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Internet Exercises Plattdeutsch Project
German II Honors
Log on to your computer and click the Netscape Communicator icon on your desktop (it looks like a lighthouse). In the “Location” box at the top of your screen, type in the following URL to go to the Robert Shea German Home Page.
This project is to help give an introduction to Low German (Plattdeutsch). In the course of the project work, you will visit various Plattdeutsch-related websites and gather information about Plattdeutsch such as, who speaks it today, where is it spoken, what are the major dialects of Plattdeutsch and so on. Dialects are an important part of German history and culture. Even with a short history of two hundred years and with relatively good communication, media and education facilities, the United States shows marked differences in the English spoken in different parts of the country. Because of the age of the German culture and languages, the dialect differences are often very pronounced to the point that different dialects are often de facto separate languages. This is typically a neglected detail in the American instruction of German. However, a huge number of German-Americans have ancestors who spoke Low German, especially since the northern areas of Germany, (such as the area around Bremen) provided more than their share of German immigrants going to the United States. In this exercise, we will get an introduction to the character and culture of the Plattdeutsch speaking regions of Germany, although we will not be persuing learning the language. The exercise is simply to give you a feel for what Plattdeutsch is, its importance, and some of its characteristics. Los geht’s und Mach Spass!
Go to www.serve.com/shea and click on “Comprehensive Student Workpage”. From there click on “Germanic Languages discussed”.
1. What language family does Plattdeutsch belong to? Hochdeutsch?__________________________
2. From the Germanic languages page, scroll down to the bottom and find the link “Low German” click on this. You are looking at a conjugation list for verbs in Plattdeutsch. Ignoring the verbs, what are the Low German equivalents for our High German personal pronouns (Answers in pairs, e.g. ich-ik, and so on, note no formal you, singular or plural) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part Two:
Go to www.yahoo.de and find the link “Sprachen”? Click on this link. When you see the list of languages look for the “Plattdeutsch” link. Not the “Deutsch” link. Ignore this and be sure to click on the “Plattdeutsch” link. Click on the “Plattdeutsch heute” link.
1 Under the title of the link “Plattdeutsch heute” (before you leave Yahoo), it is explained what the purpose of this site is. Translate this into English __________________________________________________________ , then click to go to “Plattdeutsch heute”.
2. Record what internet address we are at? _____________________________________________
3. In what countries is Plattdeutsch spoken? (Niederdeutsch is a synonym for Plattdeutsch) ________________________________________________________________________________
4. What two dialects of Plattdeutsch are for practical purposes extinct today? And what has caused this to be the case? _____________________________________________________________________
5. In how many German states (within Germany) can one here Plattdeutsch? ____
6. Looking at the map on the webpage (and only at the map to keep things uncomplicated), what are the three major dialects of Plattdeutsch in West Germany and what are the three major dialects in East Germany? (mark which three for the East and which for the West) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Returning to the page “Plattdeutsch heute”, click on the link “Wer spricht Niederdeutsch?”.
7. How many people can speak Plattdeutsch “good” and “very good” according to the last Plattdeutsch census taken in 1984? _____________________________________________________________
Return to “Plattdeutsch heute” screen, choose the link, “Ich moechte ueber eine andere Zeit informiert werden”. Choose “Plattdeutsch” link, (not “Plaatdueuetsch”). On the next screen choose the option “Plaatdeutsch vorgestern”.
8. What is the oldest known form of Plattdeutsch? _____________________________
9. With what German tribe is Plattdeutsch associated? _________________________________
10. Who (a geographer) first mentioned this tribe and when? ______________________________
11. After looking at the “Plattdeutsch” section, go back now and take a look at the “Plattdueuetsch” section. See if you can identify four differences between Plattdeutsch and “Plattdueuetsch”. ( For example, “eu” in Hochdeutsch is replaced by “ueue” in “Plattdueuetsch”) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________