| Erzgebirgisch | |
| Nativename: | Arzgebirgsch |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as /ˈaːɰtsɡ̊əˌb̥ɛːɰjɡ̊ʃ/ |
| States: | Germany |
| Region: | Saxony, Lower Saxony |
| Speakers: | ? |
| Familycolor: | Indo-European |
| Fam3: | West Germanic |
| Fam5: | Central German |
| Fam6: | East Central German |
| Ancestor: | Proto-Indo-European |
| Ancestor2: | Proto-Germanic |
| Ancestor3: | Old Thuringian |
| Isoexception: | dialect |
| Notice: | IPA |
| Glotto: | oste1245 |
| Glottoname: | Osterzgebirgisch |
| Glotto2: | west2915 |
| Glottoname2: | Westerzgebirgisch |
| Map: | Mitteldeutsche Mundarten.png |
| Mapcaption: | Central German dialects after 1945 and the expulsions of the Germans |
Erzgebirgisch (Standard pronounced as /de/; Erzgebirgisch: Arzgebirgsch[1]) is a (East) Central German dialect, spoken mainly in the central Ore Mountains in Saxony. It has received relatively little academic attention. Due to the high mobility of the population and the resulting contact with Upper Saxon, the high emigration rate and its low mutual intelligibility with other dialects, the number of speakers is decreasing.
As the following sections will show, Erzgebirgisch is very close to Upper Saxon but also has commonalities with Upper German dialects.
As of today, the Erzgebirgisch area comprises roughly the districts of Mittweida (southern area), Stollberg, Central Ore Mountain District, Annaberg-Buchholz, Freiberg (South) and Aue-Schwarzenberg. Some more speakers live in the town of Lichtenstein, in the Chemnitzer Land district.
Another community live in the Upper Harz Mountains in the Clausthal-Zellerfeld region (Lower Saxony). Their ancestors were miners and emigrated in the 16th century. Here it is referred to as the Upper Harz dialect.
Up to 1929, Erzgebirgisch was also spoken in other parts of Mittweida and Freiberg, in Chemnitz, Zwickau and in the extreme West of the Weißeritzkreis, but these areas are now dominated by Thuringian - Upper Saxon dialects.
Until 1945, the bordering Sudetenland also harbored some Erzgebirgisch speakers, namely in the Kaaden-Duppau area, in whose dialect an anthology of words, proverbs and anecdotes was published (see references). After World War II these speakers had to leave Czechoslovakia and settled down all over the FRG and the GDR. This meant that dialect usage was reduced to the family homes, entailing a shift to the local varieties of their new home towns.
No official attempts to create an orthography have been made, nevertheless there are countless short stories, poems and songs written in Erzgebirgisch. The Sächsischer Heimatverein guidelines to writing in Erzgebirgisch were established in 1937, but are by and large not respected by the majority of authors. This means that linguistic analysis of this dialect has to be done in a field work setting with native speakers. An additional threat to Erzgebirgisch is the popular misconception that Erzgebirgisch was a hillbilly variety of Saxonian, which is an issue for conservation efforts.
Erzgebirgisch is classified as a Central German dialect in linguistics, but also includes Upper German features.
Many of these languages show a tendency to substitute the German verbal prefix er- by der- (Erzg. and Bair.) or ver- (Bair. and Swabian). (e.g. westerzgeb. derschloong pronounced as /[tɔɰˈʃloːŋ]/ German German: erschlagen 'to slaughter'; derzeeln pronounced as /[tɔɰˈtseːln]/ German German: erzählen 'to tell, to narrate').
Extended use of the particle fei is typical for Upper German and popular in Erzgebirgisch.
Furthermore, German pronounced as /[o/ɔ]/ corresponds to pronounced as /[u/ʊ]/ in the mentioned varieties (e.g. westerzgeb. huus pronounced as /[huːs]/ German: Hose), and German pronounced as /[a]/ corresponds to pronounced as /[A]/.
An pronounced as /[n]/ in the coda, following a long vowel, is regularly deleted in Erzgebirgisch (e.g. Lichtenst. Huuschdee pronounced as /[huːʂʈeː]/ German: Hohenstein. Rarely, this is also found with monosyllabic words with a short vowel, which undergo compensatory vowel lengthening in the process (e.g. Lichtenst. màà pronounced as /[mʌː]/ German: Mann 'man').
Another typical feature of Upper German is the apocope of schwa and pronounced as //ɪ// (e.g. Lichtenst. Reedlz pronounced as /[ɣeːtˡl̩ts]/ German: Rödlitz)
The following table illustrates the similarities between Erzgebirgisch and Upper German dialects. Thuringian/Upper Saxon is listed as a control parameter. Areas marked with a tick means that the feature is present in most subdialects, whereas areas marked as 'partial' are only found in border areas.
| Feature | Erzgebirgisch | East Franconian | Bavarian-Austrian | Alemannic | Thuringian | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rendering of er- as der-/ver- | ||||||
| Use of fei | ||||||
| Pronunciation of pronounced as /[o/ɔ]/ as pronounced as /[u/ʊ]/ | ||||||
| Schwa-apocope | ||||||
| Convergence of ch and sch |
Eastern Erzgebirgisch dialects indicate negation with ni(ch) pronounced as /[nɪ(ç)]/ whereas nèt pronounced as /[nɛt]/ is used in the West. However, this subdialectal boundary is not clearly demarcated. Thus, both forms are found in the town of Lichtenstein, which lies on the northwestern dialect boundary (although ni is perhaps more common).
In both Eastern Erzgebirgisch and in the Lichtenstein dialect, word-initial clusters (kl/gl) and (kn/gn) in Standard German as realized as (tl) and (tn) respectively (e.g. dlee pronounced as /[tˡleː]/ German: klein 'small'; dnuchng pronounced as /[ˈtⁿnʊxŋ̍]/ German: Knochen 'bone').
It is not possible to include the Upper Harz varieties in either of these groups. Furthermore, there is a strong influence from the neighbouring non-Erzgebirgisch dialects in the region bordering Meißenisch, which makes subclassification cumbersome.
Through the summarizing of these findings, four dialects can be listed:
| Dialect | Present area | Historic area | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Erzgebirgisch | Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis, districts of Annaberg (northern half), Mittweida (south), Freiberg (south) | districts of Freiberg (northwest), Mittweida (west), Dippoldiswalde (western fringe), City of Chemnitz, Sudetenland (around Katharinaberg) | |
| Western Erzgebirgisch | Districts of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Annaberg (southern half) | Sudetenland (triangle from Graslitz through Schlaggenwalde to Pressnitz) | |
| Northern Erzgebirgisch | City and Rural District of Zwickau | ||
| Upper Harzisch | Clausthal-Zellerfeld Region and Sankt Andreasberg (Lower Saxony) |
As mentioned above, there is no unified orthography. In order to render the language data close to their actual pronunciation, the following conventions have been established:
The rendering of the consonants follows the notation commonly used for Bavarian. The following table lists the phonemes of the most important Erzgebirgisch dialects, with the IPA value and the corresponding character used in this article.
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar/ Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | pronounced as /link/ (k) | ||||||||
| pronounced as /link/ (b) | pronounced as /link/ (d) | pronounced as /link/ (g) | |||||||
| Affricate | pronounced as /link/ (pf) | pronounced as /link/ (z) | pronounced as /link/ / pronounced as /link/ (tsch) | ||||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ (f) | pronounced as /link/ (s) | pronounced as /link//pronounced as /link/ (sch) | pronounced as /link/ (ch) | pronounced as /link/ (ch) | pronounced as /link/ (ch) | pronounced as /link/ (h) | ||
| pronounced as /link/ (w) | pronounced as /link/ (r) | ||||||||
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ (m) | pronounced as /link/ (n) | pronounced as /link/ (ng) | ||||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /link/ (l) | ||||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ (j) | pronounced as /link/ (r) | |||||||
The writing of the vowels presented here follows in part the official Schwyzertütsch orthography. The orthographic representation of a vowel follows after the IPA characters, if different.
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /link/ (i) | pronounced as /link/ (u) | |||
| Near-close | pronounced as /link/ (i) | pronounced as /link/ (u) | |||
| (Close-)mid | pronounced as /link/ (e) | pronounced as /link/ (e) | pronounced as /link/ (o) | ||
| Open-mid | pronounced as /link/ (è) | pronounced as /link/ (à) | pronounced as /link/ (e/o) | ||
| (Near-)open | pronounced as /link/~pronounced as /link/ (a) | ||||
Erzgebirgisch has lexical stress. There is a tendency to stress the first syllable even in French loanwords, where Standard German stresses the final syllable (e.g. biro pronounced as /[ˈpiːɣo]/ (Büro) 'office'), but loan words which follow the Standard German pattern are more numerous (e.g. dridewààr pronounced as /[txɪtəˈvʌːɰ]/ German: Gehsteig 'sidewalk' (from French French: trottoir)).
Erzgebirgisch numbers three genders, masculine, feminine and neuter. Most Erzgebirgisch lexemes have the same gender as their Standard German equivalents.
| Gender | Erzgebirgisch | Standard German | Gloss (sg./pl.) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | màà | Mann (m.) | man/men | |
| gung | Junge (m.) | boy/boys | ||
| baam | Baum (m.) | tree/trees | ||
| feminine | fraa | Frau (f.) | woman/women | |
| sub | Suppe (f.) | soup/soups | ||
| dàsch | Tasche (f.) | bag/bags | ||
| neuter | kind | Kind (n.) | child/children | |
| dridewààr | Gehsteig (m.) | sidewalk | ||
| dunl | Tunnel (m./n.) | tunnel |
In distinction to Standard German, the Erzgebirgisch genitive is no longer productive. Other constructions have to be used to indicate possession. For animate possessors, a construction involving the possessor in the dative and an agreeing possessive pronoun is used (dem B sein A). For inanimate possessors, a construction involving f(u)n (German von) is used. A third possibility is compounding.
examples (North Western dialect):
| (1) | n'Hàns | seine | hitsch | |
| de-m Hans | seine | Fuß-bank | ||
| the-GEN. Hans | his | foot-bench | ||
| "Hans's foot bench" | ||||
| (2) | de | fansder | fun | den | haus | |
| the | windows | of | the | house | ||
| die | Fenster | des | Hauses | (Standard German - genitive) | ||
| "The windows of the house" | ||||||
The only case marking available for nouns is dative plural, which is marked by -n , but can often assimilate to other consonants. Nominative and accusative are not marked in the singular on nouns, but articles, adjectives and possessive pronouns help to disambiguate in these cases. Personal pronouns also have some special forms for nominative, accusative and dative.
The following table shows some Erzgebirgisch nominal declension paradigms.
| Case/Number | tree (m.) | bag (f.) | child (n.) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative singular | der baam | de dàsch | s kind | |
| Dative singular | n baam | der dàsch | n kind | |
| Accusative singular | n baam | de dàsch | s kind | |
| Nominative plural | de beeme | de dàschn | de kiner | |
| Dative plural | n beemm | n dàschn | n kinern | |
| Accusative plural | de beeme | de dàschn | de kiner |
For more information on articles, see below.
There are different ways to form the plural in Erzgebirgisch, a feature shared with Standard German. Next to the suffixes -e, -er, -n and -s, ablaut can also be used. Some suffixes trigger umlaut.
There are some nouns which differ in their plural marking between Erzgebirgisch and Standard German. E.g. Erzgebirgisch has -n for nouns ending in -(e)l in the singular, where Standard German most often has umlaut.
Examples (North Western dialect):
| singular (Erzg.) | singular (Std.G.) | plural (Erzg.) | plural (Std.G.) | gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fuuchl | Vogel | fuuchl-n | Vögel | birds | |
| nààchl | Nagel | nààchl-n | Nägel | nails | |
| maadl | Mädchen | maadl-n | Mädchen | girls | |
| màst | Mast | masd-e (along with mosd-n) | Masten | masts | |
| kind | Kind | kin-er | Kinder | children | |
| bàrg | Park | bààrg-s | Parks | parks | |
| fuus | Fuß | fiis | Füße | feet | |
| wààng | Wagen | weeng(-e) | Wagen | coaches |
Erzgebirgisch distinguishes three kinds of articles: emphatic definite article, atonal definite article, indefinite article. The emphatic definite articles are used where Standard German would use deictics like dieser and jener. The other two types closely resemble their Standard German counterparts.
All articles agree in gender, number and case with their head noun. The emphatic articles may also occur without a head noun and often replace the rarely used third person personal pronouns.
Erzgebirgisch has a negative indefinite article just like German, but the similarity to the positive indefinite article is less obvious.
The North-Western dialect has the following forms:
| Form | masculine | feminine | neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite article | ||||
| Nominative singular | e | ne | e | |
| Dative singular | n | ner | n | |
| Accusative singular | n | ne | e | |
| non-stressed definite article | ||||
| Nominative singular | der | de | s | |
| Dative singular | (de)n | der | (de)n | |
| Accusative singular | (de)n | de | s | |
| Nominative plural | de | |||
| Dative plural | n | |||
| Accusative plural | de | |||
| stressed definite article | ||||
| Nominative singular | daar | dii | dàs | |
| Dative singular | daan/dèèn | daar | daan/dèèn | |
| Accusative singular | daan/dèèn | dii | dàs | |
| Nominative plural | dii | |||
| Dative plural | daann/dèènn | |||
| Accusative plural | dii | |||
| negative article | ||||
| Nominative singular | kee | keene | kee | |
| Dative singular | keen | keener | keen | |
| Accusative singular | keen | keene | kee | |
| Nominative plural | keene | |||
| Dative plural | keenn | |||
| Accusative plural | keene | |||
The article n assimilates in place of articulation to the preceding consonant. It is m before p, pf, f, w and m and ng before k, g, ch (pronounced as /[x]/ or pronounced as /[χ]/) and ng.
Examples:
| (3) | S | kind | hàd | s | n | Hàns | gesààd | |
| pronounced as /[skʰɪnt]/ | pronounced as /[hʌtsn̩]/ | pronounced as /[hʌns]/ | pronounced as /[kəsʌːt]/ | |||||
| Das | Kind | hat | es/dieses | einem | Hans | gesagt. | ||
| The | child | has | it/that | to a | Hans | said. | ||
| (4) | Der | Hàns | hàd | dàs | buuch | ng | màà | gaam | |
| pronounced as /[tɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[hʌns]/ | pronounced as /[hʌt]/ | pronounced as /[tʌs]/ | pronounced as /[puːxŋ̍]/ | pronounced as /[mʌː]/ | pronounced as /[kæːm]/ | |||
| Der | Hans | hat | dieses | Buch | einem | Mann | gegeben. | ||
| The | Hans | has | this | book | to a | man | given. | ||
| (5) | E | schiins | dleedl | hàd | dii | àà | |
| pronounced as /[ə]/ | pronounced as /[ʂiːns]/ | pronounced as /[tˡleːtˡl̩]/ | pronounced as /[hʌt]/ | pronounced as /[tiː]/ | pronounced as /[ʌː]/ | ||
| Ein | schönes | Kleidchen | hat | sie/diese | an. | ||
| A | beautiful | has | she/this one | on. |
| (6) | Ch | hàb | m | kinern | kee | gald | gaam | |
| pronounced as /[ʂhʌpm̩]/ | pronounced as /[kʰɪnɔɰn]/ | pronounced as /[kʰeː]/ | pronounced as /[kælt]/ | pronounced as /[kæːm]/ | ||||
| Ich | habe | den | Kindern | kein | Geld | gegeben. | ||
| I | have | the | children | no | money | given. | ||
Personal pronouns distinguish emphatic and atonal forms, just like articles. The emphatic forms are used to highlight a participant. They are free words, whereas the atonal forms are phonologically reduced clitics.
There is no emphatic form for third person personal pronouns. The emphatic forms of the definite article have to be used instead. To outsiders this may often come across as impolite.
Unlike nouns, personal pronouns distinguish both number and case.
| Person/Number/Gender | Nominative | Dative | Accusative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| emphatic personal pronouns | ||||
| 1. Person singular | iich | miir | miich | |
| 2. Person singular | duu | diir | diich | |
| 3. Person singular m. | daar | daan/dèèn | dann/dèèn | |
| 3. Person singular f. | dii | daar | dii | |
| 3. Person singular n. | dàs | daan/dèèn | dàs | |
| 1. Person plural | miir | uns | uns | |
| 2. Person plural | iir | eich | eich | |
| 3. Person plural | dii | daann/dèènn | dii | |
| Polite | sii | iinn | sii | |
| atonal personal pronouns | ||||
| 1. Person singular | (i)ch | mer | mich | |
| 2. Person singular | de/du | der | dich/tsch | |
| 3. Person singular m. | er | n | n | |
| 3. Person singular f. | se | er | se | |
| 3. Person singular n. | s | n | s | |
| 1. Person plural | mer | uns | uns | |
| 2. Person plural | er | eich | eich | |
| 3. Person plural | se | n | se | |
| Polite | se | iin(n) | se | |
Pronouns with ch have sch in the Northwestern dialect.The atonal second person singular pronoun is de when it precedes a verb, and du when following. There are extra pronouns to express politeness, unlike German, which uses third person plural for this function.
Examples:
| (7) | Hàd | -er | -s | -n | schuu | gesààd | |
| pronounced as /[hʌtɔɰsn̩]/ | pronounced as /[ʂuː]/ | pronounced as /[kəsʌːt]/ | |||||
| Hat | er | es | ihm | schon | gesagt? | ||
| Has | he | it | to him | already | said? | ||
| (8) | Ch | hàb | dèènn | nischd | gaam | |
| pronounced as /[ʂhʌp]/ | pronounced as /[tɛːnn̩]/ | pronounced as /[nɪʂt]/ | pronounced as /[kæːm]/ | |||
| Ich | habe | denen/ihnen | nichts | gegeben. | ||
| I | have | those ones/them | nothing | given. | ||
Possessive pronouns agree in case, number and gender with their head noun.
| Person/Genus | singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Person | mei(n)- | un(s)(e)r- | |
| 2. Person | dei(n)- | ei(e)r- | |
| 3. Person masc.. | sei(n)- | iir- | |
| 3. Person fem. | iir- | iir- | |
| 3. Person neut. | sei(n)- | iir- |
singular pronouns lose the n before another n or a -Ø-suffix.
First person plural loses the s everywhere but in the North Western dialect. First and second person plural lose the e before a suffix starting with a vowel.
| Form | masculine | feminine | neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative singular | -Ø | -e | -Ø | |
| Dative singular | -n | -er | -n | |
| Accusative singular | -n | -e | -Ø | |
| Nominative plural | -e | |||
| Dative plural | -n | |||
| Accusative plural | -e | |||
This paradigm makes use of only three letters e, n and r.
examples:
| (9) | mei | hund | |
| pronounced as /[maɪ]/ | pronounced as /[hʊnt]/ | ||
| mein | Hund | ||
| my | dog |
| (10) | eirer | schwasder | |
| pronounced as /[aɪɣɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[ʂvastɔɰ]/ | ||
| eurer | Schwester | ||
| to y'all's | sister |
Third person pronouns make heavy use of the dative construction (see above), just like nouns.
| (11) | daar | iire | dàsch | |
| pronounced as /[taːɰ]/ | pronounced as /[iːɣə]/ | pronounced as /[tʌʂ]/ | ||
| dieser/ihr | ihre | Tasche | ||
| this one/her | her | bag | ||
| "her bag" | ||||
vgl.:
| (12) | daar | fraa | iire | dàsch | |
| "die Tasche dieser Frau" | |||||
| "The woman's bag" | |||||
The following construction is found mainly in Western dialects, but also in Lichtenstein:
| (13) | nei | (n) | der | schdàd | |
| hinein | in | der | Stadt | ||
| inwards | in | the | town | ||
| "in die Stadt (hinein)" | |||||
| "inwards in the town" | |||||
The canonic preposition n (in) is never deleted in Lichtenstein, but almost always in the western dialects due to the more widespread dropping of n. This leads to the impression that nei is the preposition. One should also notice that goal of motion is encoded by the dative, and not by the accusative as in Standard German. The motion component is expressed by nei. This construction is also found with many other prepositions: dràà der kèrch ("an der Kirche", "bei der Kirche" at the church).
Adjectives agree with their head word in case, number, gender and definiteness.A difference to Standard German is the non-distinction of forms with indefinite article and forms without any article.
| Standard German | Erzgebirgisch | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| teur-em Schmuck | deier-n schmuk | for expensive jewels | |
| einem teur-en Ring | n'deier-n ring | for an expensive ring |
The following table lists all agreement suffixes for adjectives:
| Form | masculine | feminine | neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| without article/with indefinite article | ||||
| -er | -e | -(e)s | ||
| Dative singular | -n | -er | -n | |
| Accusative singular | -n | -e | -(e)s | |
| -e | ||||
| Dative plural | -n | |||
| Accusative plural | -e | |||
| with definite article | ||||
| Nominative singular | -e | -e | -e | |
| Dative singular | -n | -n | -n | |
| Accusative singular | -n | -e | -e | |
| Nominative plural | -n | |||
| Dative plural | -n | |||
| Accusative plural | -n | |||
More examples
| (14) | e | gruus-er | màà | |
| pronounced as /[ə]/ | pronounced as /[kxuːsɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[mʌː]/ | ||
| ein | großer | Mann | ||
| a | big | man |
| (15) | daar | schiin-n | fraa | |
| pronounced as /[taːɰ]/ | pronounced as /[ʂiːnn̩]/ | pronounced as /[fxaː]/ | ||
| dieser | schönen | Frau | ||
| this | beautiful | woman | ||
| to this beautiful woman | ||||
The comparative is formed with the suffix -er.The standard of comparison is marked with the preposition wii (wie).
The superlative is obtained by adding -(e)sd. Agreement suffixes come after these suffixes.
examples:
| (16) | e | grès-(e)r-er | màà | wii | daar | |
| pronounced as /[ə]/ | pronounced as /[kxɛsɔɣɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[mʌː]/ | pronounced as /[viː]/ | pronounced as /[taːɰ]/ | ||
| ein | größ-er-er | Mann | als | er/dieser | ||
| a | bigger | man | than | he/this one |
| (17) | der | schèn-sd-n | fraa | |
| pronounced as /[tɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[ʂɛnstn̩]/ | pronounced as /[fxaː]/ | ||
| der | schönsten | Frau | ||
| to the | prettiest | woman |
The verb agrees in person and number with the subject of the sentence. This is true of both full verbs and auxiliaries.
Two tense/aspects are morphologically distinguished, present tense and preterite. Use of the preterite is found almost exclusively with strong verbs, i.e. verbs involving ablaut.
The other tenses are formed with auxiliaries: Perfect, Pluperfect, Futur I and Futur II. Perfect and preterite are used interchangeably.Pluperfect expresses anteriority in the past. Futur II is mainly used for epistemic statements about past events (cf. German: Er wird wohl wieder nicht da gewesen sein. He has probably not attended again.)
The infinitive and the present participle and the past participle are formed with the following affixes:
| Form | schbiil- | gii- | sei- | hàb- | wèèr- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| class | weak | strong | irregular | irregular | irregular | |
| Std.G. | spiel- | geh- | sei- | hab- | werd- | |
| Engl. | play | go | be | have | become | |
| Infinitive | schbiil-n | gii-n | sei(-n) | hà-m | wèèr-n | |
| participle I | schbiil-end | gii-end | sei-end | hàà-md | wèèr-nd | |
| participle II | ge-schbiil-d | (ge-)gàng-ng | ge-waas-n | ge-hà-d | ge-wur-n |
Erzgebirgisch distinguishes strong verbs, involving ablaut, and weak verbs, without ablaut. Both classes take the same suffixes. The present tense can be used to refer to events in the present or future.
| Form | schbiil- | gii- | sei- | hàb- | wèèr- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| class | weak | strong | irregular | irregular | irregular | |
| Std.G. | spiel- | geh- | sei- | hab- | werd- | |
| Engl. | play | go | be | have | become | |
| schbiil-∅ | gii-∅ | bii-∅ | hàb-∅ | wèèr-∅ | ||
| 2. Person singular | schbiil-sd | gi(i)-sd | bi-sd | hà-sd | wèr-sd | |
| 3. Person singular | schbiil-d | gi(i)-d | is | hà-d | wèr-d | |
| schbiil-n | gii-n | sei-∅ | hà-m | wèèr-n | ||
| 2. Person plural | schbiil-d | gii-d | sei-d | hàb-d | wèèr-d | |
| 3. Person plural | schbiil-n | gii-n | sei-∅ | hà-m | wèèr-n |
The suffixes are sometimes assimilated to the stem, as can be seen from hàm, `to have'.
As mentioned above, the preterite form is only used with strong verbs. Weak verbs use the perfect instead. This is also gaining ground with strong verbs. Formation of the preterite does not always follow the same pattern as in Standard German e.g. schmecken `to taste' is a weak verb in Standard German (preterit schmeckte), but a strong verb is Erzgebirgisch (present tense: schmègng preterite: schmoog with ablaut. Another verb which is weak in Standard German but strong in Erzgebirgisch is frààn (Standard German fragen to ask), preterite fruuch (Standard German fragte, asked).
Agreement with the subject is indicated as follows:
| Form | gii- | sei- | hàb- | wèèr- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| class | strong | irregular | irregular | irregular | |
| Stg.G. | geh- | sei- | hab- | werd- | |
| Engl. | go | be | have | become | |
| ging-∅ | wààr-∅ | hàd-∅ | wurd-∅ | ||
| 2. Person singular | ging-sd | wààr-sd | hàd-sd | wurd-sd | |
| 3. Person singular | ging-∅ | wààr-∅ | hàd-e | wurd-e | |
| ging-ng | wààr-n | hàd-n | wurd-n | ||
| 2. Person plural | ging-d | wààr-d | hàd-ed | wurd-ed | |
| 3. Person plural | ging-ng | wààr-n | hàd-n | wurd-n |
Perfect and pluperfect are construed with a finite form of the auxiliaries sei- and hàb- and the past participle of the full verb.
Examples:
| (18) | Miir | sei | gasdern | (a)f | der | kèèrms | gàngng | |
| pronounced as /[miːɰ]/ | pronounced as /[saɪ]/ | pronounced as /[kæstɔɰn]/ | pronounced as /[(a/ə)f]/ | pronounced as /[tɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[kʰɛːɰms]/ | pronounced as /[kʌŋŋ̍]/ | ||
| Wir | sind | gestern | auf | der | Kirmes | gegangen. | ||
| We | are | yesterday | on | the | funfair | gone. |
| (19) | Ch | hàd | -s | -n | ààwer | gesààd | |
| pronounced as /[ʂhʌtsn̩]/ | pronounced as /[ʌːvɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[kəsʌːt]/ | |||||
| Ich | hatte | es | ihm | aber | gesagt. | ||
| I | had | it | him | nevertheless | said. | ||
Two future tenses are distinguished. Future I is used for any reference time in the future, Future II has the meaning of future anterior.Future is formed with the auxiliary wèèr- (Standard German werden). Future I adds the infinitive of the full verb, future II the auxiliary sei or hab in the infinitive and the past participle of the full verb.
Examples:
| (20) | Murng | wèrd | der | Hàns | nààch | Kams | fààrn | |
| pronounced as /[moːɰjŋ]/ | pronounced as /[vɛɰt]/ | pronounced as /[tɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[hʌns]/ | pronounced as /[nʌːχ]/ | pronounced as /[kʰæms]/ | pronounced as /[fʌːɰn]/ | ||
| Morgen | wird | der | Hans | nach | Chemnitz | fahren. | ||
| Tomorrow | will | the | Hans | to | Chemnitz | go. |
| (21) | Er | wèrd | wuu | wiider | nèd | doo | gewaasn | sei | |
| pronounced as /[ɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[vɛɰt]/ | pronounced as /[vuː]/ | pronounced as /[viːtɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[nɛt]/ | pronounced as /[toː]/ | pronounced as /[kəvaːsn̩]/ | pronounced as /[saɪ]/ | ||
| Er | wird | wohl | wieder | nicht | da | gewesen | sein. | ||
| He | will | rather | again | not | there | been | be. |
Erzgebirgisch has a productive subjunctive for most of the auxiliaries and some other frequently used verbs. The form is derived from the preterite by ablaut. Other verbs have to use duun support in order to appear in the subjunctive.
| Form | gii- | sei- | hàb- | wèèr- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| class | strong | irregular | irregular | irregular | |
| Std.G. | geh- | sei- | hab- | werd- | |
| Engl. | go | be | have | become | |
| gèng-∅ | waar-∅ | hèd-∅ | daad-∅ | ||
| 2. Person singular | gèng-sd | waar-sd | hèd-sd | daad-sd | |
| 3. Person singular | gèng-∅ | waar-∅ | hèd-e | daad-∅ | |
| gèng-ng | waar-n | hèd-n | daad-n | ||
| 2. Person plural | gèng-d | waar-d | hèd-ed | daad-ed | |
| 3. Person plural | gèng-ng | waar-n | hèd-n | daad-n |
The imperative is identical to first person present tense indicative. In order to obtain the plural imperative, -d is suffixed to the singular form.
example:
| (22) | Bii | nur | màà | ruich! | |
| pronounced as /[piː]/ | pronounced as /[nəɰ]/ | pronounced as /[mʌː]/ | pronounced as /[ɣʊɪʂ]/ | ||
| Sei | endlich | ruhig! | |||
| Be | finally | quiet! | |||
The passive is formed with the auxiliary wèèr- (German werden) and the past participle of the full verb.
Example:
| (23) | Wii | wèrd | dèè | dàs | gemàchd | |
| pronounced as /[viː]/ | pronounced as /[vɛɰt]/ | pronounced as /[tɛː]/ | pronounced as /[tʌs]/ | pronounced as /[kəmʌχt]/ | ||
| Wie | wird | denn | das | gemacht? | ||
| How | is | now | this | made? |
| (24) | Wuu | kimsd | dee | duu | ize | haar? | |||
| pronounced as /[vuː]/ | pronounced as /[kʰɪmst]/ | pronounced as /[teː]/ | pronounced as /[tuː]/ | pronounced as /[ɪtsə]/ | pronounced as /[haːɰ]/ | ||||
| Where | comest | then | thou | now | from? | ||||
| Where | on | earth | are | you | coming | from | right | now? | |
| (25) | Dàs | kàà | (i)ch | der | fei | ni | sààn. | ||
| pronounced as /[tʌs]/ | pronounced as /[kʰʌː]/ | pronounced as /[(ɪ)ʂ]/ | pronounced as /[tɔɰ]/ | pronounced as /[faɪ]/ | pronounced as /[nɪ]/ | pronounced as /[sʌːn]/ | |||
| That | can | I | thee | at.all | not | say | |||
| I | cannot | tell | you | at | all. |
The following snippet contains the introduction and the first stanza of a wedding poem from Clausthal (1759) and is written in the Oberharz dialect:[2]
Aſs t'r Niemeyer ſeine Schuſtern in de Kerch zur Trauer kefuͤhrt prengt aͤ Vugelſteller Vugel un hot Baͤden kratelirt iſs k'ſchaͤn d. 25. Oktober 1759. Clasthol kedruͤckt bey den Buchdrucker Wendeborn.
Like all dialects, Erzgebirgisch has some words which are difficult to grasp for outsiders. These include contractions of long words, but also some words unknown to other dialects or even other subdialects of the same lineage.
| Lexeme | pronunciation(NW dialect) | Standard German | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aarb | werzg. pronounced as /[ˈaːɰp]/ | Arbeit | work | only in the western dialect |
| aardabl | pronounced as /[ˈaːɰtæpl̩]/ | Kartoffel | potato | literal: earth apple |
| ààziizeich | pronounced as /[ˈʌːˌtsiːtsaɪ̯ʂ]/ | Kleidung | clothing | literal: Anziehzeug |
| àbort | pronounced as /[ˈʌpɔɰt]/ | Toilette | loo (toilet) | |
| bèg | pronounced as /[ˈpɛk]/ | Bäcker | baker | |
| bèremèd | pronounced as /[ˌpɛɣəˈmɛt]/ | Weihnachtspyramide | ||
| bèrschd | pronounced as /[ˈpɛɰʂʈ]/ | Bürste | brush | |
| burschdwich | pronounced as /[ˈpʊɰʂʈvɪʂ]/ | Besen | broom | |
| dibl | pronounced as /[ˈtɪpl̩]/ | Tasse | cup | literal: Töpfchen |
| dridewààr | pronounced as /[ˌtxɪtəˈvʌːɰ]/ | Gehsteig | sidewalk | derived from French trottoir |
| fauns | pronounced as /[ˈfaʊ̯ns]/ | Ohrfeige | slap | |
| feier | pronounced as /[ˈfaɪ̯ɔ]/ | Feuer | fire | |
| fuuchlbaarbaam | pronounced as /[ˈfuːxl̩ˌpaːɰpaːm]/ | Eberesche | rowan | literal: bird berry tree (rowanberry tree) |
| gaacher | pronounced as /[ˈkæːχɔɰ]/ | Jäger | hunter | |
| gudsàger | pronounced as /[ˈkʊtsʌkɔɰ]/ | Friedhof | cemetery | literal: God's acre |
| hèm | pronounced as /[ˈhɛm]/ | Hemd | shirt | |
| hiidrààbradl | pronounced as /[ˈhiːˌtxʌːpxætl̩]/ | Serviertablett | tray | literal: little bring here tray |
| hitsch | pronounced as /[ˈhɪtʂ]/ | Fußbank | footbench | |
| huchtsch | pronounced as /[ˈhʊxtʂ]/ | Hochzeit | wedding | |
| lader | pronounced as /[ˈlætɔɰ]/ | Leiter | ladder | |
| nààmitsch | pronounced as /[ˈnʌːmɪtʂ]/ | Nachmittag | afternoon | |
| pfaar | pronounced as /[ˈpfaːɰ]/ | Pferd | horse | |
| reeng | pronounced as /[ˈɣeːŋ]/ | Regen | rain | |
| schdagng | pronounced as /[ˈʂʈækŋ̍]/ | Stecken, Stock | stick | |
| schduub | pronounced as /[ˈʂʈuːp]/ | Wohnzimmer, Stube | living room | |
| (scheier)hààder | pronounced as /[ˈʂaɪ̯ɔɰhʌːtɔɰ]/ | Wischtuch | cloth for wiping | |
| schmiich | pronounced as /[ˈʂmiːʂ]/ | Zollstock | yardstick | |
| zemitschasn | pronounced as /[tsəˈmɪtʂasn̩]/ | Mittagessen | lunch | literal: midday meal |
| zèrwànsd | pronounced as /[ˈtsɛɰvʌnst]/ | Akkordeon | accordion |
Erzgebirgisch has many onomatopoetic verbs (see also I. Susanka). Due to the high precipitation in the Ore Mountains, many different verbs for different kinds of rain or drizzle exist.
| Word | Pronunciation(Northwest dialect) | Standard German | English | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| besuudln | pronounced as /[pəˈsuːtl̩n]/ | beschmutzen | (get) dirty | ||
| blààtschn | pronounced as /[ˈplʌːtʂn̩]/ | stark regnen (Platzregen) | heavy shower | ||
| blèègng | pronounced as /[ˈplɛːkŋ̍]/ | laut schreien | scream | ||
| deebern | pronounced as /[ˈteːpɔɰn]/ | toben, schimpfen | be angry | ||
| derlaam | werzg. pronounced as /[tɔɰˈlaːm]/ | erleben | experience | not in northwest dialect | |
| drààschn | pronounced as /[ˈtxʌːʂn̩]/ | stark regnen (Dauerregen) | continuous heavy rain | ||
| eisàgng | pronounced as /[ˈaɪ̯sʌkŋ̍]/ | einfüllen, einpacken | take, put in | Literal: einsacken | |
| gwèstern | pronounced as /[ˈkvɛstɔɰn]/ | immer wieder rein und raus gehen | repeatedly getting in and out | ||
| kambln | pronounced as /[ˈkʰæmpl̩n]/ | sich prügeln | beat each other | ||
| siifern | pronounced as /[ˈsiːfɔɰn]/ | leicht nieseln | light drizzle |
Like many other German dialects, Erzgebirgisch is rich in adverbs, like the notorious fei, whose use is extremely complex and needs further research. It appears in commands (Gii fei wag!, Go away!), but also in affirmations (S´reengd fei, It's raining, by the way.).
| Lexeme | Pronunciation(Nordwestdial.) | Standard German | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dingenauf | pronounced as /[ˌtɪŋəˈnaʊ̯f]/ | bergauf, nach oben | uphill, upward | |
| emènde | pronounced as /[əˈmɛndə]/ | möglicherweise | possibly | literal: at the end |
| feeder | pronounced as /[ˈfeːtɔɰ]/ | vorwärts, weiter | further | from English |
| fei | pronounced as /[ˈfaɪ̯]/ | aber, nämlich, endlich, ziemlich | but, indeed, finally, quite | |
| fiir | pronounced as /[ˈfiːɰ]/ | vor | for | also in expressions |
| gaaling | pronounced as /[ˈɡæːlɪŋ]/ | heftig | vehement | |
| heier | pronounced as /[ˈhaɪ̯ɔɰ]/ | dieses Jahr | this year | |
| hèm | pronounced as /[ˈhɛm]/ | nach Hause | at home | literal: home |
| hiimundriim | pronounced as /[ˌhiːmʊnˈtxiːm]/ | auf beiden Seiten | on both sides | literal: hüben und drüben |
| hinewiider | pronounced as /[ˌhɪnəˈviːtɔɰ]/ | hin und her | here and there | |
| ize | pronounced as /[ˈɪtsə]/ | jetzt | now | |
| nààchert | pronounced as /[ˈnʌːxɔɰt]/ | nachher | to here | |
| zàm | pronounced as /[ˈtsʌm]/ | zusammen | together |
The interjections used in Erzgebirgisch differ considerably from the Standard German ones. The language area being dominated by mining, some linguistic patterns peculiar to this business have attained general usage, like the salute Glig auf! (dt. "Glück auf").
English does not have a specialized form to affirm negative questions, unlike French (si), Dutch (jawel) or German (doch). Erzgebirgisch uses Ujuu! pronounced as /[ˈʊjuː]/, or sometimes Ajuu! pronounced as /[ˈajuː]/, (dt. "Doch!") in these contexts.For the negation of a question expecting a positive answer È(schà)! pronounced as /[ˈɛ(ʂʌ)]/ (dt. "Nein!") is used. This interjection is also used to express surprise, albeit with a different intonation.