reinje's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Details My fabulous readership of one has asked me what language exactly I am talking about when I say things like �Jauma Lied,� or maybe �fartz.� Although I bet you can figure out what that last one means without too much trouble. Gentle reader, those words are none other than God�s language, AKA Plattdietsch, Plattdeutsch, Frysian, or �Low� German. Although I have to say I�m fairly surprised that said reader didn�t recognize this particular patois from the Bible. I cast no stones. Low German was my parents� first language, and the Mother Tongue of my people. Although it has not yet been written down, since most of us aren�t exactly literate, there is considerable interest on the part of scholars in doing so. There is a website by Herman Rempel that attempts to do just that. This same inquisitive reader may be interested in mastering the art of speaking Low German with the proper accent. For the best results, I recommend speaking the words with your best German accent. Got it? Now, do exactly the same thing, only with the inflection of an adolescent boy barfing while you say the word. Try this one: �Schneppeld�ak� or �Kjoakjebaun� I know! It�s counsel such as this that has earned me such an illustrious career as a diction coach. I once actually had a singer throw up in class while practicing his Low German accent. Boy, was that ever funny! He got an A, though, so I don�t think he was too worked up about it. It�s a funny thing about language, you know. Sometimes it�s easy to get caught up in the details. Like for example, sometimes when we�re in bed I like to practice my guttural �r� before I fall asleep. Lying down somehow makes it easier to get your uvula going. Work up a little saliva, and presto! Although He doesn�t like it so much when I practice my guttural �r�'s. I know there�s a connection to be made somewhere between how I like to clean, and how I practice, and liking the details of language. It�s like it�s on the tip of my tongue, but I can�t quite articulate it. I can�t shake this feeling that if I could just figure out what the correlation between these things is, I would be a happier person. In the meantime, well, I suppose my house is clean and I suppose I logged 7 hours at the piano today. That counts for something, nijcht? Nijchta, Reinje 9:26 p.m. - 2005-05-06 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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