Editing Kashubian language (section)

==Origin==
Kashubian is assumed to have evolved from the language spoken by some tribes of [[Pomeranians (Slavic tribe)|Pomeranians]] called [[Kashubians]], in the region of [[Pomerania]], on the southern coast of the [[Baltic Sea]] between the [[Vistula]] and [[Oder]] rivers.  It first began to evolve separately in the period from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century as the Polish-Pomeranian linguistic area began to divide based around important linguistic developments centred in the western (Kashubian) part of the area.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=A historical phonology of the Kashubian dialects of Polish|last=Topolinska|first=Zuzanna|publisher=Mouton|year=1974|location=The Hague|pages=48}}</ref>

In the 19th century [[Florian Ceynowa]] became Kashubian's first known activist. He undertook tremendous efforts to awaken Kashubian self-identity through the establishment of Kashubian language, customs, and traditions.<ref>{{Cite book |title= Historical Dictionary of Poland |last=Lerski |first=Jerzy Jan |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1996 |isbn=0-313-26007-9 |pages=62}}</ref> He felt strongly that Poles were born brothers and that [[Kashubia]] was a separate nation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historia Polski 1795-1918|last=Chwalba|first=Andrzej|pages=439}}</ref>

The Young Kashubian movement followed in 1912, led by author and doctor [[Aleksander Majkowski]], who wrote for the paper Zrzësz Kaszëbskô as part of the Zrzëszincë group. The group contributed significantly to the development of the Kashubian literary language.

The earliest printed documents in Polish with Kashubian elements date from the end of the 16th century. The modern orthography was first proposed in 1879.

===Related languages===
Many scholars and linguists debate whether Kashubian should be recognized as a [[Polish language|Polish]] dialect or separate language. In terms of historical development, it is a separate [[Lechitic languages|Lechitic]] [[West Slavic languages|West Slavic language]], but, in terms of modern influence, Polish is a prestige language.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Barbour |editor-first1=Stephen |editor-last2=Carmichael |editor-first2=Cathie |title=Language and nationalism in Europe |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199250851 |page=199 |edition= Repr. }}</ref> Kashubian is closely related to [[Slovincian language|Slovincian]], and both of them are dialects of [[Pomeranian language|Pomeranian]]. Despite this, some [[linguistics|linguists]], in Poland and elsewhere, consider it a divergent dialect of [[Polish language|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, are highly unusual, making it difficult for native Polish speakers to comprehend written text in Kashubian.<ref name="Finstytut">[http://Finstytutkaszubski.republika.pl/pdfy_acta/Facta_2008_X_01-240.pdf Biuletin Radzëznë Kaszëbsczégò Jazëka rok 2007, Gduńsk.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129162946/http://finstytutkaszubski.republika.pl/pdfy_acta/Facta_2008_X_01-240.pdf |date=2016-01-29 }} Bibiografiô.</ref>

Like Polish, Kashubian includes about 5% [[loanword]]s are from [[German language|High German]] and [[Low German]] (such as ''{{lang|csb|kùńszt}}'' "art"). Unlike Polish, these are mostly from [[Low German]] and only occasionally from [[High German]].<ref>Anna Gliszczyńska. Germanizmy leksykalne południowej kaszubszczyzny (Na materiale książki Bolesława Jażdżewskiego Wspomnienia kaszubskiego "gbura"). "LingVaria". 1 (3), s. 79–89, 2007. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagielloński. {{ISSN|1896-2122}}.</ref> Other sources of loanwords include the [[Baltic languages]].