LL-L: "Orthography" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 21.MAY.1999 (02)

[Lowlands-L Administrator]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 21.MAY.1999 (02) * ISSN 1089-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachian, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian,
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From:  "Hauke Wiebe" <haukewiebe at hotmail.com>
Subject: Language policies

Moin,

>"Ian James Parsley" <I.J.Parsley at newcastle.ac.uk>
>Yes, the point being that one Geordie would write very differently from
>another, even if they both understood each other. Whereas I noticed my
>Austrian friend e-mailing home on a recent visit to
>Northern Ireland in Wienerisch and receiving a reply with the same
>orthography, moreorless.
>--------Ian.

Could this phenomenon not be explained by the fact that German spelling is
much closer to the way word s are spoken then english spelling.
So people, used to German spelling,
can more easily transform this German spelling
to something which mirrors their dialect.
The just think how their pronunciation differs from German and bend the
spelling in a corresponding fashion.
(The ease of this "bending" of an easy existing standard
is most likely also the reason for the popularity of
the Fehrs guild spelling)
In English the difference between spelling and speaking
is wider and thus it is more difficult
to find a new spelling standard for the dialect
as the logic behind the English one
has not been taken to heart in the first place.
Thus Geordies -unlike Wieners- do not bend well
as they are uncertain where to "bend" to,
not knowing where to "bend" from.

Tschuess
Hauke

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