Introduction

German scholars employed the term "Bielsko-Biała language enclave" (Bielitz-Białaer Sprachinsel) to describe the several towns and villages  adjacent to (then) two towns in Cieszyn Silesia and Lesser Poland - Bielsko and Biała. Up until the times of the II World War, the majority populations of those two towns were German-speaking.
According to these German scholars, apart from Bielsko, the language enclave encompassed the following:
• Międzyrzecze Górne (Ober-Kurzwald),
• Komorowice Śląskie (Batzdorf),
• Kamienica (Kamitz),
• Wapienica (Lobnitz),
• Bystra Śląska (Deutsch-Bistrai),
• Aleksandrowice (Alexanderfeld),
• Mikuszowice (Nickelsdorf),
• Olszówka Górna (Ober-Ohlish),
• Olszówka Dolna (Nieder-Ohlish) oraz
• Stare Bielsko (Altbielitz).
On the other side of the river Biała and near the town of the same name the villages:
• Lipnik (Kunzendorf),
• Hałcnów (Alzen ) oraz
• Wilamowice (Wilmesau).
The inhabitants of Wilamowice, however, do not consider themselves German. Taking this attitude into account while also accounting for the linguistic similarities between Wymysorys and other dialects spoken in the aforementioned towns and villages, this work will use the term: The Bielsko-Biała German language enclave and Wilamowice. Depending on the given context, the place names of the given localities will be provided either in Polish or in standard German.

Name

Linguonyms

Endolinguonyms

Most of those who inhabited the towns and villages included in the, so called, Bielsko-Biała language enclave was probably aware that the language variety they speak was different from the standard (Hochdeutsh) version of the German language. Often they would describe their own variety as "rural". In Bielsko and Biała the term pauerisch(e)  (Bock 1916a: 220Bock 1916a / komentarz/comment /
Bock Friedrich 1916b. Der Liega-Jirg. Gedicht in der Bielitzer Mundart. Bielitz: Friedrich Bock. [przedruk w: Wagner 1936: 222-230].
) was used to describe it, whereas in Hałcnów it was päuersch.
Only in two of all discussed cases have such native names to call their own language variety developed. The people of Hałcnów named their variety aljzjnerisch or aljznerisch, the people of Wilamowice - Wymysiöeryś.This can be result of the peripheral location of both villages and, most importantly, the higher than anywhere else linguistic diversity.

The English name (exolinguonym) of the language has been agreed as: Wymysorys or Wymysiöeryś (the latter being a universal form), while the adjective referring to the town itself (its inhabitans, etc.) as: Wilamowicean.

History and geopolitics

Location

The term "Bielsko-Biała language enclave" is a relatively new one - it was created on the turn of the 19th and XX centuries. It has been employed to describe the various German dialects that were spoken in the towns of Bielsko and Biała, and the villages located around them. Both the ethnic and linguistic environments change over them, it is no wonder, thus, that the extent of the Bielsko-Biała language enclave would be altered as well.
Among many attempts to determine the borders of the enclave one may list the scholar Gerhard Wurbs (1981: 84, 85Wurbs 1981 / komentarz/comment /
Wurbs, Gerhard 1981.  Die deutsche Sprachinsel Bielitz-Biala. Eine Chronik. Wien.
). He enumerated three types of villages/town. The first group comprises of those localities that maintained their German nature up until the year 1945:

1. Bielsko (Bielitz)
2. Biała (Biala)
3. Lipnik (Kunzendorf)
4. Hałcnów (Alzen)
5. Wilamowice (Wilmesau)
6. Komorowice Śląskie (Batzdorf)
7. Międzyrzecze Górne (Ober Kurzwald)
8. Wapienica (Lobnitz)
9. Stare Bielsko (Altbielitz)
10. Aleksandrowice (Alexanderfeld)
11. Kamienica (Kamitz)
12. Olszówka (Ohlisch)
13. Bystra (Bistrai)
14. Mikuszowice Śląskie (Nickelsdorf)

The second group included those former German settlement which have been polonised:

1. Jasienica (Heinzendorf)
2. Jaworze (Ernsdorf)
3. Bystra Krakowska (Bistrai-Süd)
4. Mikuszowice Krakowskie (Mikuschowitz)
5. Straconka (Dresseldorf)
6. Kozy (Seibersdorf)
7. Pisarzowice (Schreibersdorf)
8. Stara Wieś (Altdorf)
9. Komorowice Krakowskie (Mückendorf)
10. Mazańcowice (Matzdorf)

The third group is made up of those towns and villages which had a significant German population in the past:

1. Landek (Landeck)
2. Bronów (Braunau)
3. Wilkowice (Wilkowitz)
4. Łodygowice (Lodygowitz)
5. Kęty (Liebenwerde, też Liewerdt)
6. Nowa Wieś (Neudorf)
7. Nidek (Nydek)
8. Dankowice (Denkendorf)

The inhabitants of Wilamowice, on the other hand, did not consider their language to be a dialect of German (cf e.g. Filip 2005Filip 2005 / komentarz/comment /
Filip, Elżbieta Teresa 2005. „Flamandowie z Wilamowic? [Stan badań]”, Bielsko-Bialskie Studia Muzealne IV: 146-198.
, Wicherkiewicz 2001Wicherkiewicz 2001 / komentarz/comment /
Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz 2001. „Piśmiennictwo w etnolekcie wilamowskim”, w: Barciak 2001: 520-538.
, Wicherkiewicz 2003Wicherkiewicz 2003 / komentarz/comment /
Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz 2003.The Making of a Language. The Case of the Idiom of Wilamowice, Southern Poland. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
). Józef Latosiński, a historian-hobbyist, author of Monografia Miasteczka Wilamowic, wrote that:

Apart from Wilamowice and Stara Wieś, the following German settlements were erected here on Oświęcim soil: Pisarzowice (Schreibersdorf), Kęty (Liebenwerde), Kozy (Seubersdorf) , Hałcnów (Alzen), Lipnik (Kunzendorf), Komorowice (Bertholdsdorf), Łodygowice (Ludwigsdorf), Inwałd (Hinwald), Barwałd (Bärenwald) and others. 

Prior to 1918, many inhabitants of the discussed territories worked in the country to which they officially belonged to - the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Most of them, thus, had to quickly adapt to their new linguistic environment. It's worth to notice that Wilamowice's most important literary works were, in fact, written in Trieste. Wilamowiceans, who would often settle in Vienna, maintained their distinctive identity for long periods of emigration and, also, kept in touch with their place of origin (Filip 2005Filip 2005 / komentarz/comment /
Filip, Elżbieta Teresa 2005. „Flamandowie z Wilamowic? [Stan badań]”, Bielsko-Bialskie Studia Muzealne IV: 146-198.
, Wicherkiewicz 2003Wicherkiewicz 2003 / komentarz/comment /
Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz 2003.The Making of a Language. The Case of the Idiom of Wilamowice, Southern Poland. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
).


The Bielsko-Biała language enclave and the pre-war (↑) and present (↓) administrative structure - map. ed.: Jacek Cieślewicz.

History and origins

The border between Silesia and Lesser Poland

The territories of and around today's Bielsko-Biała for  long time were virtually uninhabited. Even in the earliest times when Poland was still in the process of forming an independent country, this area was barren and constituted a border between two Slavic tribes: the Golensizi in the West and Vistulans in the East (Chorąży and Chorąży 2010b: 119Chorąży i Chorąży 2010b / komentarz/comment /
Chorąży, Bożena i Bogusław Chorąży 2010b. „Początki Bielska”, w:  Panic 2010:141-159.
). In the 11th century two gords (or Slavic burgwalls) were established near this place, Cieszyn and Oświęcim, which soon became two administrative centres known as castellanies. The river Białka separated these two centres, as it does presently, separating Bielsko-Biała into two parts by flowing straight through it. This border was adopted by the Church administration as well. The territory West from the river Białka became a part of the diocese of Wrocław while the territory on the Eastern side of the river would fall to the Bishop of Cracow. This division was surprisingly lasting. it ended only in the 20th century, perhaps with the exception of one period that will be discussed later on. In the consciousness of present inhabitants of the area, however, this divide is still very much alive.

Oświęcim and Cieszyn regions in the Middle Ages.

During Poland's fragmentation period, in 1179 a new ruler took control over Oświęcim and its surroundings which constituted the Eastern part of the Bielsko-Biała language enclave. It was Mieszko I Tanglefoot who received the castellanies of Oświęcim and Bytom from Casimir II the Just following Mieszko's son baptism. This way Mieszko became the ruler of vast territories encompassing the lands of Racibórz, Oświęcim, Opole and Cieszyn (Putek 1938: 1Putek 1938 / komentarz/comment /
Putek, Józef 1938. O zbójnickich zamkach, heretyckich zborach i oświęcimskiej Jerozolimie. Kraków: Drukarnia Przemysłowa.
). The whole of this area would later constitute a part of the Bielsko-Biała language enclave for nearly 140 years but at that time it was a separate and distinct administrative unit which, however, experienced fragmentation because of the last will's of their rulers. In 1290 the Duchy of Cieszyn emerged. It comprised also of the lands of Oświęcim, Zator and Chrzanów. Mieszko I of Cieszyn became its ruler. After his death in 1316 further fragmentations occurred and a separate Duchy of Oświęcim was created. The whole of the territory located East from the river Bialka was incorporated into the new Duchy (Putek 1938: 2Putek 1938 / komentarz/comment /
Putek, Józef 1938. O zbójnickich zamkach, heretyckich zborach i oświęcimskiej Jerozolimie. Kraków: Drukarnia Przemysłowa.
; Wurbs 1981: 11Wurbs 1981 / komentarz/comment /
Wurbs, Gerhard 1981.  Die deutsche Sprachinsel Bielitz-Biala. Eine Chronik. Wien.
).



Duchy of Cieszyn in 1746, see: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik:Principatus_Teschinenis_Superiorem_Silesiam_AD1746.jpg

As time passed the ties between the Piast dynasty in Cieszyn and Oświęcim, and the Polish senior ruler in Cracow loosened. Some of the princess attempted to maintain their political independence. Others, however, paid homepage to Czech kings and became their vassals. These ties were finally severed in 1335 with the Treaty of Trentschin. Under this treaty, Casimir III The Great abandoned his claims to Silesian Duchies, the Duchies of Oświęcim and Cieszyn included. The former, along with Biała and adjacent villages returned to Poland in 1453 while the territories between the rivers Olza and Białka which belonged to the Duchy of Cieszyn (with Bielsko) were officially incorporated into Poland only in the year 1920.

Colonisation processes - the emergence of towns

The fragmentation of bigger duchies into smaller ones had a significant effect on language diversity. As the territories ruled by various sovereigns became smaller, so did the income. The only way to increase it was to invite colonists to previously uninhabited lands. The tribute (paid after the initial tax-free period - wolnizna) allowed to fill the coffers of the given prince (Putek 1938: 25Putek 1938 / komentarz/comment /
Putek, Józef 1938. O zbójnickich zamkach, heretyckich zborach i oświęcimskiej Jerozolimie. Kraków: Drukarnia Przemysłowa.
). It would seem only natural to bring settlers from neighbouring parts of Poland. However, the already thin population numbers were even more so diminished by Tatar raids. That is why the Piast Silesian princes and the courtiers, knights and officials they provided for invited settlers from overpopulated German-speaking areas.


Geraman colonisation in 12th c. Poland  - map ed.: Jacek Cieślewicz
 
In the second half of the 13th century Wilhelmsdorf or Antiquo Wilamowicz (present-day Stara Wieś) was founded. Later on, prior to 1325, however, a number of inhabitants of Stara Wieś moved a few kilometres and settled Wilamowice (Barciak 2001: 82, 85Barciak 2001 / komentarz/comment /
Barciak, Antorni (red.) 2001. Wilamowice. Przyroda, historia, język, kultura, oraz społeczeństwo miasta i gminy. Wilamowice: Urząd Gminy.
). This is how the first colonisation wave ended. Later localities were created only after a 100 years.

History of the Eastern part of the language enclave

Since its founding in the Middle Ages, for a long time Lipnik (Kunzendorf). The settlement was the seat of a non-town county (starostwo), a crown land rules by an official. It was owned by various nobility families (Polak 2010: 26Polak 2010 / komentarz/comment /
Polak, Jerzy (red.) 2010. Bielsko-Biała. Monografia miasta. Tom II. Biała od zarania do zakończenia I wojny światowej (1918). Bielsko-Biała: Wydział Kultury i Sztuki Urzędu Miejskiego w Bielsku-Białej.
). The first mentions of Biała, however, can be found rather late - in 1564 (Wurbs 1981: 83Wurbs 1981 / komentarz/comment /
Wurbs, Gerhard 1981.  Die deutsche Sprachinsel Bielitz-Biala. Eine Chronik. Wien.
). At that time, the whole settlement comprised only of several buildings. Craftsmen from the neighbouring Bielsko were probably its first settlers. Following the end of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), fearing prosecution, many Silesian protestants settled in this border town. Since the artisans from Bielsko were not constrained by guild law they could provide cheaper products to the market. Such activities led to the expansion of the settlement which was granted town privileges under the decision of king Augustus II the Strong in 1723. Soon Biała became the property of the Crown (Polak 2010: 104Polak 2010 / komentarz/comment /
Polak, Jerzy (red.) 2010. Bielsko-Biała. Monografia miasta. Tom II. Biała od zarania do zakończenia I wojny światowej (1918). Bielsko-Biała: Wydział Kultury i Sztuki Urzędu Miejskiego w Bielsku-Białej.
). Its was mayor was Baltazar Damek, a patron of Catholicism, banker (or rather usurer) and the first arts patron in the town. Jerzy Polak suggests that he was a "Polonised Wilamowicean" (Polak 2010: 89, 104, 113, 115Polak 2010 / komentarz/comment /
Polak, Jerzy (red.) 2010. Bielsko-Biała. Monografia miasta. Tom II. Biała od zarania do zakończenia I wojny światowej (1918). Bielsko-Biała: Wydział Kultury i Sztuki Urzędu Miejskiego w Bielsku-Białej.
). As a result of the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the territory of the Duchy of Oświęcim was incorporated into Austria. Initially, the Duchy did not constitute a part of Galicia.


Baltazar Damek (after: Hanslik 1908: 97Hanslik 1908 / komentarz/comment /
Hanslik, Erwin, 1908. Biala, eine deutsche Stadt in Galizien. Wien-Teschen-Leipzig.
)

Industry development

Thousands of people from Austria, Moravia, Prussian Silesia and Galicia were, thus, pulled in to Bielsko, Biała and other localities whose economies thrived. By the end of the 19th century immigrants constituted half of the population of Bielsko (Spyra 2010: 139Spyra 2010 / komentarz/comment /
Spyra, Janusz 2010. ”Przeobrażenia struktur społecznych i narodowościowych w Bielsku w drugiej połowie XIX i początkach XX wieku, w: Spyra i Kenig 2010: 137-157.
). In Biała this ratio was even bigger. Out of the total 5190 people living in Biała in 1890 only 2432 were considered to be "natives" (Polak 2010: 381Polak 2010 / komentarz/comment /
Polak, Jerzy (red.) 2010. Bielsko-Biała. Monografia miasta. Tom II. Biała od zarania do zakończenia I wojny światowej (1918). Bielsko-Biała: Wydział Kultury i Sztuki Urzędu Miejskiego w Bielsku-Białej.
).
The cloth industry developed in Wilamowice, as well. Thanks to the money generated by this activity, in 1808 the inhabitants of Wilamowice redeemed themselves from feudal service and 10 years later, their town was granted town privileges (Wicherkiewicz 2003: 10Wicherkiewicz 2003 / komentarz/comment /
Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz 2003.The Making of a Language. The Case of the Idiom of Wilamowice, Southern Poland. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
).
After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the territory of the Bielsko-Biała language enclave became a part of Poland. The area located East from the river Bialka was incorporated into the Kraków district (voivodeship).
This new order did not last long, however. In 1939 Nazi Germany began the II World War. With its end in 1945, the communist took control over Poland and they felt that the German-speaking population should assume ultimate and collective responsibility. And hence, both those who actively supported Hitler and those who had nothing to do at all with any form of totalitarian rule were forced to leave their homes and resettle in Germany in Austria.
Only those inhabiting Wilamowice were able to avoid mass eviction. They were, however, forbidden to speak their own language.

Myths of origin

It is difficult to indicate any concrete piece of information in German scholarly works pertaining to the Bielsko-Biała language enclave on where did this enclave originate from. The colonisation of new territories seems to be the most important fact in their works. The scant amount of information that exists (Wagner 1935: (193Wagner 1935 / komentarz/comment /
Wagner, Richard Ernst 1935. Der Beeler Psalter. Die Bielitz-Bialaer deutsche mundartliche Dichtung. Katowice: Kattowitzer Buchdruckerei u. Verlags – Sp. Akc.
) is not enough to recognize it as mythology - regardless of the definitions that associated with the term. If we are to define mythology not as a collection of false beliefs but as a tale on the origins of a given community, and one that influences the nature of said community, then, clearly, it is possible to recognize the beliefs the people of Wilamowice and Hałcnów possess as mythology.

Wilamowice

As previously mentioned, most Wilamowiceans did not and do not consider themselves German. Rather, they identify themselves as the descendants of Flemish, Frisian or even Anglo-Saxon tribes. According to a popular tale, the progenitors of today's Wilamowice lived in the area of the Southern part of the river Elbe. There were forced by the Danish to move up to England where they took part in many military actions. However, the battle of Hastings and the defeat of king Harold, whom they supported, and consequently, the expansion of the Norman invasion that this defeat had prompted, forced them to resettle again, this time in the Netherlands. A great flood which struck this area meant a new journey, one that they have ended in what is today known as Wilamowice (cf. e.g. Libera i Robotycki 2001Libera i Robotycki 2001 / komentarz/comment /
Libera, Zbigniew i Czesław Robotycki 2001. „Wilamowice i okolice w ludowej wyobraźni”, w: Barciak 2001: 371-400.
; Filip 2005: 152Filip 2005 / komentarz/comment /
Filip, Elżbieta Teresa 2005. „Flamandowie z Wilamowic? [Stan badań]”, Bielsko-Bialskie Studia Muzealne IV: 146-198.
; Wicherkiewicz 2003: 15-16Wicherkiewicz 2003 / komentarz/comment /
Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz 2003.The Making of a Language. The Case of the Idiom of Wilamowice, Southern Poland. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
).
This belief on the non-German origin of the people of Wilamowice must have been known outside of the very town as evidenced by the poem A Welmeßajer ai Berlin by Jacob Bukowski, himself a native of Biała (1860: 111Bukowski 1860 / komentarz/comment /
Bukowski, Jacob 1860. Gedichte in der Mundart der deutschen schlesisch-galizischen Gränzbewohner resp. von Bielitz-Biala. Bielitz: Zamarski. [przedruk w: Wagner 1935: 1-190].
):

Kom of Berlin a froumer Welmeßajer, Un wou a stond, an wou a ging, Om Reng, ai olla Gossa, olla Stroßa, Do rief a met sem tiefa Baß: ‘Kajf Drellich! faina Welmeßajer Drellich!’ Sou tree har’s fort de ganze Woch‘/ De fremda Loit, se hon an wing verstanda, Ma docht‘ har wär vo England har. -Dos ei kaj Wuinder; denn de Welmeßajer, Die stomma jou vo derta har. –

A jolly man of Wilamowice arrives to Berlin, where he stayed, and he travelled, around the market square, along the streets long and short, whence he screamed in his low pitched voice: "Buy your coutil! Beautiful coutils from Wilamowice!" And so he spent the week, but little was he understood by the foreigners as from England he was thought to be. Nothing strange that: as, indeed, that is where the Wilamowiceans came from.

The text by Bukowski has been considered the oldest printed source, which referred to Wilamowice(an). Recently, however, even older manuscript reference sources have been found (Augustin 1842: 166-167Augustin 1842 / komentarz/comment /
Augustin, Franz 1842. Jahrbuch oder Zusammenstellung geschichtlicher Thatsachen, welche die Gegend con Oswieczyn und Saybusch angehen. Bearbeitet durch Franz Augustin Pfarrer der Stadt Saybusch 1842 ad A R D Andrea de Pleszowski porocho Bielanensi propria namu descriptum. [ze zbiorów Archiwum Państwowego w Katowicach, Oddział w Żywcu]
).

It is exactly such a self-image that solidified in Wilamowice under the influence of books from the beginning of the 20th century. Józef Latosiński, the author of Monografia Miasteczka Wilamowic, known also as the "Bible of Wilamowice"(Libera and Robotycki 2001: 377Libera i Robotycki 2001 / komentarz/comment /
Libera, Zbigniew i Czesław Robotycki 2001. „Wilamowice i okolice w ludowej wyobraźni”, w: Barciak 2001: 371-400.
) mentioned in the beginning of the book that the settlers who found Wilamowice came from Northern Germany. He argued that:

The way the Principality of Schaumburg-Lipe is situated, near the Dutch border and Bremen, indicates that the first Wilamowiceans did, indeed,  come from there; firstly because of the local dialect which had both the native Low German element and Dutch and Anglo-Saxon features as well, and secondly, because to this day the textile industry has been thriving in the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe [...] (translated from Latosiński 1909: 14Latosiński 1909 / komentarz/comment /
Latosiński, Józef 1909. Monografia Miasteczka Wilamowic. Na podstawie źródeł autentycznych. Kraków. [przedruk 1990].
).

However, further in the book he refers to a poem describing the construction of a tower in 1729 and adduces that even then the people of Wilamowice did not consider themselves German (Latosiński 1909: 173Latosiński 1909 / komentarz/comment /
Latosiński, Józef 1909. Monografia Miasteczka Wilamowic. Na podstawie źródeł autentycznych. Kraków. [przedruk 1990].
).

This statement on non-German origins of the Wil;amowiceans found its full expression in the works of Florian Biesik, the most prominent author writing in the Wymysorys language. The bigger part of the foreword to his most important works, Óf jer wełt („In the other world”) describes the odyssey of the predecessors of today's Wilamowiceans. It also depicts the relationship between the author and the Frisian people who customs and nature seemed outstandingly similar to those he had experienced in his home town (the Polish translation of Biesik's work from 1924 can be found in: Wicherkiewicz 2003: 41-48Wicherkiewicz 2003 / komentarz/comment /
Wicherkiewicz, Tomasz 2003.The Making of a Language. The Case of the Idiom of Wilamowice, Southern Poland. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
).

The belief that the roots of Wilamowice reach the Netherlands are instilled both in the minds of the natives of Wilamowice and also in the minds of people neighbouring the town. A big agritouristic enterprise named "Flamandia" (Flanders) was opened a couple of years ago.