LL-L "Language varieties" 2007.12.01 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  01 December 2007 - Volume 05
Song Contest: lowlands-l.net/contest/ (- 31 Dec. 2007)
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From: Luc Hellinckx <luc.hellinckx at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "What does it mean?"

Beste Ron,

You wrote:
> Unrounding of front rounded vowels (/ü/ -> i, /ö/ -> e) is a feature
> of a large percentage of Eastern Low Saxon and Eastern German
> dialects. The same goes for palatalization of velars (/g/ -> gj -> j,
> /k/ -> kj -> tj), which is even more widespread in the east. In most
> varieties (such as the Mennonite and other Pomeranian ones) it applies
> only before front vowels, while in others (such as those in and around
> Berlin) it applies in all environments (hence Low Saxon remnants such
> as /gut/ > /jut/ 'good' and /ganz/ > /janz/ 'whole' in Berlin German).
> I assume that these shifts, which also applied in Yiddish, are mostly
> due to Slavonic influences or rather substrates (since a large
> percentage of speakers' ancestors used to be Slavonic speakers).

Ripuarian (Öcher Platt for example) has g > j as well: "Geht ganz gut" >
"Jeht janz jot"

Slavonic influence looks unlikely to me in this case (well, not until
the 20th century in the Ruhrgebiet).

Or could it be the other way round? The southwestern part of the Mark
Brandenburg (Teltow-Fläming) got populated by numerous settlers from the
West during the Middle Ages. Even today, this is linguistically still
visible in dozens of peculiar loanwords (cf.: TEUCHERT, HERMANN, - Die
Sprachreste der niederländischen Siedlungen des 12.Jahrhunderts).

So I wonder if some Ripuarians may not have exported this feature eastward?

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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

Thanks, Luc.

I think that's a definite possibility, though it would imply that
immigration from the Rhine area and west of it to the eastern areas was
stronger or more influential than I had believed it was. But, yes, it may
have been. Why, people even moved there from Scotland!

Fleming, Flemming, Fläming, etc. occurs as a surname as well, especially in
the Brandenburg region.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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