LL-L "Language varieties" 2007.11.25 (05) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  -  25 November 2007 - Volume 05
Song Contest: lowlands-l.net/contest/ (- 31 Dec. 2007)
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From: Paul Finlow-Bates <wolf_thunder51 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Resources" 2007.11.25 (02) [E]

Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2007.11.24 (09) [E]

Roger and Reinhard,
Thanks for the info on the Rhine area speech, always interesting to hear the
variety that's out there.  They obviously don't use it with foreigners
though, everyone I spoke to in Cologne and surrounds (Bergische Land) seemed
to use Standard German, so I naturally assumed that was what they spoke.
Germany, and much of Europe, seems much more bilingual in that respect than
England.  People with regional accents and dialects make little attempt to
"standardise" for foreigners, and virtually none at all for other Britons.

Paul Finlow-Bates

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

Hi, Paul!

People don't use anything but Standard German with outsiders if they can
help it, or they will use the outsider's language if they know it.

To some degree this applies in England also (substitute "English" for
"German"), though there will always be "accents." However, unlike in
Britain, speaking non-standard language has not yet received the general nod
of approval. The results of indoctrination of the ideal of "one country -
one ethnicity - one language" have a long way to go on their way out,
especially with regard to languages that are obviously related to German.
This indoctrination has affected native speakers and their descendants as
much as those that grew up with German only. This is not going to go away
terribly quickly, especially in more conservative-dominated communities that
have a culture of rejecting change (*any* change) because to them "change"
is synonymous with "outsiders' meddling." So if you ask people to speak to
you in their local language, many will find this very strange, because they
have come to believe that their language is private and improper, that you
as an outsider should not be involved in it. When a foreigner, especially an
"exotic-looking" one, speaks "dialect," many people will point this out as
an amusing anomaly.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

•

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