<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">L O W L A N D S - L - 07 August 2007 - Volume 05</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">=========================================================================</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">From: </span><span id="_user_k9mw@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148); font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Mike Wintzer <<a href="mailto:k9mw@yahoo.com">k9mw@yahoo.com</a>
></span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Subject: LL-L "Language maintenance" 2007.08.06 (06) [E]</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Ron, you advised:</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> <blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<div>"...you
quoted not me but David Clark who wrote that in response to my request
for responses." My apologies to you both, Ron and David<br><br>Ron, you continue then:</div> <div> </div> <div>we
would expect speakers to welcome boosts from the outside and, perhaps
more importantly, recognition and appreciation on the part of
"outsider." While this may be true in some cases, it is more often the
case that "outsiders" are discouraged. </div> <div> </div> <div>It's the collection of all the reasons that you advance.</div> <div>Here in OC - and I think this can be generalized - </div> <div>it´s the true, genuine speakers (
i.e. those whose</div> <div>mothertongue it is) that are hostile, for the reasons</div> <div>you indicate.</div> <div>Those that speak the language
consciously, have</div> <div>in many cases already acquired it as a second language,</div> <div>e.g. from grandparents and are therefore appreciative of</div> <div>someone who makes the same effort. The language militants
</div> <div>are mostly from this second group, while the first group</div> <div>is amused in the best of cases, but mostly</div> <div>indifferent or even hostile and in many cases cannot</div> <div>even be reached..</div>
<span class="sg"> <div> </div> <div>Mike Wintzer<br></div></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">----------</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">From: </span><span id="_user_k9mw@yahoo.com" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148); font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Mike Wintzer <<a href="mailto:k9mw@yahoo.com">k9mw@yahoo.com</a>
></span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Subject: LL-L "Language maintenance" 2007.08.07 (02) [E]</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;" id="mb_2"><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px;"> <div style="margin-left: 40px;">
Ron (I hope this time I'm right),</div> <div style="margin-left: 40px;">you wrote:</div> <div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div> <div><br>"Actually,
this is happening already. Clearly, a supra-regional Low Saxon variety
in addition to local ones would go a long way as far as the survival of
the language is concerned. But people won't have it, rather see the
language die."</div> <div> </div> <div>This, and the other contributions made under this heading, in particular with</div> <div>respect to Wales,
prompts me to repeat, perhaps at nauseam, what I now</div> <div>come to call MM, the "Mike maxim", because I don't think anybody else</div> <div>has really swallowed this bitter pill:</div></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px;"> <div>"A language has NO chance of long-term survival UNLESS it is (made) the </div> <div>FIRST language in ALL domains of public life: education, administration, local media."
</div> <div> </div> <div>Don't even remotely hope there is any way around it.</div> <div> </div> <div>Dialectical diversity doesn't help, of course. If the above conditions are met</div> <div>or re-introduced (the only relevant example I can think of is Israel), a standard
</div> <div>language will inevitably evolve and dominate, at the expense of regional variants.</div> <div> </div> <div>It is fascinating to discuss language maintenance and survival, last not least</div> <div>on
the LL forum, but sight should not be lost of the ultimate fate of all
"secondary" languages. I think that any real enthousiast must be a
militant.</div> <div>(I have many excuses for not being one.)</div><span class="sg"> <div> </div> <div>Mike Wintzer</div></span></blockquote></div><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">