LL-L "Language varieties" 2004.11.21 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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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: Jan Strunk <strunkjan at hotmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2004.11.20 (01) [E]

Hello,

Ron wrote in response to Ingmar:
> > What I do know is that these cities all use uvular [R] in stead of
trilled
> > [r] of the
> > surrounding countryside.
>
> I assume that that is an urban, Dutch-influenced innovation.  It is also
an
> innovation in the North Saxon speech modes of some people in Germany, in
> that case German-influenced.  The apical (trilled) [r] is still considered
> most authentic, and it is preserved in many Northerners' German.
As far as I know the Westphalian varieties, prevocalic r is always
pronounced as
an apical trill. The southernmost varieties of the Sauerland bordering on
the
dialects of the Siegerland may actually have a more retroflex r resembling
the English/American
pronunciation. Syllable final, postvocalic r (even if it is followed by
another vowel) is always realized
as a vowel, a lax [a].

I have just listened to a CD called "Een Rondje Twents" that I bought some
years ago in the Netherlands.
I seemed to recall that the dialect made a very "rhotic" impression on me.
But it seems that in general syllable-final, postvocalic r is also
pronounced as a vowel. But in contrast to
the Westphalian dialects that I know, an intervocalic r is always pronounced
as a trill.
Twents:                                Westphalian:
lekker [lekka]                        lekker [lekka]
lekker Rondje [lekkerondje]  lekker ründken [lekka ründken]

And the singer seems to constantly trill the r in the word for village:
dorp, i.e. [dorp] not [doap] as it would be pronounced in Westphalia.

So maybe, there are intermediate varieties that are neither fully "rhotic"
nor fully "non-rhotic".
Maybe speakers of  Twents could enlighten us...

Some of you have also discussed the possibility that prevocalic voicing of
some fricatives such as
/s/, etc. maybe a typical Saxon feature. While it is certainly so, that
southern dialects of German
don't have voiced /s/ but usually on opposition between fortis and lenis, I
was taught (always keep in mind
that I am not a native speaker, unfortunately) that in Westphalian
all /s/ are usually pronounced as voiceless even before a vowel (there might
be cases of intervocalic voicing, though),
i.e.
se (she) [sei] not [zei]
seggt (says) [saecht] not [zaecht], etc.

If I remember correctly I was even told that using the voiced variants was
due to Standard German
influence. As an aside, my native variety the mixed dialects of the Ruhr
Area (which could be considered
a kind of southern Missingsch) does consistently use the voiced variants.
But it also uses a uvular r instead
of the traditional Westphalian apical r.
So, there are several scenarios. Either the prevocalic voicing is not really
a "Saxon" feature but a feature of only
some Saxon varieties. Either the quite conservative Westphalian dialects
have preserved an old pronunciation
and the North has innovated or the Westphalian dialects may have been
influenced from the south although I
do not know at the moment whether Middle German dialects have a
voiced/voiceless contrast or a fortis/lenis
contrast.

Guedgaon!

Jan Strunk
strunk at linguistics.rub.de

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