LL-L: "Pronouns" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 09.MAY.1999 (03)

[R. Hahn]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 09.MAY.1999 (03) * ISSN 1089-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/~sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/>
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at geocities.com>
Subject: Pronouns

Dear Lowlanders,

I received the following request and wonder if any of you can help.  It
looks like a question and theory that quite a few of us might be
interested in.

Of course, as always when we deal with questions about modern or more
recent varieties of Frisian, we first ought to ask "What Frisian are you
talking about?"  There are about ten major modern varieties that some may
argue to be separate languages or at least major dialect groups with up to
poor or even impossible mutual intelligibility.  Usually Westerlauwer
("West") Frisian (used in the Netherlands) is taken as the default for
"Frisian," probably because it is the most established (i.e., the least
threatened and administratively the most "powerful") and has the largest
number of speakers.  However, bear in mind that some Frisians in Germany
(where the largest number of varieties is used, albeit each with
relatively few speakers) may find that unfair.  Ideally, a study like that
ought to include data from all or most varieties.  I am sure that the
Friisk Instituut in Bra"ist/Bredstedt, Germany, could serve as a useful
resource here.  Perhaps our Frisian speakers and experts on this list can
help also.

Best regards,

Reinhard/Ron

From: "Richard Dury" <richard at spm.it>
To: <sassisch at geocities.com>
Subject: frisian query

Dear Reinhard Hahn,

Congratulations on the Lowlands Languages site - an excelent resource -
I've bookmarked it and will go back to look at it in future.

For the moment, I wonder if you can help me - I'm preparing a conference
paper on English & I'm far from a Library - perhaps you could give me some
quick information.

The aim of the paper is to suggest that the spread of originally-objective
*you* to subject uses may have been a pragmatic strategy to use an
'oblique' form that had less face-threatening associations than the
original subjective form *ye*.

Dutch polite *u* is probably partly based on a similar plural objective
form, and Frisian *jo* certainly is.

In order to make a nice presentation I would need to know the following
(which I forgot to note down when I was in London, working in the British
Library):

Middle Frisian 2nd person singular: Nominative (1)_____   Accusative (2)
______
Middle Frisian 2nd person plural: Nominative *ji*   Accusative *jo*

Modern Frisian 2nd person singular (intimate): Nominative (3) ____
Accusative (4) ____
Modern Frisian 2nd person singular (polite): Nominative *jo*   Accusative
*jo*
Modern Frisian 2nd person plural: *jim(me)* (new form)

Hoping you can help,

Best Wishes,

Richard Dury


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