LL-L "Language usage" 2005.05.06 (06) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 06.MAY.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
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West) Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Steven A Avey <saavey at ra.rockwell.com>
Subject: German language in Denmark

I recently saw a story from Deutsche Welle TV on the strenghtening of
cultural ties between Germany and Denmark. Specifically, great attention was
given to the teaching of German to the children of German-speaking Danes
living near the border with Germany. The story did not mention whether these
children were being taught Hochdeutsch or the local lowland language. Do any
of my fellow Lowlanders have any more precise details regarding this
situation? I'm curious as to whether the children speak Northern Low Saxon
or North Frisian at home, if at all, and learn Hochdeutsch in school. Since,
as Danes, they are also fluent in Danish, are we talking in fact about
trilingual children? Thanks in advance for any additional information!

Groete!
Steve Avey

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

Hello, Steve!

It's great to hear from you again.

We have several Schleswigers and Jutes on the List, and I assume they are
more knowledgeable about this than I am.  However, this subject is of great
interest to me, and I can share with you my general research findings:

(1) Low Saxon used to be the primary language throughout Schleswig and,
among the "German" minority, well north into Jutland proper.

(2) German encroachment on the Saxon language area affected these areas as
well and was strengthened there because of the military and administrative
tug of war between Germany and Denmark, shifting the border up and down,
irrespective of the wishes of the population, which also includes North
Frisians and Jutes, later also transplants from Germany and Denmark proper
(if you know what I mean).

(3) The rule of both Germany and Denmark over Schleswig-Holstein entailed
Germanization.  German policy had long been to ignore Low Saxon or pretend
that it was a German dialect group.  Unfortunately, Danish rule moving
southward, although more senstitive by not shoving Danish down people's
throats, followed the German pattern.  Copenhagen communicated with the
people of the area in German, not in their own languages (which might have
given Danish rule an edge as far as popularity is concerned).

(4) After the end of World War II, a Schleswig referendum determined the
Danish-German border as it is today, and the two countries agreed on
policies of protection and special dispensations for the (sizeable) "Danish"
minority of Germany and for the (sizeable) "German" minority of Denmark.
The labels "Danish" and "German" are very important here, in that they
signal attitudes and wishful thinking, precluding any Jutish and Low Saxon
considerations in both countries.  Danish schools in Germany teach in
Standard Danish with Standard German as the second language.  German schools
in Denmark teach in Standard German with Standard Danish as the second
language.  This includes kindergartens and pre-schools.

(5) Allocation of these broad labels "Danish" and "German" and the
consequent education policies do not favor the survival of local language
varieties, which would necessitate a system of at least three language
tiers.

(6) Jutish and Low Saxon have thus been fading away.  Jutish has hard enough
a time in Denmark, a harder time after Danish and German in Germany.  I
still heard Southern Jutish (Synnejysk/Sønderjysk) used on the German side
when I was a teenager, even on the radio, and I have been told that there
are Jutish language enthusiasts and local publications not only in Denmark
but also in Germany.  Low Saxon seems to have fared much worse, according to
my research.  While I am somewhat confident that some older Danish citizens
still speak it amongst themselves, it has disappeard from the general scene,
has gone the way that North Frisian went in Denmark.  All that is left are
place names as evidence of its former presence.

(7) I suspect that the fate of Low Saxon in Denmark was also influenced by
numerous members of the "German" minority deliberately de-Germanizing
themselves after Word War II.  Incidentally, this has also been occurring on
the German side, where "Germans" (many of whom learn Danish) joined the
"Danish" minority and adopted Danish as their first language, in part as a
matter of deliberate choice and in part because of intermarriage.  My hunch
is that this has been facilitated by the fact that many North Germans,
especially those far up north have never felt totally German, Standard
German being a relatively new language in their families.  So they had
started off as "different," and this meant less of a step for them.

(8) Several years now I have been trying to locate Low Saxon organizations
and individuals in Denmark, have written to local German organizations and
publications.  Nada!

(9) German in Denmark has developed its own Danish-influenced dialects, and
they do have Low Saxon substrates or influences (like most northern dialects
of German).  Danish, too, has developed special dialects in Germany, with
phonological, lexical and idiomatic German influences.  Low Saxon just south
of the border has clear Jutish influences, such as the absence of /z/,
besides lexical influences.  I assume that the same applies to the Low Saxon
dialects (once) spoken on the Danish side.  Southern Jutish has very strong
influences from Low Saxon, even sounds like Low Saxon when heard from a
distance, and its morphological structure makes it a link between North
German and West Germanic.

I feel that this is an example of what rough labeling can do.

I am fairly sure others have things to add here.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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