Old Prussian language

extinct Western Baltic language

Old Prussian was a Baltic language spoken in what is now northeastern Poland and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It was spoken by the indigenous peoples of Prussia, the Old Prussians. It declined after the Teutonic Knights conquered the territory in the 13th century but was spoken until about 1700 in and around East Prussia. It was named Old Prussian to show that it is different to the Slavic and Germanic languages used in Prussia afterwards. It became extinct in the early 18th century. Attempted revivals have made little progress.

Prussian
RegionPrussia (region)
ExtinctEarly 18th century[1]
RevivalAttempted revival, with 50 L2 speakers (no date)[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3prg
Glottologprus1238
Linguasphere54-AAC-a

References change

  1. Prussian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Old Prussian language at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)