Happy Birthday in Lower Sorbian

A dessert dish arrives…

Barry: Amazing! The felicitation is in Lower Sorbian. How did you know my ancestors were from the Lower Sorbia?

Henry: A little linguistic forensics. 

Barry: Well, that’s your field. Hmm. Diacritics and all.

Henry: Admittedly, it took a few goes to get the chocolatier to write the diacritic of š right. I looked up both Lower and Upper Sorbian greetings to make sure I got the right dialect.

Barry: You’ve made this birthday unforgettable. Thank you.
_________

Voice-over
Both Lower and Upper Sorbian dialects are quite distinct, yet they share a common origin. It’s like two siblings who grew up in slightly different homes. 

Munich or Cottbus

Sightseeing or cultural connection…

Frederich: I arrive in Munich in the early morning so I’m thinking I’ll just go straight to Cottbus by train.

Anton: Not stopping in Munich? No beer, pretzels, palaces? Cottbus? I mean, how much is really going on there?

Frederich: Yeah, but Cottbus is the whole point of this trip! My family’s from there, it’s the heart of Sorbian culture, and I want to connect with that part of my identity. Munich is just the gateway.

Anton: Sorbian culture is pretty niche. 

Frederich: The Sorbs have been in that region for centuries, trying to preserve their language, customs, everything. This isn’t just about sightseeing—this is about rediscovering a piece of myself.

Spreewald

Anton: Off the deep end, eh? But still, wouldn’t a couple of days be enough to check out the cultural center, maybe visit some family archives or something?

Frederich: It’s more than a quick museum stop. There’s the Wendish House, old Sorbian neighborhoods, traditional festivals. Plus, I want to talk to locals, maybe even meet distant relatives. It’s about building that connection. I can’t just rush it.

Anton: OK. A roots pilgrimage. But Munich, man. It’s Munich! The history, the energy... You don’t want to cut that short.

Frederich: I know, but I’m not going to Germany for Oktoberfest. I’m going for my ancestry. I’ve spent years disconnected from that part of me, and this is my chance to explore it. Munich is next time.

Anton: Fair enough. I guess Munich will just have to live without you a little longer. Bring me back some gherkins.

__________

Voice-over

Seems like an easy choice for Frederich. A local area has its own unique allure, often overlooked by those who don’t know it well, like Anton.

Sorbian grandmothers examine giant mushroom...

I'm sure it's safe to eat

Surprise in the garden…

Katyržinka: It wasn’t here yesterday.

Zusana: Looks like it just mushroomed.

Katyržinka: Maybe that’s why they’re called mushrooms.

Zusana: Do you think it’s edible?

Katyržinka: You mean, not poisonous? Well, you could try it and see.

Zusana: Like last time when I went blind for six hours? Not this time.

_________

Voice-over

They do come up quickly. And Europeans seem adventurous in trying new mushroom dishes. Local lore does not always protect.

Easter egg painting

Seeking identity...

Sorbian Easter eggs

Questor: What do you want people to remember you for?

Witkojc: Now, that’s a question that can make you tidy up your life and get prepared for the end.

Questor: You’ve thought about it?

Witkojc: Not as much as I should have. How about, painter of decorated Easter eggs?

Questor: You’re joking?

Witkojc:

Sorbian flag

Not at all. My ancestry is Sorbian. Grew up in Australia knowing nothing of Sorbian culture. Never learned any recipes, literature, music, festivals or dances. But at Easter Sorbians paint eggs. Beautifully. Even in a small way I can connect with my ancestry. Now is the time.

Questor: It’s never too late, eh.

_________

Voice-over

Cultural background forms us. Cultural identity forms personal identity. Those who have a cultural identity can take it for granted. Those without one may struggle to find their path.

White Easter Rabbit with Eggs

Rabbit prepares eggs.

Vegetarians have to get

protein from somewhere.

And Easter is coming up.

WHITE RABBIT 

WHITE RABBIT 

WHITE RABBIT

Sorbian rabbits paint their eggs more elaborately.

Uncollected Ashes

Ambiguity about ashes...

Potomnik: I’ll pick up the urn for Walter Wiczelaw tomorrow.

Tòtka: Which Walter is that? Walter K. or Walter P?

Potomnik: You have an urn for Walter P. Wiczelaw? He died in 1976.

Tòtka: Yes. We’ve been waiting for his family to pick it up.

Potomnik: For 45 years? His ashes were supposed to have been scattered.

Tòtka: They were never collected.

Potomnik: Well, his children have all died, we are the grandchildren and it would be nice to inter his ashes in a grave.

Tòtka: That’s reasonable. Then you can have somewhere to visit him.

Potomnik: Hmm, maybe two Walter Wiczelaws in the same graveyard. Uncle and nephew. 

___________

Voice-over

So you can request to have your ashes scattered but rellies forget and eventually their descendants want to park you in a grave anyway so they can come and chat with you. Forty-five years of waiting to be picked up and then no rest after you are entombed.

Decline of Sorbian language

Now you live in Australia...

.

Sorben

Mikolaj: Yes, many of us came from Germany.

.

Stephen: And yet, you now speak Sorbian.

.

Mikolaj: That is my culture. It is a minority there.

.

Stephen: If a language dies, a culture dies with it, you think?

.

Mikolaj: Not necessarily. A culture can be transplanted to a new language. The songs, the costumes, the festivals, the food can survive.

___________

Voice-over

In the early twentieth century about 150,000 people spoke Sorbian. But now, there are only about 40,000. If you have roots in a culture, this can be an impetus to rescue a language. Or is it a fruitless mission accompanying the end of life?

...

Language death

Emma wonders why Marka is interested in preserving Sorbian language.

...

Emma: How many are regular users of Sorbian?

Marka: 15,000 in Upper Lusatia, particularly used in churches.

Emma: Do they use it in your church?

Marka: Of course. They don’t in Lower Lusatia, but here all the clergy speak Sorbian.

Emma: Who would care if Sorbian just, well, disappeared?

Marka: Linguists would care. Many young people in Upper Lusatia would care.

Emma: So why would they care? The numbers are declining.

Marka: It’s not a question of numbers. It’s not just a question of mere words going extinct. There’s the culture, the customs, the events, the stories.

Emma: Ah. To lose the stories!

_____________

Voiceover

Language attrition leads to language death. Why is language death so important? Surely there are plenty of other languages in the world that are not threatened by extinction and do the job equally well?

If the Sorbs lose their language, it will be an intellectual disaster for their culture. In universal linguistic terms, perhaps a micro-disaster.

David Crystal uses the analogy of ecology, arguing that languages which are endangered should be at the top of environmental agenda.

He argues that a world which recognized English as the single global language which displaced all others would be the greatest intellectual disaster the world has ever known. Perhaps a macro-disaster.

...