LL-L "Language varieties" 2009.06.12 (04) [EN]

[Lowlands-L List]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 12 June 2009 - Volume 04
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Language Codes: lowlands-l.net/codes.php
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From: Diederik Masure <didimasure at hotmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Grammar" 2009.06.12 (02) [EN]

Johnny: but in modern Westlauwer frisian it is kaam/kôm, hmm.
Greetings,
Diederik

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

Hey, Diederik!

Sure, and in Sater Frisian (the only surviving variety of East Frisian) it
is *koom*, in Fering (Föhr North Frisian) it's *kaam*, etc.

http://lowlands-l.net/anniversary/seeltersk.php
http://lowlands-l.net/anniversary/fering.php
http://lowlands-l.net/anniversary/frysk-info.php

But you seem to be assuming that *kweym* etc. in Eastern Friesland Low Saxon
is due to a Frisian substratum. It doesn't have to be. Apart from having
Frisian substrata, these Low Saxon varieties tend to be rather "archaic",
conservative within a purely Low Saxon context as well.

After the Saxon and Dutch political takeovers resulted in the loss of local
Frisian language varieties, East Frisians began to cling to their own
varieties of Low Saxon as one expression of their ethnic identity. Their
linguistic and cultural expressions of East Frisian identity aim at
distinguishing them from other speakers of Low Saxon. Linguistically, their
forms of Low Saxon have been serving as substitutes for lost Frisian ones.
But this is not to say that their distinction relies entirely on Frisian
substrata. Being used in Germany, lots of Dutch loanwords play another role,
going back to periods when Eastern Friesland was ruled or otherwise directly
influenced by the Netherlands.

According to my experiences, most East Frisians embrace their Frisian roots,
unlike most Low Saxon speakers of Groningen who live nextdoor to relatively
"powerful" communities of West (Westerlauwer) Frisian speakers from whom
their want to distinguish themselves. I am pretty sure that the average
speaker of East Frisian Low Saxon can not distinguish Low Saxon archaisms
(such as *kweym*) from forms that owe to Frisian substrata. Just as long as
it's different from Low Saxon outside their region! I've been told that the
Low Saxon translations of the Harry Potter series were pretty much rejected
in Eastern Friesland because they were written in a "foreign" dialect.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
Seattle, USA

•

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