Pomerano

What has been done in fieldwork?

Over 350 Pomerano speakers participated in translation tasks, revealing linguistic distinctions across regions, ages, and genders. In addition, many hours of free conversation between speakers of Pomerano were recorded to capture more natural speech patterns, while sociolinguistic questionnaires provided insights into the demographics of the speakers and their language use.

Prof. Dr. Göz Kaufmann doing fieldwork

The history of Pomerano

Born in Europe, Eastern Pomeranian dialects migrated to Brazil and, like an elder who has been uprooted from their homeland, they have struggled to survive in a foreign land. In the 19th century, poverty forced Pomeranians to migrate from Europe to Brazil, where they maintain their Low German variety to this day. During World War II, however, Brazilian authorities banned the usage of German and German dialects, fostering shame among its speakers. Despite the uniqueness of Pomerano, its future is uncertain due to the dominance of Portuguese.

The current situation of Pomerano

Although there are still about 250,000 speakers of Pomerano in Brazil, many younger speakers do not speak the language fluently anymore.  Some older native speakers sometimes consider Pomerano "bad German" due to grammatical differences with Standard German and are reluctant to pass it on to their children. Pomerano is also considered a more restricted language compared to Portuguese. As a result, younger speakers frequently prioritise learning Portuguese, the national language of Brazil, resulting in limited knowledge of Pomerano. As a consequence, younger Pomeranos are no longer able to converse about complex topics in Pomerano. In spite of this, it is promising that some communities have started to teach Pomerano in school.

The landscape of Espirito Santo, home to the biggest community Pomerano speakers in Brazil and in the whole world. More than 150 years after arriving in Espírito Santo, Eastern Pomeranian continues to be spoken and remains an important part of Espírito Santo's heritage for many people. To this day, many Pomeranos continue century-old customs within their communities.

Pomeranian people and their culture

In Brazil, Pomeranian communities frequently maintain their traditional lifestyles, including clothing, dances, and festivals, as symbols of their German heritage. They possess a dual identity, embracing both Brazilian and German culture. Despite the fact that not all Pomeranians speak their heritage language fluently, they place a high importance on their heritage German culture. The co-officialization of Pomerano in several municipalities in Espírito Santo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina has further strengthened their cultural and linguistic identity.

Project Information

You can find out more information about the project here.