<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CRon%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:SimSun;
panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;
mso-font-alt:宋体;
mso-font-charset:134;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 135135232 16 0 262145 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\@SimSun";
panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;
mso-font-charset:134;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 135135232 16 0 262145 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
p
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun;}
span.hccdpe
{mso-style-name:hccdpe;}
span.ep8xu
{mso-style-name:ep8xu;}
span.ldacoc
{mso-style-name:ldacoc;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt;" lang="PT-BR">===========================================<br>
L O W L A N D S - L - 23 February 2009 - Volume 01<br>
===========================================</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br>
From: <span class="ep8xu"><span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);">Tom Mc Rae</span></span></span><span class="hccdpe"> </span><span class="ldacoc"><<a href="mailto:thomas.mcrae@bigpond.com">thomas.mcrae@bigpond.com</a>></span><br>
Subject: <span class="hccdpe">LL-L "Language diversity" 2009.02.22 (05)
[E]</span><br>
<br>
On 23/02/2009, at 10:46 AM, <span style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">James Wilson</span> <<a href="mailto:jawi2300@gmail.com" target="_blank">jawi2300@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black;"> </span></p>
<span style="word-spacing: 0px; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black;">'Many
Scots who speak English do so with a Scottish accent.' </span></p>
</span><p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">And inversely
myAustralian wife assures me, that after over 30 years in Australia, when I revert to Scots on visiting Edinburgh</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I do so
with an Australian accent I did not even know I had. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black;"><span style="word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="word-spacing: 0px;">Regards</span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black;">Tom
Mc Rae</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black;">Brisbane</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black;"></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black;">AUSTRALIA</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black;"></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;">"Oh
wad some power the Giftie gie us,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;">Tae
see oorsels as ithers see us</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Robert Burns<span style="color: black;"></span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br>
----------<br>
<br>
<span style="color: black;">From: </span><span class="ep8xu"><span style="color: rgb(200, 137, 0);">Paul Finlow-Bates</span></span></span><span class="hccdpe">
</span><span class="ldacoc"><<a href="mailto:wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk">wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk</a>></span><span style="color: black;"><br>
Subject: </span><span class="hccdpe">LL-L "Language diversity"
2009.02.22 (05) [E]</span><span style="color: black;"><br>
<br>
</span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">From: James Wilson <<a href="mailto:jawi2300@gmail.com" target="_blank">jawi2300@gmail.com</a>><br>
Subject: LL-L "Language diversity" 2009.02.22 (01) [E] </div>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 40px; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: 40px;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">..To say
that people with a regional dialect/language do not switch between a regional
to </span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">standard </i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">(surely you mean RP ;) form is just not correct...</span> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Hi James, </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">No, I don't
mean RP, I mean Standard English. A former colleague had a very
strong Northeast accent, but I never heard him use a single dialectial
expression. He'd pronounce "our" something like "oor",
but never said "wor"; "go" had the long dipthongised vowel
of Northumberland, but he never said "gan". He speaks Standard
English, but not by any stretch of the imagination does he use RP!</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I asked him
once if he ever used those words back home and his comment was "Not
anymore. It'd feel phoney". That is what I mean by not being
bilingual. Only one example I accept, but it illustrates what I mean.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">AC/DC lead
singer Brian Johnson has been described as having an "industrial strength
Geordie accent", but in interviews I've likewise never heard a
specifically Geordie word. Not least because, as you say, he probably wants to
be understood, but it would be interesting to know if he ever uses them. Or
indeed if he ever did. I gather he lives in LA now, so I guess he doesn't
get to practice much!</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The
influence of regional accents on Standard English has greatly affected what we
think of as RP anyway. You won't hear the old BBC nasal "The cett sett awn
the mett" anymore, not even from people who actually used to speak like
that - the Queen for example! Even North-South divisions in words like
"buck" and "book" have weakened, with a sort of
"halfway" sound emerging in many speakers.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">(For the
benefit of the uninitiated "buck" and "book" are
pronounced practically identically in many northern parts of England, whereas
"buck" in the South sounds almost like "back" in the
North. Confused yet?)</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The class
divisions of accents have eroded enormously, and I'm all for that, but I find
it increasingly difficult to tell where people are from these days, which is
sort of sad. But it's our choice in the end, nobody's forcing us,
not anymore.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Paul</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br>
----------<br>
<br>
From: <span class="ep8xu"><span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);">Paul Finlow-Bates</span></span></span><span class="hccdpe"> </span><span class="ldacoc"><<a href="mailto:wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk">wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk</a>></span><br>
Subject: <span class="hccdpe">LL-L "Language diversity" 2009.02.22 (01)
[E]</span><br>
<br></p><div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">---From: R. F. Hahn <</span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">>
</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">
Subject: Language diversity</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">
Hey, Paul!</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">
Not to contradict your basic argument, I need to add that the cases of </span>England<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> and </span>Switzerland<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> are fundamentally
different as far as I understand them.</span></div><p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal">
</p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Hi Ron, </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">As you
explain, very different. The political and social history (and probably
the rugged geography) of the Alemannic regions has favoured a strong status of
those languages. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I guess
that's my point in a way; if the varieties, dialects and languages of the British Isles are to have similar status or standing, it
won't come naturally as it did in those Alpine countries, it will require some
sort of concious effort, and a change in mind set, within and without those
regions. Frankly, I can't see most people in any of the nations of Britain being
that bothered. We're good at complaining, but don't have the best track
record when it comes to doing something about it! </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Paul </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Derby</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">England</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br>
----------<br>
<br>
From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>>
<br>
Subject: Language diversity<br>
<br>
Thanks, Paul.<br>
<br>
Topography may or may not be a factor. What I was trying to imply was that in
most cases of low prestige language problems the blame does in fact lie in the court
of the political authorities, usually going back a long time and consequently maintained
as <i>status quo</i> (such as in the educational system).<br>
<br>
The United Kingdom
is in my opinion not an unusual case at all. Much rather, it is Switzerland that
is unusual in this regard and in several other regards. My hunch is that this is
due to the purpose and spirit of the country's foundation. As an alliance without
the usual "unity = uniformity" ideal, it allowed for significant diversity,
whereas in virtually all other European countries the official ideal used to be
"one country - one ethnicity - one language".<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Reinhard/Ron</span></p>