Czech and Sorbian in the 11th-13th century Judeo-Slavic glosses

Abstract

The West Slavic glosses in mediaeval Hebrew textsare an important source for the study of the early development of the WestSlavic languages. Although the majority of glosses are often regarded as OldCzech, it is argued in this paper that some of these glosses are more likely toreflect a Slavic vernacular that was ancestral to modern Upper Sorbian. Theyform an important addition to the known corpus of mediaeval Sorbian. Some ofthe earliest phonological developments of Czech and Sorbian can be dated on thebasis of the Judeo-Slavic glosses.