Sorbs (Upper Sorbian:Serbja; Lower Sorbian:Serby, German:Sorben), known also by their former autonym Lusatians, are a West Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They traditionally speak the Sorbian languages (Wendish, Lusatian) – closely related to Polish and Czech – officially recognized and protected as a minority language of Germany. They are linguistically and genetically closest to Czechs and Poles. Due to a gradual and increasing assimilation between the 17th and 20th centuries, virtually all Sorbs also spoke German by the late 19th century and many of the descendants of Sorbs no longer speak the Sorbian languages. They are predominantly Roman Catholics and Lutherans.