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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">===============================================</span><br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">L O W L A N D S - L -
11 February 2010 - Volume 05</span><br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><a href="mailto:lowlands.list@gmail.com">lowlands.list@gmail.com</a>
- <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/">http://lowlands-l.net/</a></span><br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Archive:
<a href="http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html">http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html</a></span><br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Encoding:
Unicode (UTF-08)</span><br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Language
Codes: <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/codes.php">lowlands-l.net/codes.php</a></span><br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">===============================================</span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br>
<br>
From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Subject: Language varieties<br>
<br>
Dear Lowlanders, especially those of you in or from the Netherlands,<br>
<br>
What sort of language varieties do you think of when you come across the German
name <span class="titel1"><i>Platt-Holländisch</i> (in Dutch which would be
something like <i>Plat-Nederlands</i>)? Actually, literally it means <i>Plat-Hollands</i>,
which to me makes matters worse, even though <i>Holländisch</i> stands for <i>Niederländisch</i>
in old-fashioned speech.<br>
<br>
An article published by Volker Holm PLATTNET.de
(<a href="http://nachrichten.plattnet.de">http://nachrichten.plattnet.de</a>) and written by Hans-Hermann Briese reports
about a recent meeting of writers from Eastern Friesland (Germany) and writers
from the northwestern parts of the Netherlands. (I’m happy they did.) In the
second paragraph it says:<br style="">
</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="titel1"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br></span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span class="titel1"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">
<span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 153) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;">In Groninger oder Drenther Platt-Holländisch</span>
schreiben Siet Bootsmann, Aly Freije, Jan Glas, Reinder Willem Hiemstra, Marga
Kool, Lukas Koops, Henk Puister, Suze Sanders, Jan Siebo Uffen, Tonko Ufkes,
Jan Veenstra und Nina Werkmann.</span></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The name </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="titel1"><i>Platt-Holländisch</i></span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> (Dutch </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="titel1"><i>Plat-Nederlands</i> and especially <i>Plat-Hollands</i>)
suggests to me <i>any</i> Dutch dialect that is not standard; in old-fashioned
parlance this includes the Low Saxon (<i>Nedersaksisch</i>) dialects of the eastern
provinces. As all of you know, these eastern language varieties are now no
longer considered part of <i>Nederlands</i> but represent a language in its own
right. In other words, they are not “Dutch,” certainly not <i>Hollands</i>.
<br>
<br>
Most Netherlanders that know anything about it also assume that there is a
close relationship between these Low Saxon varieties and those of Northern Germany, the
ones persistently called <i>Plattdeutsch</i> or <i>Niederdeutsch</i>, with this
old insistence on <i>Deutsch</i>. Aside from dialectical differences, those on
the Netherlands’
side of the border have been Dutch-influenced and are written with Dutch
orthographic principles, while those east of the border have been
German-influenced and are written with German orthographic principles. All of
them are primarily descendants of the Old Saxon language, not of Old Low
Frankish (like Dutch) and not of Old “High” German. Because the name <i>Sachsen</i>
(Saxony) was hijacked to denote a Central-Frankish- and Thuringian-speaking
region, reference to genuine Saxony had do be marked by “Low” (or “Nether”: <i>Nieder-,
Neder-, Nedder-</i>), thus the German state being called <i>Niedersachsen</i>
in German and <i>Neddersassen</i> in Low Saxon.<br>
<br>
But on the German side of the border, people can’t bring themselves to even
casually mention <i>Niedersächsisch</i> in reference to the language. It is
reserved for reference to the administrative unit. I am sure they assume that
doing so would confuse people. Well, the confusion comes from ignorance: most
people have not been taught that the ancestors of today’s North Germans and Eastern Netherlanders
were Saxons. If they knew this and would at least be exposed to the name <i>Niedersächsisch</i>
in reference to the language, they would also understand why these particular
writers from both sides of the border choose to meet. They basically share the
same language! This is why Netherlanders like Jan Glas participate
in the Freudenthal Prize competition of Low Saxon ("Low German")
literature held in Germany.</span></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">A little education goes
a long way.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="titel1"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Regards,<br>
Reinhard/Ron<br>
Seattle,
USA</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br>
</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br style="">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p>
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