LL-L "Language attitudes" 2003.01.27 (09) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 27.JAN.2003 (09) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language attitude

Earlier today I responded to Frank Verhoft's inquiry about notions of
culture and language hierarchies reflected in literary (e.g., Tolkin) and
academic works (e.g., Goad):

> I don't see why your inquiry (above) should be irrelevant to this list.

> Goad may have been a bit far on the edge, but my impression is that, by
and
> large, his writings reflect predominant or commonly accepted, at least
> tolerated attitudes at the time.  (I am not saying that they are *only* a
> matter of the past, but these days they tend to be kept under wraps.)

In my humble opinion, it still shows through when academics talk about
_Kultursprachen_, _cultuurtalen_, etc. ("culture-languages,"
"culture-bearing/supporting languages"), implying that some languages can be
named thus or advanced to that status at some point in their development
while others can not and did not.  I have a feeling that this goes hand in
hand with the notion of "high" (the opposite "low" usually being merely
implied or replaced by apparent euphemisms such as "dialect (group),"
"regional language" or "minority language").  I am under the impression that
what is meant by this term is linguae francae imposed by national or other
types of organizational superstructures, namely "state languages" (German,
Dutch, French, English, Chinese, etc.), "guild languages" (e.g., Latin and
Greek as the Western languages of learning) or "religious languages" (Latin
for Catholics, Old Church Slavonic for Slavonic Orthodoxy, Hebrew for Jews,
Arabic for Muslims, etc.).  Every other language variety is considered
hardly worthwhile by most people, as is its literature.  Written literature
is considered superior and a sign of high culture, while oral literature is
taken note of only at the fringes of anthropological and philological
research.  People get confused when writers start literary traditions using
languages that are not considered "culture languages" (e.g., Yiddish or
Swiss German), or restart them, as in the cases of Lowlands Saxon ("Low
German") and Scots.  Hence labels such as "regional literature" (which I
mentioned recently), in some cases "ethnic literature" (of ethnic
minorities), in my opinion to label them as "not quite legitimate,"
"subordinate" and "less important/valuable," or otherwise "limited" (hence
raised eyebrows or amusement when e.g. I present Chinese literary pieces
translated into Lowlands Saxon).

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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