September 2004

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TOWN SIGNS IN LOW GERMAN FOR THE FIRST TIME (Plattdütskbüro)

September 2004 – As reported by the Plattdütskbüro, the Low German office in East Friesland (Land of Lower Saxony), two towns have recently introduced bilingual town signs in High German and Low German: Auerk and Grootheid (Aurich and Grossheide in High German). This is the first time that Low German is being used in street signs, as it already happens with Frisian, despite only affecting the signs posted at the entrance and exit of these two towns. However, there are other municipalities which will also follow the same measure soon: Ritterhude, Lütetsburg and Hinte, and several others will discuss the possibility of implementing it as well, even some from outside Lower Saxony. This milestone has been achieved thanks to the efforts of the organisations Niedersächsischer Heitmatbund and Ostfriesische Landschaft (the organisation in charge of the Plattdütskbüro) and it will contribute to make the Low German language more visible in the region, both for tourists and for the local people, therefore increasing their language awareness. Moreover, in the words of the Plattdütskbüro, the mayors of these two towns “have opened the path, so that the next time the Language Charter [European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages] is updated, Low Germans could see how the introduction of bilingual town signs is generally adopted”.