Low Saxon language
Low Saxon (in Low Saxon,
Nedersaksisch,
Neddersassisch,
"Plattdüütsch" or
"Nedderdüütsch") is any of a variety of Low German
dialects spoken in northern
Germany and the
Netherlands.
Plattdüütsch is the name for both the Low Saxon and the
East Low German language.
Since 1994 Low Saxon has been recognised by the
European Union as an independent
regional language. Since 1999 Low Saxon is under protection of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The
ISO 639-2 language code is
nds since May 2000. The
Northern Low Saxon language serves as a common intelligible language in
TV and
Wireless programmes.
Although often considered a variation of
German, in many aspects it is more like
Dutch, which is based on closely related
Low Franconian dialects. Low Saxon, East Low German and Low Franconian are classified together as Low German.
The distinction between Low Saxon, East Low German and Low Franconian (on one side) or
High German (on the other side) is not precisely defined; there are several clines that vary smoothly from one dialect to another.
The Low Saxon language has commonality with the
English language, the
Scandinavian languages and
Frisian in that it has not been influenced by the High German
sound shift. Therefore a lot of Low Saxon words sound similar to their English counterparts.
For instance:
water [wQt3, wat3, wæt3],
later [lQ.t3, la.t3, læ.t3],
bit [bIt],
dish [dis, diS],
ship [SIp, skIp, sxIp],
pull [pUl],
good [gout, GAut, Gu.t],
clock [klOk],
sail [sAil],
he [hEi, hAi, hi(j)],
storm [sto:rm].
The grammar also shows similarities to the English language. Low Saxon declination has only three cases. In the northern dialects the participle is formed without the prefix
ge-, like the Scandinavian languages and English, but unlike Dutch and German. The syntax on the other hand is more like German syntax, though there are some differences.
It should be noted that
e- is used instead of
ge- in most Southern (below Groningen in the Netherlands + Westphalia) dialects, though often not when the participle ends with -en or in a few often used words like
west (been).
Low Saxon was once much more widespread than today, being used as a
lingua franca throughout the
Baltic Sea region, under the influence of the
Hanseatic League. It served as a
standard language in many regions of northern Germany until it was replaced for that purpose by Standard German (a High German dialect) during the unification of
Germany under
Otto von Bismarck in 1871.
A Low Saxon Wikipedia has recently been started at
http://nds.wikipedia.org.
The Low Saxon greeting formula
Moin and its duplication
MoinMoin gave the name for the WikiWiki MoinMoin Project
http://moin.sourceforge.net/
There are plans to create a computer vocabulary for lower German in order to translate Desktop environments such as
KDE and
GNOME.
http://platt.gnome-de.org/index.php
List of dialects
Note that divisions between subfamilies of Germanic are rarely precisely defined; most form continuous clines, with adjacent
dialects being mutually intelligible and more distantly separated ones being less so. However, most Low Saxon dialects are thought to be descended from, or to have been strongly influenced by Old Saxon.
Dialects of Lower German in northern Germany:
Dialects in the north eastern Netherlands:
- Northern Low Saxon (on frisian substrate)
- * Noord-Gronings (in Groningen)
- * Westerwolds (in eastern Groningen)
- * Stad-Gronings/Noordenvelds (in Groningen and Northern Drenthe)
- * Veenkoloniaals (in eastern Groningen and Drenthe)
- * Kollumerlands (a Frisian/Low Saxon mixture dialect in Groningen and Fryslân)
- Southern Low Saxon ("Westphalian")
- * Twents (in eastern Overijssel)
- * Achterhoeks (in Gelderland)
- * Midden-, Zuid- and Zand-Drenths (in Drenthe)
- * Stellingwerfs/Steenwijkerlands/West-Drenths (in Ooststellingwerf and Weststellingwerf, in Fryslân and in parts of Drenthe)
- * Sallands/North Veluws/Zuidoost-Drenths (in central Overijssel, in Gelderland and in Drenthe, resp.)
- * East Veluws (a Dutch/Low Saxon mixture dialect spoken in Gelderland)
- * Urks (in Flevoland)
Dialects in Canada and the United States:
This list is not complete.
See also: Common phrases in different languages.
The Lord's Prayer in Northern Low Saxon (German based spelling)
: Unse Vadder in d'n Himmel!
: Laat hilligt waren dienen Namen.
: Laat kamen dien Riek.
: Laat waren dienen Willen so as in d'n Himmel,
: so ook op de Eerd.
: Uns' dääglich Brood giv uns vundaag.
: Un vergiv uns unse Schuld,
: as Wi de vergeven hebt,
: de an uns schüllig sünd.
: Un laat uns nich versöcht waren.
: Maak uns vrie vun dat Böse.
The Lord's Prayer in Northern Low Saxon (Dutch based spelling)
:(Same dialect and text used as above)
: Onze vadder in den himmel
: Laot hilligt worden dienen naomen
: Laot komen dien riek
: Laot worden dienen willen zoas in den himmel,
: zo ook op di'j eerd'
: Ons deeglig brood gif ons vóndaog.
: on vergif ons onze schuld,
: as wie di'j vergeven hebt,
: di'j an ons schullig sund.
: On laot ons nich verzöcht worden.
: Maok ons vrie vón dat beuse.
The Lord's Prayer in Old Saxon (Heliand, 9. century D.C.)
: Fadar ûsa firiho barno,
: thu bist an them hôhon himila rîkea,
: geuuîhid sî thîn namo uuordo gehuuilico.
: Cuma thîn craftag rîki.
: Uuerða thîn uuilleo obar thesa uuerold alla,
: sô sama an erðo, sô thar uppa ist
: an them hôhon himilo rîkea.
: Gef ûs dago gehuuilikes râd, drohtin the gôdo,
: thîna hêlaga helpa, endi alât ûs, hebenes uuard,
: managoro mênsculdio, al sô uue ôðrum mannum dôan.
: Ne lât ûs farlêdean lêða uuihti
: sô forð an iro uuilleon, sô uui uuirðige sind,
: ac help ûs uuiðar allun ubilon dâdiun.
Resources
There is a lot of information about the Low Saxon language to be found online. A selection of these links can be found on this page, which will provide a good frame work to understand the history, current situation and features of the language.
Information:
Organizations:
If your organisation isn't listed here, feel free to add it.
Writers:
Musicians:
- Skik (Drents/Dutch - Drenthe, the Netherlands)
- Jan Cornelius (East frisian - Ostfriesland, Germany)
- Törf (Gronings - Groningen, the Netherlands)
- Eltje Doddema (Veenkoloniaals - Groningen, the Netherlands)
Not organized links:
da:Plattysk
de:Niedersächsische Sprache
eo:Platgermana lingvo
nl:Nedersaksisch
nds:Plattdüütsch
sv:Plattyska