Platt also is generally unwritten, and when written, is written differently. However, some Platt speakers advocate adopting the Luxembourg orthography as a solidarity measure. Others oppose writing Francique languages at all, adhering to the traditional use of Standard German as the written medium. (Platt should not be confused with Plattdüütsch, or Low German, which is an unrelated tradition from a different region.)
Platt Web resources include Collège Général DeGaulle, a French middle school and proud sponsor of a delightful Platt web site, and Plattweb, an expansive private site dedicated to Francique cultural survival.
New Sheriff in Town
The Alsatian city of Strasbourg was chosen to host the European Parliament for the very good reason that this region's past is an object study in inter-European hatred. German occupiers despised Three Nations peoples because they weren't German enough; French occupiers despised them because they were too German. In the endless cycle of invasion and counter-invasion, one theme is apparent: the locals always lose, master-du-jour notwithstanding.
As a result, these peoples tend to identify more with their own culture and the European Union than with contemporary nation states. (As an Alsatian-American friend puts it, when asked where he's from, he pauses, smiles, and finally ventures, "Er... France.") Thus, Elsassisch and Francique web pages often include links to nationalist organisations such as Heimetsproch un Tradition and l'Union du Peuple Alsacien.
Speakers were also active in the crusade to prod a very reluctant French government to ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Platt and Elsassisch forums hum with commentary on this legislation and the campaign to embed it in EU law. French breast-beating over the danger that the Minority Languages Charter supposedly poses to France's cultural integrity stands in stark contrast to that nation's successful pogrom against its regional languages. Elsassisch and Platt are now gravely endangered, as Mercator indicates. The notion that either could threaten the majority is an illustrative example of quirky Gallic logic.
Famous for breathtaking scenery, succulent cuisine, and excellent white wines, the Upper Rhine is also exceptionally rich in cultural diversity. That diversity is as valuable an asset as its other attributes. Here's hoping the peoples of the Three Nations region can turn their fortunes around within the new European consensus.
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