LL-L "Language politics" 2010.08.04 (02) [EN]

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*L O W L A N D S - L - 04 August 2010 - Volume 02*

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From: DAVID COWLEY <DavidCowley at anglesey.gov.uk>

Subject: LL-L "Language politics" 2010.08.03 (02) [AF-EN]



A future for Low Saxon? Look at the history of Welsh from the 1960s, when
Welsh had a far lower official standing, but over 500 000 speakers.



Some of the key areas of action since then have been:



- Widespread official use of Welsh in signs and documents - Safeguarding of
availability of services through Welsh, particularly where the language is
strongest; this means many Welsh-essential jobs in many government depts,
local authorities, and other agencies - Safeguarding of Welsh-medium primary
education in traditionally Welsh-speaking areas, extension of high school
education Welsh education in these areas - Govt-supported/ funded Welsh TV
and radio - Support for Welsh schools in English-speaking areas (in which
there are now many schools) - support for Welsh publishing



The policy was to make Welsh used in as many areas of modern life as
possible - that one has the option to use Welsh as much as they'd like to.
Note the point about Welsh-essential jobs: the message to the young is that
its worth doing well in Welsh, and for parents the message is that sending
your children to a bilingual school will mean better job prospects.
Particularly in areas where Welsh has been strong, this combination of
support (as listed above) has I think done much to stabalise the situation
and many people are proud to use their Welsh. In the more English-speaking
areas, the numbers of young Welsh speakers are rising, and whilst many may
not use it much outside school, the value of bilingualism in terms of better
school results seems also to play a part in keeping the demand rising. Not
perfect, and there are cases where there are still problems, but by and
large, Welsh is quite well shielded from erosion.



If Low Saxon (and North Friesian also) are going to be saved, I'd suggest
they'd need these kinds of background support. In Wales, there was enough
organisation and support to make that happen, and (maybe crucially) numbers
of people - often well educated and respected - willing to break the law as
last resorts, and go to prison, to get these things. I think the potential
for any European language to do well and survive is very much in the hands
of its speakers - are there enough of them who can be bothered to make the
effort to push the case for change?



(btw I don't know much about Afrikaans, and whilst it is I think it has
become more widely known that the British were (sadly) very cruel to Boer
families in 1899-1902, I think its true to say that earlier the Boers had
cruelly hunted out the native San (bushmen) and others from the land
themselves. Then lately, having ruled S Africa along racial lines 'with an
iron fist' for several decades, it isn't so surprising that Afrikaans finds
itself much lower down the pecking-order now)



David Cowley



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