Chapter 2 introduces current theories on the disposition of West Germanic, placing Wymysorys within this broader context.
Chapter 1 examines the current classification of Wymysorys as well as a brief linguistic and ethnological history of the language. The classification of Wymysorys as an Irminonic language is at odds with folk-history of the last Wilamowiceans, who variously claim to be descendant of Frisian, Flemish or Scottish settlers, a claim that has yet to be investigated on the basis of the genetic origins of the phonological and morphological innovations of Wymysorys. Historically Wymysorys has been grouped alongside languages such as Modern German as an Irminonic Language this classification however, has been made largely without consideration of the phonological and morphological character of the language. The classification of Wymysorys is a contentious issue and one that has been the focus of much of the scholarly work on the language over the past century. Preface Wymysorys (Wymysiöerys), one of the smallest Germanic languages, is a critically endangered language of Southern Poland spoken by less than 45 inhabitants of the town of Wilamowice. However, in Australian English the vowel in words like hat, sat, pat has been lowered in recent decades, representing a trend in the opposite direction to the overall picture (Cox 2012 ). For instance, Southern Hemisphere Englishes have a raising of short front vowels when compared to Northern Hemisphere Englishes in general. Many statements in the dictionary entries are true as a first approximation and are useful in delimiting groups of varieties. Nonetheless, the purpose of the definitions is that readers appreciate the broad picture. All varieties of English are essentially sets of varieties and more fine-grained treatments of these are found in individual studies (see the Reference Guide) which reveal many more levels of detail than can be covered here. However, there are some references in this book to variation in English prior to the seventeenth century where this throws light on later developments. A discussion of English spoken before then, roughly before 1600, properly belongs in histories of the English language, rather than in treatments of varieties. The time depth for varieties stretches back a few centuries, to the beginning of the colonial period. The book is intended to give information about present-day varieties around the world, but in order to do some historical facts must also be covered, both for English in England and at other locations. Essentially, this book contains two types of definition: (i) varieties of English and the regions/countries where these are spoken and (ii) terms and concepts from the linguistic analysis of varieties.
The present dictionary is intended as a tool for students and scholars alike.
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