LL-L: "Help needed" LOWLANDS-L, 06.OCT.2000 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 06.OCT.2000 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: "Ian James Parsley" <parsleyij at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L: "Help needed" LOWLANDS-L, 04.OCT.2000 (03) [E]

> From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
> Subject: Help needed
>
> Dear Lowlanders,
>
> A friend is looking for the equivalents of "(Please) do not disturb"
(as on
> signs on hotel room doors) in the following language varieties:
>
> Scots
>    Ulster

I would suggest:

'Dinna be steeran me/us'

In Ulster at least, the form really has to be progressive here. It is
very rare to find a negative form such as 'dinna dae' (rather than
'dinna be daean') in Ulster, and where it is used it would be far too
blunt for the polite command meant here.

Another option, to get away from the 'me/us' problem, would be:

'No fur a-steeran' (with 'A am' or 'we ir' understood).

I'm not sure the 'passive present participle' for passive progressives
is available in Scotland, however. There will never be absolute
agreement on things like spellings, but we in Ulster and those in
Scotland should really seek to reach agreement on subtle commands like
this one (and also, for example, how to start and end a letter). It is
something we can do that will make a lot of difference in the long run
('unit we stannd, divid we faa). That said, it really would have to be
one of the above options to sound right to Ulster ears.

Best wishes,
Ian.

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From: Helge Tietz [helgetietz at yahoo.com]
Subject: LL-L: "Help needed" LOWLANDS-L, 05.OCT.2000 (04) [E]

If "laat mi man tofreeden" is used as a hotel-room
message I indeed believe it is too unpolite, it is a
term you rather use to tell somebody off but thinking
about would could be polite I cannot come up with
anyhting better than a Low Saxon corruption of the
German "Bitte nicht stoeren", I personally would then
prefer to have "please, do not disturb" on my door
since any English is always more "old Saxon" and
closer to my slesvig-holsten roots than
standard-German can ever be.

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