HAVE GERMAN WILL TRAVEL SPRACHE PLATTDEUTSCH / LOW GERMAN "Moio" "Moin" is the only greeting you need in the northern parts ofGennany-Northern Friesland, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Hamburg, and MeckPororo - and you will have it bounced at you by all and sundry regardless of time of day and the formality (or informality) of the situation. Often, when one is greeting friends or family, "moin" is followed up with "naaaa?" which roughly translates to "how's it going" and can be responded to with a counter ''naaaa?''. North Germans enjoy a good handshake, so the classic greeting will encompass a firm haodshake while the "moin" is being passed back and forth. One has the choice of responding to a "moin" with a "moin moin" although only if you really feel the situation calls for it. ' 1, ...,__ L reveals that ''moin" also pops up in the east and north of the Netherlands, in Denmark's Southern Jutland and despite its apparent connection to "morgen", it actually more lhan likely springs from the East Frisian word moi, which means good or lovely. .,Jo!" Often, I will write SG a lex.I containing some detailed information, not lacking in verbosity, and he will respond with a merry, ''.jo!" (pronounced, naturally, "yo!''). Just one word. Or, a transaction in a shop will begin with a crisp "moin" and end with a rally of"jo!" being volleyed back and forth between the guy slipping the purchase into a bag and the customer tucking his wallet back into his pocket. This peppery little syllable is most often used as confirmation, but can also make an appearance as a greeting, particularly when answering the phone to a pal, and also to wrap up a conversation. Wbere we might get trapped in the endless cycles of, "okay then, alrighty, good, ye_p, okay tl1en, sounds great, stay in touch, [ will too, take care, yes I will too, okay I'll pass it on, yep, good, chat soon, yep, yep, byeeeeeee", the northern Germans snap out a fizzy ''.jo! Tschilss" and end the conversation there and then. ''J\,fmmm." This is a kev one to master because if left misunderstood, the "mmmm" can wound an English speaker, crippling their confidence in the hitherto­ believed affectionate friendship. J first encountered the "111mmm" with SG's mum and left the house certain she despised me. Whal else could account for a conversation ending with an ''mmmm"? And an "mmmm" uttered, no less, with a slight chin-led nod with nothing followfog. Say "mmmm" to an English speaker and we think you ' re deep in thought and will soon deliver your opinion oo the given conversational topic. We' ll wait for you to say something, to weigh in. But here, the "mmmm" isn't an indication the person you're having coffee with is thinking about what you' ve just said, it' s more Likely they're bringing that chapter of the conversation to a close. "Mmmm" very often means "right. Okay then. What's next on the agenda?" It isn' t a filler while you ponder, it is a punctuation mark. "Mmmm" can also be used to signal a world of disapproval, in which case tl1ere is a slight tonal difference to the "mmmm" that signals a subject change. The disapproving "mmmm" hangs in the air, it withers nearby plants. Sometimes an additional syllable is added to lhe "mmmm" and it becomes "mmhmm" and that generally signals simple comprehension and may precede some questions on the matter. This is the least terrifying of the "mmmms." LOW GERMAN-,--THRIV!NG IN NORTH, SURVEY SHOWS Low German · or Plnttde~tscli is alive ·and well and livirtg in the north, where unexpectedly' large percentages of the 16 million inhabitants speak dialect within the family. The Bremen_.based Institute' for th'e Ldw German Language Friday (January 18) made public the findings of a sutvey carried out last summer that is representative of this pbpulation. Results show· that 56 percent of the people of northern Germafiy speak Platt, with command of the language ranging from fluent to "very little," according to Institute Director Di~ter S'tellmacher. The poll also revealed regional differences. For example, in northern Lower Saxony 56 percent speak Platt, while in the southern part of the state it's 44 percent. The largest petcentage was found in the northernmost state, Schleswig-Holstein, where 71 percent of the people say they speak Low German, especially in the home. In Hamburg the number is 55 percent, and in Westphalia, ' 49 percent. One conclusion the poll makes immediately clear, said Stellmacher, is that the needs of. the northerners for t'adio and TV programs in Low German are not being adequately met at present. .