LL-L "Language varieties" 2004.08.13 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 13.AUG.2004 (05) * 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: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language varieties

Bill Wigham <redbilly2 at earthlink.net> asked (under "Etymology")

>     Qs:  Where does Pennsylvania deutsch stand regarding our list (above)
of
> the official Lowland Languages.  Does it represent a Middle ground between
> Low German and High (elevation,  that is) German?

Pennsylvania German (or "Pennsylvanish") is primarily based on Hessian
*German*, German not being included here, or only playing a peripheral role
whenever relevant to "Low" discussions.  The dialects that are called
"Central" German (_Mitteldeutsch_) are those in the transitional "buffer"
zone between Lowlands Saxon and German, various isoglosses running through
it.

Please remember that "Low German" -- or more precisely Low(lands) Saxon --
has Old Saxon as its ancestor, while German has Old German ("Old High
German") as it's ancestor, two rather different languages.  In other words,
LS isn't really German (though it is certainly Germanic), although centuries
of Germanization conditioning in Germany has made people there believe that
it is.  It has now been officially recognized as a "regional language" in
Germany, the Netherlands and the European Union.  In other words, it is,
technically speaking, a language separate from German, just as Frisian,
Danish, Sorbian and Romany are.  However, old ways of thinking aren't easy
to shake off, not only because of the mentioned Germanizing education in
Germany, but also because its speakers have, as a result of this
Germanization, lost most of their old sense of Saxon ethnicity (having only
a vague "North German" awareness left) and have been absorbed into German
ethnicity in Germany (while the _Nedersaksisch_ speakers of the Eastern
Netherlands are considered Netherlanders, though not "Hollanders") -- hence
the status of *regional* language rather than *minority* language.

> What do we call the German that is taught in school these days,
> Schuledeutsch, High German, oder was?

Simply "German" will do, "Standard German" if you need more precision.  I
would like to see "High German" fade back into the woodwork it oozed out of.
But that's *my* bias.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

P.S.: You're doing just fine, Bill.  Just try to keep discussion threads
separate, and read the rules
(http://www.lowlands-l.net/index.php?page=rules) if in doubt.

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