Silesian

Silesian is a language spoken in Silesia, a historical region in Central Europe. It is a member of the Lechitic subgroup of the West Slavic languages. Silesian is spoken by about 2.5 million people, mainly in Silesia, and also in other parts of Poland and the Czech Republic. It is also spoken by minorities in northern Slovakia and southern Poland. Silesian is most closely related to Polish and Czech, and to a lesser extent, Slovak. It is also spoken as a second language by people who are not ethnic Silesians, such as Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks. The first written record of the Silesian language dates back to the 13th century. It is thought to have developed from a dialect of Polish, but with significant influence from Czech and German. The Silesian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet, with some additional letters. Silesian has three dialects: Upper Silesian, Lower Silesian, and Mid-Silesian. Upper Silesian is the most widely spoken dialect, and is also the basis for the standard written form of the language. Lower Silesian is spoken in the southwest of the Silesian region, and has been influenced by Czech. Mid-Silesian is spoken in the southeast, and has been influenced by both Polish and German.