ELL: In case of a problem with my previous message

[Robert Beard]

A few years ago, GBS maintained a set of on-line German-Sorbian and, I
believe, English-Sorbian dictionaries and an on-line Sorbian grammar.  All
of these disappeared about 18 months ago. Are they still on line and, if so,
where are they currently located?

YourDictionary.com is the web's most comprehensive and authoritative
language portal.  We would like to maintain a link to all Sorbian language
materials because we have clients who need them and ask for them.  Our
company could make a case for this need to the German government if those
resources were actually available.  If you can point me to them, I and my
CEO will write strong letters to the German government making this argument.
Are they currently available?

--RB

------------------------------------
Robert Beard, CLO & CTO
yourDictionary.com, Inc.
P. O. Box 6
Lewisburg, PA 17837
Telephone: 570-523-7758
http://www.yourdictionary.com
rbeard at yourdictionary.com


----- Original Message -----
From: <Hj.Sasse at uni-koeln.de>
To: <endangered-languages-l at carmen.murdoch.edu.au>
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2000 11:36 PM
Subject: ELL: Cutback of Budget for Sorbian Foundation


> The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is going to
> cut the financial support for the "Foundation for the Sorbian people",
> an
> institution by which a substantial part of the cultural activities of
> the Sorbian
> minority in Germany is financed. In reaction, the GBS (the German
> Association for
> Endangered Languages) is sending the following letter to the German
> Chancellor
> and a number of other officials involved in the affair:
>
>
> Dear Sir!
>
> The "Gesellschaft fuer bedrohte Sprachen" ("Association for
> Endangered Languages") was most perturbed to learn that the
> Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is planning to
> cut the financial support for the "Stiftung fuer das
> sorbische Volk" ("Foundation for the Sorbian people") in the
> year 2001 by one million DM, and by a further 500.000 DM
> in each of the years 2002 and 2003. Given the financial
> situation and the economic difficulties of the states of
> Saxony and Brandenburg it seems rather unlikely that these
> federal states will be in a position to cover this loss in
> the budget of the "Stiftung". Thus, the danger is
> immanent that a substantial part of the cultural and
> scientific activities by, and on behalf of, the Sorbian
> people will have to be abandoned due to the lack of funds.
>         Even though we recognize the present need for
> thriftiness, we call upon the Federal Government to continue
> the financial support of the "Stiftung" at its present
> level. The Sorbian people represent a unique cultural and
> linguistic minority within the boundaries of the Federal
> Republic of Germany. The Federal government and the
> governments of the states of Saxony and Brandenburg have so
> far acknowledged their special responsibility for this small
> group of Slavonic people, as is demonstrated by their
> financial support of the "Stiftung" since the German
> reunion. Without this support, however, the Sorbian people
> will be in a situation in which not only their culture but
> also their language - which has been an endangered language
> within Germany for a long time - is doomed to die. The
> ongoing loss of minority languages and the loss of cultural
> diversity accompanying this loss is one of the severest
> cultural and intellectual problems of our time. As a society
> that aims at the preservation and documentation of
> endangered languages, we appeal to the German government and
> to the governments of Saxony and Brandenburg to do
> everything possible to continue the financial support of the
> "Stiftung fuer das sorbische Volk" at its present level and
> thus to safeguard the linguistic and cultural identity of
> the Sorbian people.
>
> Signed by:
> Prof. Dr. Hans-Juergen Sasse (President)
> Dr. Anke Beck, Dr. Werner Drossard, Prof. Dr. Otto Jastrow, Dagmar
> Jung Ph.D., Eva Schultz-Berndt, M.A., Prof. Dr. Gunter Senft (managing
> committee)
>
> Gesellschaft fuer bedrohte Sprachen
> Institut fuer Sprachwissenschaft
> Universitaet zu Koeln
> D-50923 Koeln
> Germany
> gbs at uni-koeln.de
> http://www.uni-koeln.de/gbs
>
>
> ----
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