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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">===========================================<br>L O W L A N D S - L - 28 September 2009 - Volume 02<br></font><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font color="#999999"><a href="mailto:lowlands@lowlands-l.net">lowlands@lowlands-l.net</a> - <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/">http://lowlands-l.net/</a><br>
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<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">From: Sandy Fleming <</font><a href="mailto:sandy@fleimin.demon.co.uk"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">sandy@fleimin.demon.co.uk</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">><br>
Subject: LL-L "Language politics" 2009.09.27 (02) [EN]<br><br>> From: R. F. Hahn <</font><a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">sassisch@yahoo.com</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">><br>
> Subject: Language politics<br>></font></div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">> A remarkable example of this is the reinstatement of Hebrew as an<br>> everyday language. Contrary to popular belief, Hebrew was never<br>> "dead," was not only used for liturgy. It was and is an international</font></div>
<div><br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">But remembering that "dead" isn't a clearly defined term when applied to<br>languages.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Despite the tendency to use the head count of speakers to measure the<br>wellness of a language, I'm not sure that numbers really matter as long<br>as there are two native speakers to converse in the language or (pulse<br>
slowing a bit) two scholars who can converse in what they know of the<br>language or (vital signs fading fast) a sheet or two of paper in<br>continuous prose or (fetch the trolley!) poetry.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">There's a sense in which Hebrew and Latin were dead, in that the people<br>who spoke it only did so out of particular motivation and without that<br>motivation they would simply be using whatever living language was to<br>
hand locally. If not dead, they were at least on life support.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">I think Cornish demonstrates very well that even without life support, a<br>language can be revived from paper.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">While Esperanto and Klingon seem to show that a language doesn't even<br>have to exist to be brought to life: put it on paper and if there's<br>motivation it will rise like a golem.</font></div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Sandy Fleming<br></font><a href="http://scotstext.org/"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">http://scotstext.org/</font></a></div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"></font>Â </div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">----------<br><br>From: R. F. Hahn <</font><a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">sassisch@yahoo.com</font></a><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">><br>
Subject: Language politics<br><br>Those are certainly points worth noting, Sandy, though most people would play the numbers game, especially when it comes to pursuading others to come on board and to communicate to politicians of a sense of urgency.<br>
<br>So what you are saying then is that liturgical languages that are used only out of specific motivation are in a certain sense dead. This would also apply to Sanskrit, Pali, Ge'ez (Old Ethiopic), Coptic (Modern Egyptian) and Old Church Slavonic then, to name but a few. Classical Chinese (which is quite different from any Modern Chinese language)Â is still written and read (and I use it myself), is hardly ever spoken other than in certain types of recitation. Would <em>it</em> be considered "dead in a sense"? And Anglo-Norman is only used in snippets in British legal, administrative and royal contexts. I don't think anyone writes or speak it outside that.<br>
<br>As for constructed languages, Ozee Tilp is an interesting example: </font><a href="http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/ozee-tilp.php"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/ozee-tilp.php</font></a><br>
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">There are two fluent speakers, the rest of the family as well as some friends picking up the language over time:<br></font><a href="http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/ozee-tilp-info.php"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/ozee-tilp-info.php</font></a><br>
<br><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Regards,</font></div>
<div><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Reinhard/Ron<br>Seattle, USA<br></font></div>
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