Don't you also fear that Low German will die out? Compared to Southern Germany very few youths in the North speak their Low German dialect.
Low German will die out
IS THERE A VERY BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOW GERMAN AND HIGH GERMAN? IS IT LIKE COMPARING OCCITAN AND FRENCH? OR IS IT LIKE COMPARING MEXICAN SPANISH WITH ARGENTINIAN SPANISH?
=>Compared to Southern Germany very few youths in the North speak their Low German dialect. <=
Erm, is it just me or aren't there any Low German dialects in Southern Germany?
Erm, is it just me or aren't there any Low German dialects in Southern Germany?
There is NO Low German in Southern Germany
Low German = Niederdeutsch = German as spoken in the low-lying = northern parts of Germany!
Low German = Niederdeutsch = German as spoken in the low-lying = northern parts of Germany!
>>IS THERE A VERY BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOW GERMAN AND HIGH GERMAN? IS IT LIKE COMPARING OCCITAN AND FRENCH? OR IS IT LIKE COMPARING MEXICAN SPANISH WITH ARGENTINIAN SPANISH?<<
The difference between the High German languages and the Low German languages is probably closer similar to that between the Oïl languages and the Occitan dialects (but moreso in the case of Afrikaans). Note that I am using a different sense of "Low German" here, as I'm using it in the general sense of all "low" West Germanic languages which are not Anglo-Frisian languages; consequently such includes Low Saxon, Dutch, West Flemish, Afrikaans, and East Low German, if one treats it as distinct from Low Saxon.
That said, what is being referred to here as "Low German" is not the Low German languages together, but rather Low Saxon (and East Low German). The main matter, though, is that Low Saxon is really no closer to High German than Dutch is; on one hand, its vowel phonology is far more conservative than that of Dutch or that of High German, and on another hand, it has significant grammatical differences from High German which place Dutch closer to High German than it. The primary area in which Low Saxon is closer to High German than Dutch is vocabulary, for lack of French influence and for more shared vocabulary with High German, but even then Low Saxon has plenty of its own separate vocabulary (for example "snacken" for German "sprechen").
The difference between the High German languages and the Low German languages is probably closer similar to that between the Oïl languages and the Occitan dialects (but moreso in the case of Afrikaans). Note that I am using a different sense of "Low German" here, as I'm using it in the general sense of all "low" West Germanic languages which are not Anglo-Frisian languages; consequently such includes Low Saxon, Dutch, West Flemish, Afrikaans, and East Low German, if one treats it as distinct from Low Saxon.
That said, what is being referred to here as "Low German" is not the Low German languages together, but rather Low Saxon (and East Low German). The main matter, though, is that Low Saxon is really no closer to High German than Dutch is; on one hand, its vowel phonology is far more conservative than that of Dutch or that of High German, and on another hand, it has significant grammatical differences from High German which place Dutch closer to High German than it. The primary area in which Low Saxon is closer to High German than Dutch is vocabulary, for lack of French influence and for more shared vocabulary with High German, but even then Low Saxon has plenty of its own separate vocabulary (for example "snacken" for German "sprechen").
If I am going to play the Norwegian nationalist I would say:
Hooraah, Low German is dying. At last we get revenge for the sad bastardization of our lovely Old Norse tongue that the Hanseatic merchants managed to achieve in the 14-15th century.
Hooraah, Low German is dying. At last we get revenge for the sad bastardization of our lovely Old Norse tongue that the Hanseatic merchants managed to achieve in the 14-15th century.
Having grown up in a Dutch Hanseatic town, I am quite curious to know how your lovely Old Norse tongue was bastardized? Can you give some examples?
Any idea what it was that was it actually traded between Norway and the Hanseatic cities in those days?
Fascinating days though.
Any idea what it was that was it actually traded between Norway and the Hanseatic cities in those days?
Fascinating days though.
We got the prefixes -an and -be and the suffixes -het and -else from low German. They are very common in Danish-inspired Bokmål today, but almost banned in puristic Nynorsk, as they come from Low German.
Old Norse: vitja (visit)
Norwegian Bokmål: besøke (visit) (from Low German bezoeken)
Old Norse: ást (love)
Norwegian Bokmål: kjærlighet (love) (kjær from French cher, -het from Low German)
Norway exchanged stockfish (dried cod) and cod liver oil against grain, (+ salt, wine, cloth etc.)
Old Norse: vitja (visit)
Norwegian Bokmål: besøke (visit) (from Low German bezoeken)
Old Norse: ást (love)
Norwegian Bokmål: kjærlighet (love) (kjær from French cher, -het from Low German)
Norway exchanged stockfish (dried cod) and cod liver oil against grain, (+ salt, wine, cloth etc.)