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Plattdeutsch/ Low German HAVE GERMAN WILL TRAVEL SPRACHE PLATTDEUTSCH/ LOW GERMAN "Platt" is Modern - A Few Insights "Plattdeutsch" has regained popularity. lt is spoken in many places from Borkum in the north- west of Germany to Usedom on its eastern border. Young people are learning it again, and it is taught to guests. Its proximity to English eases learning. " Plattdeutsch" is no longer on the fringes. l t crosses the lips of more and more people in Germany. The current songs listened to by young people have been full of it for a long time now. Want to take a listen? The group Fettes Brot elegantly combines German and Plattdeutsch in their song Nordisch by Nature. Listeners also need a basic knowledge of Platt when listening to Die Tüdelband, otherwise, their songs are incomprehensible. But the rhythm and the voice of the pierced singer appeal to fans. Die Tüdelband is on tour throughout northern Germany. What is the fascination of the old Low German tongue, a language in its own right, understood today by a third of all Germans? Recent coinages: "Miendientje" and "Biojüch" The enquiries received by the "East Friesian Embassy" in Aurich - sorry, Auerk in Plattdeutsch - paint a clear and humorous picture. The guardians of the region's culture and of Plattdeutsch set high standards to ensure that the regional language is taken seriously. lt has, alter all, been recognised as a language in its own right by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Multilingualism is promoted in kindergartens and primary schools by the office in Aurich. "We have to keep finding new words, too," groans a staff member. "There used not tobe laptops, now we call them Klappreekner (foldable computers)." A "strong team" in Plattdeutsch is called a "krachtige Koppel", downloading is called "runnerladen", mobile telephones are ca lled "Ackersnacker" because farmers can use them to make calls from their tractors in the fields. The language guardians from Aurich made a special effort to find a word for the dividers used at supermarket checkouts, calling them "Miendientje", which means mine-yours, the thing that separates my shopping from your shopping. A Plattdeutsch word of the year is also chosen. In 2010, it was "Spijöök", which refers to a combination of fun and tall storytelling. In 2011, it was " Langtöögsch", which means slow and sluggish. The best current word refers to ElO ethanol fuel as "Biojüch" - organic slurry. The latest "Plattdeutsch Word of the Year" is always announced on 17 June. Trainees and helpers caring for people with dementia should be able to speak "Platt'' Plattdeutsch is spoken from Borkum in the west of northern Germany, in Bremen and Hamburg, up to Sylt, Flensburg and Usedom in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on the Polish border. In the south, it is spoken as far south as Göttingen. There are regional differences, but everyone loves their language and wants to teach it to as many guests as possible. Since recently, language courses have been offered for tourists. Skilied cralt businesses have increasingly been looking for trainees who have a command of the regional language. "That means rural customers understand us better," explains the master craltsman of an electricians' business in Leer. By speaking to customers in this way, his firm acquired more contracts than the competition. In some places, it is considered important even for helpers caring for people with dementia to have a command of Plattdeutsch. "Their illness makes old people go back to their childhood," says a care manager in a home for the elderly in Hanover. "At some point they lose their High German and only speak Low German." Low German is the other name of this west Germanic language, which is not only spoken in northern Germany, but also in the eastern Netherlands. Many Plattdeutsch expressions are similar to English. The Plattdeutsch word "water" is pronounced differently but is speit exactly like in English. lt is the same with "pann" (pan) and "melk" (milk). That was what once attracted Afro-American Curtis Fort of Massachusetts to come to live near Leer in East Frisia. He even learnt Sater Frisian, a threatened language similar to Plattdeutsch spoken by only about 1,500 people. Fort became a Professor of German Philology and even translated the New Testament into Old East Frisian. .
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