Meaning

The Lemko noun земля ⟨zemlja⟩ is translatable into English as “earth”, “ground”, or “floor”, depending on the context. It translates into Polish as ziemia.

How to Pronounce and Memorize

The first syllable is pronounced like English zen, but with an ⟨m⟩ sound at the end. The second syllable is pronounced as in “la la la”. To memorize, imagine a zen monk meditating in mud outside and saying “La la la, I can’t hear you!”

Etymology

The Lemko noun земля ⟨zemlja⟩ ‘earth’ comes from Proto-Slavic *zemļà (Derksen, 2008, p. 542). Cognates include Old Church Slavonic землꙗ (ⰸⰵⰿⰾⱑ) ⟨zemlja⟩ Avestan 𐬰𐬃‎ ⟨zā̊⟩ ‘earth’ (accusative form 𐬰𐬆𐬨‎ ⟨zəm⟩), Sanskrit क्ष ⟨kṣá⟩ ‘earth’, Persian زمین‎ ⟨zamin⟩ ‘earth’, Ancient Greek χθών ⟨khthṓn⟩ “earth”, Hittite 𒋼𒂊𒃷 ⟨tēkan⟩, (genitive 𒁖𒈾𒀸 ⟨taknas⟩), Latin humus ‘ground’, and Ancient Greek χαμαί ⟨khamaí⟩ ‘on the ground’ (Vasmer 1953, pp. 452–453, see also Derksen, 2008, p. 542 and Pokorny, 1959, p. 415).

Declension

Lemko земля ⟨zemlja⟩ is a soft, first-declension noun that declines as follows:

Singular

Case	Lemko	Polish	Ukrainian	Russian
Nom	зе́мля ⟨zémlja⟩	ziemia	земля́	земля́
Gen	зе́млі ⟨zémli⟩	ziemi	землі́	земли́
Dat	зе́мли ⟨zémly⟩a	ziemi	землі́	земле́
Acc	зе́млю ⟨zémlju⟩	ziemię	зе́млю	зе́млю
Ins	зе́мльом ⟨zémlʹom⟩	ziemią	земле́ю	землёй
Loc	зе́мли ⟨zémly⟩a	ziemi	землі́	земле́
Voc	зе́мльо ⟨zémlʹo⟩b	ziemio	зе́мле	—

a Pyrtej (2013, p. 38) gives зе́млі ⟨zémli⟩ as the dative and locative singular forms, yet Fontański and Chomiak (2000, p. 64) provide зе́мли ⟨zémly⟩.

^b Fontański and Chomiak (2000, p. 64) provide земле ⟨zemle⟩ as an alternative vocative singular form.

Plural

Case	Lemko	Polish	Ukrainian	Russian
Nom	зе́млі ⟨zémli⟩	ziemie	зе́млі	зе́мли
Gen	зе́мель ⟨zémlʹ⟩	ziem	земе́ль	земе́ль
Dat	зе́млям ⟨zémljam⟩	ziemiom	зе́млям	зе́млям
Acc	зе́млі ⟨zémli⟩	ziemie	зе́млі	зе́мли
Ins	земля́ми ⟨zemljámy⟩	ziemiami	зе́млями	зе́млями
Loc	зе́млях ⟨zémljax⟩	ziemiach	зе́млях	зе́млях
Voc	зе́млі ⟨zémli⟩	ziemie	зе́млі	—

References

^ Derksen, Rick. (2008). In Lubotsky, A. (Ed.), Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series: Vol. 4. Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon. Koninklijke Brill NV. https://brill.com/view/title/12607

^ Fontański, H., Chomiak, M.  (2000). Ґраматыка лемківского языка [Grammar of the Lemko Language]. Śląsk.

^ Pokorny, Julius. (1959). Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-Germanic Etymological Dictionary]. A. Francke AG Verlag Bern.

^ ^ Pyrtej, P. (2013). Лемківські говірки. Фонетика і морфологія. Об’єднання лемків [Lemko Dialects. Phonetics and Morphology]. Обʼєднання лемків [Lemko Union].

^ Vasmer, M. (1953). Russisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, Erster Band: A – K [Russian Etymological Dictionary, Volume One: A – K]. Carl Winter Universitätsverlag.