LL-L: "Mutual comprehension" LOWLANDS-L, 18.JUL.2000 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 18.JUL.2000 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
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 A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic
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From: Pepijn Hendriks [pepijnh at bigfoot.com]
Subject: LL-L: "Mutual comprehension" 17.JUL.2000 (01) [E/LS]

Henry,

>This is, sadly, the view that most Dutch people have, even a lot of native
>Low-Saxon speakers. How 'bout that, for indoctrination... Naturally, it's
>because Dutch is the standard language in the Netherlands, but I wonder,
>how much Low-Saxon influence is there in Dutch? If it weren't for Dutch
>being the standard, you might as well here people saying that Dutch was
>just some type of weird Low-Saxon ;)

The outcome of the processes of the formation of standard languages (which
includes selection of elements from different varieties and codification of
rules) is historically contingent.  If you put something different in (a
different political situation, a different attitude of the speakers towards
their language), the outcome is different.

Strictly linguistically spoken, there is no reason that the Lowland dialects
spoken some 500 years ago in the area that we now call the Netherlands and
Belgium couldn't be dialects of German.  Look at the case of Swiss German in
the German speaking cantons of Switzerland.  It's just a matter of accepting
something as a standard language, in this case closely related, yet
unmistakably different in several respects.

What I really wanted to say, though, I think there's is nothing wrong with
perceiving Low Saxon as a 'weird kind of Dutch', as long as there are no
prejudicial judgements attached to it, in other words, as long as it remains
the key to understanding the language.

A teacher of mine, who is fluent in Serbo-Croat has to teach Czech.  For
him, up to a certain point, Czech is a really weird variety of Serbo-Croat.
This does not mean that he doesn't recognise Czech as a language in its own
right.  To me, when reading Low-Saxon (mostly on this forum; and I rarely
get a chance to actually hear it spoken) the key to understanding is seeing
it as a weird kind of German.

In the same vain, I read Afrikaans as wrong Dutch.  This explains also, I
think, why I don't pick up Afrikaans on the way.  With my attitude towards
it, it would come down to learning or memorising faulty Dutch.  Were I to
learn Afrikaans -- which some day I might do! -- I'd have to sit down to it
and make a very conscious effort.

Again, no value judgements expressed here.

I'm sure there are lots of articles and monographs dedicated to this issue
of language perception, mutual comprehension and language attitudes.

-Pepijn

--
 pepijnh at bigfoot.com -- http://www.bigfoot.com/~pepijnh -- ICQ - 6033220

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