by TheIrishRover Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:26 am
People ask me the same when I ramble on in Middle English. The standard reply: why not?
For a more serious answer: I've been corrupted by bands like Elakelaiset and that punk outfit from America who sing in Scots-Gaelic. My first attempt at something similar was solo Irish-British folk songs translated into Middle English. I've moved onto Dutch now, because it's even more obscure. My outdated usage of Dutch noun inflection in the music will also be obscure to varying degrees even to its target audience. So, really, this isn't anything new to me.
Also, I've found that novelty bands like this can also help promote the language they use. Being a strong proponent of multilingualism, multiculturalism, culture-sharing and so forth, this is a natural extension of my beliefs. While it can be seen in a comedic light, and I'm proud of the band's somewhat comedic nature, but it's also really useful. Dutch isn't a commonly-taught language really, and this is an effort to preserve it. While I think Dutch is in no immediate threat for survival, things such as this can introduce it to a wider audience, encourage its use/learning and help ensure Dutch remains a strong, active language so that future generations won't have to worry about its survival. Remember, just because its status is safe for our generation doesn't mean it will be so for our kids and grandkids, so this helps preserve it even more so that it shan't ever share the fate of many languages.
One other motivation is my process of learning Dutch also. Using Dutch to sing and write songs will help me as well by strengthening my grammar and building vocabulary in a new and exciting way.
People ask me the same when I ramble on in Middle English. The standard reply: why not?
For a more serious answer: I've been corrupted by bands like Elakelaiset and that punk outfit from America who sing in Scots-Gaelic. My first attempt at something similar was solo Irish-British folk songs translated into Middle English. I've moved onto Dutch now, because it's even more obscure. My outdated usage of Dutch noun inflection in the music will also be obscure to varying degrees even to its target audience. So, really, this isn't anything new to me.
Also, I've found that novelty bands like this can also help promote the language they use. Being a strong proponent of multilingualism, multiculturalism, culture-sharing and so forth, this is a natural extension of my beliefs. While it can be seen in a comedic light, and I'm proud of the band's somewhat comedic nature, but it's also really useful. Dutch isn't a commonly-taught language really, and this is an effort to preserve it. While I think Dutch is in no immediate threat for survival, things such as this can introduce it to a wider audience, encourage its use/learning and help ensure Dutch remains a strong, active language so that future generations won't have to worry about its survival. Remember, just because its status is safe for our generation doesn't mean it will be so for our kids and grandkids, so this helps preserve it even more so that it shan't ever share the fate of many languages.
One other motivation is my process of learning Dutch also. Using Dutch to sing and write songs will help me as well by strengthening my grammar and building vocabulary in a new and exciting way.
