Wymysorys

Wymysorys (Wymysiöeryś, pronounced [vɨmɨˈsʲøːrɪɕ, vɨmɨˈɕœ̯ɛrɪɕ]), also known as Vilamovian, Wilamowicean, or Wilmesaurisch, is a West Germanic language spoken by the Vilamovian ethnic minority in the town of Wilamowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland (Wymysoü in Wymysorys), on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland, near Bielsko-Biała. It is considered an endangered language, possibly the most so of any of the Germanic languages. There are probably fewer than 20 native users of Wymysorys, virtually all bilingual; the majority are elderly. The status of Wymysorys is complex as, genealogically, it belongs to the East Central dialect group of High German, though based on the self-identification of its users as a group separate from the Germans and the existence of a literary language, it can be considered a separate language. It belongs to the dialect group of the former Bielsko-Biała language island, which includes the Alzenau dialect.