<div style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>==============================</font><font>=======================<br> L O W L A N D S - L - 23 February 2012 - Volume 01<br><a href="mailto:lowlands.list@gmail.com" target="_blank">lowlands.list@gmail.com</a>
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<font style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">From: <span><span></span></span></font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">"Obiter Dictum" <<a href="mailto:obiterdictum@mail.ru">obiterdictum@mail.ru</a>></span><font style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br>
Subject: </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>Grammar</font></span><font style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br>
<br></font><div><p style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN-US">Dear Lowlanders:<br><br>Y’all
know the type of word-order which I tentatively call (after some
researchers) closed-in construction, i.e. “the characteristic feature of
the German word order, dissociating tightly connected elements of the
sentence, e.g. </span><span lang="DE">Wir HABEN uns wieder ein ganzes Jahr nicht GESEHEN, Sie BEREITETE ihrem Sohn alles für die Reise VOR.</span></font></font><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN-US">” <br>
<br>I quote this definition from: <br><br>Circum-Baltic </span><span lang="EN-US">Languages.</span><span lang="EN-US"> Volume 2: Grammar and Typology, Edited by Oe</span><span lang="AF">sten </span><span lang="EN-US">Dahl and Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm, 2001, John Benjamins B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands</span></font></font></p>
<p style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br><a href="http://books.google.co.za/books?id=T0eQwnLnSX0C&pg=PA477&lpg=PA477&dq=%22Closed-in+construction+%E2%80%94+a+characteristical+feature+of+the+German+word+order%22&source=bl&ots=wnjyAI41L4&sig=rpFbaMhK-UzU5QMAaIHcfkNUaLs&hl=af&sa=X&ei=dQVGT6LXD_T04QS_suzMDg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Closed-in%20construction%20%E2%80%94%20a%20characteristical%20feature%20of%20the%20German%20word%20order%22&f=false" target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3">http://books.google.co.za/books?id=T0eQwnLnSX0C&pg=PA477&lpg=PA477&dq=%22Closed-in+construction+%E2%80%94+a+characteristical+feature+of+the+German+word+order%22&source=bl&ots=wnjyAI41L4&sig=rpFbaMhK-UzU5QMAaIHcfkNUaLs&hl=af&sa=X&ei=dQVGT6LXD_T04QS_suzMDg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Closed-in%20construction%20%E2%80%94%20a%20characteristical%20feature%20of%20the%20German%20word%20order%22&f=false</font></a></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Y’all also know this type of word order exists in Dutch (and, consequently, in Afrikaans), in Frisian and in Yiddish. <br>
<br>Now my questions: <br><br>1. What are the other names for this “closed-in construction” in English, German, and Dutch? <br><br>2.
Does this “closed-in construction” exist in OTHER Continental Lowland
languages (specifically, your own, whether native or learned)?<br><br>3. Where does this “closed-in construction” come from in the languages OTHER than (High) German? Namely:<br><br>(a) Has is ALWAYS existed in the language(s)?<br>
<br>OR<br><br>(b) Was it imported/borrowed/assimilated from High German? <br><br>I am asking because I have happened to find an abstract (in Russian) of one doctoral dissertation (</font><a href="http://www.dissercat.com/content/formirovanie-sintaksicheskoi-normy-strukturnyi-i-sotsiolingvisticheskii-aspekty" target="_blank"><font color="#800080" face="Times New Roman" size="3">http://www.dissercat.com/content/formirovanie-sintaksicheskoi-normy-strukturnyi-i-sotsiolingvisticheskii-aspekty</font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
) which argues, among other things, that Middle Dutch, Frisian and
Yiddish BORROWED this “closed-in construction” in the (Late) Middle Ages
on the strength of High German being (a) ubiquitous, (b) arguably more
advanced and (c) more arguably still, prestigious at the time,
especially after Luther’s translation of the Bible. <span> </span>Plus because of the political (at times) and economic domination of “High Germans” in the area at various times in the past. <br><br>Now my big question:<br>
<br>4.
DO YOU THINK THIS ASSERTION IS VALID? (I mean the borrowing of the
“closed-construction” by Dutch, Frisian, Yiddish and, perhaps other
Lowland languages, from High German.)<br><br>And finally, <br><br>5.<span> </span>Do
y'all know any printed authority on the subject, whether proving or
disproving this point? I mean the borrowing of the “closed-construction”
from High German. Both online and in print. <br><br>(Incidentally, one paper inside the ‘Circum-Baltic </font></span><span lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Languages’ collection I cited to above, argues that Estonian TOO borrowed the “closed-in” construction “from German”.<span> </span></font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Since
the Estonian for “German” is “sakslane”, Hansa (where Revel/Tallinn was
a member) was definitely Lowlandic in language, lots of SAXON settlers
lived in what is now Estonian towns, and what is now called ‘German’
(Such as the Kijk-in-de-Keuk Tower), happens to be actually SAXON upon
close examination, this definintely makes me wonder.<span> </span></font></font></span><span lang="EN-US"><br><br><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Thank y'all so much in advance.<br>Vlad Lee</font></span></p><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><font size="3"><br></font></span></p></div><font style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"></font><font style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><div style="text-align:center">
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