Samogitia / Lithuania

From: Mark Odegard
Message: 3580
Date: 2000-09-05

I came across a wonderful web site. The main index is here:
 
http://samogitia.mch.mii.lt/rodykle.en.htm
 
There are some fine dialect maps, as well as an overview of Lithuanian dialects here:
 
http://samogitia.mch.mii.lt/KALBA/girdstr.en.htm
 
Samogitian is the present dialect, and apparently, a formerly full-fledged language spoken in western Lithuania. The 2nd web citation suggests that the Samogitian dialect represents a convergent dialect, having derived from Curonian, a now-extinct Baltic language.
 
'Curonia' is a new one for me, one of those 'quaint' European place/ethnic names which just about never show up in English texts.
 
I don't think my  'natural' English pronunciation of Samogitia would be correct. I see the Lithuanian version (the adjective?) is Zemaiciai (carons over Z and C).
 
The terms 'Low' and 'High' Lithuanian are also new to me.