LL-L "Language survival" 2003.04.14 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
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From: Theo Homan <theohoman at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language survival" 2003.04.13 (03) [E]

> From: jpkrause <jpkrause at weblink2000.net>
> Subject: Language Varieties
>
> Here in Kansas, the language decimation began a
> generation earlier with WWI.
> There are many local stories about signs being
> posted in shop windows in
> Newton, KS the heart of Kansas German country saying
> "No German spoken
> here."  To bring this into closer relation to our
> Lowlands Languages
> interest, Low Saxon/Low German has nearly
> disappeared.  I cannot find any
> one locally who speaks it better than I.  And I only
> speak it very brokenly.
> So imagine my surprise when I overheard two elderly
> gentlemen speaking Low
> German after church services one Sunday in Newton.
> I think WWI really dealt
> the death blow to the survival of Low German in
> Kansas.
>
> [Jim Krause]
>
-----------------------
Yes. You're right about WWI.
Once I spend some time in Harvard and there was a
professor (whose name I forgot) who seemed to know
everything about [Low] German and WWI.
If my memory serves me: at that time it was even
forbidden to teach German in USA-schools.
About this topic there have been some publications in
the field of sociolinguistics.

vr. gr.
Theo Homan

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From: Heinrich Becker <Heinrich.Becker at gmx.net>
Subject: LL-L "Language survival" 2003.04.13 (03) [E]

Dear Lowlanders,
during my visit in Minnesosota, Carver County, Sibley County, - places of
big Low German heritage, -most of the inhabitants have their roots in
Lueneburger Heide - I was told, confirmation was held in German until 1935.
Services
in German still were held after WW2. Now everything got lost. On the other
side, people are very proud of their German heritage. They would immediately
reintroduce their parantal language, if they only could- of course just for
fun.
Don't slight the meaning of humtata- celebrations. It may appear sometimes
strange to German intellectuals.  To me it seems more strange to be a fan of
an anonymous football club, than to a part of my heretage......

Southwards in Iowa, there is still a number of people - due to a
NDR-TV-report - who try to keep their Schleswig-Holstein Plattdeutsch.
Sounds very
funny, because its so oldfashioned. Maybe the place could be figured out, if
of
interest.

Regards from a Lueneburger Heide in spring

Heinrich Becker

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From: Andrys Onsman <Andrys.Onsman at CeLTS.monash.edu.au>
Subject: LL-L "Language survival" 2003.04.13 (03) [E]

Hi Jim, Reinhard and LLLs

> Similar things happened in Australia, apparently mostly during World War
I.

Similar things happened in Tasmania, Australia's beautiful island state. The
small mountain village of Bismarck was changed to Collinsvale, but the
variety of potato grown there stayed as Bismarck, because to change the name
of a potato would be far too confusing! You've just got to laugh
sometimes...

Andrys

--
Dr Andrys Onsman
HEDU
CeLTS
Monash University
PO Box 91 Clayton
Victoria 3800
Australia

Phone   03 9905 6826
Mobile  0438 667623
Facs    03 9905 6828

Andrys.Onsman at CeLTS.monash.edu.au
onsman at hotmail.com

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