LL-L: "Low Saxon" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 01.JUN.1999 (05)

Tue Jun 1 23:49:12 UTC 1999

 ==========================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 01.JUN.1999 (05) * ISSN 1089-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/~sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/>
 User's Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 ==========================================================================
 You have received this because your account has been subscribed upon
 request. To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l"
 as message text from the same account to
 <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or sign off at
 <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 ==========================================================================

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at geocities.con>
Subject: Re: LL-L: Low Saxon

PRESSE INS (INSTITUT FÜR NIEDERDEUTSCHE SPRACHE), BREMEN
PRESS SERVICE OF THE INSTITUTE FOR LOW GERMAN LANGUAGE, BREMEN
http://www.hprg.de/ins-presse/index.htm

NEWS DIGEST IN ENGLISH, MAY 1999
Prepared by R. F. Hahn

HAMBURG DEFIES EUROPEAN LANGUAGE CHARTER
If you currently deal with officialdom using Low Saxon (Low German) in the
German state of Hamborg/Hamburg you will probably encounter little more than
silence. This is the gist of a seven months overdue response of the District
Executive to an inquiry submitted by Representative Olaf Ohlsen. The response
amounts to an official stamp of defiance, a declaration of refusal to comply
with the conditions of the European Language Charter, which Hamburg, like seven
other German states, has been obligated to follow ever since the official
recognition of Low Saxon as a regional language. The official response is based
on the declaration (in German of course) _nicht erfüllbar – weil nicht zumutbar_
which roughly conveys the sentiment "impossible to implement because it is
asking too much." Officially the public is entitled to submit spoken and written
applications and petitions in Low Saxon, the indigenous language of the land.
The obligation goes even further in that this is to be "encouraged," as is the
use of the language in meetings of Hamburg's various administrative councils.
"Nope" is what the response of the Senatorial Office for District Affairs boils
down to. Consolation: the Office kindly agrees to consider not only foreign
language proficiency but also Low Saxon proficiency in future personnel
decisions.
Further information: Kurt Behrens, Tel. (040) 5 51 17 64, and the Senatsamt für
Bezirksangelegenheiten, Tel. (040) 42 85 40.

BONN WONDERS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION
In a conference scheduled for June 9-11, the German Ministry of Internal Affairs
hopes to find out if and how the German states are following the obligations and
recommendations of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages
which has been in effect since the beginning of 1999. Representatives of the
relevant states are expected to provide details on how they are protecting and
supporting Frisian, Danish, Low Saxon (Low German), Sorbian and Romanes
(Romani).
Further information from the German Ministry of Internal Affairs
(Bundesinnenministerium) in Bonn, Tel. (0228) 681-2005.

CHARTER DOCUMENTATION AVAILABLE LATE THIS YEAR
It will be as late as at the turn of the millenium that the German Ministry of
Internal Affairs will publish the European Charter for Regional and Minority
Languages in its entirety. It hopes to do so in a brochure that will also
contain descriptions of the situations of Germany's various regional and
minority languages. Due to financial constraints and also due to translation
problems vis-à-vis Romanes, there will be only a ("High") German version of the
brochure for the time being.
Further information: Rainer Maria Krupatz, the German Ministry of Internal
Affairs (Bundesinnenministerium) in Bonn, Tel. (0228) 681-2002/2007.

EASTERN HOLSTEIN BACKS LOW SAXON
Unlike their colleagues in superior officialdom, the district executives of
Eastern Holsteen/Holstein have voted in favor of supporting and encouraging the
use of Low Saxon (Low Germany) in all communities under their jurisdiction. The
communities are encouraged to name streets and plazas in their local dialects.
Furthermore, Eastern Holstein's administration has been given until autumn 1999
to develop ways of incorporating the use of Low Saxon in official affairs.
Further information: Roland Lau, Kreisverwaltung Ostholstein, Eutin, Tel.
(04521)788-444.

BEUTZ PRIZE GOES TO OLDENBURG
The August-Hinrichs Theater in Ollenborg/Oldenburg received the Willy Beutz
Prize for Low Saxon (Low German) theater for its production of Gerhard
Hauptmann's _Rose Bernd_. The second prize went to the Oosterholt/Osterholz
Theater for its production of Walter A. Kreye's _De Fall Hansen_ ("The Hansen
Case"). Only four of Germany's 18 Low Saxon theaters in the Association of Low
Saxon Theaters of Lower Saxony and Bremen entered the competition for this
coveted award.
Further information: Ulf-Thomas Lesle, Institut für niederdeutsche Sprache,
Bremen, Tel. (0421) 32 45 35.

IN MEMORY OF KLAUS GROTH
In honor of the Low Saxon (Low German) poet Klaus Groth on the 100th anniversary
of his death, Kiel, the capital of Sleswig-Holsteen/Schleswig-Holstein, and its
Christian Albrecht University are hosting a function in City Hall on Tuesday,
June 1, 1999. The keynote speaker will be Ludo Simons of Antwerp, Belgium. On
June 10, in Hamborg/Hamburg's Lichtwarksaal, the Carl Toepfer Foundation will
host an evening of readings of Groth's works under the direction of Claus
Schuppenhauer of the Institute for Low German Language, Bremen.

HOLM PRIZE
His Low Saxon (Low German) radio play _Moorkaten_ ("Cottages on the Moores")
earned Wolfgang Sieg this year's Hans Henning Holm Prize, which he will
officially receive in September. This prestigious prize for Low Saxon radio
plays is awarded every third year and comes with DM 3,000.

CONTINUING ED FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE INSTRUCTORS
Lower Saxony's Association of Community Colleges has begun to advertise a
continuing education seminar for Low Saxon (Low German) instructors given by
Hartmut Arbatzat in Bassen/Bassum this September. This will include suggestions
as to how to best use texts and textual excerpts. The ultimate goal of the
seminar is the compilation of an annotated reading list or anthology.
Further information: Hartmut Arbatzat, Hannover, Tel. (0511) 3 48 41-0.

MISCELLANEA
(1) Edda Zeckert, a city registrar official, is now the Low Saxon (Low German)
commissioner of Stavenhagen, Fritz Reuter's native city in
Mekelnborg/Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
(2) Eastern Friesland's "Literature Phone" has turned 15. It began with Gerda
Schoon's contribution in 1984. Further information: 0491 – 11 56.
(3) Just published is an interim report about the Eastern Friesland model
project "Bilingualism in the Kindergarten," available in Auerk/Aurich, Tel.
04941 - 17 99-0.

==================================END=======================================
 * Please submit contributions to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
 * Contributions will be displayed unedited in digest form.
 * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
 * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are to
   be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
   <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 * Please use only Plain Text format, not Rich Text (HTML) or any other
   type of format, in your submissions
 ========================================================================