Iwerks / Friesland [a bit OT]

[H.W.Fluks@kpn.com]

Gerd:

To avoid confusion, here's a summary about Frisia (Friesland) and the
Frisian language(s), from west to east:

1. Westfriesland, Netherlands. A part of the province of Noord-Holland. No
Frisian spoken since the middle ages.

2. Friesland, a province in the Netherlands. Frisian is an official language
there.

3. Groningen, a province in the Netherlands. No Frisian spoken since the
middle ages, though many people carry Frisian names.

4. Ostfriesland, in Germany (Niedersachsen). No Frisian spoken since the
middle ages, though many people carry Frisian names.

5. Saterland, in Germany (Niedersachsen, near Friesoythe). A Frisian dialect
is still spoken there.

6. Nordfriesland, part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Frisian dialects are
still spoken there.

I only mentioned areas where "Friesland" is in the name, or where Frisian is
spoken.
I noticed (last month when I was in Germany) that Germans call Ostfriesland
(4) also simply "Friesland", making things quite complex when talking with a
Dutchman.

So we can have people
- coming from an area called "Friesland" (Otto Waalkes),
- talking a Frisian language (Ubbo Emmius), or
- carrying a Frisian name (Daan Jippes).
And all combinations of these are possible...


Now back to what Gerd wrote:

> Harry:
> 
> > AFA*I*K, Iwerks is of Frisian origin.
> 
> Indeed. I did a search for "Iwwerks" in the German phone book
> (http://www.telefonbuch.de) and found 57 people carrying that 
> name, most
> of them living in East Frisia (that's a region on the German North Sea
> coast between the Dutch border and the city of Oldenburg).

I originally said that Ub Iwerks is of *Dutch*-Frisian origin. But since we
only have his name (and not his original language or country), Iwerks can
originate from 2 or 4 (or even from one of the others). I got the
information that Iwerks is Dutch from a Dutch book...

> (BTW, a search for "Barks" yields only 8 hits and a search for "Fluks"
> no more than 3. You can't be much of a Frisian, it seems. :-))

That's a strange conclusion, when you know the above. I am from 3
(Groningen), and my official first name "Harke" is Frisian. I'd say I am
"much of a Frisian", indeed (but also "much of non-Frisians").

Back to Disney comics...

--Harry.
(Married in 1729: Brúne Derks from Oostvriesland + Engel Wilken from
Oldenborgerlant - arrived in Groningen in 1730 - their grandchildren took
the name Fluks in 1811)