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What language did East Prussians speak?
From my understanding, the Prussian language became extinct by the early 18th century.
What language did East Prussians mostly speak in the late 19th century and early 20th century in an area of Königsberg(modern-day Kaliningrad Oblast)? Was it German, Lithuanian, Polish or Russian?
Like Italy that lost Istria and Dalmatia, Germany lost East Prussia (after WW2) that were slavized.
From 1500 to 1945 East Prussia was just as German as any other province of Germany.
With the Soviet invasion and the country being divided between Poland and Russia, the population was exterminated. The survivors took refuge in Western Germany.
Of course, the Germans had already driven out and exterminated the Slavs that lived there before.
svealander: "Of course, the Germans had already driven out and exterminated the Slavs that lived there before."
And the slavs did not do it better, when they invaded East Prussia!
No ,they didn't.East Prussia was germanized,only little number of it inhabitants spoke Lithuanian dialects with some Old Prussian influence at home.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Prussians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Prussian_language
Old Prussian name for Koenigsberg is Twanksta.
http://prusa.strefa.pl/tautaskarti.html
Even after East Prussia was Germanized, though, they spoke both East Low German and High German, with High German over time displacing East Low German.
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