Silesian language islands: A historical phenomenon from the perspective of the present

Abstract

The aim of the article is to examine how the originally historical phenomena of language islands can be studied from a contemporary perspective. The previous language island definitions are reformulated in relation to modern circumstances (globalisation processes, mobility, media development). In the case of the former German language islands in Schönwald (Upper Silesia) and Wilamowitz (Eastern Silesia) current recordings of the language material are available, while the Rusyn language islands in Lower Silesia are an example of a modern form of island languages. The most important conclusion of the performed analysis with regard to the methodology of modern language island research is the need to include observations of the linguistic landscape in contemporary research of language island phenomena.