Back Samogities Afrikaans ሳሞጊትኛ Amharic اللهجة الساموغية Arabic سيموجيشن ARZ Idioma samogitiano AST Samuxiti aru Aymara Žemaitiu kalba BAT-SMG Жамойцкая мова Byelorussian Жамойцкая мова BE-X-OLD Samogitianeg Breton
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2008) |
| Samogitian | |
|---|---|
| Žemaitiu kalba | |
| Native to | Lithuania |
| Region | Samogitia |
Native speakers | < 500,000 (2009)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sgs |
| Glottolog | samo1265 |
 Area where Samogitian is spoken | |
Samogitian (endonym: žemaitiu kalba or sometimes žemaitiu rokunda, žemaitiu šnekta or žemaitiu ruoda; Lithuanian: žemaičių tarmė, žemaičių kalba),[2][3] often considered a dialect of Lithuanian, is an Eastern Baltic language spoken primarily in Samogitia.
It has preserved many features of the extinct Curonian language, such as specific phonological traits and vocabulary. Samogitian differs significantly from standard Lithuanian in phonetics, morphology, syntax, and lexis, with unique archaic features not found in other Lithuanian dialects. This difference often causes speakers of Aukštaitian dialects to not be able to understand speakers of Samogitian.[citation needed] The use of Samogitian is currently in decline, with limited presence in media and education. Efforts are being made to preserve the language, including local initiatives and cultural societies.
- ^ "Request for New Language Code Element in ISO 639-3" (PDF). ISO 639-3 Registration Authority. 2009-08-11.
- ^ Juozas Pabrėža. Žemaičių kalba ir rašyba. Šiauliai: Šiaulių universitetas, 2017.
- ^ Marácz, László; Rosello, Mireille, eds. (2012). Multilingual Europe, Multilingual Europeans. Brill. p. 177. ISBN 978-94-012-0803-1.