The topic of this thesis delves into the German speaking minority who in the 14th century got settled in the south-east region of Slovenia called Kočevsko. The settlers, who were known as Gottscheers, created a language island and existence where they spoke their own language – their mother tongue called Gottscheerisch. Nevertheless, they also mixed with other language groups. Historically, Gottscheerisch was of German origin, which was spoken in the region of Kranjska (today Slovenia), until the fall of Austro-Hungarian empire. Afterwards, the Slovene language became the main language spoken in this region but the Gottscheers were already familiar with it and later it was also taught in schools. At the beginning of WW2, to be exact during the years of 1941 and 1942, Gottscheers left the unoccupied territory in Slovenia where they lived and moved to the territory occupied by the Nazi Germany and thus they ceased to exist as a minority. When the war ended, they were exiled into Austria. From there, they emigrated all over the world, and in the process, they again came into contact with other languages, such as English.
To research and analyse the linguistic nature and development of Gottscheerish during both world wars and afterwards, the method of linguistic-biographical interview is used in the paper. Besides discussing how the Gottscheers came in contact with different languages, the paper also reveals the time frame, the geographical territories, and the people with whom the Gottscheers spoke in targeted languages. Thus, the paper exposes the multi-linguistic abilities of Gottscheers and the way they are dispersed all over the world, the fate of their language and its use today.
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