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What’s with this “Wren” thing?
The oldest extant version of the fable
we
are presenting here appeared in 1913 in the first volume of a two-volume anthology
of Low
Saxon folktales (Plattdeutsche
Volksmärchen “Low German Folktales”)
collected by Wilhelm Wisser (1843–1935). Read
more ...
y
name is Tomoki Minohara (born in 1982). I was born and live in Nagasaki, a prefecture
on the island of Kyushu, in the southwestern part of Japan. The history of Nagasaki
aroused my curiosity about foreign languages, in particular of Dutch.
During the isolationist era (1641–1853) Nagasaki was the only city which traded
with European countries. My city was the center of “Holland Studies” (Rangaku)
and knowledge of Dutch spread in Japan. For this reason, I have a special interest
in Dutch.
Orandazaka
("Holland Slope"),
in
Nagasaki
I’m also curious about minority languages and dialects. During my language course
at the university in France, I stayed at a host family with a student from
Flanders. In those days I did not know Dutch but I had some general knowledge
about the linguistic situation in Belgium, so he often explained to me the
differences between Dutch and Flemish. It was enjoyable for me to listen to
his telephone conversations with his family in Flemish (one dialect of his
region). It was a wonderful experience and that made me decide to learn Dutch.
I have a strong passion for languages. From 1996 until today I have studied mainly
the Romance languages. I speak Italian, French, Spanish, Galician, Portuguese
and Catalan. Some years ago, I compiled a list of the English words derived
from Latin and Greek (etymology and the comparison between English and the
Romance languages). In 2003 I started learning Dutch and Frisian at the same
time. I’m also interested in German, Low German (Low Saxon of Germany), Stellingwerf
Low Saxon, and Afrikaans. I’m glad to have opportunities to use these languages.
Frontpage
y
name is Tomoki Minohara (born in 1982). I was born and live in Nagasaki, a prefecture
on the island of Kyushu, in the southwestern part of Japan. The history of Nagasaki
aroused my curiosity about foreign languages, in particular of Dutch.