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Archiver > BELGIUM-ROOTS > 2003-07 > 1057169819


From: "Jean-Paul Leburton" <>
Subject: RE: [BEL-R] Flemish, Dutch, and German
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2003 20:16:59 +0200
In-Reply-To: <12e.2d5f9878.2c3475ba@aol.com>


I reply by writing you a little "story".
My father was prisoner of war in Germany during WWII. The daughter of the
farm where my father was occupied in North Germany spoke a few word of North
Germany dialect with her husband during a visit here and my grandmother born
in Limburg, having spoken dutch with her family before coming to Walloony to
get married understood most of the words spoken in north-german dialect...
and they began to speak , my grandmother in Limburg's dialect and the
visitors in Holstein's dialect. Many inhabitants of the Netherlands and
Flanders can understand what is said on the german TV distributed here in
the houses by cable.

Jean-Paul, from Liege, Belgium

-----Message d'origine-----
De : [mailto:]
Envoye : mercredi 2 juillet 2003 19:52
A :
Objet : [BEL-R] Flemish, Dutch, and German


I have read that Flemish and Dutch have their roots in German. If this is
true, does it mean that a Flemish-speaking person would understand a
German-speaking person? I am asking because the 1900 U.S. census shows my
husband's
Flemish-speaking stepgrandfather was a boarder in a home where everyone else
spoke
German. Like several other boarders, he was a baker, and was probably
employed by the head of the household, who had a bakery. He had only been
in the
U.S. three years, so I didn't think he would have spoken much English. This
made
me think he may have understood his German-speaking boss enough to
communicate with him.
Robin in Maryland




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