Do you speak any local language or dialect?

[Dema]

What to learn, German or Franch?

[Mingle]

Dialects aren't that tied to a region and always keep existing as a substratum or evolve. It's not as if Brabantian existed 1000 years ago, but 1000 years ago a Low-Franconian was spoken with elements Brabantian dialect evolved into. That's why you shouldn't want to put dialects unchanged as if they're museum pieces and why the language as a whole is more important. A language dies with the change of cultural language, not with the change of dialect.

Well, let me put it this way. The Catalan-Occitan language is close to extinct in France. In Spain, it is alive and kicking. Can you take a guess which of those two countries has strong identity and realistic chance of independence?

Another example involving Spain: Aragon used to have its own kingdom (Catalans never had one) but now the Aragonese language is close to dead (barely spoken in a couple of towns/villages) so Aragonese separatism isn't a thing. Also, Gascony in France used to be Basque speaking but now it speaks French with a Basque substratum. There is 0 sense of Basque identity there. Language is closely tied to identity.

When language X dies, then you stop identifying as a specific X but start identifying with the country rather than your ethnicity.

[Dandelion]

Well, let me put it this way. The Catalan-Occitan language is close to extinct in France. In Spain, it is alive and kicking. Can you take a guess which of those two countries has strong identity and realistic chance of independence?

I would consider this an example of a regional language and not as a dialect. Occitan has a rich literature and history. Basque is a non-Romance and even non-IE language. I certainly would find those interesting if I lived in a land where it was spoken. The history of the land I live in is interesting. Obviously you would want to preserve that.

This is different from wanting to preserve every dialect and placing their importance above the cultural language. Brabantian is encompassed in the history (dominant dialect of the 16th century) of the Dutch language as part of that very same cultural language anyway.

Now about regional languages. If you preserve one kind of Occitan the cultural legacy remains preserved. And even Francophones honour that legacy, as Rudel is probably the member here who knows the most about that culture even if it's a thing of the past and not much contemporary culture gets produced of that language, it helps that it's also a Romance language making the memory of its history easier to teach to people living in the land.

[Longbowman]

So Rioplatense's tú form is like a corruption of the vosotros form, both in the pronoun and in the conjugation? Vosotros venís > vos venís; vosotros tenéis > vos tenés

They use the voseo, it's an archaicism far from unique to rioplatense.

[Rethel]

When language X dies, then you stop identifying as a specific X but start identifying with the country rather than your ethnicity.

No.
Irish language is almost dead, but Irish people are still alive.

Language doesn't make a people - people use language.
Country doesn't make a people - people live in country.
State doesn't make a people - people create a state.

What to learn, German or Franch?

Polish

[Argentano]

i dont but my dad can speak a calabrian dialect

[Mingle]

No.
Irish language is almost dead, but Irish people are still alive.

Language doesn't make a people - people use language.
Country doesn't make a people - people live in country.
State doesn't make a people - people create a state.

That's because the Irish had a separate religion and they were being persecuted for their religion (Catholicism). Because Protestant Brits were persecuting their religion and transporting British migrants there, they never felt like they were from the same nation as those from Britain.

Scotland is also separatist even though almost everyone speaks English as a mother tongue there. The reason is because Scotland is a different country from England even though both are part of the UK. Scotland always had a high level of autonomy and wasn't fully integrated into the same country with England like Cornwall was.

Now I don't think that everyone who speaks a separate language will be a separatist, but the chances of separatism are way higher if your language is distinct. Language is a very strong part of one's identity. If Gascony was still Basque-speaking, then I bet it would be very separatist.

[Svipdag]

Only a dialect of American English called "Down East" (pronounced "Daown East")

CONSVETVDO LOCI OBSERVANDA EST --Anonymous--

[Mingle]

I would consider this an example of a regional language and not as a dialect. Occitan has a rich literature and history. Basque is a non-Romance and even non-IE language. I certainly would find those interesting if I lived in a land where it was spoken. The history of the land I live in is interesting. Obviously you would want to preserve that.

This is different from wanting to preserve every dialect and placing their importance above the cultural language. Brabantian is encompassed in the history (dominant dialect of the 16th century) of the Dutch language as part of that very same cultural language anyway.

Now about regional languages. If you preserve one kind of Occitan the cultural legacy remains preserved. And even Francophones honour that legacy, as Rudel is probably the member here who knows the most about that culture even if it's a thing of the past and not much contemporary culture gets produced of that language, it helps that it's also a Romance language making the memory of its history easier to teach to people living in the land.

I guess I misunderstood your post a bit. I don't think preserving dialects is the biggest issue, but if those dialects are tied to a historical ethnicity and those dialects are different enough to be considered almost a different language, then they are often championed for. Brabantians don't have an ethnic identity and never did (its just a tiny district sized province), so they won't worry about preserving their dialect. Their dialect is also very close to Standard Dutch as well. I wouldn't want to put local "dialects" of France such as Norman, Occitan, etc. in the same basket as Barbantian because those dialects are significantly different from Standard French and some of its speakers view themselves (or used to) as a separate ethnicity.

[Al-Meksiki]

I hear Wisconsin English is distinct from general Midwestern English, but if anything I'd consider it a dialect of General American.

I also speak Guatemalan Spanish, distinct in our vocab (some of which dates back to the Maya) and our use of Vos as the second person pronoun