LL-L "History" 2005.04.24 (06) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
L O W L A N D S - L * 24.APR.2005 (06) * 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: lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org or lowlands-l at lowlands-l.net
Commands ("signoff lowlands-l" etc.): listserv at listserv.net
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: Arthur Jones <arthurobin2002 at yahoo.com>
Subject: ANNIVERSARY 2005 04 24

From: Arthur A. Jones
arthurobin2002 at yahoo.com

Dear Lowlanders,

I realize that it is already past midnight for many of
you, and even a new afternoon for others. But I wanted
to get in brief word about minority language, and
culture, and family, and memory, before the sun set
today at my door.

Today, April 24, was the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. In 1915, as part of a desperate
attempt at territorial consolidation, the failing
Ottoman Empire began its terrible work of expelling,
shooting, stabbing, starving, and slaughtering one and
one-half million Armenian men, women, and children. It
placed millions more in an impoverished diaspora.

To all Armenian Lowlanders, and I trust there are
several, I would say _ts'avakts'um em_.

The Armenian Holocaust was of special relevance to all
of us Lowlanders, because it touches us more deeply
than it affects many others. We are, after all,
concerned with the survival of languages that, to
differing degrees, are all under threat of extinction.

Also, many of us live in our own, self-inflicted,
diasporas. We can feel what Armenians call _garoda_,
or a deep, inexplicable yearning for homeland that is
like the flame of a pilot light; a low, almost
imperceptible burning in the psyche. The Welsh call
the same thing _hiraeth_. Question to Ron: Can these
two be etymologically related? Do we have a
Proto-Indo-European root for it?

One of the after-effects of genocide, or its attempt,
is that children and grand-children are cut off from
their roots by assimilation into new cultures and
languages. Few regain their mother tongue.

An Armenian told me yesterday, "I feel Armenian, but I
don't want to live near Ararat". Similarly, the
anguish was expressed in a song, about twelve years
ago, by the Young Dubliners: "It's a long, long way
from Claire to here."

Preserving languages necessitates making them live and
vibrate like guitar strings. It is never a simple
choice between the shackles of protectionism (like
taking all the fun out of Boarisch/Bavarian), or the
anarchy of globalization.

Our most powerful tool is memory: _hishoghut'yun_.
As we express our condolences to Hayastan, we should
also feel some satisfaction that all of you,
Lowlanders, are recording and remembering as we
travel.

Shnoragalut'yun.

Arthur

==============================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.
=======================================================================