LL-L "Language varieties" 2005.05.13 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 13.MAY.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
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West) Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Thomas Byro <greenherring at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2005.05.04 (07) [E]

Ron

I just found an uncut version of Harpo Speaks. Harpo appeared as a
performer in Moscow in 1934.  He was assisted by a Russian cast but
Harpo did not speak Russian.  Fortunately one of the actors spoke
Hochdeutsch.  Unfortunately, Harpo did not speak that language either.
 He said that he spoke to the actor in Plattdeutsch.  Harpo said "and
we could communicate, after a fashion."  I think that this definitely
makes Harpo a lowlander.

Tom Byro
>
> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Language varieties
>
> Hello, Devorah, and welcome among the verbal Lowlanders!  It is nice to
> witness your debut.
>
> As I said in response to Tom's question, I was fairly sure that we were
> not
> talking about either Low Saxon or Low Franconian (for which _Platt_ ~
> _plat_
> are used most often) but about a Lorraine dialect of German.
>
> Goes to show you where premature, flimsily based assumptions will lead you
> ...
>
> I'm now willing to reconsider this because I am not sure where
> Simon/Samuel
> (Yiddish Shimen > Shmuel) Marx was raised.  Apparently he left Germany for
> Lorraine to avoid conscription, but he, despite being called "Frenchy,"
> was
> proud of his "German" heritage and was delighted when his neighbors in
> Yorkville turned out to speak "Plattdeutsch."
>
> So, this may indeed be "Low German," most likely Low Saxon, if Harpo's
> father had come from Northern Germany.  Marx is definitely a common Jewish
> surname in Germany.  In fact, we have a bunch of Marx people married into
> my
> family who are of Jewish descent but (barely) sleazed by during the Nazi
> era
> because there was just the right number of generations between them and
> their latest decalred Jewish ancestor.  Yes, some of them did speak Low
> Saxon.
>
> [...]
>
> Hah!  Stop press!  I found the answer!  Yippee!  Samuel Marx was born and
> raised (until age 15) in ... Dorum!  Dorum is a North Sea resort town in
> the
> Land Wursten, state of Lower Saxony, so not far from our Jonny's old
> stomping ground ...  I even spent several weeks of summer camp in the very
> place!  It's a nice and verrry, verrry maritime rural place, not far south
> of Cuxhaven, in a formerly Frisian area (as you can tell by the name with
> "-um").
> http://www.nordseequelle.de/karte.htm
> http://www.sglandwursten.de/
>
> Woa!  Sam was one of us!  And that makes Harpo a Lowlander too!
>
> So now that I had a little debate with myself I conclude that this
> _Plattdeutsch_ thing (though I hate the name) was the real MacCoy.
>
> Regards,
> Reinhard/Ron

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