LL-L: "Mutual comprehension" (was "Slavic connection") LOWLANDS-L, 11.JUL.2000 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 11.JUL.2000 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: John M. Tait [jmtait at altavista.net]
Subject: LL-L: "Slavic connections" 07.JUL.2000 (02) [E]

Criostoir wrote:

>Nonetheless the reason for my comparison remains in
>place: semi-vowel glides do not on the whole make
>languages unintelligible. How far this may have
>affected communication between a Norseman and an Old
>English speaker I will leave open to the other
>Lowlanders.

Absolutely. In Shetlandic, there are many regional forms with and without such
glides - kettle/kyettle; kent/kyent; goopen/goopm/gjoppen, etc etc etc. The
assimilation of [n] to [p] as [m] doesn't cause any problems either. Nor do
pronunciations of 'something' as [somT at n] or [sotn] or [sopm] (the last also
common in American English). I'm sure this is universal - regional varieties
are comprehensible in spite of a wide variety of different pronunciations. It
is only when you have crossed a number of isoglosses that the problems start.

John M. Tait.

----------

From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Mutual comprehension

John Magnus,

> Absolutely. In Shetlandic, there are many regional forms with and without > such glides - kettle/kyettle; kent/kyent; goopen/goopm/gjoppen, etc etc > etc. The assimilation of [n] to [p] as [m] doesn't cause any problems > either. Nor do pronunciations of 'something' as [somT at n] or [sotn] or > [sopm] (the last also common in American English). I'm sure this is > universal - regional varieties are comprehensible in spite of a wide > variety of different pronunciations. It is only when you have crossed a > number of isoglosses that the problems start.

Pretty much the same applies also in Low Saxon (Low German).  Since there is
no standard variety, people are exposed to a lot of dialectal variety, both
spoken and written.  People's preference to graphically represent allophones
characteristic of their dialects results in such differences being shown in
writing, and some of these differences seem great at first sight.

Absence and presence of palatalization is an issue where fareastern dialects
of Low Saxon are concerned, namely those that palatalize /k/ next to a front
vowel.  Most of these are now extinct, having been spoken in what is now
Northern Poland and parts of Kaliningrad, Russia.  However, Plautdietsch
(Mennonite Low Saxon) is the one group within this larger group that is still
going strong.  Thus, what are _Kind_ 'child' and _kieken_ 'to look' in most
Low Saxon dialects are _Kjind_ or _Tjind_ and _kjiekje(n)_ or _tjietje(n)_
respectively in Plautdietsch.  Considering examples such as Plautdietsch
_Malkj_ ~ _Maltj_ (elsewhere _Melk_ or _Milk_), one might be led to arguing
that no front vowel is involved, until one realizes that this [a] is still
underlyingly /e/.  (Assumedly by a rule that applies after palatalization,
Plautdietsch shifts /e/ to [a] and /a/ to [au].)  Once you become aware of
these shifts, it is really quite easy to understand Plautdietsch, at least in
writing, from the point of view of another Low Saxon dialect.  Things like /n/
assimilation of the type you mentioned, applying in most dialects (e.g.,
_beden_ ['be:dn] 'to pray', _lopen_ ['loupm] 'to run', _seggen_ ['zEgN] 'to
say'), not in all, usually cause no problem at all; nor does deletion of /-n/
in other dialects (_bede_, _lope_, _segge_ respectively).

Some people have an easier time understanding other people's dialects than do
others, of course.  However, in general everyone will get the hang of it
eventually.

Best regards,

Reinhard/Ron

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