LL-L "Language politics" 2002.05.27 (01) [E]

Tue May 28 01:31:06 UTC 2002

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 27.MAY.2002 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language politics

Dear Lowlanders,

Two articles in the latest issue of the _INS Pressemitteilungen_ (Press
Releases of the Institute for Low German Language, May 2002,
http://www.ins-presse.de/) may be of particular interest to those of you
who from around the world observe minority language politics and/or wish
to keep abreast of developments regarding the Low Saxon (Low German)
language.  For those of you who do not understand German or understand
it insufficiently I will below summarize these two articles in English.
I will add my own perception and perspective in the form of a commentary
in hopes of kicking off a discussion.

***

SUMMARIES

1.
The Institut für niederdeutsche Sprache (Institute for Low German
Language) has approached Germany's State Minister Dr. Julian
Nida-Rümelin in Berlin with what according to the report amounts to a
two-part crunch question: What is his attitude toward the "Low German"
(Low Saxon) language, and does he foresee any possibility of federal
funding support for this language (which, in accord with the European
Language Charter, has been officially recognized as a "regional"
language in the eight North German states), namely support equivalent to
federal funding that is already available for Germany's official
minority languages Danish, Frisian and Sorbian (Lusatian).  The
Institute had earlier reminded the Minister that the European Language
Charter mandates support of protection and promotion of Low German not
only on the state level but also on the federal level.  In his response
the Minister declared himself not responsible for this matter and passed
the buck to the Ministry of the Interior (_Innenministerium_, the German
equivalent of the British Home Office and the American Department of the
Interior).  The gist of the Ministry's convoluted response seems to be
that the Federal Government may indeed be responsible, that, however,
this would be the specific responsibility of the Federal Representative
for Culture and Cultural Media (apparently Nida-Rümelin) and that this
depended on his own expert opinion.  When the Institute approached
Nida-Rümelin again, he responded by saying that no language support
would be forthcoming as long as responsibility sharing between state and
federal government has not been clarified (which would be up to the
Prime Minister).  There was no response to the question why then other
language communities do receive federal funding.  For example, it is
already known that the Sorbian language community receives 1.64 million
euro this year.  Both the Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Press
Office refused to answer when asked how much funding had been made
available for the other language communities, referring the questioners
to each other.
(Further information: Dr. Claus Schuppenhauer at the Institut für
niederdeutsche Sprache, Bremen, Tel. (0421) 32 45 35; Bundespresseamt in
Berlin, Tel. (01888) 2 72 33 44; die Pressestelle des
Bundesinnenministeriums, Berlin, Tel. (01888) 6 81 11 04)

2.
There appears to be an effort to make arrangements for representation of
language minorities at the Bundestag (the German parliament).  Community
leaders of Danish, Frisian and Sorbian have already met with
governmental representatives with the intention of establishing a
special counsel for minority affairs, including background and
implications of the European Language Charter and insertion of a
minorities article in the constitution.
(Further information: MdB Wolfgang Börnsen, Berlin, Tel. (030)
227-77377)

***

COMMENTARY

So it's more of the same:

"Ratification of the European Language Charter?"
"Sure! (We're good Europeans.)"

"Special status for Low Saxon ("Low German")?"
"Well ... if you insist."

"Inclusion and support of Low Saxon?"
"Huh?! Hmmm ... Let's see ... (but don't hold your breath)."

When will the Low Saxon ("Low German") community wake up and smell the
coffee?  What does it take to understand that support requires political
clout, and political clout requires a united front and official
representative bodies equivalent to those of Germany's other minority
communities (Sydslesvigsk Forening and Sydslesvigske Samråd for Danish,
Frasche Rädj/Friesenrat for Frisian, and Domowina for Sorbian)?  The
Institut für niederdeutsche Sprache certainly stands out and must be
credited with courageously taking the lead regarding all the hot
issues.  Can it serve as the community's representative or at least as
the basis thereof, or are its academic-sounding name and pursuits
off-putting to the average local "Platt" club member who can barely
relate to the dialect a few miles down the country road, leave alone
relate to the concept of the language as a whole, as a language that is
independent from German?  Can anything else be expected after centuries
of German pressure on and "German"-labeling of the original Saxon
language of the land?

International awareness and connections add clout.  Sorbian, which
consists of two West Slavic languages, has right behind its back
Germany's Slavic-speaking neighbors with whom the government is keen to
improve relations after a troubled past.  North Frisian and Saterland
Frisian are linked with the Netherlands' Frisian community (Frasche
Rädj/Friesenrat/Fryske Rie).  The Danish community has Denmark right
across the border and can rely on a German-Danish agreement that
guarantees its rights and protection.  And whom does the "Low German"
community have?  Are not many of its leaders themselves guilty of
weakening its position by way of self-imposed isolation (in addition to
inherited fragmentation as a major weakness)?  Why do many of them still
feel uncomfortable and reticent vis-à-vis cross-border language
communities?  Even if for the moment we forget about the
Low-Saxon-speaking communities overseas (especially in the Americas),
there are sizeable Low-Saxon-speaking communities right next-door in the
eastern provinces of the Netherlands.  Why is the average German unaware
of this, and what is being done to rectify this to enable
(re-)unification?  Sure, there are dialectal and orthographic
differences -- Dutch influences on one side of the border and ("High")
German influences on the other side -- but nothing that cannot be
overcome and accommodated if there is a will and if there is some
preparedness to see and treat the language as a truly independent
entity, subordinate to neither Dutch nor German.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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