Welsh not [was: Renfrew's Celtic Scenario]

[Eduard Selleslagh]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gordon Selway" <gordonselway at gn.apc.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 8:01 PM

[snip]
> But 'thou' (as a workaday pronoun, rather than in fixed formulas) - in some
> cases with the conjugated verb form - does survive.  I wonder whether the
> use of the authorised version of the bible may have affected this, though I
> would not expect a low status child saying 'thou hast' to be well received
> in an educational system which elsewhere made use of the 'Welsh not' (a
> kind of wooden thing to be placed on the neck of the latest child to speak
> Welsh instead of English).

[Ed Selleslagh]

An almost identical custom existed in (almost exclusively: Catholic) schools in
Flanders to ban Dutch, before it became the official (and compulsory education)
language in 1931. They used a 'key' or some other device.

This was a remnant of the times since the foundation of Belgium in 1830 by a
very limited French speaking upper class (voting right based upon real estate
taxes paid), intending to create a French speaking nation, even though 50%
spoke Dutch (dialects) (Now, over 60% speaks Dutch).

Changing the language of a whole population - not just the upper class that can
be enticed easily - seems to necessitate hurtful interventions. Maybe we should
be more aware of that when thinking of the spread of PIE e.g.

BTW, spoken Flemish Dutch is still somewhat more archaic than Holland Dutch.
e.g the actual equivalent (not linguistically speaking: it is an old plural,
like 'you') of 'thou' ('gij') is still in daily use in the lower registers,
while in Holland it is Biblical.

[snip]
> Gordon Selway
> <gordonselway at gn.apc.org>

Ed.