LL-L "Introduction" 2005.01.23 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 23.JAN.2005 (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: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Introduction

Dear Lowlanders,

You may or may not have noticed that our new Lowlander Jonny Meibohm (but
not a "Jonny-come-lately") recently introduced himself in German and Low
Saxon and that I twisted his arm to allow us to post it as one of the
personal introductions to our 10th anniversary site currently under
construction.

In order to allow Jonny to reach more people, I have made an English
translation (mostly on the basis of the Low Saxon version) and will add it
to the anniversary site along with Jonny's originals. Please find it below.

Each time I read a new introduction for the anniversary site I marvel and
delight in the fact that our members truly come not only from all over the
world but also from all walks of life.  Jonny's intro makes me wonder how
many other people like him might be out there that are interested but don't
quite muster the courage to join us because they feel intimidated by what to
them seems an unreachable level of erudition among the "vocal" members.
This makes me wonder if we ought to add a special brief, encouraging blurb
onto our homepage.  What do you think about this?

On individual levels you could help by sending me brief (1-12 paragraph)
introductions of yourselves for the anniversary site (with a picture each if
possible). You do not need to divulge anything that you consider too
private, just something that tells people what Lowlands-L means to you and
something that tells people that anyone (nice) is welcome and needs not feel
afraid.  You do not need to be a genius writer or a genius anything. If you
are uncomfortable writing in English, by all means right in your native
languages or in non-native languages with which you feel more comfortable.
These do not necessarily have to belong to the Lowlands range.  If they are
languages none of our team can read, we'd post it anyway, and you could in
one way or another help us to translate it into English.  We'd do the
"polishing."  At any rate, we'd make sure you don't feel embarrassed.

We are aiming launching the anniversary pages (at least List-internally) in
the middle of March, and we will need some time for translations and
preparations.  So, the sooner you can send your intros the better.

Thanks in advance!
Reinhard/Ron

P.S.: A word to Jonny: Some of us do not only *sound* like friends, but we
*are* friends.  Some of us go back a long way and have corresponded and
collaborated off the list, have even met each other in person. I dare say we
are not exclusive cliques of cronies, and you don't need to hang around for
donkey years to be accepted.  We welcome anyone to join us, and this totally
without regard to their origins, "races," ages, educational levels and
specialties, genders, religions, sexual orientations, or whatever.  And, as
I mentioned to you before, we stay away from seeing individuals as
representatives of the countries, ethnic groups or whatever communities they
happen to be associated with.  We are all individuals that share certain
interests, and that's all that matters.

***

My translation of Jonny's introduction:


Dear members of this worthy organization,

Before introducing myself, as you seem to request, I would like to say a few
words to allow you to get an inkling of what makes me tick.

Beginning with a few weeks before I joined you I followed your interesting
exchanges in your open archive. Your erudition has impressed me just as much
as the friendly and courteous way you carry on your discussions.
Occasionally I sense almost something like friendship between individual
members.

I am afraid I can not reach your level. However, already as a young person I
started being keen on everything that had anything to do with languages and
their origins. It seems to me that in a gathering of people that pursue more
or less identical goals I might be able to learn quite a bit if you allow me
to and if I may occasionally ask the odd naïve question.

As to me, I am past the age of fifty and live near Bremerhaven in Lower
Saxony. In the earlier part of my life I was a manual worker at a shipyard,
later one of the managers. At school and at work I learned a bit about
modern and old languages. Some of my friends and acquaintances were
specialists and inspired me to develop languages and related matters as a
hobby area of interest.

I was fortunate in that I grew up with Low German (Low Saxon) as a second
native language (after High German). This may well be the reason why I am
particularly partial to the North Sea Germanic language groups. Little
wonder, thus, that I am pleased about the idea of your organization. It
seems to me that this is a very good place for investigating and preserving
ancient linguistic connections and to shine a light or two into the dark.

There are other, apparently similar Internet organizations. However, it
tends to become scary when you investigate them closely: they tend to be
pervaded by (not only German) racist, pseudo-elitist and totally fascist
garbage. And here it is quite the opposite: people occasionally stray off to
topics, languages and communities that lie outside the self-imposed
parameters. I sure like that, for it points to global, open-minded ways of
thinking. This encourages me to assume that this sort of thing applies
within the group as well.

Finally, in case I ever get lost in the area of old languages, I hope I may
ask you for guidance. After all, sometimes it is necessary to listen to the
opinions of like-minded people.

Best regards,
Jonny

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