Viewpoint / Bairnly afftak/Childish sarcasm
Ever fae Viveka Velupillai an Roy Mullay published dir book Shaetlan – A young language wi aald røts, de’r bøn a lokk a afftak aboot wir midder tongue, writes John Goodlad.
“Whit a lokk a brukk!”
“Hits no a language, hits a dialect!”
“I juist winder if spaekin utter hellery is noo a language?”
I didna lippen ony idder. When fokk kanna understaand dey aft resort til afftak. Dis says mair aboot dem as onything idder.
Da exact sam happned in Faroe mair as a hunder year fae syne whin some fokk began tae argue at dir language sood hae a written form. At dat time Faroese wis tocht o as a crude dialect o Danish, only spokken bi farmers an fishers. Dismissed as gøtadansk (street Danish), da idee at dis wye a spekkin cud be seen as a language in its ain richt wis ridiculed as hellery bi da Faroese establishment. Despite dis Faroese afftak, Jakob Jakobsen an da idder champions o da Faroese tongue wirna pitten aff. Fired up bi his wark on Shetland Norn, Jakobsen cam tae be a leadin licht idda Faroese language movement.
Dey began to win da argument – peerie wyes at first – an eftir twartree year da Faroese fokk began tae takk a pride in dir ain language. Dey stoppit spaekkin in Danish (at wis da Faroese version o knappin). Da nixt big step forrad wis whin Faroese cam tae be øsed in da sküls an da kirks.
Ee big problem at da first afgo wis agreein a standard Faroese spellin – as wi Shetland, every Faroese isle an district haed der ain wye a saein da samm wird. Bit Jakobsen kent dat an agreed spelling wis essential if Faroe wis ever tae hae a national language. He wan da argument an written Faroese noo haes a single standardised spelling system even though every plaess still haes dir distinctive pronunciation. Da sam’ll need tae happen wi Shaetlan – we aa hae tae agree til a common spelling an every district sal still keep der ain wye a spaekkin.
At ee time da Faroese fokk didna hae confidence tae spaek dir midder tongue in public let alain agree a written form o dir language. Fir onyboddy at’s bøn ti Faroe, yun seems difficult tae believe as dey ir noo datna confident an successful community.
Bit hit wisna ey laek dat. Dir confidence wis biggit peerie wyes an wis based aroond saving dir language and fechtin fir haem rule fae Denmark. As Faroese cam tae be da official language, an as dey wann autonomy, dey cam ate be mair an mair shør o demsels. As my güd Faroese friend Magni Arge eence telt me – da Faroese ir noo confident tae takk responsibility fir dir ain mistakes. Dey dunna rely on Denmark ony langer tae makk decisions fir dem an dan complain whin things ging wrang.
Da contrast wi wir ain cooncil is stark. Imagine da Faroese allooin a company laek Viking Energy tae bigg a wind farm in Faroe ithoot dem aanin da maist o da shares? Da last time I explained ti someen in Faroe whit haed happint in Shetland wi Viking, shø said we hae tae be mad.
W’ir no mad. We jüst dunna hae da confidence at we need tae stand up fir wirsels. Fir da Faroese da first step in biggin up dir confidence wis tae save dir language, tae hae a pride in dir culture an dan secure hame rule.
Wir a lang wye ahint Faroe bit maebbi wir first step wid be tae support da Shaetlan initiative an tae whet dis bairnly afftak.
Ever since Viveka Velupillai and Roy Mullay published their book Shaetlan – A young language wi aald røts, there has been a lot of sarcasm about our mother tongue, writes John Goodlad.
“Whit a lokk a brukk!”
“Hits no a language, hits a dialect!”
“I juist winder if spaekin utter hellery is noo a language?”
I did not expect anything else. When folk are not capable of understanding they often resort to sarcasm. This says more about them as anything else.
The exact same happened in Faroe about more than a hundred years ago when some people began to argue that their language should have a written form. At that time Faroese was regarded as simply a crude dialect of Danish, only spoken by farmers and fishers. Dismissed as gøtadansk (street Danish), the idea at this manner of speaking could be considered as a language in its own right was ridiculed in the most derisory terms by the Faroese establishment. Despite all this Faroese sarcasm, Jakob Jakobsen and the other champions of the Faroese language were not deflected. Inspired by his work on Shetland Norn, Jakobsen became a leading light in da Faroese language movement.
They began to win the argument – small steps at first – and after several years the Faroese people began to take a pride in their own language. They stopped speaking in Danish (which was the Faroese version of knappin). The next big step forward was when Faroese began to be used in da schools and the churches.
One big problem at the outset was agreeing a standard Faroese spelling – as in Shetland, every Faroese island and district had their unique way of pronouncing the same word. But Jakobsen knew that an agreed spelling was essential if Faroe was ever to have a national language. He won the argument, and written Faroese now has a single standardised spelling system even though every place still has their distinctive pronunciation. The same will need to happen with Shaetlan – we all have to agree a common spelling while every district will still keep their unique pronunciation.
At one time the Faroese people did not have the confidence to speak their mother tongue in public let alone agree a written form of their language. For anyone who has visited Faroe that seems difficult to believe because they are now such a confident and successful community.
But it was not always like that. Their confidence wis built gradually and was based saving their language and fighting for home rule from Denmark. As Faroese became the official language, and as they got their autonomy, they became more and more confident. As my good Faroese friend Magnie Arge once told me – the Faroese are now confident to take responsibility for their own mistakes. They no longer depend on Denmark to make decisions on their behalf and then complain when things go wrong.
The contrast with our own council is stark. Imagine the Faroese Government allowing a company like Viking Energy to build a wind farm in Faroe without majority Faroese ownership? The last time I tried to explain to someone in Faroe what had happened in Shetland with Viking, she said we must be mad.
We are not mad. We just do not have the confidence that we need to stand up for our own community. For the Faroese the first step in building up their confidence was to save their language, to take a pride in der culture and then secure home rule.
We are a long way behind Faroe but maybe our first step should be to support the Shaetlan initiative and to stop this childish sarcasm.
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