LL-L: "Lowlands in Denmark" LOWLANDS-L, 23.SEP.2000 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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  L O W L A N D S - L * 23.SEP.2000 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Lone Elisabeth Olesen [baxichedda at yahoo.com]
Subject: LL-L: "Lowlands in Denmark"

Hello, dav,

Helge Tietz wrote:

> I am wondering whether anyone has any information
> about the extend and the dialects of Frisian spoken
> on
> the islands of Roemoe and Fanoe and the adjusting
> mainland between Esbjerg and the border of Germany,
> I
> only hear rumours that apparantly the inhabitants
> there are origionally Frisian but no one so far
> could
> give me any detailed information.

I'm Danish myself, and I have never heard of any
Frisian in Denmark at the present day. And no friends
of Southwestern Jutlandish origin has ever told me of
any spoken Frisian either.
The only study of Frisian published in Denmark that I
know of, date a hundred years back. It is a fragment
of a Frisian grammar, but there is no mention of
neither Römö nor Fanö or the costal area from the
Danish-German border to Esbjerg. (For bibliographical
reference: "Nordfriesische Beiträge aus dem Nachlass
Hermann Möllers", ed. by Peter Jörgensen, Published in
Copenhagen 1938 by Levin and Munksgaard for "Det Kgl.
Danske Videnskabers Selskab").
Personally, I would say that Fanö and the mainland
area around Esbjerg are too far north to have had any
recent traces of Frisian.
But for Römö it might be different. A quick search on
Yahoo Denmark revealed the genealogical tree for a
family from the Flensborg area. The "author" lives on
Römö, as far as I can understand, and has translated
some Frisian out of the family tales. Might be this
man knows more about Frisian on Römö? The internet
adress is: http://www.danbbs.dk/~dino/cover.html
As for the "English" pronounciation on the west coast
of Jutland, one theory is wether England got some
pronounciation characteristics from the Jutes during
the Anglo-Saxon invasions. The dialect area
Southwestern Jutlandish (sydvestjysk), which include
Esbjerg and Fanö, is famous for this "English"
pronouciation - but it has to be noted that Esbjerg
for many years has had the ferry-route to Harwich,
England...
and that some "English" pronounciation is noticeable
also north of the Esbjerg area.
Römö belongs to the Southern Jutlandish or Schleswig
dialect area and does not have  "English" sounds to
the same extent, as far as I know. To Danes who do not
live in the area, the Southern Jutlandish sound more
like "German".
(For reference on Jutlandisch dialects: "Dansk
dialektantologi, II. Jysk" by Niels Aage Nielsen,
Hernovs Forlag 1980).
My guess is that questions on Frisian presence in
Denmark and of Frisian influence on Danish has been
left unregarded, so it would take some detective work
to find something on the subject.

Greetings, Lone E. Olesen

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