LL-L "Anniversary" 2006.03.20 (08) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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   L O W L A N D S - L * 20 March 2006 * Volume 08
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From: Marcel Bas <marcelbas at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Anniversary" 2006.03.20 (05) [E]


Hi Ron,

you wrote:

>*Any* language variety is more than welcome, even several >translations 
>into
>and sound recordings in the same variety.   I've been on >people's case 
>about
>South African, Irish and New Zealand English (among other >things) for 
>quite
>some time, and I have discussed aspects of SA English >before."

Oh, you have?! I must have been away at that time, I'll go check in the 
Lowlands-L archives. For some reason I never thought that Lowlands-L would 
be interested in British dialects of English. This is all quite a 
coincidence, because I have had a keen interest in South African English 
ever since I first  joined Lowlands-L back in 1996. Anyway, I guess now my 
knowledge of (SA) English is less anecdotal and more scholarly.
Last year I was given the opportunity  to give a lecture at our university 
on this subject, and I designed a SA English sound chart. And last year I 
visited the SA English Dictionary Unit at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. 
I will partly do the field work in Port Elizabeth for Rhodes University.

Jy skryf verder:

>The story ought to be retranslated into authentic language, >and a 
>recording
>ought to be added if possible.

>Good luck with the dissertation and field work!  Make sure >you take a
>digital recorder with you.  They are excellent and no longer >expensive.

Thank you, Ron. Yes, I guess I should do that. Would you perhaps know which 
device is the best? We will be using the Praat-software from University of 
Amsterdam, which makes the use of digital sound recordings necessary.

The sentences that you want translated into all these languages are quite 
specific. Have they also been especially designed to yield a phonological 
diversity, such as the Wenker-Sätze in High German 'Sprachraum'?

I will try to write in SA English now:

I guess that a translation into South African English mustn't be a problem. 
I'll stay with my relatives in PE, and they are all English speakers, mos. I 
must ma ask my cousin to say the sentences. Besides, I'll have a digital 
recorder, at that time. I don't think that written South African English 
will show you too many typical dialect features, as SA English acrolect is 
very close to British English. The basilect will only emerge if someone is 
speaking colloquial English.

Funnily enough, most people that I know of are not aware of their SA 
dialect. They deny their dialect and tell me: "We are decent people." Or 
they say: "We don't have a dialect. Americans talk funny, we talk English". 
This is always good material for a nice debate.

Anyway, I'll see what I can do with the sentences! Mind you, this will be 
the speech of someone from the Eastern Cape. The lingo in Natal, for 
example, is a bit different from that of Port Elizabeth (although the Natal 
and the Eastern Cape dialects are busy merging). This difference is caused 
by the different origins and times of arrival of these people's ancestors.

Regards,

Marcel.

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Anniversary

Hey, Marcel!

Tsk, tsk ... You're not only out of practice but also out of touch, buddy. 
(That's what happens to naughty boys that jump off.)  I suggest you go back 
to our homepage (http://www.lowlands-l.net/) and read up on aims and rules.

English is one of the members of the Lowlands family, and as such, South 
African English is relevant and of interest, doubly so considering its 
contacts with Afrikaans.

If you go to the anniversary presentation 
(http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/) and look at the table of contents, 
you'll see an italic "l" marking all varieties that are directly relevant to 
Lowlands-L.

The story about the wren has no "strategic" contents.  We chose it because 
it's Lowlandic by origin and it's more interesting (and cuter) than the 
usual set of sentences or the story about the north wind and the sun.  This 
is not only for linguists but for anyone, and one of the aims is to attract 
people to a sort of language extravaganza or celebration.  A purely academic 
approach does not cast the net as widely and tends to be intimidating and 
offputting to the average person, and yet, our material is of use for 
professionals as well.

As for digital voice recorders, for my needs I'm very happy with my Olympus 
VN-1000.  It's good quality, easy to use and cheap (USD 49.99, less at 
discount stores), and it comes with software.  It has 1000 minutes (16+ 
hours) of recording time.  The VN-2000 (USD 69.99) gives you 33 hours. 
These are mono, because they are specific for voice.  The WS-200S (USD 
129.99) has 55 hours and stereo.  If you travel with a laptop or visit your 
PC frequently, you don't need a recorder will all that much capacity, 
because you can upload the files to the hard drive as you go.

Good luck!
Reinhard/Ron 

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