LL-L "Language varieties" 2010.02.11 (05) [DE-EN]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 11 February 2010 - Volume 05
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language varieties

Dear Lowlanders, especially those of you in or from the Netherlands,

What sort of language varieties do you think of when you come across the
German name *Platt-Holländisch* (in Dutch which would be something like *
Plat-Nederlands*)? Actually, literally it means *Plat-Hollands*, which to me
makes matters worse, even though *Holländisch* stands for
*Niederländisch*in old-fashioned speech.

An article published by Volker Holm PLATTNET.de (
http://nachrichten.plattnet.de) and written by Hans-Hermann Briese reports
about a recent meeting of writers from Eastern Friesland (Germany) and
writers from the northwestern parts of the Netherlands. (I’m happy they
did.) In the second paragraph it says:


 In Groninger oder Drenther Platt-Holländisch schreiben Siet Bootsmann, Aly
Freije, Jan Glas, Reinder Willem Hiemstra, Marga Kool, Lukas Koops, Henk
Puister, Suze Sanders, Jan Siebo Uffen, Tonko Ufkes, Jan Veenstra und Nina
Werkmann.


The name *Platt-Holländisch* (Dutch *Plat-Nederlands* and especially *
Plat-Hollands*) suggests to me *any* Dutch dialect that is not standard; in
old-fashioned parlance this includes the Low Saxon (*Nedersaksisch*)
dialects of the eastern provinces. As all of you know, these eastern
language varieties are now no longer considered part of *Nederlands* but
represent a language in its own right. In other words, they are not “Dutch,”
certainly not *Hollands*.

Most Netherlanders that know anything about it also assume that there is a
close relationship between these Low Saxon varieties and those of Northern
Germany, the ones persistently called *Plattdeutsch* or *Niederdeutsch*,
with this old insistence on *Deutsch*. Aside from dialectical differences,
those on the Netherlands’ side of the border have been Dutch-influenced and
are written with Dutch orthographic principles, while those east of the
border have been German-influenced and are written with German orthographic
principles. All of them are primarily descendants of the Old Saxon language,
not of Old Low Frankish (like Dutch) and not of Old “High” German. Because
the name *Sachsen* (Saxony) was hijacked to denote a Central-Frankish- and
Thuringian-speaking region, reference to genuine Saxony had do be marked by
“Low” (or “Nether”: *Nieder-, Neder-, Nedder-*), thus the German state being
called *Niedersachsen* in German and *Neddersassen* in Low Saxon.

But on the German side of the border, people can’t bring themselves to even
casually mention *Niedersächsisch* in reference to the language. It is
reserved for reference to the administrative unit. I am sure they assume
that doing so would confuse people. Well, the confusion comes from
ignorance: most people have not been taught that the ancestors of today’s
North Germans and Eastern Netherlanders were Saxons. If they knew this and
would at least be exposed to the name *Niedersächsisch* in reference to the
language, they would also understand why these particular writers from both
sides of the border choose to meet. They basically share the same language!
This is why Netherlanders like Jan Glas participate in the Freudenthal Prize
competition of Low Saxon ("Low German") literature held in Germany.

A little education goes a long way.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
Seattle, USA

•

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