LL-L "Language politics" 2002.01.28 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 28.JAN.2002 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/>
 Rules: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/rules.html>
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Server Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 Archive: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html>
=======================================================================
 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
=======================================================================

From: "Szelog, Mike" <Mike.Szelog at CITIZENSBANK.com>
Subject: Opinion - off topic (?)

From: Szelog, Mike
Sent: Monday, 28 January, 2002 2:51 PM
To: 'lowlands-l at listserv.liguistlist.org'
Subject: Opinion - off topic (?)


Hello all,

This may be a bit off-topic, but I was wondering what other linguists
think
concerning this question -

A question recently came up in a discussion as to whether or not Rusyn
(not
to be confused with Russian) should be considered a separate language or
whether it was simply a dialect of Ukrainian, or even if it should be
considered a dialect of Russian - just curious to see what others might
think about it - Rusyn is a minority language/dialect in the
Transcarpathian
area - Rusyns consider it a separate language, many Ukrainians simply a
dialect. I suppose it involves the whole age old question language or
dialect, but I was just wondering what others thought.

Thanks very much - hope this is not too off-topic.

Mike Szelog
Manchester, NH - USA
*****This information may be confidential and/or privileged. Use of this
information by anyone other than the intended recipient is prohibited.
If
you received this in error, please inform the sender and remove any
record
of this message.*****
*****This information may be confidential and/or privileged. Use of this
information by anyone other than the intended recipient is prohibited.
If
you received this in error, please inform the sender and remove any
record
of this message.*****

----------

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language politics

Mike,

Your question is relevant only with regard to the global, or at least
common European, tendency of denying languages officially separate
status if they are relatively closely related to the respective "power"
languages.

In our "Lowlands" this is the case with Low Saxon (Low German, vs German
and Dutch), Limburgish (vs Dutch and German), Zeelandic (vs Dutch), and
Scots (vs English).  Some of these have now been officially recognized
in some places, usually reluctantly, under European Union pressure.
However, many people still refer to them as "dialect," and they cling to
the old political line that these should be considered parts of the
respective power languages and that this official recognition is a bunch
of newfangled foreign-infiltrated hooey that will cause additional tax
spending and might give power to the causes of separatists.

In the neighborhood of our Lowlands, there is also the question of
whether or not Southern Jutish (Sønderjysk) is separate from Danish,
whether or not (true) Skanian (_Skånsk_, being more closely related to
Danish) is separate from Swedish, and whether or not Kashubian is
separate from Polish (which will be of interest when Poland joins the
EU).

Yes, it's the same old problem we keep chewing on over and over on LL-L.

Note: Rusyn, also known as "Ruthenian," "Carpathian" and
"Carpatho-Ruthenian," is East Slavic (thus most closely related to
Russian Belorusian and Ukrainian) and is used by several tens of
thousands in the Transcarpathian Oblast of Ukraine, but is also used by
a minority in Eastern Slovakia, possibly also in Romania.  In Ukraine,
Rusyn is occasionally used in the media but is totally overshadowed by
Standard Ukrainian and has no official status.  In Slovakia (where the
majority language is Western Slavic), Rusyn was declared a normative,
codified language in 1995 and may now be used formally in education and
the media.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

==================================END===================================
 You have received this because your account has been subscribed upon
 request. To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l"
 as message text from the same account to
 <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or sign off at
 <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================
 * Please submit postings to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
 * Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.
 * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
 * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
   to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
   <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 * Please use only Plain Text format, not Rich Text (HTML) or any other
   type of format, in your submissions
=======================================================================