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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">===========================================<br>
L O W L A N D S - L - 12 December 2008 - Volume 03<span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><br>
From: <span class="ep8xu"><span><span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);">Jonny</span></span></span><span class="hccdpe"> </span><span class="ldacoc"><<a href="mailto:jonny.meibohm@arcor.de">jonny.meibohm@arcor.de</a>></span><br>
Subject: <span class="hccdpe">LL-L "Language politics" 2008.12.11 (04)
[E]</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: courier new,monospace;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Dear
Paul,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: courier new,monospace;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: courier new,monospace;">you
wrote:</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New";"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: teal;">What on Earth
has speaking a language got to do with finding a street?! I have only the
vaguest idea how to pronounce Mechelininkatu in Helsinki,
but I can still find it on map, and get there if I need to.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: teal;">If they can't
read maps, they shouldn't be driving trucks for a living.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: courier new,monospace;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">But
you should keep in mind that these truck drivers come from all over Europe:
from Lissabon or Dublin in the West to Moscow in the East, and
from Helsinki in the North to Neapel in the South - Turkey, Greece and all
the new Balcan states unmentioned. Even the cited Dutch/Frisian newspaper
("Leeuwarder Courant") misspelled one of the quoted street
names! </span></p>
<p style="font-family: courier new,monospace;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: courier new,monospace;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Probably
the drivers are on a minimum level prepared for a basic knowledge
of Standard German, but not for EFLS ;-)...</span></p>
<p style="font-family: courier new,monospace;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: courier new,monospace;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Allerbest!</span></p>
<p style="font-family: courier new,monospace;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: courier new,monospace; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);">Jonny Meibohm</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><br>
----------<br>
<br>
From: <span class="ep8xu"><span><span style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">Helge Tietz</span></span></span><span class="hccdpe"> </span><span class="ldacoc"><<a href="mailto:helgetietz@yahoo.com">helgetietz@yahoo.com</a>></span><br>
Subject: <span class="hccdpe">LL-L "Language politics" 2008.12.11 (06)
[E/German]</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Hm, if they
would be consequent in Lower Saxony in renaming difficult-to-be-
pronounced-place-names into easier-to-be-pronounced-place-names they
should start with Braunschweig and give it its old Low Saxon name Brunswik
back, certainly for anyone, whether German, Low Saxon or a speaker of any other
language, much easier to pronounce.....or Moenchengladbach to Glabeek or what
about Schleswig-Holstein to the much more simple Sleswig-Holsten....you name
them!<br>
<br>
Helge </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><br>
----------<br>
<br>
From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>>
<br>
Subject: Language politics<br>
<br>
Folks,<br>
<br>
I really don't know what the big deal is. Place names and, yes, street names
may vary from language to language, and on signs and maps they ought be given
in whatever are the locally or regionally official languages. Sure, in some
cases this will require trilingual labeling (e.g., Glasgow - Glesca - Glaschu,
Bredstedt - Bredsted - Braist, Trieste
- Trst - Triest, Jaca - Chaca - Jaka), in some cases even more (e.g,
Nordfriesland - Noordfreesland - Nordfraschlönj - Nuurdfresklun -
Nordfrisland). But so what?<br>
<br>
I have a problem with people wanting to reduce the names of a place to only
one. This includes the decision to make Fryslân the only name for that
province. I find that silly. Fryslân is the Frisian name, Friesland the Dutch
name, and the capital is called Ljouwert in Frisian and Leeuwarden
in Dutch. Surely this doesn't threaten the Frisian language assertion movement.<br>
<br>
Jonny's mention of place names above provides more example material:<br>
<br>
English: Dublin<br>
Irish: Baile Átha Cliath<br>
<br>
Portuguese: Lisboa<br>
English: Lisbon<br>
German: Lissabon<br>
<br>
Neapolitan: Nàpule<br>
Italian: Napoli<br>
English: Naples<br>
German: Neapel<br>
<br>
Many modern maps list only the version in the respective national
languages (probably with exceptions such as "Dublin", usually with
"Baile Átha Cliath" in smaller letters added, since Irish is
officially the language of Ireland but foreigners are not familiar with the
Irish names).<br>
<br>
Finland
has no problem with bilingual (Finnish - Swedish) maps, including street maps,
as well as street signs. Add Sami versions ones in the north of the country and
in Norwegian Lappland (e.g. Koutokeino - Guovdageaidnu – Kautokeino, Sodankylä –
Soađegilli – Suä'đjel, Karasjok – Kárášjohka – Kaarasjoki, Nesseby – Unjárga - Uuniemi).
(But I am disappointed to find on-line representation of Rovaniemi and Finnish
Lappland in Finnish and and foreign languages only, not in Swedish and Sami.)<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Reinhard/Ron </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>