LL-L "Language varieties" 2004.05.24 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 24.May.2004 (03) * 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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Van: "Szelog, Mike" <Mike.Szelog at citizensbank.com>
Onderwerp: Language varieties


Thanks Dan,

I guess I was just wondering if there was one dialect/variety that "sounded"
closer to English than the rest. They all developed pretty much the same,
but to me, North Frisian "sounds" (not a very scientific way to describe it)
closer to English than West Frisian. I was wondering if there was a
particular variety of N. Frisian that "sounded" a bit closer to English than
the others. I'm thinking maybe Öömrang, (with it's "gud dai" for example)
but I'm not sure.

Thanks,

Mike S
Manchester, NH - USA

> From: Daniel Prohaska <daniel at ryan-prohaska.com>
> Subject: Question Regarding North Friesian
>
> Mike Szelog wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I have been looking at some of the various varieties of North
>> Friesian and
>> would like to attempt to learn more of them.
>>
>> I'm curious if someone can tell me which of the North Friesian
>> variants is
>> the closest to English? Some of them are indeed quite close, but just
>> wondering if there may be one in particular? Can anyone recommend some
>> good
>> grammars/primers to learn that particular variant?
>>
>> Thanks,
>
> Hello, Mike.
>
> It's been sometime since I've pondered this very same question. After
> reading up on some material I had come to some conclusions I can share
> with you here. As I said - it's been some time, so I'm not standing on
> the firm ground here that I once had under my feet but I'll see what the
> old brain-box can come up with.
>
> To cut a long story short: no single dialect of North Frisian can be
> considered historically closer to English than the other. All Frisian
> dialects North-, West- or East- are related to English in the same way.
>
> There are of course secondary developments that will make certain
> features of the one dialect appear more similar to English than the
> cognate features of another Frisian dialect, but as I said these are
> secondary, parallel developments that have to do with inherent
> tendencies in the ancient North-Sea Germanic dialects.
>
> If we consider historical relationships then we have to
> of North Sea Germanic (Ingvaeonic) became distinct enough to
> recognise them as the beginnings of a development towards separate
> languages.
> Doing so one realises that the dialects that eventually became Frisian
> and those that were carried across the channel to beome English were
> already distinct, probably even before Ingvaeonic speaking people left
> for the Briatin that had been abandoned by the Roman governing forces.
>
> We can assume a dialect continuum for the Channel-North Sea continental
> coast before emigration. The Frisians were rather south-west of the area
> most colonisers came from - speaking slightly different dialects.
>
> Note that continental Saxon underwent similar developments shared by
> Frisian and English which makes all three varieties as close to each
> other as the next. Continental Saxon was, heavily influenced by more
> southerly dialects, subsequent to the emigration of the future-English,
> so England and Frisia can be considered relic areas of a sort that
> preserved older common developments.
>
>
> I doubt any one Frisian variety remained in contact with English
> intensely enough to make it follow English developments rather
> developments shared by its fellow Frisian dialects in the time between
> English emigration and the first wave of Frisian emigration to what are
> today the North Frisian isles (continental North Frisia was colonised at
> a later date).
>
> The similarities between Frisian and English rather lie in the retension
> of formerly more wide spread developments than in the common development
> of certain features one the one hand, as well as later parallel
> developments that happened similarly in in both languages without being
> connected. Sometimes these prallel developments happened a millenium
> apart, but naturally the outcome looks similar. Early varieties of
> northern Old Saxon shared all of the common developments as can be
> reconstructed from place names and relic words.
>
> I'm sorry I cannot give you a more satifying answer, but I hope it
> helps. If you have more detailed
> w and I'll dig out my old notes and see what I can come up with.
>
> Dan

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