LL-L "Orthography" 2003.10.08 (14) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 08.OCT.2003 (14) * 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) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Anja Meyfarth <anja-meyfarth at t-online.de>
Subject: LL-L "Orthography" 2003.10.08 (02) [E]

Moin Lowlanders!

Holger wrote:

> If You had read my different postings on this matter You'd know that I
never
> insisted on convincing a speaker of Dithmarschen or elsewhere outside
> Eastern Friesland. I always highlighted the fact that my proposals are
based
> in my experiences with and work about Eastern Friesland Low Saxon which in
> some respect is different from LS of other regions possibly making my
> orthography not interchangeable (?).

I fear you will get the problem of splitteringup the dialects. I once again
tell you that it is very hard for me to read your orthography because Im not
so used to the dialect you write. It is NOT in my ears. Of course speakers
of East frisian Low Saxon don't have that problem. Splittering up the
orthographies of the dialects even more than they are already today will
make it impossible to sell books any longer. Low Saxon is in need of an
orthography that can be read by speakers from the Netherlands till
Vorpommern (and their descendants elsewhere in this world). That craves an
orthography that is moving away from the specialities of a certain dialect.
You see my argument? Even today authors of a certain region don't sell their
books in other areas. That has to be changed.

> Standardization mustn't be fixed in laws but I'm convinced it'll help if
You
> haven't up to six different possibilities to write the same word. That is
> what speakers of EFLS tell me the difficulty to read LS is.

Well, it's getting worse with a special orthography for EFLS. Than speakers
from Dithmarschen will refuse even more to read EFLS literature...

> But thats not
> all. As long as we try to make written LS look as if it was German our
> readers won't develop a feeling for having a language of their own instead
> of a kind of falsified German.

That change has to be made in the heads as a principle. I don't think that a
change in orthography will help making that change. It is a very long way to
go still.

> A real literary language is much higher estimated and will increase in
> prestige.

First you have to get them read "real literature". And see it on stage by
the way...

> A fixed orthography is one aspect to achieve this. The other is a system
of
> grammatical rules.

There are grammatical rules. No language can be spoken without grammatical
rules. They are already LS grammar(s), f.ex. in "Sprachführer Plattdeutsch",
Quickborn-Verlag, Hamburg, ISBN 3-87651-204-2.

> Together these possibly can help to stop the actual process of language
loss
> in the only spoken language. This process is a combination of features
like
> replacing LS sounds by German ones (for example ~sg~~ more and more
becomes
> German ~sch~ [S]), loss of genuine vocabulary, replacing prepositions and
> other short structural words which differ from German by those alternating
> to German ones, using German syntax patterns and generally losing LS
> thinking what means many actual LS speakers just do a kind of translation
> from German while speaking.

Quite a lot of them might do, as I am myself. Don't forget that it might be
a foreign language to many of them.

> About the interference of writing and speaking there already has been said
> enough in recent postings (Ron's for example). If we have defined rules of
> grammar it will be possible also to relearn how to make LS sentences or to
> use genuine vocabulary and confirm speakers to stay in their language
> instead of moving to German patterns.

Well, the lack of a real big dictionary is sharply hurting me. As I wrote
some time ago, I'm working with three dictionaries in the least, sometimes
referring to other dialects as the one I've learned to get away from words
sounding to much German.

> Of course You are right - Kiel is so far away from Eastern Friesland that
> nobody there might ever speak LS correctly - why do You think me to write
my
> reply in English ? :))

Because of all the poor guys in this list that are not speaking LS and might
find it hard to read it. *verybiggrinfromeartoear*

> Back to start: I did my proposal for EFLS only. This variant of LS was and
> is written in an odd German based orthography which doesn't fit neither
it's
> phonology nor it's grammatical structures. Nevertheless it is told to be
> based on the so called Brookmer Platt (the local variant of the
Brookmerland
> in the Aurich-area).

And again: Don't split up the dialects of LS more than they already are! It
will kill the language by dividing it. IMHO.

Greetings from Kiel,

Anja

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