LL-L "Intelligibility" 2005.03.02 (09) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 02.MAR.2005 (09) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From:  speegled at slu.edu <speegled at slu.edu>
Subject: LL-L "Intelligibility" 2005.03.02 (05) [E]

> For Dutch speakers, German is quite easy to understand (without any study)
> but the other way around I don't know so sure.

When my wife and I were in Belgium and The Netherlands, we could
understand the Dutch and Flemish that was spoken, but they had a hard time
understanding our Afrikaans.  We realized later that if we told them we
were speaking Afrikaans and that we suspected they should be able to
understand it, then they could understand it.

Darrin [Speegle]

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From:  Ole Stig Andersen <osa at olestig.dk>
Subject: LL-L "Intelligibility" 2005.03.01 (10) [E]

> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Intelligibility

> (1) Intelligibility differs from person to person.
> (2) Etymological awareness and skills are useful in cross-language
> intelligibility.

Also

(3) Intelligibility varies from situation to situation, and from
subject/theme/topic to ...

(4) Intelligibility is enhanced/diminished by beliefs and ideology.
Case:
Until recently Danes, Norwegians and Swedes were uniformly taught in school
to believe that their three (well, four) lgs were mutually understandable.
And so they were/became, and still are, to a large degree.

(5) Intelligibility is asymmetrical.
Case:
Norwegians understand Danish best, then Swedish, both well
Danes understand Norwegian best, then Swedish (many not)
Swedes understand Norwegian best, then Danish (most not, despite the
ideology)

Summary:
Norwegian is Danish pronounced in Swedish (an old interScandinavian lg-joke)

Coclusion: There can be no meaningful objective measure of intelligibility,
just as there is no measure of correctness

(except, of course, within well-delimited tasks)

Ole Stig Andersen
http://www.olestig.dk/english

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