אַ שפראַך איז אַ דיאַלעקט מיט אַן אַרמײ און פֿלאָט

"A shprakh iz a dialekt mit an armey un flot."

Hybrid Languages

A very creative approach to creating their personal language we find in speakers of hybrid languages. Some people mix their native language with the language of the country they have moved to. Either because they are not perfect in the new language, or because they feel their cultural roots still in the country they have - temporarily - left and/or because they feel not fully integrated into the new society. A rather comprehensive portrait of this phenomenon concerning Germany you may find on the site of the Goethe Institute: http://www.goethe.de/lhr/prj/mac/msp/en1398809.htm


When having some knowledge in Slavic languages you might discover Nemrus as something  rather cute. It is founded and developed by originally Russian speaking immigrants, who also may call it Deutschrussisch or Quelia. Implementing new words and grammar structure from the German to Russian, it makes a creative and well-suited spoken language for the German surrounding and daily occurences among people who are as less perfect in German as you. (And by the way: Who would be perfect in German? ;)  http://www.nemrus.net/ 


As I am remembering back  school times I see we did exactly the same when we started to learn a new language there. There were these little messages we sent to each other and of course we made lots of fun with all the pieces of new and different expressions that had conquered a place in our brains during break time. It is a fast developing tool, always up-to-date and thus a perfect way in these years when you want to discover everything, and to express everything that is new to you in a new way. 


Widely known in Germany is Türkischdeutsch, which even a larger part of the German youth considers worth imitating, as well as it appears regularly in radio and TV. http://jannisandroutsopoulos.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/migration_androutsopouloskeim_2000.pdf. 


To name a minor but certainly as creative group one may look out for speakers of Alemañol, although or perhaps even for the reason that I found on the next it would not exist. But then there are such delightful examples as: "No hay que mischear los esprajes." ¿Por qué no?

Friedrich Dürrenmatt

"Ich rede Berndeutsch und ich schreibe Deutsch. (...) Ich muss immer wieder die Sprache, die ich rede, verlassen, um eine Sprache zu finden, die ich nicht reden kann, denn wenn ich Deutsch rede, rede ich es mit einem berndeutschen Akzent. (...) Es gibt Kritiker, die mir vorwerfen, man spüre in meinem Deutsch das Berndeutsche. Ich hoffe, dass man es spürt. Ich schreibe ein Deutsch, das auf dem Boden des Berndeutschen gewachsen ist."


"I am talking in Bernese German and I am writing in German. (...) Again and again I have to leave the language I speak to find a language I cannot speak, because when I am speaking German, I am speaking it with a Bernese German accent. (...) There are reviewers who accuse me of writing in a German in which the Bernese German is perceptible. I do hope it is perceptible. I am writing in a German that is grown on the Bernese German soil."

Friedrich Dürrenmatt, the famous Swiss author, describes what you may find in the writing of many authors using German as their written language. If you have become sensitive for Germanic languages it will be visible even in some poems from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in which the verses only rhyme when you speak them Hessian. 

Writing on the basis of his language root enriches Dürrenmatt's flawless German. It is part of his very personal style to describe and express thoughts and emotions. Not diminishing any of his genius I think anyone  has to find his own language for expressing himself, whether for daily needs or for big literature. The regional idiom is the best basis from which an individuum can develop.

Links for Bernese German:

http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~joyce1/dialects/obbern.html

Frysk, Friisk, Frasch, Fräisk

Definitely considered and classified as a language is Frysk. We find it spoken by people in the Nederlandse provincies Fryslân en Groningen and the German federal states Niedersachsen und Schleswig-Holstein. The Frisians originally are a folk or ethnic group with a long, and formerly famous culture. Their language is very close to English and Danish - less to the Germanic languages in their next surroundings: Dutch viarities/Standard Dutch and Low German viarities/Standard German.

Due to the shape of the region we see on the map showing but one bigger locally coherent landmass but many islands it is no surprise that the original language has spread up into many regional varieties that have been developing differently from each other. The East Frisian language already has become extinct.


When we consider our language as a cultural value, being a basis of our personal and social identity any lost language is a loss for the whole humanity. In all of our languages is an immense reservoir of cultural wisdom. Wisdom we cannot afford to loose for the performance of our current task to create a livable environment for anyone. We should foster our traditions and languages to preserve this source.


While for getting a deeper impression of the North Frisian language one would have to visit its region in Schleswig-Holstein, and for Saterland Frisian the one in Lower Saxony, at least for the West Frisian language spoken in the Netherlands you can get an introduction right away:





And should you get attracted to this rich language, maybe you want to try some online-lessons on: http://www.edufrysk.com/. 

Extinct languages - dying dialects

The history of Central Europe has been changeful during the centuries. Therefore it didn't come as a big surprise that languages and dialects of the Germanic root got lost and still are dying. As hinted in the chapter before  especially in urban areas in Germany there is a tendency to speak a kind of "integrative" German influenced by misused English, the media and even misused Standard German. The mixture that comes out is a simple horror for anyone who wants to protect dialects or feels an admiration for the expressiveness and accuracy of Standard German. These people see the language directly related to the culture and fear it might have negative effects if individuals lost it. Others argument that it makes no sense to hold on to tribal and unfashionable customs. A new culture was about to be created. A small group would prefer in addition to it  that Central Europe Germanic languages should simply be forgotten in the favor of teaching and using correct English.

While languages like Langobardic and Gothic nobody living nowadays remembers anymore in use, there are some idioms which were still spoken by our grannies and their contemporaries. In the added little clip you can listen to some of them. And it is true, not so much has changed in the end for our kids. While I was used to learn some East Prussian from an old lady on the bus station every morning, they now learn Russian, Albanian or Turkish. For young ones it makes no difference. They are curious and like to implement into their personal culture whatever attracts their mind.

Schwizerdütsch - Schweizer Hochdeutsch

In the very Southwest of the Germanic language region the Alemanic languages are spoken. Mainly in big parts of Switzerland, but also im Fürstentum Liechtenstein, the Austrian federal state Vorarlberg, the German federal state Baden-Württemberg, from some people still in the French L'Alsace, the Bavarian administrative region of Schwaben, and from some Walser Communities in Italy.

Among this group are idioms and dialects, some extended to a larger area, some significant for a town or village. Now Switzerland has developed a special use with their dialects. They are used commonly for conversation on any level. While in Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein people tend to change to Standard German whenever they leave their circle of family and friends - if they still do manage to speak a regional idiom at all - and you can guess their origin perhaps only by a slight accent, it is perfectly normal to use Schwizerdütsch in every day life when you live in Switzerland even in official and business matters.

For writing they have developed a Swiss Standard German, which differs from the Standard German of the other regions in morphology, orthography, phonology, syntax and vocabulary. The more you are used to diversification in Germanic languages the less problems you will have understanding and using it.

It is also perfectly okay when you are using your own idiom as a foreigner. As long as there is an understanding no adaption seems neccessary. Should you feel completely lost people are so polite and considerate as to change to Standard German.

General

Scientists of any department like to give order to the data flood they are facing and discovering. The ISO 639 provides a list with 

Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages

You can find the current list on: 
http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php

Categories and classifications are like well ordered drawers in a filing cabinet. When you are a collector the order will help you to find items again. To some extent we all do that with our experiences and discoveries. We give them a place in our personal order. To give structure to the whole thing you simply put more important items on a better place and less valuable on a worse. The order might be constructed simply by our gut feeling. Should we favor an objective approach we will do more or less like scientists. Whatever side is dominating our personal ways when it comes to action we will make a decision based on the data we have stored and the quality of the order. That may lead to a very structured life and provide the feeling of some security in a permanently changing environment. Only when an additional objective view on the current situation is missing and the person is merely reacting on some recognized signals or strict judgments predeveloped from former experiences, the order might to turn out more restricting and limiting than useful. In Standard German they use the word "Schubladendenken", in Standaardnederlands "hokjesdenken" - thinking in boxes - with a negative touch.

Thinking of languages there is the ISO 639 order.  It provides the official names of languages in a list. If  you speak an idiom that is not significantly named in that list you are speaking a dialect - something subordinate. Depending on your state of mind even something inferior. And now?

And now you can say: OK. I have known this before. A dialect one talks in a private circle. The standard language is for all other purposes. 

Or you say: I do not talk any dialect because I am an educated person. Dialects are only for inferior members of the society.

Or: There are so many dialects. One needs a standard language to be able to talk to each other in a larger region.

Or: Despite what it says there my idiom is a language and I feel discriminated. 

Or: Ok. What I speak is not in the ISO 639 list with the official representation of language names. Nevertheless it is part of my personal (and/or cultural) identity. I use it as long as I am with people who are able to understand it.

So what you make of the information stored in the list is entirely your decision. I am a person that loves diversification. Deeply interested in human nature and all its aspects I am curious about different personalities and different ways of life. The "language" we are using is part of that. Learning more about how a conversation partner expresses himself in the context of his origin and current surroundings helps developing a deeper understanding.