LL-L "Orthography" 2005.09.24 (03) [E/F]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 24.SEP.2005 (03) * 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: Henno Brandsma <hennobrandsma at hetnet.nl>
Subject: LL-L "Orthography" 2005.09.23 (12) [E]

> From: Críostóir Ó Ciardha <paada_please at yahoo.co.uk>
> Subject: LL-L "Names" 2005.09.23 (08) [E]
>
> Our Henno wrote:
> "The North Frisian spelling system (that all dialects except
> Halunder/Helogolandic use) does use some HG diacritic signs but is
> quite
> phonological. Length is always denoted by doubling the vowel...
> (yes, also a
> Scandinavian influence)... with e denoting schwa. There is no
> consonant
> doubling."
>
> I find this Finnish-type system a very effective and efficient way of
> spelling, applicable to many languages (even Irish and Cornish). I
> have
> tried to use it in my more recent attempts at writing Nottingham
> English.
> Could the North Frisian system be applied to Westerlauwer Frisian
> or are the
> sound systems of the two dialect continua too different for this to
> work? If
> I may be candid, I must admit I find the current Westerlauwer spelling
> system undecipherable in terms of pronunciation.
>
> Go raibh maith agat,
>
> Criostóir.
>
>

It could be applied to Westerlauwer Frisian as well. There has been a
system proposed along these lines in an old issue of Us Wurk (a WF
linguistic journal), though with some modifications: using ú instead
of ü
and û instead of u, because of the connotations of Dutch spelling
(that all children learn before Frisian spelling).
This system came down to this:
long vowels are doubled: so we get

uu [u:] vs u [u] (buuk (beech tree, Dutch beuk), buk (book), now both
spelled boek, also buk = belly, Dutch buik, now spelled as bûk)
úú [y:] vs ú [y] (túúch (Dutch tuig, gear for a horse), túch (weed,
dust (sometimes) Dutch onkruid), now both spelled túch)
yy [i:] vs y [i], ([i:] is now denoted by "ii" in closed and "i" in
open syllable, while [i] in closed syllable is written "y", in open
syllable "i" )
minimal pair: wyyd vs wyt (wide vs white), now written wiid en wyt.

üü [ö:] (like Dutch steun) vs ü (like Dutch u, German ü (though these
are slightly different).
Now the spelling eu is used for the former (a French --> Dutch loan
spelling).
ii [e:] vs i [I] (now ee, and i in closed syllable, with doubling).
This breaks with the "ii" = [i:] tradition
as well as that the "ee" is misleading. The new system doesn't have a
ee anymore.
oo [o:] vs o [o] (as it is now, and in Dutch as well, except without
the doubling / open-syllabe rule)

åå [O:] vs å [O]. (ô and its double would have been ok as well, I
suppose, but this is a North Frisian tradition,
while ô for [O:] is a West Frisian one: the diacritic denotes length
(most of the time).
So rååk (now rôk, =skirt, opposes with rook (same spelling now) =smell.
ää [E:] vs ä [E] (instead of ê and e (in closed syllable)), so bääd
(bed) but bäter (better).

aa [a:] vs a [a], no problem. Of course, the non-doubling will lead
to a lot of mispronounciations at first....
e denotes schwa only

For the dipthongs, the falling ones in schwa end in e: so "ue", "üe",
"ie", "ye", "oe" exist
and correspond to what now is spelled "oe", "ue", "ea", "ie" and "oa"
respectively.
So some combinations change pronounciation.
Also "ij" would be written "äi" and "ei" would be "ai" (or "äi, for
those in the east: here one
sees a small problem of such spellings: the "ei" didn't have to chose
between these options,
but now we do have to choose...). Also ou and au would merge in
"au" (as most people pronounce both
with first component closer to a then to o. Rising diphthongs would
be written with w (bilabial w) (or j)
while labiodental w would be written "v". Optionally I believe, one
could use w for both and let context
decide the pronounciation (as minimal pairs exist but are rare, like
"wa(r)t" vs "va(r)t".
  I believe the non-pronounciation of r's would not be written as
this was a regular rule and writing
the r's made the words easily recognisable (r before dentals is not
pronounced).

So eg the famous sentence "bûter, brea en griene tsiis" would become
"buter, brie in gryene tsyys",
quite a transform....

Ik sue vol prebjärje kine åt ik dit systiim res en skåft skrjuwe kin,
om et fwar däi makleker te maitsjen om te
sjän hu åt Wästerlauwer Frysk noo ains útsprütsen vürt.... Et sjüt
der vol våt núúver út.

Mei freonlike groetnis
(mai früenleke gruetnis)

Henno Brandsma

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