 2000; Filip 1999; Kątny 2019) is that there is an intimate
link between aspect and morphological case to establish reference:
(40) a IMPERFECTIVE V + Accusative object NP: indefinite (mass) object NP –
Polish pić kawę, Kashubian pic kawã- Kaffee trinken – drink coffee
[+divisible, +additive] event composites/referents
b PERFECTIVE V + Accusative object NP: definite object NP – Polish wypić
kawę, Kashubian wëpic kawã – den Kaffe (aus)trinken – drink up the
coffee [-divisible, -additive] event composites/referents
c PERFECTIVE V + Genitive object NP: partitive object NP – Polish wypić
kawy, Kashubian wëpic kawë – etwas vom Kaffee trinken – drink some
of coffee [±divisible, ±additive] event composites/referent.
Accusative is a structural case; the genitive is not. However, the genitive is structural
enough to be able to participate in this linking system. Partivity derives from definite-
ness by focusing on nondivisibility (definiteness) in a first step and then, in a second
step, focus on divisibles (indefinites) yielding the indefinite numerals etwas (von). Thus,
in opposition to lexical case (dative, vocative, ablative), structural case is anaphoric in
that it bears the potential to link with grammatical relations. However, Polish and
Kashubian follow this case-oriented strategy only under the severe restriction
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