LL-L "Language maintenance" 2007.08.07 (05) [E]

Tue Aug 7 18:49:54 UTC 2007

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L O W L A N D S - L  -  07 August 2007 - Volume 05

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From: "Clarkedavid8 at aol.com" <Clarkedavid8 at aol.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language maintenance" 2007.08.07 (04) [E]

Ron wrote:

I'm glad Charles went for the banner and asked about it, and good thing he
learned a thing or two in the process.  I'm sorry he is often underrated and
his (understandable) awkwardness and dislike regarding the media don't
help.  He strikes me as being rather sensitive, perceptive, receptive and
approachable with an intellectual bent, even as passionate about lots of
issues, at least as caring about stuff.  In other words, he dares to have
and display interests and opinions that are not manufactured by the protocol
and PR staff.  If you're a monarchist or not, as a compassionate and
respectful human being one has to give him credit for that considering his
circumstances.  I can imagine he would be approachable about language issues
now or as the king.

 You're not angling for a mention in the Honours List, Ron? I think Charles
seems very similar to his ancestor, Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert,
who was earnest and well-meaning but not very intelligent or effectual. He
makes me think of Heine's bitchy comment about the Albert Memorial, that it
shows all the great geniuses of human history around the base and then a
complete nonentity (Prince Albert) on top. Heine was not very fond of either
the English or German princes, however, so he might have been biased.

David Clarke

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

Dave:
You're not angling for a mention in the Honours List, Ron?

Hah! Oh, sure I am! Darn it! You weren't supposed to notice.

I have no fundamental problem with royals representing the people by being
cultural icons, as they are elsewhere in Europe these days, as long as they
allow democracy to run its course. As cultural icons, I think they have an
obligation to represent the regions to which they have titles, which
includes serious rather than ceremonial language studies (such as Welsh in
Charles' case).  In republics, there are equivalent non-aristocratic icons
doing that, usually appointed rather than elected, and usually without
political power.  So the difference is not all that great with the exception
of amounts of expenditure and acquisition of titles.

Well, wearing my Australian hat I still bear a grudge regarding three
things: (1) the sacking of the Whitlam government, (2) the WW II
pronouncement that Australia and other "colonies" could be sacrificed as
long as the "mother country" was safe, and (3) the sudden and unceremonious
rejection of Australia's and New Zealand's exports with the UK's joining of
the Common Market.  Furthermore, I don't have the track record of a royalist
and am not known to favor inherited titles and offices.

However, those are political issues, and as I'm (hopefully) maturing and am
more consciously and successfully cultivating compassion and starving anger,
I am able to separate those issues from those of relating to someone purely
on a human level. I don't envy the members of the Royal Family, and I do
give them credit for doing the best they can in roles not of their choosing.
I can somehow relate to Charles, his interests and peeves, and his
awkwardness brings out more of his humanity and vulnerability.  Being
effectual is one thing, being a mentsh is another, especially considering
his environment and the expectations of him.  I feel there's a closet rebel
hiding somewhere, as well as the dreamy, nerdy recluse of a boy.  (Remember
the children's books he wrote?)  Similar with the Queen.  She's obviously
been working hard, doing the best she can and knows how all her life, and
her slightly acerbic, straight-faced sense of humor makes her more endearing
to me.  Don't forget that they are products of their environments and
upbringing just like the rest of us are. They seem like people I could have
chats with.  I would definitely choose "Ma'am" and "Sir" as forms of address
rather than words like "Majesty" and "Highness," and the good thing is that
this is an option these days.  I've heard someone (Scottish) address the
Queen as "Mrs. Windsor" in everyday life, and she didn't seem to mind.  I
feel she's more flexible and tolerant than many people would have it.

So, on the serious side, what if the unthinkable did happen and I was
offered such honors?  In the 1970s, my answer might have been short and not
terribly polite. These days I'd say it depends on what it's for, namely if
it's consistent with the "cultural icon" expectations on my part.  Have the
rest of you ever thought about that, and has it changed in the course of
your life?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

•

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