LL-L "List" 2003.09.19 (09) [E/German]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
L O W L A N D S - L * 19.SEP.2003 (09) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
http://www.lowlands-l.net * lowlands-l at lowlands-l.net
Rules & Guidelines: http://www.lowlands-l.net/index.php?page=rules
Posting Address: lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org
Server Manual: http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html
Archives: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html
Encoding: Unicode (UTF-8) [Please switch your view mode to it.]
=======================================================================
You have received this because you have 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.
=======================================================================
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)
=======================================================================

From: R. F. Hahn <lowlands-l at lowlands-l.net>
Subject: List

On September 9, 2003, I wrote:

> By the way, I was just told that, apparently in print in Germany, someone
> has alleged that LL-L is a vehicle for Nazi propaganda (!).  I am waiting
> for a copy of this and will refute it if this is possible and worthwhile
> (i.e., not beneath me/us).  Allegations of this sort never cease to amaze
> me, and any of you who have been on LL-L for a while and know me even just
> a
> bit can probably imagine how this sort of ignorant accusation makes me
> feel....

In the meantime I received a photocopy of the supposedly "offending" text,
an interview with Ulf-Thomas Lesle, research scientist at the Institute for
Low German Language in Bremen (http://www.is-bremen.de/ins/, INS.bremen at t-on
line.de).  It appeared in _taz – Die Tageszeitung_ (taz nord, July 8, 2003,
p. 23).  I found a web copy of it:
http://www.taz.de/pt/2003/07/08/a0021.nf/text

The folks that alerted me to it seem to understand the "offending" paragraph
as implying that Lowlands-L has some sort of sinister objective, the use of
"pan-germanisch" and "völkisch" and the context within the specific
paragraph in the apparently anti-separatist-and seemingly
anti-diversity-slanted article evoking associations with a Nazi mind-set:

<quote>

Aber es gibt doch keine plattdeutsche Skinhead-Szene, die "Uutlänners ruut"
skandieren würde.

Nein, dort ist das Plattdeutsche bislang nicht angekommen. Aber im Internet
findet man durchaus pan-germanische Visionen, die sich an Sprache und
Sprachschutz "andocken". In Websites wie www.newhansa.netlines.com oder
www.lowlands.com haben völkische Ideen ein modernes Gesicht bekommen.

</quote>

My translation:

<translation>

But there isn’t any Low German skinhead scene with the dictum "Foreigners
out!" -- is there?

No, Low German has not arrived at that point so far. But in the Internet you
definitely do find pan-Germanic visions that use language and language
preservation as their “docking” place. Nationalist notions have taken on a
new look at websites such as www.newhansa.netlines.com or www.lowlands.com.

</translation>

(By the way, neither of the mentioned web addresses exists.)

While I am cc'ing the Institute and the reporter (donbleyl at yahoo.com) on
this, I do not see any need for a formal repudiation.

I have no beef with Dr. Lesle, and I give him the benefit of the doubt.
Yes, it is unfortunate that he and/or the reporter did not do their
homework, and that Lowlands-L has been, at least by implication,
mischaracterized, in some people's eyes possibly maligned or libeled.

As far as I am concerned, Dr. Lesle is entirely welcome to his personal
opinions and, in my view, misconceptions, though I wish he had done at least
rudimentary research on our organization before categorizing it in public.
Furthermore, I find it regrettable that some people who ought to combine
forces with others for the sake of our threatened language prefer to
continue on the old "divide and conquer" road.  All of you know full well
that there is no official pan-Germanic ideology on this list (which has
members of numerous ethnicities all over the world), that in fact the
 “High”-German and North Germanic groups are excluded from our focus, and
that all we are exploring are the commonalities of our closely related
linguistic and cultural ties irrespective of political boundaries.  All of
you furthermore know that anything even remotely "right-wing" is abhorrent
to me personally and that I would never even dream of being associated with
anything of the sort, leave alone *create* a forum that espouses racist,
ethnocentric or otherwise chauvinist views.

I can well imagine that our handshakes across garden fences may seem
somewhat threatening to the mindsets of some who fail to "get it" and would
prefer their charges to remain within their own backyards and thus under
their control, in this case "Low German" remaining part of German, while its
dialects that happen to fall on the Netherlands side of the border should be
part of Dutch -- in other words, making accidental national boundaries into
ethnic, linguistic and cultural boundaries – an attitude that is a true sign
of its holder having missed the boat called "European Union."

I for one am happy to put this behind me and to turn my mind from nay-sayers
to yea-sayers, namely to positive forces that are willing to open their
minds and hearts to celebrations of diversity within unity, regionally as
well as universally.

Thanks for your support!
Reinhard/Ron

================================END===================================
* 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.
=======================================================================