Conception of the Lithuanian language in Lithuania Minor in the 1930s-1940s

The article describes the Lithuanian language used in Lithuania Minor in the early 20th century, a dialect which currently appears to be defunct. The reconstruction method of diachronic sociolinguistics is used to analyze Lithuanian printings in Tilsit of the early 20th century and reminiscences of contemporaries. In addition a study of the language and culture historians is reviewed. The article presents in detail two factors of linguistic macroproccsses, which are such that the research borders on sociolinguistic analysis: 1) The relation of the community of Lithuania Minor with the rest of Lithuania, 2) The relation of the Lithuanian used in Lithuania Minor with the German dominant in that area and with the Lithuanian used in Lithuania Major. We have concluded that in the 20th century the Lithuanian used in Lithuania Minor was the language of a national minority and that it had diatopic, diastric variants, etc. and these were determined by social factors as well as coexistence with and interference from the German and Lithuanian languages. The press, correspondence and dictionaries of that time acquaint us with the historic social variants of the language. This language was written with Gothic letters, though it was not standardized then. The Lithuanian community in Lithuania Minor, being practical and loyal to the German Empire, had a narrow view of the functions of the Lithuanian language. The attempts of the patriotic press to impart an ethnic function did not have any impact because the inhabitants of Lithuania Minor associated this function with inadequacy. Therefore, only the most prominent people bothered themselves with the state of the language; it was not a relevant goal for the whole community. In the 1930s - 1940s the Lithuanian used in the district of Tilsit was geographically and historically distinct from the language used in the major Lithuanian-speaking area and did not have important demographic implication