LL-L: "Language politics" LOWLANDS-L, 09.APR.2001 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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  L O W L A N D S - L * 09.APR.2001 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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  A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
  LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic, Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: Marco Evenhuis [evenhuis at zeelandnet.nl]
Subject: LL-L: "Language politics" LOWLANDS-L, 07.APR.2001 (05) [E]

Criostoir asked:

> A warm thank you to Frans Buter for his wealth of
> detail concerning his sociolinguistic affliations in
> Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen. I for one would invite other
> Lowlanders, wherever they are and whatever their
> mother tongue, to contribute their own feelings on
> personal allegiance, social history, and the histories
> of their particular language.

A few words from just a few miles north of Frans Buters Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.
I
live on the (former) isle of Walcheren (Walcher) and my island is
considered
to be the most calvinist of all parts of Zeeland. And being calvinist in
the
Netherlands generally means being loyal to the queen and to the state of
the
Netherlands. And to a certain degree it's true: where in other parts of
Zeeland (catholic areas as the eastern and part of the western parts of
Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, a part of Zuid-Beveland, some villages on the isle of
Tholen) carnaval is thé yearly event, here on Walcheren 'Koninginnedag'
('Queens Day') is celebrated with a lot of enthousiasm.
But there is something peculiar about calvinist Zeeland and the isle of
Walcheren in particular. I personally feel that this loyalty to the royal
house has more to do with religious background rather than patriotic
feelings. In fact, people with an interest in history (and there are quite
a
few around: the 'Heemkundige Kring Walcheren', a society for amateurs in
local and regional history, has over 2,500 members on a total population of

a mere 100,000) here on the island talk with pride about the 'vrije
independente staat Zeeland'.
The free independent state of Zeeland was proclaimed during the Eighty
Year's War, when the State of Holland wished to make peace with Spain.
Zeeland refused to do so. Partly because of the financial benefits of the
war (during the war Zeeland ships where free to privateer and raid Spanish
ships all over the world), partly because the State of Zeeland did not wish

to give in with the State of Holland. Anyway, Zeeland officially made peace

with Spain just a few years ago!

Since (some, of course not all) people still feel proud of what Zeeland did

then, the importance of the State of Zeeland in that time and the stubbern
attitude of the Zeeland magistrates who refused to speak Dutch during
meetings in Holland with all seven protestant Netherlands (they where the
only non-Hollandic magistrates who refused to do so at all time).

People from Walcheren are still very proud of their cultural heritage (it's

about the only part of Zeeland where older women still wear the traditional

regional costume; I believe there are still some 4 or 500 left), very proud

of what sets Walcheren or Zeeland as a whole apart from the rest of the
Netherlands (language!) and have always had and still have a very strong
tendency to look south, to Flanders. Pretty much in a way that Frans Buter
described for Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (except for the fact that there is less
contact with say Bruges and Ghent because of the geographic barrier of the
river Scheldt).
To give you an idea: young people (mostly from rural areas) can be seen
waving the Zeeland flag and singing along with the 'national hymn' of
Zeeland at concerts by the rockband Surrender (who sing in Zeeuws of
course). Something that reminded me of a Wolfstone gig I saw in Dundee...

A friend of mine described the older 'Walchenaar' as someone who lives in a

house built with bricks from Flanders, with a portrait of the queen on the
wall an an old family Bible (Statenvertaling of course) and the early works

of the famous poet Jacob Cats on the mantelpiece. The early works of Cats,
because later in his life Cats moved to Leiden in Holland and started
writing in Dutch in stead of Zeeuws...

regards,

Marco

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