<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 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;}
span.gi
{mso-style-name:gi;}
span.gd
{mso-style-name:gd;}
span.go
{mso-style-name:go;}
@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;" align="center"><span style="font-family: Arial;">===============================================<br>
<b>L O W L A N D S - L - 18 March 2010 - Volume 14</b><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br>
<a href="mailto:lowlands.list@gmail.com">lowlands.list@gmail.com</a> - <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/">http://lowlands-l.net/</a><br>
Posting: <a href="mailto:lowlands-l@listserv.linguistlist.org">lowlands-l@listserv.linguistlist.org</a></span><br>
<span style="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><br>
Encoding: Unicode (UTF-08)<br>
Language Codes: <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/codes.php">lowlands-l.net/codes.php</a></span><br>
===============================================</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br>
From: <span class="gd"><span style="color: rgb(200, 137, 0);">Sandy Fleming</span></span><span class="gi"> </span><span class="go"><<a href="mailto:sandy@fleimin.demon.co.uk">sandy@fleimin.demon.co.uk</a>></span><br>
Subject: <span class="gi">LL-L "Language varieties" 2010.03.17 (01)
[EN]</span><br>
<br>
> From: jmtait <<a href="mailto:jmtait@wirhoose.co.uk">jmtait@wirhoose.co.uk</a>><br>
> Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2010.03.15 (06) [EN]<br>
<br>
> Certainly Shetland popular opinion would seem to suggest so. Typical<br>
> comments from people who knew I was interested in (The)<br>
> (Sh(a)etlan(d(ic))) (D/dialect) have been: "Hit's deein oot, an hit's<br>
> laekly a guid thing"; "If you teach it dat'll kill it aff"
and "Weel,<br>
> I'm no sayin I'm wantin it ta dee oot, bit..." Many people find only<br>
> the dialect of their own immediate area acceptable, and object far<br>
> more if their children pick up pronunciations from other parts of<br>
> Shetland than if they speak only standard English. Some still object<br>
> to the use of dialect on Radio Shetland, but nobody seems to object to<br>
> SIBC which, I am told, has a non-dialect policy. Overall, the message<br>
> is clear. Whether we are better off without it or not, it's not<br>
> something we want to make an unseemly fuss about. In the UHI, I argued<br>
> for local ownership of Shetland culture, and if this is what<br>
> Shetlanders want I have no right to object.<br>
<br>
I would sum this up as "situation normal".<br>
<br>
It's an unpopular opinion that I've expressed on the list before that<br>
languages don't so often die from oppression as from the fact that their<br>
speakers decide they'd rather speak something else.<br>
<br>
Or they'd rather their children speak something else.<br>
<br>
What can an individual do? It depends on what they like to do. I like to<br>
avoid politics but I wouldn't underestimate the importance of making a<br>
body of literature available at a time like this. In the end it can mean<br>
the difference between a remembered (and perhaps revivable) language,<br>
and a forgotten language.<br>
<span style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"><br>
Sandy Fleming<br>
<a href="http://scotstext.org/" target="_blank">http://scotstext.org/</a></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">----------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com"><span style="color: windowtext;">sassisch@yahoo.com</span></a>></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Subject: Language varieties<br style="">
<br style="">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sandy</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">,<br>
<br>
You said:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: blue;">It's an unpopular opinion that I've expressed on the list before
that<br>
languages don't so often die from oppression as from the fact that their<br>
speakers decide they'd rather speak something else.<br>
<br>
Or they'd rather their children speak something else.<br style="">
<br style="">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“Unpopular”
has never stopped me from jumping onto someone’s bandwagon that appeals to me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I’m
sure you’re right in principle. But you have to ask, too, why people made these
decisions in the first place and if the trend can be reversed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">More
often than not, people come to believe that they or their children would be
better off going only with the power language, mostly because there is so much
pressure and indoctrination from administration, formal education, the media
and others to this effect. The need to be socially acceptable (including not
being seen as a secessionist or other type of disloyal rebel) and to be
economically successful overrides everything else. But this doesn’t mean that
it’s just that people are pressured into this sort of choice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As I
understand it, one of the purposes of the European Languages Charter is to <i>remove</i>
or at least lessen such pressures to start with, at least as far as
administration and formal education are concerned. Another purpose is to signal
that it is all right to hold on to one’s non-power language.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Can the
trend be reversed? It can be by way of awareness and pride campaigns, relevant
education and, certainly, by way of various degrees of regional independence
(by which I do not mean to suggest that Shetlanders secede).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">During
most of the 20th century, native language loyalty was dwindling for instance in
Greenland and throughout Inuit populations of Canada
and Alaska.
Many Greenlandic parents used to be opposed to increased Greenlandic medium
teaching because they had been made to believe that more Greenlandic and less
Danish would hamper their children’s education. Now, Greenland is almost
independent from Denmark
(safe for defense and foreign relations) and is steering toward full
independence as a North American country (no longer as an appendage of Europe). Greenlandic is now the only official language of
the country, and all native Danish speakers of the country must learn it as a
second language. Greenlandic is the first Native American language that is the sole
national language of any country. Similarly, both Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun are
official, besides French and English, in the Canada’s
recently established self-governing region of Nunavut. I understand that this has boosted native
speaker pride and confidence, thereby also language loyalty.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And did
not also Welsh make a comeback? What caused that?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Until not
long ago, Judeo-specific languages (such as Yiddish, Ladino, Aramaic and Bokharic)
other than Hebrew were <i>linguae non gratae</i> in Israel. Their use was more discouraged
than was that of most languages that are not Judeo-specific (e.g. English, French,
Spanish and Russian). Something has reversed this trend. Cultural and linguistic
diversity is now being embraced by many Israelis, and Yiddish and Ladino have made
resurgence, are even being celebrated in some quarters and are featured in popular
culture.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Regards,<br>
Reinhard/Ron<br>
Seattle, USA</span></p>