LL-L "Language varieties" 2001.11.21 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 21.NOV.2001 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian 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: Rudi Vari <rudi at its.co.za>
Subject: LL-L "Resources" 2001.11.20 (01) [D/E]

Hallo Lowlanders / Ron

Ever since I can remember, I have had at least a latent interest in languages
-
more specifically the one that I grew up in: Dutch, Afrikaans and English. One
interesting fact? that I came across has to do with a language continuum. Let
me
illustrate what I understand by this. As a non linguist, I lack the formal
terms
with which to describe what I mean, but here goes anyway.

If you were to start a journey in let us say Antwerpen or Hoek van Holland and
leisurely proceeded in an easterly direction, you would encounter a slow
change
of
the language around you: a few new words here, a few words lost there and
perhaps
different pronunciations for some others. The changes would be so slow that
you
would hardly have any trouble adapting to (assimilating?) these changes. By
the
time you arrived at the other end of Europe, the language would indeed have
changed significantly. Perhaps so much so that you 'learned' an entirely new
language.

However, would this be a language continuum; much like the spectrum of visible
light?. In this context, how do isoglosses come into being, and how do they
continue to exist? Is this a phenomenon that exists for all major language
groups?

Another question that I would like to raise has to do with the change of
language
over time and distance. As people moved about in Europe since the very first
inhabitants, their language changed over time; and as they moved away from the
'mother' group, their language underwent further changes. Where can I find a
clear
description of the methods/algorithms used to trace these changes back to
their
root, thus arriving at the 'proto-language'? How were these methods used to
arrive
at proto germanic and even indo-germanic?

Enough for now. If these question do not belong in this list, please accept my
apologies.

Kind regards
Rudi Vári

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