LL-L "Accents" 2005.02.24 (06) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 24.FEB.2005 (06) * 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: Jacqueline Bungenberg de Jong <Dutchmatters at comcast.net>
Subject: Accents


Gary claims not to like the sound of Dutch. He is not the only one. Way long
ago my Austrian friend Nicky Pfusterschmidt coined the following –
unforgettable – judgment: “Dutch is not a language; it is a disease of the
throat”.

As a speaker of BABN ( bekakt, algemeen beschaafd Nederlands ), I must
confess that every time I come back there I am shocked by the harshness of
the pronunciation of “g” and “ch”, especially in Amsterdam, and I shudder
when I hear people, even members of parliament, speak with the emphatic
diphtongs of modern Polderdutch. (kaiken instead of kijken).  Interesting
enough, that is a reflection of the sociopolitical scene. My “Twentse”
cousins now speak with a very soft Saxon “zoom”,  when on the other side of
the IJssel, where they would not have done that when they were children or
at University. I must confess I like it. And so it goes…. Jacqueline

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From: grietje at menger.fsnet.co.uk <grietje at menger.fsnet.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Accents" 2005.02.24 (02) [E]

Why does the Northern Irish (or Ulster) accent sound strident to me? Coming
home in the car this evening, I was listening to PM (current affairs program
on BBC Radio 4). Two Northern Irish gentlemen were interviewed and I tried
to analyse what it was that made them sound strident to me. I found the
constant upward inflection of sentences or even parts of sentences quite
trying. Both gentlemen had that inflection. It comes over as pushy, to me.
The actor, oh come on, what's this guy's name, from Belfast, James .... .
Anyway, his name escapes me. He's got a natural accent, and I think this
inflection bit has gone out in acting class.

Another strident accent, I feel is people from Pakistan speaking English -
specifically Pakistani living in Britain. Now, I always feel that has
something to do with the uncertainty of not speaking one's mother tongue. I
can't for the life of me recall whether Pakistani tend to speak with upward
inflection too, but quite possible. Then again, Pakistan is a big country
and I wouldn't recognise one regional accent from another.

An accent in Frysk, or when speaking Dutch that I've always found peculiar
is from a particular easterly region. That's always come over as whiny to
me. But that could have something to do with my aunt who, if she could,
would spend 24/7 on the couch in the living room ;-)).

Grietje Menger

Scotland

Who thinks that Dutch people speaking English sound very "dry", which makes
them immediately recognisable, even on one word only.

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From: Ben Bloomgren <ben.bloomgren at asu.edu>
Subject: LL-L "Accents" 2005.02.24 (02) [E]

"Finnish was cute"

Gary, I think that I know their linguistic logic about Finnish. When you
hear accentless Finnish, it sounds stern and unfeeling. I feel the same
about accentless High German. It sounds too perfect. It reminds me of the
real uppity king's English that we hear in commercials that stereotype rich
people.

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From: Brooks, Mark <mark.brooks at twc.state.tx.us>
Subject: LL-L "Accents" 2005.02.24 (02) [E]

Gary wrote: "I (sorry really don't want to offend huge swathes of
Lowlanders) personally don't find Dutch too attractive - too many g/ch
sounds which automatically to my ears sound ugly."

Many years ago I was hitch-hiking around Europe and met up with a guy my age
from Amsterdam.  We went separate ways before getting to Holland, but he
invited me to his house when we would both be there.  I looked him up and
went to visit.  I went to his house and ate dinner there.  I met his sister
and another friend.  When they spoke to each other in Dutch, it seemed all I
heard was the g/ch sound.  That was my experience for all of my visit in
Amsterdam.  I met quite a few other Dutch people, because my friend got me
in with the Orange Vrij Staat and I lived in a "gekraakt huis" for about 6
weeks.  I tried to pick up a little Dutch while I was there, but I didn't
really get very much.  I just remember the difficulty I had saying something
like "Ik heeft hem geen geld gegeven."

Now, fast forward some 30+ years.  I was harkening back to my "glory days"
and I googled the name of one of my "gekraakt huis" huismates.  Whadaya
know?  It came up!  Not only did it come up, but he had his own website, and
he had turned out to be a film director.  I emailed him and we carry on a
correspondence even now.  He came thru Texas a little over a year ago and
stopped by our house.  He was doing a cross-country driving tour with his
daughter who is now about 27 years old.  When I listened to the two of them
talking to each other in Dutch, I hardly heard any of those g/ch sounds.
But, when I watch those news videoclips on De Telegraaf's website, I heard
those g/ch sounds very often.  What gives?  Were they  speaking a two-person
dialect?

Mark Brooks

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