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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
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<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 - 05 October 2007 - Volume 03</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Song Contest: <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/contest/">lowlands-l.net/contest/</a> (- 31 Dec. 2007)</span><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;"><font style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;" size="2">From: R. F. Hahn <
<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
sassisch@yahoo.com</a>><br>Subject: Language politics<br><br>Gabriele elucidated the matter further:<br><br></font><div style="margin-left: 40px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The very thought of foreigners travelling here to rally
for what they perceive as "our" cause in Kiel or Hannover is absurd at
best (thanks for offering, though, Mike and others, I know you meant
well).</span><br></div><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br>And the elected and appointed delegates? What are they? Chopped liver from abroad?<br><br>There are always alternative ways of viewing matters like this. For the heck of it, let me offer one or two.
<br><br>As far as I know, Mike, like me, is from the area and shares the same heritage. The fact that he lives abroad does not change this. Cultural and linguistic heritage is not abandoned or forfeited with emigration, no matter how some may wish it were when "apostates" dare to touch the
<span style="font-style: italic;">status quo</span> back home. Playing the "disowning" card may seem easy and convenient, but the rules of the game have changed. <br><br>Not only have things changed locally; they have changed internationally as well. These days anyone can be informed in great detail about just about anything anywhere in the world. "You're not here; so you don't know" belongs to the past, as do assumptions about other people's levels of contacts and knowledge. Borders mean less and less as everything has come to be closely connected and people are being dispersed all over the world yet closely connected thanks to dramatic advances in information and transportation technology. Furthermore, "It's ours alone" and "It's our internal matter" are no longer relevant and are internationally perceived as saying "We can do whatever we want." (Who said it last? Oh, yes! The Burmese military junta!)
<br><br>As far as I know, Sandy and Tom have as much stock in Scots and rights to argue about it as do those Scots that are still in Scotland, and the same applies to Jacqueline and Gustaaf with regard to Dutch, to cite just a couple of examples.
<br><br>Low Saxon is spoken all over the world, not only in Northern Germany. The international community of speakers and heirs has a stake in what happens to it anywhere. No! People in other countries can't <span style="font-style: italic;">
demand</span> budgetary and educational changes of the federal and state governments in Germany, but they can advocate them and appeal for them, and they have every right to spar with the naysayers of which Northern Germany has more than its fair share. After all, decisions made in Germany, where the largest portion of speakers lives, impacts the future of the language as a whole.
<br><br>As I said, I'm offering this as an alternative, internationalistic, inclusionistic argument aimed at counterbalancing localistic, exclusionistic and dismissive arguments.<br><br>By the way, have arts, sports, history, and local history and culture been stricken from North German school curricula? If things are so dire, why not get rid of those as well if they're still around. Who needs to know about the past anyway?
<br><br>Regards,<br>Reinhard/Ron<br><br></span>
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