Sudovian (also known as Yotvingian, or Jatvingian) was a Western Baltic language of Northeastern Europe. Sudovian was closely related to Old Prussian. It was formerly spoken southwest of the Nemunas river in what is now Lithuania, east of Galindia and in the north of Yotvingia, and by exiles in East Prussia.
Name
The language is referred to as Yotvingian, Jatvingian or Sudovian. Those names are derived from the southern- and northernmost tribes living in the area. When the Germans learnt the name "Sudovian" from the Prussians, they got to know the name of the northernmost tribe only, while Poles in the south met a tribe calling itself Yatvingian. Both Germans and Poles generalized the terms for all the Baltic inhabiants of the area.
The territory they lived in is referred to as Sudovia [Sunderland], Jotva [Jettwen], Dainavia, or Pollexia.
Classification
Sudovian was an Indo-European language belonging to the Baltic branch. There are several proposals for the classification of the Sudovian language within the Baltic phylum. Bezzenberg postulated that Sudovian was a southern Lithuanian dialect. Otrębski claimed it to be a transitional language between Eastern and Western Baltic. Some consider it a distinct Western Baltic language close to Old Prussian. Others view it as an Old Prussian dialect.
Historical sources state that Sudovian was very similar to and mutually intelligible with the archaic Old Prussian language, e.g. in the introduction to the 1st Old Prussian Catechism (printed in Königsberg – 1545 – the 1st Baltic language book):
– "But the Sudovians, although their speech is somewhat lower, understand this Prussian language, as it is printed in the Catechism, and they express themselves well and understand every word".
In addition to similarities in the scarce material in the Western Baltic languages, this leads most linguists to the conclusion, that Sudovian belongs to the Western Baltic branch. Sudovian along with Old Prussian was later influenced by Gothic language, while most of the Eastern Baltic languages had more contact with Finnic languages.
History
Sudovia and neighboring Galindia were two Baltic tribes or nations mentioned by the Greek geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD as and (, ).
Peter of Dusburg, in his 14th-century Chronicon terrae Prussiae, refers to Sudovia and to its inhabitants as Sudovites, listing them as one of the Prussian tribes. He attests, that between 1,500 and 1,600 Sudavians were forcefully relocated to Sambia in the late 13th century.
After the district was conquered by the Teutonic Knights, the language died out and its speakers were gradually absorbed by German, Lithuanian and Slavic populations.
John Poliander wrote in 1535 about the Sudovians living near Königsberg, Prussia, that 32 villages used Sudini speech in a 6–7 mile stretch of land of the Samland Corner that bears the name of Sudavia. They spoke a language similar to the Old Prussian language, but they used the term for amber, not the Sambian (Old Prussian) term. From him we learn that the Sudovians lived secluded from the Sambians, that they married within their own tribe, and did not allow intermarriage with the neighbouring Prussian population "even if begged". They stubbornly held to their own traditions, and wore finger and ear rings with bronze bells and silver belts. Nothing was imported from abroad, but everything was produced by local craftsmen.
Christoph Hartknoch reported in 1684 that there were still Sudovians in Sambia.
Phonology
Consonants
Based on onomastics, Sudovian is thought to have had the following consonants:
Compared to other Baltic languages, , , , , , and were depalatalized. A Partial depalatalization of , , , and took place. and turned into and respectively.
Vowels
Diphthongs
Two diphthongs are attested:
Along with Prussian, Sudovian preserved Proto-Baltic , unlike the Eastern Baltic languages, where it shifted to .
Grammar
The few grammatical features proposed for the Sudovian languages are either based on supposed Sudovian substrate in other languages or based on the Polish-Yotvingian Vocabulary (it is unsure, whether or not it represents Sudovian). Therefore, few can be said with certainty.
The language seems to have preserved many archaic features, which have been lost in other Baltic languages. The language from the vocabulary retained the Proto-Baltic singular neuter case endings (as did Prussian), leaving the language with three genders.