Gogarty wrote:
says...
Gogarty wrote:

Nobody else speaks Dutch, which is a very difficult language to master.
Even Germans have a hard time with it.

Not really true. The northern germans have little difficulties, especially
those west of Bremen/Bremerhaven

I don't speak dutch, but I speak "Plattdeutsch", a very old northern german
language.
And it is similar enough to dutch to make it possible to understand it.

We had friends who were German diplomats. Served all over the world, even in
Houston, Texas. One post was Holland before they were assigned to Vienn. (Try
Ottakringer). 'Twas they who told me that Dutch was the most difficult
language they had encountered,

But where were they from in Germany? If from Bavaria, it might not be
surprising that their experience differs from Peter's.

A British soldier I once sailed with, who had served mostly in Germany,
told me he spoke Plattdeutsch more than standard German. I think he had
a north German wife.

Pete

In article ,
Pete Verdon d wrote:

A British soldier I once sailed with, who had served mostly in Germany,
told me he spoke Plattdeutsch more than standard German. I think he had
a north German wife.

AIUI 'Platt' as opposed to 'Hoch' Deutsche is 'street/slang/local' as
opposed to 'High/RP' German.

Molesworth wrote:

In article ,
Pete Verdon d wrote:

A British soldier I once sailed with, who had served mostly in Germany,
told me he spoke Plattdeutsch more than standard German. I think he had
a north German wife.

AIUI 'Platt' as opposed to 'Hoch' Deutsche is 'street/slang/local' as
opposed to 'High/RP' German.

No. It is a (very old) language of its own
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