LL-L "Language survival" 2003.05.01 (01) [E]

Thu May 1 15:06:57 UTC 2003

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L O W L A N D S - L * 01.MAY.2003 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Holger Weigelt <platt at holger-weigelt.de>
Subject: "Language survival"

> From: "Kenneth Rohde Christiansen" <kenneth at gnu.org>
> Subject: What to do in order to keep Low Saxon alive
>
> Hello,
>
> Here is an article that I wrote, which I hope you'll all find
> interesting and useful.
>.......
> The problem, though, is that young people don't learn the dialects and
> they don't carry on the dialect to future generations. This is due to
> many factors, and we have to look at what we can do in order to change
> that.
>
Hello Kenneth !
That's right. There are several reasons for the younger generation to
ignore
the regional language. Many such reasons have been mentioned in LL-L
postings of the past as well as in the actual discussion about language
survival.
But there are additional reasons based in the needs of modern life. The
fact
that the predominant national language is struggling for survival in a
world
of global "Kauderwelsch" is one but what I want to highlight at this
moment
especially is the need for many young people to leave their home-region
for
a long time if not for ever due to the educational and/or economical
situation.
For many looking forward to go once this is a reason to waste no thought
on
practising or learning LS because it won't be of any use in the world
outside.
There are left a few only who learn to speak the language proficiently.
If
these or at least a larger part of them must leave the country they
finally
loose contact to the language because there isn't left any need nor any
possibility for speaking.
If we bear these facts in mind how can we convince the youth that LS is
worth being regarded equal to other languages, is worth being learned
and
practised ?  Language carries cultural heritage and ideas but which of
them
carried by LS are of importance for modern life ?
Kind regards
Holger

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From: Gary Taylor <gary_taylor_98 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language survival

Hi all

Tom, wrote  "The Welsh seem to have had
considerable success in preserving their language"

I think that Welsh also has an advantage in that noone
would say that Welsh was a variety of English - it is
very definitely a different language. Lower Saxon and
Scots have the problem that they are still
recognisable and possibly about 80% understandable (in
written form anyway) by German and English speakers
respectively. This unfortunately leads English and
German speakers to regard them as non-standard
dialects, even when they are regarded as languages by
their native speakers (and even then not by everyone).
That's the main problem for these languages - they
need to be recognised as languages before they will be
supported and promoted.

Gary

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

Gary, you wrote above:

> I think that Welsh also has an advantage in that noone
> would say that Welsh was a variety of English - it is
> very definitely a different language.

Sure, this makes it harder to do the "dialect" thing, but apparently not
impossible, and there is always the option of pretending that a minority
language does not exist.  There are numerous such cases in the world.

For a long time, if not still, Kurdish (Kurmanji, an Iranic, thus
Indo-European language) was referred to by names containing "Turkish" (a
Turkic, thus Altaic language) in Turkey, such as "Mountain Turkish."

Until very recently (i.e., until a supreme court decision said
otherwise) Greece did not recognize its minority languages, especially
the Slavic ones in the North (Macedonian, Bulgarian and Pomak, besides
Romance Arumanian), and the official line was that they were not used in
Greece, furthermore, that the national language of a neighboring
country, Macedonia (a name to which Greece objects), does not exist or
is at most an artificial creation and is basically Bulgarian.
(Macedonian is also used by a minority in Bulgaria.)

When the European Union requested that its member countries recognize
their regional and minority languages, France had the dilemma of having
enshrined in its constitution that French (and by implication *only*
French) is the language of the Republic, and until recently there were
officially no language other than French used in that country.  I am
told that lately, as a compromise, the minority and regional languages
of that country are now considered something like varieties of French
... (or "French languages"?): Basque (a language isolate), Breton
(Celtic), Catalan (Iberian Romance), Corsican (Italic Romance), West
Flemish/Dutch (Lowlands Germanic), Franco-Provençal (Occitan-Italic
Romance), German (including Alsatian, Alemannic Germanic), Luxemburgish
(Rhenish Germanic), Occitan (Occitan Romance), Langue d'Oïl
(Gallo-Romance), not to mention numerous well-established "immigrant"
languages such as Arabic, Yiddish and Wolof.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

P.S.: Happy 1st of May to everyone!

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