LL-L "Resources" 2002.11.15 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 15.NOV.2002 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
               V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Holger Weigelt <platt at holger-weigelt.de>
Subject: LL-L "Resources" 2002.11.15 (01) [E]

> From: Tony Coyote <tonycoyote29 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.11.14 (01) [E]
>
> "I suppose you don't really understand written Low
> Saxon, I don't blame you, the opportunities to learn
> my native tongue these days are just too small."
>
> i'm extremely interested in learning low saxon. could
> you be of any help in that? i found a few pages that
> had some of the grammar and stuff.
>
> Tony
>
> ----------
>
> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Resources
>
> Tony,
>
> It is good to know that you are interested in learning our language.  It
is
> still difficult to advise people as to how best to go about it and what
> material to use, because ...
>
> (1) there is currently no textbook or tutor in English, most materials
being
> in German and Dutch,
> (2) there is no standard variety of Lowlands Saxon (Low German), nor is
> there a standard
>    spelling system.
>
> If you have not already done so, please take a look at our resource
guides:
>
> * Online material:
> Go to our website (http://www.lowlands-l.net/), then to Resources and then
> "Links", and choose Low Saxon (Low German).
>
> * Offline material:
> Go to our website (http://www.lowlands-l.net/), then to Resources and then
> Offline Material , and choose Low Saxon (Low German).
>
> I hope this will help for now.  Hopefully material in English will be
> developed with time.  Unfortunately, most LS scholars and activists are
very
> limited and insular in their thinking (after centuries of suppression of
the
> language) and have a hard time catching on to the possibility that people
in
> the rest of the world might be interested in our language, so they tend to
> dismiss as unfeasible any proposal to develop teaching material in
English.
> Should this continue, developing such material might be up to us outside
> Europe.
>
> Good luck!
> Reinhard/Ron
>
Hello Tony, hello Ron !
There is an other problem in making an English textbook of LS You didn't
mention yet:
Much of the work is done by enthusiasts who spend much time for the
language
but have to do this besides their everyday life with family job etc. and
therefore they are glad to be able to publish their research results in
the
nearest language which most of the interested people will be able to
read.
It's the same with me. I know there are people around the world
interested
in our language and this knowledge made me think of an English
translation
of my work on grammar and phonology of EFLS (at least because of those
people in the USA inheriting from Eastern Friesland who are interested
in
the language of their ancestors) but first I'll be glad if one day I'll
have
finished the German version. And more: We have to do work for the actual
speakers. They must be tought in their own language because so much is
lost
already. We have to do conservative work and make textbooks for our own
people primarily. To publish in English then often is a thought very far
away.
Regards
Holger

----------

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Resources

You made some very valid points in your response.  Yes, it *is* a matter
of priorities while time is running out.

I do not wish to contradict you fundamentally -- and, as I said, I find
your points quite valid -- however, I would like to try and open another
door, to an alternative viewpoint, just for you and others to consider
alternative strategies.

Let's look at what we have:

(1) As you correctly said, there are many people outside Northern
Germany and the Eastern Netherlands (the actual Saxon-speaking areas)
that are interested in our language.  And I put it to you that people of
"Platt" heritage are only a fraction of this population (judging alone
by the mail I receive from all over the world).

(2) Inertia and narrow-mindedness "thrive" (or better to say, "rest most
comfortably") in environments that are familiar, predictable,
non-challenging and, very importantly, "private," i.e., not observed or
watched by the outside world. "Thinking outside the box" and "looking
across one's backyard fence" are activities few people take up
voluntarily.  These activities usually require a type of threat or
crisis situation, or any other type of unusual, uncomfortable situation,
before most people will consider them.  Northern Germany's past and
present suppression and neglect of "Platt" (and I do not want to speak
for the Netherlands here) has been in large part favored by the fact
that the people involved believe it is a "private," "internal" affair,
one that the rest of the world knows and cares nothing about or that is
nobody else's business.  The "suppressors" and "neglectors" (like human
rights abusers) thus think they can get away with it (and they usually
do) because no one that matters knows about it, while those that wish
things were different -- the average language activists -- moan and
groan in privacy or preach to the choir at their local _Stammtisch_ and
then return to their corners and thus into relative isolation.

I put it to you, that time and effort set aside for "exposing" the
situation "beyond the backyard fence" and even beyond the horizon can be
time and effort well spent, because it brings the previously "private"
affair out into the open and thus is likely to create international
attention, support and pressure as rewards.  International attention is
a type of pressure that can be very effective, because it puts the local
powers that be one notice ("We're watching you!" -- as is done in the
case of human rights watches), and it lends hometown activism support,
at least moral support.  Would Lowlands Saxon (Low German), Limburgish,
Scots, Romany, etc., now be officially recognized and at least
officially be entitled to support had it not been for *international*
(in this case EU) attention and action?  I think not.

And these would be rewards over and above giving the rest of the world
opportunities to get to know and appreciate your "little" language and
thus to put it on the map.

Having offered you another twist of the story, I put it to you that
setting some (admittedly scarce) time and effort  aside for creating
relevant material in English would be a worthwile step in this
direction.  What our own Collin Wilson has done by publishing the first
ever Scots textbook (aside from his and other Lowlanders' considerable
Scots-related online contributions) is something of this type.  However,
the difference, an advantage, is that in this case English is both the
local power language (the one that overshadows Scots) and the global
lingua franca (the language that offers the world access).  In the case
of LS (or Limburgish, Zeelandic, etc.) we would just have to go one step
farther, beyond the usual German and Dutch straight to English.  I
believe there is some demand and something of this nature can be done,
at least a couple of baby steps in that direction, without enormous
investment.  As in so many cases, where there was nothing, a little bit
can go a long way.

'n Gouden wind in Juun sails!

Reinhard/Ron

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