LL-L "Language survival" 2003.01.02 (01) [E/German]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Reuben Epp <repp at silk.net>
Subject: LL-L "Language survival" 2003.01.01 (03) [E/German/Spanish]

> From: botas(club) <botas at club-internet.fr>
> Subject: language survival
>
> Hi friends, happy new year,
>
> The following may be an old hat especially for plautdietsch specialist,
let
> alone plautdietsch speakers (do we have any on the list?),

I am indeed a Plautdietsch specialist, and have been studying the
dialect and its Plattdeutsch mother language for about 50 years.
I am glad that you did not ask for experts, because I think there are
none, and I do not claim to be one either.

> Wer sind die Hoerer. Die Hoerer sind vor allem Nachkommen von
> Russland-Mennoniten die urspruenglich im Weichseldelta in Westpreussen
> gelebt haben. Sie sind dann ab 1789 nach Suedrussland gewandert und haben
> dort ca 250 Jahre in Frieden gelebt.

"250 Jahre in Frieden gelebt?" Indeed! How could you get
farther from the truth This quote is completely without foundation
because the first organized movement of Mennonites to the Chortitza
settlement of the then New Russia took place in 1789, about 214
years ago. In the meantime, they have suffered through 80 or more
years of marauding raids by bandits, arrests and exile and/or
execution by Stalin's agents, as well as several famines. "
Reliability of information from this source is most questionable.

Reuben Epp

----------

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

Mike, Lowlanders,

There are indeed several Plautdietsch specialists as well as a number of
Plautdietsch speakers and Plautdietsch enthusiasts on this list.  I left it
to them to come forward (since, as you know, I protect subscribers'
privacy), and one of them has done so, above.

For those of you who are not already aware of it, Reuben Epp is indeed a
specialist in the area of Plautdietsch, as well as in Lowlands Saxon (Low
German) in general.  He has contributed much to the knowledge of the
Mennonite dialects here and elsewhere for many years.  Despite his apparent
absence of formal credentials and customary modesty, some might argue
that he is the closest thing to a Plautdietsch expert and/or authority and
that his
publications serve as sufficient credentials, of which the following be
listed
here (taken from our Low Saxon offline resources list):

Epp, Reuben (1993); The Story of Low German & Plautdietsch: tracing a
language across the globe; Hillsboro (USA): The Reader's Press
<psdirect at southwind.net>; ISBN 0-9638494-0-9. (Contains an excellent
introduction to the history and spread of the language, in English)

Epp, Reuben; (1995); 161 Plautdietsch verbs fully conjugated in all the
tenses and a writing system: a study to promote better understanding of the
Plautdietsch dialect of Low German. (in English)

Epp, Reuben (1996); The Spelling of Low German & Plautdietsch: toward am
official Plautdietsch orthography; Hillsboro (USA): The Reader's Press
<psdirect at southwind.net>; 1-9638494-1-7. (in English)

Epp, Reuben (1997); Dit un jant opp Plautdietsch (This and That in
Mennonite Low German); Hillsboro (USA): The Reader's Press
<psdirect at southwind.net>; ISBN 0-9638494-2-5; US $9.95. (in Mennonite Low
Saxon with English synopses)

We on Lowlands-L are fortunate and happy to have "Plautdietschers" among us,
and we who deal with the Lowlands Saxon (Low German) language in general
would do well to pay attention to that dialect (or dialect group), since it
is the only viable surviving West Prussian dialect and can teach us about
the languages once spoken east of today's German-Polish border as well as
about Lowland Saxon adoption of foreign elements other than German, Dutch,
English and French ones.  Furthermore, it can teach us another lesson about
the ability of our language to survive under adverse circumstances other
than those of German and Dutch pressures.

Those of you who are more specifically interested in Plautdietsch ought to
consider joining Plautdietsch-L, which, like Lowlands-L, is hosted by the
LINGUIST group of lists:
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/plautdietsch-l.html

By the same token, I wish that Plautdietsch-focused circles would become
more clearly aware of the fact that theirs is merely one variety among a
much larger group of language varieties.  Reuben Epp is one of the few
knowledgeable "Plautdietschers" who is all too aware of this and has been
bridging the unfortunate gap between "Plautdietschers" on the one hand and
speakers and students of the other dialects on the other hand.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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