> From: brian@amason.net >> Secondly, pre-WW1 newspaper were definitely NOT in Alsatian, for a >> simple reason: Alsatian dialect is NOT written. Its written form >> is ... German. Even today there is no standard and widely used >> writing for Alsatian. > My last comment on this thread. Prior to Luther creating a standard > for > German, Alsatian certainly had a written form. Or perhaps multiple > forms. > So it would not be correct to say Alsatian has no written form. > Certainly > there are words unique to Alsatian, and when I say the papers were > written > in Alsatian, perhaps, I'm not speaking as clearly as I should. What I > really meant to say is that the papers would be in Standard German > with > many borrowed words from both French and uniquely Alsatian words. > Although > spellings would probably vary and of course the two main dialects > manifesting themselves in either the northern Franconian form or > southern > Allemanic form. Sure, but we were speaking about the 19th and 20th centuries. Not about Luther's times. >> Let me add a few words about this. I do not totally agree about the >> feeling of Alsatians to be French as an effect of Nazi atrocities. >> This feeling is much older than WW II. > I come to this conclusion based solely on the linguistic literature > available over the times and the percentage of persons known to speak > Alsatian. There was a very noticeable shift post WWII, from German to > French, with accompanying less borrowings of German and of more French > borrowings in German. Certainly it was not something that just > happened > over night. So, the existing clues point to post WWII being the final > tipping point. Although it may be tipping back. Didn't Alsatian > independence movements also exist well beyond WWI, but are none > existent > post WWII? Sure my evidence is anecdotal at best. But, that's my > conclusion, unless oyu can convince me otherwise? Yes, there were autonomist movements in Alsace between WW1 and WW2. Even now, there are some, but their importance is extremely negligible. One should also mention that speaking Alsatian was fordidden in schools during certain periods after WW2. >> E.g. Napoleon was very popular in Alsace. > Really, and was Robespierre as popular in Alsace? I'll bet they loved > being part of France during the Reign of Terror. As well as learning > a new > calendar. Anyone ever get comfortable with that? > ;') Terror and Napoleon Empire are different periods. Of course Alsace suffered a lot, like all other regions, from the Robespierre terrible period. The reign of Napoleon was felt as a period of social stabilisation, like a relief after the Terror atrocities. Best regards, Etienne