LL-L "Language evolution" 2004.04.01 (04) [D/E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 01.APR.2004 (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) N=Northumbrian
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From: Roger Thijs, Euro-Support, Inc. <roger.thijs at euro-support.be>
Subject: Language evolution

I have been reading this in a magazine for local history of the municipality
of Dilsen, in the Limburgish Maas valley, Belgian side (Thilesna, Vol. 18,
nr. 2, April-June 2004, Dilsers dialect, p 47):

-- quote:
uch: = u
- "Bîej uch" = bij u (thuis)
- "dat is van uch" = van u.
Dat taal leeft, zien we in het volgende:
"dat book is van dich" is de vertrouwelijke vorm d.w.z. de vorm die we
gebruiken wanneer men met gelijken onder elkaar is,
zijn we bij ouderen, meerderen dan zeggen we in ons dialect "dat book is van
uch",
- "dat is eur book" wordt meer en meer (bij de jongeren) "dat is uch book".
-- end quote

In my West-Limburgish, one says:
Dië boek es van _oech_
Dat es _oere_ boek
(oer"+e" because it is masculine in my dialect)
[Comment: when we were learning French, age 10 in primary school in
Tongeren, in Limburgish Hanspengouw, we were advized to use the same gender
in French as we used in our local dialect: If I remember wel "de boter"
(fem.in dialect) le beurre (masc.) was one of the very few exceptions.]

Wat would sound very strange and, totally incorect to me, would be,
similar to the way young people in Dilsen speak:
Dat es _oech_ boek. (&§!!%£ùµ#"ggrrrrrr..)

So in just one generation the language is simplifying (deteriorating?) on
key gramatical elements.
I guess Dutch may have influenced:
Dat boek is van u
Dat is uw boek

An other loss of expressions seams to me in:
Bîej uch" = bij u (thuis)

In my (West-)Limburgish:
turres: bij u thuis (at your home)
tezennes: bij hem thuis (at his home; reflexive or not)
teheures: bij haar thuis (at her home; reflexive or not)
toës: bij mij thuis (at my home)
toës iëte: (eat at my/our home)
tos: naar mij huis, huiswaarts (to my home)
tos gon: naar huis gaan (go home)

What we have lost in (West-)Limburgish are the "dich" forms, since we use
"dzjië" for both singular (polite or not) and plural.

Can one say simplification of grammar is a standard process (rapidly
progressing)?
Can one say features of competing languages may accelate simplification?
Can one say preservation of dialects suffers from the lack of
standardization by a written and accepted grammar, which ensures some
conservation of features by defining/imposing rules,

Regards,

Roger

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