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Title: Pennsylvania Dutch - A Dialect of South German With an Infusion of English
Author: Haldeman, S. S.
Language: English
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PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH:
A DIALECT OF SOUTH GERMAN WITH AN
INFUSION OF ENGLISH.
BY
S. S. HALDEMAN, A.M.
PROFESSOR OF COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA,
PHILADELPHIA.
LONDON:
TRÜBNER & CO., 8 AND 60, PATERNOSTER ROW.
1872.
_All Rights reserved._
HERTFORD:
PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN AND SONS.
NOTICE.
While I was engaged with the third part of my _Early English
Pronunciation_, Prof. Haldeman sent me a reprint of some humorous
letters by Rauch, entitled _Pennsylvanish Deitsh_. _De Campain Breefa
fum Pit Schwefflebrenner un de Bevvy, si alty, gepublished olly woch in
"Father Abraham."_ Perceiving at once the analogy between this debased
German with English intermixture, and Chaucer's debased Anglo-saxon with
Norman intermixture, I requested and obtained such further information
as enabled me to give an account of this singular modern reproduction of
the manner in which our English language itself was built up, and insert
it in the introduction to my chapter on Chaucer's pronunciation, _Early
English Pronunciation_, pp. 652-663. But I felt it would be a loss to
Philology if this curious living example of a mixture of languages were
dismissed with such a cursory notice, and I therefore requested Prof.
Haldeman, who by birth and residence, philological and phonetic
knowledge, was so well fitted for the task, to draw up a more extended
notice, as a paper to be read before the Philological Society of London.
Hence arose the following little treatise, of which I, for my own part,
can only regret the brevity. But the Philological Society, having
recently exhausted most of its resources by undertaking the publication
of several extra volumes, was unable to issue another of such length,
and hence the present Essay appears independently. Owing to his absence
from England and my own connexion with the paper, which I communicated
and read to the Philological Society, on 3 June, 1870, Prof. Haldeman
requested me to superintend the printing of his essay, and add anything
that might occur to me. This will account for a few footnotes signed
with my name. The Professor was fortunately able to examine one revise
himself, so that, though I am mainly responsible for the press work, I
hope that the errors may be very slight.
Sufficient importance does not seem to have been hitherto attached to
watching the growth and change of living languages. We have devoted our
philological energies to the study of dead tongues which we could not
pronounce, and have therefore been compelled to compare by letters
rather than by sounds, and which we know only in the form impressed upon
them by scholars of various times. The form in which they were
originally written is for ever concealed. The form in which they appear
in the earliest manuscripts has practically never been published, but
has to be painfully collected from a mass of various readings. The form
we know is a critical, conjectural form, patched up by men distinguished
for scholarship, but for the most part entirely ignorant of the laws
which govern the changes of speech. The very orthography is medieval. We
are thus enabled to see as little of the real genesis of language, in
form, in sound, in grammatical and logical construction, in short in the
real pith of philological investigation--the relation of thought to
speech-sounds--as the study of a full-grown salmon would enable us to
judge of the marvellous development of that beautiful fish. Such studies
as the present will, I hope, serve among others to stimulate exertion in
the new direction. We cannot learn life by studying fossils alone.
ALEX. J. ELLIS.
KENSINGTON,
23 APRIL, 1872.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER.
I. People, History, Location, Condition, pp. 1-6.
II. Phonology, pp. 7-16.
§ 1. Use of the Alphabet, p. 7.
§ 2. Vowels, p. 8.
§ 3. Dipthongs, p. 9.
§ 4. Nasal Vowels and Dipthongs, p. 10.
§ 5. Consonants, p. 11.
§ 6. Stein or Schtein? p. 12.
§ 7. Vowel changes, p. 13.
§ 8. Dipthong changes, p. 14.
§ 9. Words lengthened, p. 15.
§ 10. Words shortened, p. 15.
III. Vocabulary (of peculiar words), pp. 17-23.
IV. Gender, pp. 24-27.
§ 1. Gender of English Words in Pennsylvania German, p. 24.
§ 2. The German Genders, p. 26.
V. § 1. The English Infusion, p. 28.
§ 2. Newspapers, p. 29.
VI. Syntax, pp. 34-40.
VII. Comparisons with other Dialects, pp. 41-48.
§ 1. PG. not Swiss, p. 41. PG. Poem, p. 42.
§ 2. PG. not Bavarian. Specimen, with PG. translation,
p. 43.
§ 3. PG. not Suabian, p. 44. Curious colloquy, p. 44.
§ 4. PG. not Alsatian, p. 45. German-French example,
p. 46.
§ 5. PG. is akin to several South German Dialects, p.
46. Examples, p. 47.
VIII. Examples of PG., pp. 49-56.
§ 1. Wiider aa˛geschmiirt! (Prose), p. 49.
§ 2. Wii kummt ſ? (Prose), p. 52.
§ 3. Will widd'r Biiwǝli sei˛ (Verse), p. 55.
§ 4. Anglicised German (Prose), p. 56.
IX. English influenced by German, pp. 57-63.
§ 1. German words introduced, p. 57.
§ 2. Family names modified, p. 60.
X. Imperfect English, pp. 64-69.
§ 1. Broken English, p. 64.
§ 2. The Breitmann Ballads, p. 66.
PENNSYLVANISCH DEITSCH.
CHAPTER I.
PEOPLE--HISTORY--LOCATION--CONDITION.
The reciprocal influence of languages affords an interesting subject of
investigation, and it is the object of this essay to present an outline
of a dialect which has been formed within a century, and which continues
to be spoken, subject to the influences which developed it. Of such
languages, English, Wallachian, and Hindûstânî, are familiar examples.
Like other languages, the dialect of German known as Pennsylvania Dutch
presents variations due to the limited intercourse of a widely-scattered
agricultural population, and to the several dialects brought from
abroad, chiefly from the region of the Upper Rhine, and the Neckar, the
latter furnishing the Suabian or Rhenish Bavarian element. The language
is therefore South German, as brought in by emigrants from Rhenish
Bavaria, Baden, Alsace (Alsatia), Würtemberg, German Swisserland, and
Darmstadt. There were also natives from other regions, with certain
French Neutrals deported from Nova Scotia to various parts of the United
States, including the county (Lancaster) where the materials for this
essay have been collected. These, and probably some families with French
names from Alsace, are indicated by a few proper names, like
_Roberdeau_, _Lebo_, _Deshong_ and _Shunk_ (both for _Dejean_), and an
occasional word like _júschtaménnt_ (in German spelling), the French
_justement_, but which a native might take for a condensation of
_just-an-dem-ende_.
Welsh names like _Jenkins_, _Evans_, _Owen_, _Foulke_, _Griffith_,
_Morgan_, and _Jones_ occur, with the township names of _Brecknock_,
_Caernarvon_, _Lampeter_, _Leacock_ ('Lea' as _lay_), and in the next
county of Chester--_Gwinedd_ and _Tredyffrin_; but there seems to have
been no fusion between Welsh and German, probably because the Welsh may
have spoken English. Local names like _Hanōver_, _Heidelberg_ and
_Manheim_, indicate whence some of the early residents came.
The French-American _ville_ appears in German Pennsylvania, in
_Bechtelville_, _Engelsville_, _Greshville_, _Lederachsville_,
_Scherksville_, _Schwenksville_, _Silberlingsville_, _Wernersville_,
_Zieglerville_; paralleled by the English _town_ in _Kutztown_,
_Mertztown_, _Schäfferstown_, _Straustown_; _burg_ in _Ickesburg_,
_Landisburg_, _Rehrersburg_; and the German _dorf_ has a representative
in _Womelsdorf_.
Pennsylvania German does not occur in the counties along the northern
border of the state, but it has extended into Maryland, Western
Virginia, Ohio, and farther west; and it has some representatives in
western New York, and even in Canada. In many of the cities of the
United States, such as Pittsburg, Chica’go, Cincinnăt’ĭ, and
Saint Louis, recent large accessions from Germany have brought in true
German, and to such an extent that the German population of the city of
New York is said to exceed that of every European city except Berlin and
Vienna. The newer teutonic population differs from the older in living
to a great extent in the towns, where they are consumers of beer and
tobacco--luxuries to which the older stock and their descendants were
and are but little addicted. The numerous allusions to the 'Fatherland'
to be met with, belong to the foreign Germans--the natives caring no
more for Germany than for other parts of Europe, for they are completely
naturalised, notwithstanding their language.
Several thousand Germans had entered Pennsylvania before the year 1689,
when a steady stream of emigration set in, and it is stated that their
number was 100,000 in 1742, and 280,000 in 1763. They occupied a region
which has located the Pennsylvania dialect chiefly to the south-east of
the Alleghenies, excluding several counties near Philadelphia.
Germantown, six miles from Philadelphia, although settled by Germans,
seems to have lost its German character. The language under the name of
'Pennsylvania Dutch' is used by a large part of the country population,
and may be constantly heard in the county towns of Easton on the
Delaware, Reading (i.e. red-ing) on the Schuylkill, Allentown on the
Lehigh, Harrisburg (the State capital) on the Susquehanna, Lebanon,
Lancaster, and York.
A fair proportion of the emigrants, including the clergy, were educated,
and education has never been neglected among them. The excellent female
boarding school of the Moravians were well supported, not only by the
people of the interior, but also by the English-speaking population of
the large cities, and of the Southern States--a support which prevented
the German accent of some of the teachers from being imitated by the
native teutonic pupils--for the education was in English, although
German and French were taught. Booksellers find it to their advantage to
advertise the current German and English literature in the numerous
German journals of the interior, and there is a _Deutsch-Amerikanisches
Conversations Lexicon_ in course of publication, which gives the
following statistics of one of the German counties.
"The German element is strongly and properly represented in
Allentown, and in Lehigh county generally, where the German
language has retained its greatest purity, and so strong is this
element, that in the city itself there are but few persons who
speak English exclusively. An evidence of this is found in the fact
that in seventy of the eighty Christian congregations in the
county, some of which are over one hundred years old, Divine
service is conducted in the German language. Allentown has seven
German churches: (two Lutheran, one Reformed, two Methodist, one
United Brethren, and one Catholic); and nine German journals, of
which are published weekly--_Der Unabhängige_[1] _Republikaner_
(fifty-nine years old), _Der Friedensbote_ (fifty-seven years old),
_Der Lecha County Patriot_ (forty-three years old), _Der Weltbote_
(fifteen years old, with 12,000 subscribers), and _Die Lutherische
Zeitschrift_. The _Stadt-und Land-Bote_ is a daily, the
_Jugendfreund_ semi-monthly, with twenty thousand subscribers; and
Pastor Brobst's _Theologische Monatshefte_ is monthly. Since the
beginning of the year 1869, the German language has been taught in
the public schools."[2] The Reading _Adler_ is in its
seventy-fourth, and the Lancaster _Volksfreund_ in its sixty-second
year.--Dec. 1869.
The convenient quarto German almanacs (with a printed page of about
five and a half by seven and a half inches in size), were preferred to
the duodecimo English almanacs, even among the non-Germans, until the
appearance of English almanacs in the German format about the year 1825.
The early settlers were extensive purchasers and occupiers of land, and
being thus widely scattered, and having but few good roads, the
uniformity of the language is greater than might have been supposed
possible. These people seldom became merchants and lawyers, and in the
list of attorneys admitted in Lancaster County, commencing with the year
1729, the names are English until 1769, when _Hubley_ and _Weitzel_
appear. From 1793 to 1804, of fifty-two names, three are German; from
1825 to 1835, twenty-four names give _Reigart_ and _Long_ (the latter
anglicised). After 1860 the proportion is greater, for among the nine
attorneys admitted in 1866, we find the German names of _Urich_, _Loop_,
_Kauffman_, _Reinoehl_, _Seltzer_, and _Miller_. At the first school I
attended as a child, there were but three English family names, and in
the playground, English and German games were practised, such as
'blumsak' (G. plumpsack), 'Prisoner's base,' and 'Hink'l-wai[3] was
graabscht du do?' which was never played with the colloquy translated.
Pennsylvania Dutch (so called because Germans call themselves
_Deutsch_[4]) is known as a dialect which has been corrupted or
enriched by English words and idioms under a pure or modified
pronunciation, and spoken by natives, some of them knowing no other
language, but most of them speaking or understanding English. Many
speak both languages vernacularly, with the pure sounds of each, as in
distinguishing German _tōd_ (death) from English _toad_; or English
_winter_ from German _winter_, with a different _w_, a lengthened _n_,
a flat _t_, and a trilled _r_--four distinctions which are natural
to my own speech. Children, even when very young, may speak English
entirely with their parents, and German with their grandparents, and
of two house-painters (father and son) the father always speaks German
and the son English, whether speaking together, or with others. The
males of a family being more abroad than the females, learn English
more readily, and while the father, mother, daughters, and servants
may speak German, father and son may speak English together naturally,
and not with a view to have two languages, as in Russia. Foreign
Germans who go into the interior usually fall into the local dialect
in about a year, and one remarked that he did so that he might not
be misunderstood. Some of these, after a residence of fifteen or
twenty years, speak scarcely a sentence of English, and an itinerant
piano-tuner, whose business has during many years taken him over the
country, says that he has not found a knowledge of English necessary.
The English who preceded the Germans in Pennsylvania brought their names
of objects with them, calling a thrush with a red breast a _robin_;
naming a bird not akin to any thrush a _blackbird_; and assigning to a
yellow bird the name of _goldfinch_, but adopting a few aboriginal names
like _racoon_, _hackee_ and _possum_. The Germans did this to some
extent, for _blackbird_ saying 'schtaar' (G. _staar_,[5] starling,) for
the _goldfinch_ (oriole) 'goldamschl,' for the _thrush_ (G. _drossel_)
'druschl,' for a _woodpecker_ 'specht' (the German name), and for a crow
'krap.'
The _ground-squirrel_ is named 'fensǝmeissli' (fence-mouselin, _fence_
being English); a large grey squirrel is called 'eech-haas' (for
_eich-hase_, oak-hare); and in Austria a squirrel is akatzel and
achkatzel (oak-kitten). The burrowing marmot (Arctomys monax), known
as ground-hog, is called 'grun'daks' (from a fancied analogy with the
German _dachs_ or badger) and in York County 'grundsau,' a translation
of the English name. The English _patridge_ (partridge, Dutch patrijs)
is Germanised into 'pattǝreesǝli'--also called 'feld-hinkli' (little
field-chicken),--hinkl being universally used for _chicken_ or
_chickens_.
The usual perversions by otōsis occur, as in the city of Baltimore,
where foreign Germans say 'Ablass' for _Annapolis_ and 'Kälber Strasze'
(Street of Calves) for Calvert Street--but the citizens themselves have
replaced the vowel of _what_ with that of _fat_, in the first syllable
of this name; and the people of New York now pronounce 'Beekman Street'
with the syllable _beak_ instead of _bake_ according to the earlier
practice.
A German botanist gave 'Gandoge' as the locality of an American plant; a
package sent by express to 'Sevaber' (an English name), and a letter
posted to the town of 'Scur E Quss, Nu Yourck,' arrived safely; and I
have seen a handboard directing the traveller to the English-named town
of 'Bintgrof.' As these present no special difficulty, they are not
explained.
English _rickets_ for 'rachîtis' is a familiar example of otōsis, and
it appears in the following names of drugs furnished by a native
druggist who speaks both languages, and who was able to determine the
whole from the original prescriptions.
Allaways, Barrickgerrick, Sider in de ment, Essig of Iseck, Hirim
Packer, Cinment, Cienpepper, Sension, Saintcun, Opien, High cyrap, Seno
and mano miset, Sking, Coroces suplement, Red presepeite, Ammeline,
Lockwouth, Absom's salts, Mick nisey, Corgel, Chebubs, By crematarter
potash, Balderyon, Lower beans, Cots Shyneel.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Un-ab-häng-ig, un-off-hang-ing, in-de-pend-ent, Polish
nie-za-wis-ty.
[2] Allentown has just completed one of the finest public
school buildings in Eastern Pennsylvania.--_Newspaper, February, 1870._
[3] As if 'hühn-kel weihe' _chicken hawk_, 'wai' rhyming with
_boy_.
[4] In an article on (the) "Pennsylvania Dutch" in the
'Atlantic Monthly' (Boston, Mass., Oct., 1869, p. 473), it is asserted
that "the tongue which these people speak is not German, nor do they
expect you to call it so." On the contrary, the language is strictly a
German dialect, as these pages prove. The mistake has arisen from the
popular confusion between the terms _Dutch_ and _German_, which are
synonymous with many. In Albany (New York) they speak of the _Double
Dutch Church_, which seems to have been formed by the fusion of a
'German Reformed' with a 'Dutch Reformed' congregation. These are
different denominations, now greatly anglicised. In 1867 the Rev. J. C.
Dutcher was a Dutch Reformed pastor in New York.
[5] Words in single quotations are Pennsylvania German. The
system of spelling is described in the next chapter. High German words
are commonly in italics, or marked G.
CHAPTER II.
PHONOLOGY OF PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.
§ 1. _Use of the Alphabet._
In his "Key into the Languages of America," London, 1643, Roger Williams
says that "the life of all language is pronuntiation"--and in the
comparison of dialects it deserves especial attention. To enable the
reader the more readily to understand these pages, and to compare the
words with literary German, the principles of German orthography will be
used as far as they are consistent, but every letter or combination is
in every case to be pronounced according to the power here
indicated--except in literal quotations, where the originals are
followed. A single vowel letter is always to be read short, and when
doubled it must have the same sound, but lengthened--but as a single
vowel letter is often read long in German, and as short vowels are often
indicated by doubling a consonant letter, this absurd mode is sometimes
used to prevent mispronunciation through carelessness.[6] The 's' is
also sometimes doubled to prevent it from becoming English 'z' with
readers who, in careless moods, might rhyme 'as' (as) with _has_ instead
of _fosse_. In a PG. poem of Rachel Bahn, commencing with--
"Wie soothing vocal music is!
Wie herrlich un wie schoe!"
most English readers would be likely to rhyme 'is' with _phiz_ instead
of _hiss_, which will be prevented by writing 'iss,' etc.
Although I have visited various counties of the State at distant
intervals, the facts given here pertain chiefly to a single locality, so
that if it is stated, for example, that 's' with its English sound in
'misery' does not occur, or that 'kǝp' (head) is used to the exclusion
of _haupt_, it is not intended to assert that such a sound as _z_, or
such a word as _haupt_, have not a local existence. In fact, although
they are not recorded here, English _z_, _w_, and _v_, may be common
enough. A German confounds _met_ and _mat_, _cheer_ and _jeer_, and when
he becomes able to pronounce them all, he not unfrequently creates a new
difficulty, and for _cherry_ says _jărry_ (rhyming _carry_), and
after he has acquired sounds like English _z_, _w_, and _v_, they might
readily slip into his German speech.
The letter _b_ and its spirant (German _w_) both occur, and the latter
often replaces _b_, in one region 'ich haw' (I have) replaces 'ich hab,'
German _ich habe_, and 'nit' replaces 'net' (not), German _nicht_. The
vowels of _up_ and _ope_ interchange, as in 'kǝch' or 'koch' (cook)
'nǝch' or 'noch' (yet); and it is difficult to determine whether the
prefixes _ge_-and _be_-have the vowel of _bet_ or _but_. Lastly, the
nasal vowels are by some speakers pronounced pure. Should discrepancies
be found upon these points, they are to be attributed rather to the
dialect than to the writer--or to the two conjointly.
§ 2. _The Vowels._
E. indicates _English_; G. _German_; SG. _South German_; PG.
_Pennsylvania German_ (or 'Dutch');.a preceding dot indicates what would
be a capital letter in common print. It is used where capital forms have
not been selected, as for æ.
a in wh_a_t, n_o_t; PG. kat (G. gehabt) _had_; kats _cat_.
aa (ah[7]) in f_a_ll, _o_rb; PG. haas _hare_; paar _pair_; haan
(G. hahn) _cock_; tsaam (G. zaum) _bridle_.
_a_ in _a_isle, h_e_ight, _o_ut. In a few cases it is written â.
See under the dipthongs.
æ (ä, e[1]) in f_a_t; hær (G. Herr) _Sir_; dær (and d'r, G. der)
_the_; hærn (G. hirn) _brain_; schtærn, pl. schtærnǝ (G. stern)
_star_; mær (G. mähre) _mare_; ærscht (G. erst) _first_; wærts-haus
(G. wirtshaus) _inn_.
ææ (ä, äh) in b_aa_, the preceding vowel lengthened.[8] PG. bæær
(G. bär) _bear_; kæær E. _car_.
e (ä, ö) in b_e_t; PG. bet _bed_; net (G. nicht) _not_; apnémǝ
(G. abnahme _decline_) PG. a wasting disease; het (G. hätte
_had_), which, with some other words, will sometimes be written
with ä (hätt) to aid the reader. In a few cases it is lengthened
(as in thêre), when it is written ê, as in French.
ee (ä, äh, eh, ö) in _a_le; PG. meel (G. mehl) _meal_; eel (G. öl)
_oil_.
ǝ (e, o, a) in b_u_t, mention;[9] PG. kǝp (G. kopf) _head_;
lǝs (G. lasz) _let_, hawǝ (_a_ short, G. haben) _to have_.
i (ü, ie, ö) in f_i_nn_y_; niks (G. nichts) _nothing_; tsrik (G.
zurück) _back_; míglich (G. möglich) _possible_; lít'rlich (G.
liederlich) _riotous_.
ii (ih, ie, ü) in f_ee_l; fiil (G. viel) _much_; dii (G. die)
_the_; riiwǝ (G. rübe) _turnip_; wiischt (G. wüst, ü long)
_nasty_. It is the French î, which is sometimes used in these
pages.
o in _o_-mit; los _loose_; hofnung _hope_. English _o_ pronounced
quickly.
oo in d_oo_r, h_o_me; wool (G. wohl) _well_; groo (G. grau)
_grey_.
u in f_u_ll, f_oo_t; mus (G. musz) _must_; fun (G. von) _of_.
uu (uh) in f_oo_l; kuu (G. kuh) _cow_; guut (G. gut) _good_.
The true 'a' of _a_rm does not occur, except approximately in the
initial of au and ei. The proper sounds of ä, ö, ü are absent, and if
these letters are used in a few cases to enable the reader to recognise
words, the two former will be restricted to syllables having the vowel
sound in _met_, and 'ü' to such as have that in _fit_.
§ 3. _The Dipthongs._
ei (eu) in h_ei_ght, _ai_sle, German ei, with the initial '_a_'
(italic) of Mr. Ellis (in his _Early English Pronunciation_), 'eu'
has the same power in PG.
ai in b_oy_, _oi_l; somewhat rare, but present in the names Boyer,
Moyer (from Meyer), ai (G. ei) _egg_; ajǝr (aajǝr, aijǝr)
_eggs_; hai (G. heu) _hay_; bai (sounding like E. boy, and from
E.) _pie_; wai (G. weihe) _hawk_. Literary German has it in
'bäume' _trees_, and 'eu' (which is properly ǝi) is usually
confounded with it in German.
ǝi, which Mr. Ellis (_ibid._) gives as the power of English 'ai'
(aisle) in London, occurs in the PG. exclamation 'hǝi,' used in
driving cows, and naturalised in the vicinal English. Slavonic has
(in German spelling) huj, and Hungarian hü, used in driving swine.
Compare Schmidt, Westerwäld. Idiot., p. 276.
au in h_ou_se; G. haus, PG. haus. English 'ou' is thus pronounced
in adopted words like 'County,' or 'Caunty,' 'Township' or
'Taunschip.'
_Care must be taken_ not to confound the initial of these pairs,
for G. and PG. 'eis' (ice) and 'aus' (out) have the same initial
vowel, while 'aistǝr' would spell _oyster_.
§ 4. _Nasal Vowels and Dipthongs._
PG. is not a harsh dialect, like Swiss. It has, however, the Suabian
feature of nasal vowels,[10] but to a less extent. They will be
indicated with (˛) a modification of the Polish mode. This nasality
replaces a lost _n_ (but not a lost _m_), and it does not pervert the
vowel or dipthong, as in the French _un_, _vin_, as compared with _une_,
_vinaigre_. Nor does it affect all vowels which have been followed by
_n_, for most of them remain pure. Nasal 'ee' (in _they_, French _é_) is
very common, but does not occur in French, and French _un_ does not
occur in PG. Being unaware of the existence of this feature, the writers
of the dialect neglect it in the printed examples, which makes it
difficult for a foreigner to comprehend them, because a word like 'aa'
(the English syllable _awe_) would stand for G. _auch_ (also), and when
nasal (aa˛) for G. _an_ (on); and 'schtee' would represent both the
German _stehe_ and _stein_, as in saying 'I stand on the stone'--
G. Ich stehe auf dem stein.--PG. ich schtee uf m schtee˛.
The following words afford examples:--
aa˛-fang-ǝ (G. anfangen) _to begin_; alée˛ (G. alleín)
_alone_; schee˛ (G. schön) _handsome_; bee˛ (G. bein, pl.
beine) _leg_, _legs_; kee˛ (G. kein) _none_; grii˛ (G. grün)
_green_; duu˛ (G. thun) _to do_. Was hǝt ær geduu˛? (G. Was
hat er gethan?) _what has he done?_ mei˛ (G. mein, meine) _my_;
dei˛ (G. dein) _thy_; nei˛ (G. hinein) _within_; ei˛ being
the only nasal dipthong.
The obscurity arising from a neglect of the nasal vowels appears in the
following lines--
"Die amshel singt so huebsch un' feih,
Die lerch sie duht ihr lied ah neih;" ...
"Awhaemle duht mich eppes noh."--_Rachel Bahn._
Final _n_ is not always rejected, but remains in many words, among which
are--'in' _in_; 'bin' _am_; 'un' _and_; 'iin'(him)
G. _ihn_ (but hii˛ for G. _hin_ thither); 'fun' (from) G. _von_; 'wan'
(when); 'hen' (have) G. _haben_; 'kan' (can); 'schun' (already) G.
_schon_.
German infinitives in-en end in-ǝ in PG., a vowel not subject to
nasality, so that when G. _gehen_ (to go) remains a dissyllable it is
'gee'ǝ,' but when monosyllabised it becomes 'gee˛'--this vowel being
nasalisable. Similarly, G. _zu stehen_ (to stand) becomes 'tsu
schteeǝ' and 'tsu schtee˛;' G. _zu thun_ (to do) may be 'tsu
tuu˛'--'tsu tuuǝ' or (with _n_ preserved) 'tsu tuunǝ,' and G.
_gehen_ (to go) may have the same phases.
§ 5. _The Consonants._
The Germanism of confusing b, p; t, d; k, g, is present in PG. and they
are pronounced _flat_, that is, with more of the surface of the organs
in contact than in English--a characteristic which distinguishes German
from languages of the Dutch and Low-Saxon (Plattdeutsch) type.[11] This
must be remembered in reading the examples, in which the ordinary usage
of these letters will be nearly followed.
The consonants are b, ch, d, f, g (in _g_et, _g_ive), gh, h, j (English
_y_), k, l, m, n, ng, p, r (trilled), s (in _s_eal, not as in mi_s_er),
sch (in _sh_ip), t, w (a kind of _v_ made with the lips alone). 'ch'
has the two usual variations as in _recht_ and _buch_, and its sonant
equivalent 'gh' (written with 'g' in German) presents the same two
phases, as in G. _regen_ and _bogen_. 'ng' before a vowel as in
_singer_, hence 'finger' is _fing-er_ and not _fing-ger_. 'n' before
'k' is like 'ng,' as in G. _links_ (on the left), which is pronounced
like an English syllable. Vowels to be repeated are indicated by a
hyphen, as in ge-ennǝrt (altered), nei-ichkeit (novelty).
Should letters be wanted for English j, z, v, w, the first may have
_dzh_, and the others italic _z_, _v_, _w_, with ks for x.
As the reader of English who speaks PG. can learn the German alphabetic
powers in half an hour, PG. should be written on a German basis, and not
according to the vagaries of English spelling, with its uncertainty and
reckless sacrifice of analogy. In print, PG. should appear in the
ordinary roman type, in which so many German books are now
published.[12]
§ 6. _Stein or Schtein?_
The sequents _sp_, _st_, are perhaps universally converted into 'schp'
and 'scht' in PG., as in 'geescht' for _gehest_, 'hascht' for _hast_,
'Kaschp'r' for _Caspar_, 'schtee˛' for _stein_, and 'schpeck' for
_speck_, all of which are genuine German, as distinguished from Saxon,
Anglo-saxon, and Hollandish, because _S is incompatible before labials_
(w, m, p) _and dentals_ (l, n, t) _in High German_. Hence, where Dutch
has _zwijn_, _smidt_, and _speelen_, German has _schwein_, _schmidt_,
and _schpielen_; and for Dutch forms like _slijm_, _snee_, and _steen_,
German has _schleim_, _schnee_, and _schtein_; but as the German uses
the conventional spellings 'spielen' and 'stein,' he is apt to fancy
that a law of speech is of less importance than the flourishes of a
writing-master, or the practice of a printing-office, even when his own
speech should teach him the law.
That German has this feature practically, is proved by the fact that
words apparently in sp-, st-, become schp-, scht-, when adopted into
Russian, although this language has initial sp-, st-,--a transfer of
_speech_ rather than of _spelling_, which is as old as the thirteenth
century, when the Old High German 'spiliman' (an actor) went into Old
Slavonic as (using German spelling) 'schpiljman,' where 'spiljman'
would have been more in accordance with the genius of the language.
§ 7. _Vowel Changes._
Altho the pronunciation of many words is strictly as in High German,
there are the following important variations. German _a_ becomes
normally the vowel of _what_ and _fall_, but it has the Swiss
characteristic of closing to 'o,' as in 'ool' (eel) G. _aal_; 'ee˛
mool' (once) G. _ein mal_; 'woor' (true) G. _wahr_; 'joor' (year) G.
_jahr_; 'frooghǝ' (to ask) G. _fragen_; 'frook' (a question) G.
_frage_; 'doo' (there) G. _da_; 'schloofǝ' (to sleep) G. _schlafen_;
'schtroos' (street) G. _strasze_; 'nooch' (towards) G. _nach_; 'hoor'
(hair) G. _haar_, but 'paar' (pair) and others do not change.
The vowel of _fat_ occurs in 'kschær' (harness) G. _geschirr_;
'hærpscht' (autumn) G. _herbst_; færtl (fourth) G. _viertel_; kærl
(fellow) G. _kerl_.
German 'o' becomes 'u,' as in 'kumǝ' (_u_ short, see § 2) _to come_,
Austrian kuma, G. _kommen_; 'schun' (already) G. _schon_; 'fun' (of) G.
_von_; 'wuunǝ' (to reside) G. _wohnen_; 'wuu' (where) G. _wo_; 'sun'
(sun) Austr. sunn, G. _sonne_; 'suu˛' and 'suun' (son) G. _sohn_;
'númitaag' and 'nómidaak' (afternoon) G. _nachmittag_; 'dunǝrschtaag'
(thursday) G. _donnerstag_; 'hunich' (honey) G. _honig_.
German 'ei' is often 'ee,' as in 'heem' (home) G. _heim_; 'deel' (part)
G. _theil_; 'seef' (soap) G. _seife_; 'bleech' (pale) G. _bleich_; eens
(one) G. _eins_; 'tswee' (two) G. _zwei_.
Irregular forms appear in 'maulwarf' (mole) G. _maulwurf_; 'blĕs'
(pale, rhyming _lace_) G. _blass_; 'siffer' (tippler) G. _säufer_;
'schpoot' (late) G. _spät_, ä long; 'm'r wellǝ' (we will) G. _wir
wollen_; 'dii úmeesǝ' (the ant) G. _die ameise_; 'ep,' 'eb' (whether)
G. _ob_; 'dærfǝ' (to dare) G. _dürfen_; 'færichtǝrlich' (frightful)
G. _fürchterlich_; 'ich færicht mich dat [or dart, G. _dort_] anǝ tsu
gee˛.' _I fear me to go yonder._
'Dat anǝ' is for G. _dort hin_, 'anǝ' being a Swiss adverb made of
G. _an_ (on, towards). 'dat' is not common in PG. and it may have been
brought from abroad, as it occurs in Suabian--
"Aepfel hott ma dott gsia, wie d' Kirbiss bey üss;" (Radlof, 2,
10.)--(Man hat dort gesehen) _Apples have been seen there like_ (G.
Kürbisse, PG. kærǝpsǝ) _pumpkins with us._
The foregoing 'anǝ' appears in Swiss "ume und anne" (thither and
hither) where 'ume,' Austr. 'uma,' is from G. _um_ (about). Stalder
refers 'anne' to G. _an-hin_, and Swiss 'abe' to _ab-hin_. Schmid
(Schwäb. Wb., p. 23) has ane, dortane, dettane. Schmeller (Bayer. Wb.
1869, p. 91) cites Graff (1, 499), for Ohg. _ostana_ (from the East),
and Grimm (3, 205).
While PG. 'alt' and 'kalt' (old, cold, _a_ in wh_a_t) have the
comparatives 'eltǝr' 'keltǝr,' the influence of _r_ in 'karts'
(short), G. _kurz_, and 'hart' (hard), produces 'kærtsǝr' and
'hærtǝr,' instead of G. _kürzer_ and _härter_. Long _a_ becomes long
_u_ in G. _samen_ (seed), PG. 'suumǝ.'
§ 8. _Dipthong Changes._
German 'au' sometimes becomes 'aa' (in call), as in PG. 'laafǝ' (to
walk) G. _laufen_; 'glaabǝ' (to believe) G. _glauben_; 'kaafǝ' (to
buy) G. _kaufen_; 'tsaam' (bridle) G. _zaum_; 'traam' (dream) G.
_traum_; 'fraa' (wife, woman) G. _frau_, PG. pl. 'weiwǝr,' because, as
the German plural of _frauen_ could not well make 'fraaǝ,' the plural
of _weib_ was preferred.
German 'au' remains in PG. 'plaum' (plum) G. _pflaume_; 'daum' (thumb);
'haufǝ' (heap); 'saufǝ' (to sup); 'haus' (house); 'taub' (dove) G.
_taube_; 'aus' (out); 'fauscht' (fist).
German 'au' becomes 'oo' (Eng. fl_oo_r) in PG. 'groo' (grey) an earlier
form of G. _grau_; 'bloo' (blue) G. _blau_; and the name 'Stauffer' is
sometimes pronounced 'stoof'r.'
In the plural, 'au' becomes 'ei,' as in PG. 'haus,' pl. 'heiser;' 'maus'
pl. 'meis;' 'laus' pl. 'leis;' 'maul' (mouth) pl. 'meiler' G. pl.
_mäuler_; 'gaul,' pl. 'geil,' G. pl. _gäule_ (horses); 'sau' (sow, hog),
pl. 'sei,' G. pl. _säue_, _sauen_.
When 'au' has become 'aa' the German plural _äu_ becomes 'ee,' as in
'beem' (trees) G. _bäume_; 'tseem' (bridles) G. _zäume_.
'Floo,' G. _floh_ (flea) pl. 'flee' for G. _flöhe_, is due to the fact
that German long ö is replaced by ee.
German _au_ is _u_ in the earlier PG. 'uf' (up) G. _auf_, found in
Swisserland and other localities; but 'haus' is not _hūs_, and 'maul'
is not _mūl_ as in Swiss.
§ 9. _Words lengthened._
Some monosyllables are dissyllabised under the influence of trilled _r_,
and of _l_ (which is akin to _r_), as in 'Jar’ik' (York); 'Jær'ik,'
German _Georg_ (George), perhaps the only example of the Berlin change
of G to (German) J.
PG. G. E.
schtar'ik stark _strong_
mar'ikt markt _market_
ær'ǝwǝt arbeit _work_
kær'ich kirche _church_
karrich karren _cart_
geenǝ gehen _to go_
reeghǝrǝ regnen _to rain_
dar'ich durch _through_
kar'ǝp korb _basket_
bær'ik berg _hill_
mil'ich milch _milk_
kal'ich kalk _lime_
genunk genug _enough_
wammǝs wamms _jacket_
PG. g'seenǝ (seen) G. _gesehen_, occurs in South German, as in the
following (Radlof 2, 100), which closely resembles PG.
.... vun der Zit an het me niks me vun em g'sehne un g'hört. _From
that time on,_ ('mĕ' G. man) _one_ (hat) _has seen and heard
nothing_ ('mē' G. mehr) _more of him._
G. Es fängt an zu regnen und zu schneien. PG. es fangt (not fängt)
aa˛ tsu reeghǝrǝ un tsu schneeǝ. _It begins to rain and to
snow._
§ 10. _Words shortened._
Condensation is effected by absorption, as of _d_ by _n_ in 'wunǝr'
(wonder) G. _wunder_; and of _f_ by _p_ in 'kǝp' (head) G. _kopf_;--by
the elision of consonants (an Austrian feature) as in 'wet' (would) G.
_wollte_; 'net' (not) G. _nicht_.
By elision of vowels (particularly final _e_) as in 'schuul' (school) G.
_schule_, 'tsammǝ' (together) G. _zusammen_; and by shortening vowels,
as in 'siw'ǝ' (seven) G. _sieben_; 'gew'ǝ' (to give) G. _gēben_;
G. _heurathen_ (to marry), Suab. heuren, PG. 'heiǝrǝ'; G. _gleich_
(like) PG. 'glei'; 'tsimlich' (tolerable) G. _ziemlich_.
PG. G. E. PG. G. E.
niks nichts _nothing_ | mr sin wir sind _we are_
wet wollte _would_ | géscht'r gestern _yesterday_
set sollte _should_ | nemmǝ nehmen _to take_
knǝp knopf _button_ | nam'itag nachmittag _afternoon_
knep knöpfe _buttons_ | geblíwǝ geblieben _remained_
kich küche _kitchen_ | jets[13] jetzt _now_
kuuchǝ kūchen _cake_ | parr'ǝ pfarrer _preacher_
wǝch woche _week_ | oowǝt abend _evening_
wǝchǝ wochen _weeks_ | weipsleit weibsleute _women_
kiw'l kübel _bucket_ | rei˛ herein _herein_
blos blase _bladder_ | nei˛ hinein _hither-in_
meim meinem _to my_ | draa˛ daran _thereon_
anǝr ander _other_ | eltscht älteste _oldest_
nanǝr einander _each other_ | tswíwlǝ zwiebeln _onions_
unǝr unter _under_ | hend hände _hands_
drunǝ darunter _ther'under_ | plets plätze _places_
nunǝr hinunter _down there_ | nummǝ[13] nun mehr _only_
dro'wǝ daroben _above_ | nimmǝ[13] nimmer _never_
driw'ǝ darüber _ther'over_ | mee[13] mehr _more_
drin darin _ther'in_ | noo darnach _ther'after_
ruff darauf _there up_ | pluuk pflūg _plow_
nuff hinauf _up there_ | pliighǝ plfüge _plows_
sind sünde _sin_ | kalénǝr kalénder _cálendar_
As G. 'ü' becomes 'i' in PG., G. _lügen_ (to tell a lie) and _liegen_
(to lie down--both having the first vowel long) might be confused, but
the latter is shortened in PG., as in 'ær likt' (he lies down) 'ær
liikt' (he tells a lie).
PG. Was wi't? _What wilst thou?_ G. Was willst du?
Woo't weepe? Woo't fight? Woo't teare thy ſelfe?[14]
Ich wil fischǝ gee˛. _I will go to fish._
Ich hab kschriwwǝ. _I have_ (geschrieben) _written_.
Sin mr net keiǝrt? _Are we not married?_ G. Sind wir nicht
geheirathet? (or verheirathet.)
Infinitive-n is rejected, as in the Swiss and Suabian dialects. In an
Austrian dialect it is rejected when _m_, _n_, or _ng_ precedes, as in
singa, rena, nehma, for _singen_, _rennen_, _nehmen_.--_Castelli_,
Wörterbuch, 1847, p. 31.
The length of some vowels is doubtful, as in 'rot' or 'root' (red, like
English _rŏte_ or _rōde_), 'so' or 'soo,' 'nochbǝr' or
'noochbǝr,' 'ǝmol' or 'ǝmool,' 'ja' or 'jaa,' 'sii' or 'sĭ'
(she, they, ĭ in deceĭt, not in _sit_). Compare English
'S_ē_e!' and 'S_ĕ_e thêre!'
_Accent_ in PG. agrees with that of High German. When indicated, as in
danóot or danoot' (for the 'oo' represent a single vowel, as in Eng.
_floor_), it is to afford aid to the reader not familiar with German
accent.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] For example, as the vowel of German _schaf_ is long, the
PG. word 'schafleit,' which occurs in a quoted passage farther on, would
be likely to be read 'schaafleit' (sheep-people or shepherds) instead of
'schaffleit' (work-people), although it is stated that in the spelling
used, a vowel _must not be made long_ unless its letter is doubled.
"This tendency, and a trick of reading words like nisbut, _relation_,
qismut, _fortune_, as if written _nizbut_, _qizmut_, should be carefully
guarded against.... Even is, as, rusm, will, in spite of the caveat, ...
become again in his mouth iz, az, ruzm, rather than the iss, auss,
russm, intended."--_Gilchrist_, 1806.
[7] High German _letters_ which represent PG. _sounds_ are in
parentheses.
[8] The long vowel used by native speakers in B_a_th,
Somersetshire, England.
[9] These two powers are not quite the same.
[10] Indicated in 1860 in my Analytic Orthography, §§ 661-3,
and in my note to A. J. Ellis's _Early English Pronunciation_, 1869, p.
655, note 2, col. 2. "The lost final _n_ is commonly recalled by a nasal
vowel."
[11] The real physiological generation of these _flat_
consonants is very difficult for an Englishman to understand. Dr. C. L.
Merkel, of Leipzig, a middle-German, confesses that for a long time he
did not understand the pure b, d, not having heard them in his
neighbourhood. He distinguishes (_Physiologie der Menschlichen Sprache_,
Leipzig, 1866, pp. 146-156), 1. The "soft shut sounds" or _mediæ_,
characterized by an attempt to utter voice before the closure is
released, 2. "the half-hard shut sounds" or _tenues implosivæ_,
characterized by a sound produced by compressing the air in the mouth by
the elevation of the larynx, the glottis being closed, which "therefore
acts like a piston," followed by the sudden opening of the mouth and
glottis, allowing the vowel to pass, (this is his description of the
_flat_ sounds, which he says Brücke, a Low-Saxon, reckons among his
_mediæ_), 3. "the hard explosive shut sounds," characterized by a shut
mouth and open glottis through which the unvocalised breath is forced
against the closing barrier more strongly than in the last case, but
without pressure from the diaphragm, 4. "the aspirated or sharpened
explosive sound," in which the last pressure occurs with a jerk. The
compound English distinction, p, b; t, d; k, g, seem almost impossible
for a middle and south-German to understand.--A. J. E.
[12] On the inconsistencies of Rauch's Orthography on an
English basis, see my note 2, p. 655 of Ellis's _Early English
Pronunciation_.
[13] Swiss forms.
[14] _Hamlet_, act 5, sc. 1, speech 106; folio 1623, tragedies,
p. 278, col. 2.
CHAPTER III.
VOCABULARY.
The vocabulary of PG. has but few synonyms, a single word being used
where High German has several, as 'plats' (place) for G. _platz_ and
_ort_. Of the German words for _horse_ (pferd, ross, gaul, etc.), 'gaul'
is universal in speech, _ross_ seems not to be known, and _pferd_ is
almost restricted to print.[15] A colt is not called _füllen_ as in
German, but 'hutsch,' with a diminutival 'hutschli' (in Suabian
_hutschel_, _hutschele_, Westerwald _husz_, Lusatian _huszche_.)
A pig is not _ferkel_ (Lat. porc-ell-us, Welsh porch-ell) but 'seili'
(from _sau_), and children call it 'wuts' (Suab. butzel) a repetition of
this being used (as well in vicinal English) in calling these animals.
'Kalb' (calf, pl. 'kelwǝr') is named by children 'hamǝli'[16] when a
suckling. Cows are called with 'kum see! see! see hamǝli! see!' and
when close at hand with 'suk suk suk' (as in for_sook_)--used also in
the English of the locality.[17]
Of G. _knabe_ (boy) and _bube_, pl. _buben_, PG. takes the latter as
'buu,' pl. 'buuwǝ;' and of the G. _haupt_ and _kopf_ (head) it prefers
the latter as 'kǝp.' Of the verbs _schmeissen_ and _werfen_ (to
throw), _kriegen_ and _bekommen_ (to obtain), _hocken_ and _sitzen_ (to
sit), _schwetzen_ and _sprechen_ (to talk), _erzählen_ and _sagen_ (to
tell), PG. uses 'schmeissǝ,' 'kriighǝ,' 'hǝkǝ,' 'schwetsǝ' and
'saaghǝ' almost exclusively.
The suffix -lein, condensed to-li and -l, is the universal diminutival,
as in Swisserland and South Germany--a small house being called
'heissli' and not _häus-chen_, and a girl 'meedl' and not _mädchen_. It
is, however, very often associated with the adjective klee˛ (little)
G. _klein_, as in PG. 'ǝ klee˛ bichli' (a little book).
German _kartoffeln_ (potatoes) is rejected for G. _grundbirnen_[18]
under the form of 'krumpiirǝ,' where 'krum' is accepted by some as
_krumm_ (crooked), while some regard the latter part as meaning _pears_,
and others as _berries_.
=F'rleícht=, =Fileícht= (perhaps, G. vielleicht) are in use, but
the former seems the more common.
=Sauǝrampl=, G. sauerampfer (sorrel, Rumex).
=Rewwǝr=, =Krik=, =Krikli= (Eng. _river_, _creek_) have thrust
aside G. _flusz_ and _bach_.
=Laafǝ= (to walk; G. _laufen_ to run, and to walk).
=Schpring-ǝ= (to run, a Swiss usage. G. _springen_, to leap,
spring, gush).
=Petsǝ= (to pinch), Alsace pfetsǝ, Swiss pfätzen, Suab.
pfetzen.
=Tref= (Suab., a knock, blow). PG. 'ich tref dich' (I strike
thee).
=Schmuts= (a hearty kiss). Swiss, Suab., in G. _schmatz_.
=Un'ich= (under), G. unter, occurs in provincial German as unn-ig
and unt-ig; hinnig occurs also, PG. 'hinnich,' as in '=hinnich=
d'r diir' _behind the door_.
Wii m'r donaus glǝffǝ sin, bin ich hinnich iin nooch
glǝffǝ. _As we walked out, I walked behind him._
For 'hinnich,' Alsatian has hing-ǝ, as in 'M'r geen hing-ǝ
[nach den] noo dǝ goortǝ noo'--_We go along behind the garden._
=Uumǝt=, =oomǝt=, Austr. omad, Swiss amet, G. das grummet
(aftermath). Suab. ämt, emt, ömd, aumad; Bavar. âmad.
=Arik=, =arrig= (much, very), Swiss arig, G. arg (bad, cunning).
PG. Ich hab net gwist [Suab. gwest] dass es so arrik reeghǝrt.
_I did not suppose it to be raining so hard._
=Artlich= (tolerably) is the Swiss _artlich_ and _artig_.
=Ewwǝ=, G. adv. ēben (really, even, just), but it is PG. 'eewǝ'
when it is the adj. _even_.
Ich hab ewwǝ net gwist for sure eb ær ǝ fraa hǝt ǝdǝr
net. (_Rauch._) _I did not even know_ 'for sure' _if he has a wife
or not_.
=ámanat=, _adv._ metathesised and adapted from G. _an einem Orte_ (at
a place), a dative for an accusative _an einen Ort_ (in a place) as
used here. In the example, 'anǝ' is G. _an_ inflected, and
_zŭ_ of _zu schícken_ is omitted, as sometimes done in PG.
... wan als ǝ briif kummt f'r ámanat anǝ schikǝ ...
(_Rauch._) _When ever a letter comes for to send on_--to be sent
on.
=Henkweidǝ= (weeping willow). G. Hängebirke, is hanging birch.
=Tappǝr= (quickly), as in Schpring tappǝr _run quick_! _be in a
hurry_--thus used in Westerwald, and as _very_ in Silesia. G. tapfer
(brave, bravely), E. dapper.
=Meenǝr= (more), =Meenscht= (most), for G. _mehr_, _meist_, are
réferable to _mancher_ and a hypothetic _mannigste_. 'Mee' and
'mee˛' (more), Swiss--"Was wett i meh?" _What would I more._
"Nimme meh," _never more_. PG. 'Was wet ich mee? Nimmi mee.'
(See _Ellis_, Early English Pronunciation, p. 663, note 39.)
=Schtrublich=, =schtruwlich=. G. _struppig_ (bristly, rough), Swiss
_strublig_, PG. 'schtruwlich' (disordered, uncombed, as hair).
English of the locality _stroobly_.
=Neewich=; SG. _nebensich_, Wetterau (upper Hessia) _nêbig_, G.
_neben_ (beside).
"Naevvich der mommy ruht er now [Eng. _now_]
In sellem Gottes-acker[19] dort,
Shraegs[20] fun der Kreutz Creek Kerrich nuf, [hinauf.]
Uft denk ich doch an seller ort!"--_Rachel Bahn._
=Hensching=, G. _handschue_ (gloves, Sw. händschen) becomes a new
word with 'hen' for _hände_ (hands), the ä umlaut being used to
pluralise, but the word is singular also, and, to particularise,
a glove proper is 'fing-er hensching' and a mitten
'fauscht-hensching.' This termination is given to 'pærsching' a
peach.
=Sidder= (since), Swiss _sider_, _sitter_; Suabian and Silesian
_sider_; Scotch, etc., _sithens_.
=Schpel= (a pin), SG. _die spelle_ (a better word than G. stecknadel);
Dutch _speld_ (with _d_ educed from _l_); Lat. SPIcuLa.
=Botsǝr= (masc. a tail-less hen), Holstein, _buttars_. Provincial G.
_butzig_ (stumpy).
=Mallikǝp= (i.e. thick-headed, a tadpole). Swiss _mollig_, _molli_
(stout, blunt); Suabian _mollig_ (fleshy). Alsatian muurkrǝntl
(tadpole) from muur, G. moder, Eng. _mud_. The PG. of western New
York has taken the New England word _polliwog_.
=Blech= (tin, a tin cup); dim. 'blechli.' Blechiche Bool (a tin
_bowl_, i.e. a _dipper_, a convenient word which seems not to have
been introduced). In Pennsylvanian English, a tin cup is _a tin_.
In old English, 'than' represented _than_ and _then_, and PG. has
'dann' for both G. _dann_ (then) and _denn_ (for); and also 'wann'
for _wann_ (when) and _wenn_ (if), as in Rachel Bahn's lines--
"Doch guckt 's ah recht huebsch un' Doch gukt 's aa recht hipsch un
nice 'neis'
Wann all die Baehm sin so foll ice--" Wan al dii beem sin so fǝl eis--
_Yet it looks_ (auch) _also right fair and 'nice'_
WHEN _all the trees are so full of ice._
"Forn bild der reinheit is 's doh, F'r 'n bild dǝr reinheit[1] iss
ǝs doo,
In fact, mer kenne sehne noh, 'in fækt,' m'r kennǝ seenǝ
noo,
Dass unser Hertz'[22] so rein muss dass unser hærts so rein[21] muss
seih, sei˛,
Wann in des Reich mer welle neih." wann in des reich m'r wellǝ
nei˛.
_For a picture of purity is it_ (da) _here, 'in fact'_ (wir können
sehen darnach) _we can perceive therefrom, that our heart must be
as pure_, (wenn in das reich wir wollen hinein) IF _we would enter
into the kingdom_.
=Baschtǝ= (to husk maize), from 'bascht,' G. _bast_ (soft inner
bark, E. bast), applied in PG. to the husk of Indian corn.--Rachel
Bahn (1869) thus uses it--
"Die leut sie hocke 's welshcorn ab, Dii leit sii hackǝ 's welschkarn
ap,
'S is 'n rechte guhte crop, 's iss 'n rechte guute 'crap,'
(fem.)
Un' wann's daer genunk werd sei, un wan 's dærr genunk wært sei˛,
Noh bashte sies un' fahres eih." noo baschtǝ sii 's un faarǝ 's
ei˛.
_The people they_ (ab-hacken) _chop off_ ('s, das) _the maize_, (es
ist) _it is a right good 'crop,' and when_ (es) _it becomes_ (dürr
genug) _dry enough, they_ (darnach) _afterwards husk it and_
(fahren) _haul it in_.
=Greisslich= (to be disagreeably affected). SG. grüselig, G. gräszlich
(horrible), E. grisly.
=Noo=, =danoo'=, =danoot'=, =nord=, G. darnach (then, subsequently).
=Bendl= (a string), schuubendl (shoe-string). Swiss bändel.
=Schteiper=, n. (Lat. stîpes), a prop, as of timber. G. nautical term
_steiper_, a stanchion. =Schteiperǝ=, v.t. to prop; to set a prop.
=Fǝrhúttǝlǝ=, v. intrans. 'Ich bin f'r-huttlt,' (I am confused,
perplexed.) 'Ich denk dii bissnǝss iss 'n bissli f'r-huttlt.' (I
think the 'business' is a bit mixed up.) G. verhūdeln (to spoil,
bungle.)
=Paanhaas=, as if, G. _pfanne-hase_ (pan-hare). Maize flour boiled in
the metsel-soup, afterwards fried and seasoned like a _hare_. (Compare
Welsh _rabbit_.) The word is used in English, conjointly with
_scrapple_.
=Loos= (a sow), as in Swiss and Suabian.
=Laad=, fem. (coffin), toodlaad, toodǝlaad, as in Alsace. G. die lade
(chest, box, case). PG. bettlaad, Suab. bettlade, for G. bettgestell
(bedstead).
=Schtreel=, m. (a comb), Swiss, Alsatian, Suab. der strähl. But G.
striegel, PG. striegel, PG. strigl, is a currycomb.
=Aarsch=, the butt end of an egg, as in Suabian.
=Falsch= (angry), as in Swiss, Bavarian, and Austrian. PG. Sel
hǝt mich falsch g'macht. _That made me angry._
=Hoochtsich=, Alsat. hoochtsitt, G. hochzeit (a wedding).
=Heemǝln=, Swiss heimeln (to cause a longing, to cause home
feelings).
"Wie hämelt mich do alles a'! Wii heemlt mich doo allǝs aa˛!
Ich steh, un denk, un guck; ich schtee, un denk, un gukk;
Un was ich schier vergessa hab, un was ich schiir f'rgessǝ hab,
Kummt wider z'rück, wie aus seim Grab, kummt widd'r tsrik, wii aus seim
graab,
Un steht do wie e' Spook!" _Harb._ un schteet doo wii ǝ schpukk!
(G. Wie alles da anheimelt mich) _How all here impresses me with
home, I stand, and think, and look; and what I had almost
forgotten, comes back again as out of its grave, and stands here
like a ghost._
=Drǝp=, pl. =drep= (simpleton, poor soul). "O du armer Tropff!"
(Suabian). _Radlof_, 2, 10. "Die arma Drep!"--_Harbaugh._
=Schwalme= (Swiss, for G. schwalbe, a swallow).
=Jaa= (O. Eng. yes), is used in answer to affirmative questions.
=Joo= (O. Eng. yea), is used in answer to negative questions. See Ch.
viii. § 1, ¶ 12, and § 3, ¶ 2.
"Sin dii sachǝ dei˛? _Jaa_, sii sin." (Are the things thine?
_Yes_, they are.) "Sin dii sachǝ _net_ dei˛? _Joo_, sii sin."
(Are the things _not_ thine. _Yea_, they are.) "Bischt du _net_
g'sund? _Joo_, ich bin."[23] (Are you _not_ well? _Yea, I am
well._)
=saagt=, G. _sagt_ (he says): =secht=, as if G. sägt, for sagte (he
said), as if it were a strong verb.
=Gleich=, to like, be fond of, Eng. to _like_, but perhaps not Eng. See
Ch. viii., ¶ 3. PG. ær gleicht 's geld--_he loves money_.
=Glei=, adv. (soon).--ær kummt glei--_he comes_ (will be here)
_directly_. Swiss _gly_ and _gleich_ have the same meaning.
=Abartich=, =bartich=, Ch. viii., § 3, ¶ 6 (adj. unusual, strange);
(adv. especially). G. _abartig_ degenerate.
"Der duckter sogt eara complaint wær ... conclommereashen im kup,
so dos se so unfergleichlich schwitza mus in der nacht,
_=abbordich=_ wan se tsu gedeckt is mit em fedder bet."--_Rauch_,
Feb. 1, 1870. _The doctor asserts her 'complaint' to be ...
'conglomeration' in the head, so that she must sweat uncommonly in
the night,_ PARTICULARLY _when she is covered_ [_tsu_ is accented]
_in with the feather bed._
=Biibi=, =piipi=, =biibǝli=; Swiss bibi, bibeli, bidli (a young
chicken). Used also to call fowls--the second form in the vicinal
English, in which a male fowl is often called a hé-biddy.
The Swiss use in PG. of the genitive form _des_ of the article, instead
of the neuter nominative _das_, causes little or no confusion, because
this genitive is not required, and its new use prevents confusion
between _das_ and _dasz_. Where German uses _des_, as in _Der Gaul des_
(or _meines_) _Nachbars_ (the horse of the, or my, neighbor), PG. uses a
dative form--
... dem (or meim for meinem) nochbǝr sei˛ gaul (the neighbor
his horse). See the quotation (p. 28) from Schöpf.
PG. inflects most of its verbs regularly, as in 'gedenkt' for G.
_gedacht_, from _denken_ (to think). In the following list, the German
infinitive, as _backen_ (to bake), is followed by the third person of
the present indicative (er) _bäckt_, PG. (ær) 'bakt' (he bakes). The PG.
infinitive of _blasen_, _braten_, _fragen_, _rathen_, _dürfen_,
_verderben_, is 'bloosǝ, brootǝ, frooghǝ, rootǝ, dærfǝ,
f'rdærwǝ.' 'bloosǝ' (to blow) and 'nemmǝ' (to take) occur below,
in the extract from Miss Bahn.
G. G. PG.
blasen _blow_, bläst bloost
braten _bake_, brät broot
brechen _break_, bricht brecht
dreschen _thrash_, drischt drescht
dürfen _dare_, darf dærf
fahren _drive_, fährt faart
fallen _fall_, fällt fallt
fragen _ask_, frägt frookt
essen _eat_, iszt esst
fressen _devour_, friszt fresst
geben _give_, giebt gept
graben _dig_, gräbt graapt
helfen _help_, hilft helft
laufen _run_, läuft laaft
lesen _read_, liest leest
lassen _let_, läszt lǝsst
messen _measure_, miszt messt
nehmen _take_, nimmt nemmt
rathen _advise_, räth root
saufen _tipple_, säuft sauft
schelten _scold_, schilt schelt
schlafen _sleep_, schläft schlooft
schwellen _swell_, schwillt schwellt
sehen _see_, sieht seet
stehlen _steal_, stiehlt schteelt
tragen _carry_, trägt traagt
verderben _spoil_, verdirbt f'rdærpt
vergessen _forget_, vergiszt f'rgesst
"Der wind, horch yusht, wie er D'r wint, harich juscht wii ær drum
drum bloss'd,... bloost,...
Gar nix for ihm fersichert is, Gaar niks f'r iim f'rsichǝrt iss,
Er nemmt sei aegner waek ær nemmt sei, eegnǝr week,
Dorch ennich rissly geht er neih, darich ennich rissli geet ær nei,
Un geht ah nuf die staek." un geet aa 'nuf dii schteek.
_The wind, just listen how it therefore_ (an expletive) _blows, ...
quite nothing is secure for_ (on account of) _him, he takes his_
(eigener weg) _own way; through_ (einig, einiges) _any crack he
goes_ (hinein) _in, and goes also_ (hinauf) _up the_ (stiege)
_stair._
The reader of PG. may be puzzled with 'ma' as used in "ous so ma subject
... mit ma neia Rail Road" (_Rauch_); 'fun mǝ' or 'fun ǝmǝ,' Ger.
dative _von einem_, Old High German 'vone einemo;' G. _dem_, Ohg.
'demo;' G. _meinem_, Gothic 'meinamma,' which accounts for the final
PG. vowel. Miss Bahn writes it 'mah'--
''S is noch so 'n anre glaener 's iss noch so 'n anre gleenǝr
drup, drǝp,
Mit so mah grosse dicke kup, mit soo mǝ grossǝ dikkǝ kǝp,
Der doh uf English screech-owl dær doo uf eng-lisch 'skriitsch-aul'
haest, heest,
Der midde drin hut ah sei nesht.' dær middǝ drin hǝt aa sei nescht.
_There is yet such another little fellow, with such a large thick
head, this here in English is called 'screech-owl,' the middle
therein_ [of the tree] _has also its nest._
Remarking on "grosse dicke kup" in the second line, my reverend friend
Ziegler sends me the following declensions of the united article and
adjective. The dative is used for the genitive, as will appear in the
chapter on Syntax.
Nom., Accus. ǝn ('n) grosser dicker kopp,
Dat., Gen. ǝmǝ ('mǝ) grossǝ dickǝ kopp.
_Singular._
Nom. der root wei˛ iss guut. _The red wine is good._
Gen. dem rootǝ wei˛ sei˛ farb is schee˛.
Dat. " " " hab ich 's tsu fǝrdankǝ.
Acc. dii rootǝ wei˛ hat ær gedrunkǝ.
_Plural._
Nom. dii rootǝ wei˛ sin guut. _The red wines are good._
Gen. dennǝ rootǝ wei˛ iir farb etc. (G. der rothen Weine Farbe
ist schön.)
Dat. " " " hab ich 's etc. (G. den rothen Weinen.)
Acc. dii rootǝ wei˛ hat ær, etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[15] Of words not occurring in print, the Swiss, Bavarian, and
Suabian form bruntsen replaces harnen and its synonyms.
[16] Seemingly akin to Swiss _ammeli_, _mammeli_ (a child's
sucking-glass), whence _mämmelen_ (to like to drink). G. amme (a
wet-nurse), in Bavaria, also a mother.
[17] PG. des kalb sukt (this calf sucks,) G. _saugt_.
[18] This name seems to have been originally applied to the
crooked tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke, and _humming-bird_ was
probably applied to moths of the genus _Sphinx_ (named from the form of
the larva) before the bird bearing this name was known in Europe.
[19] Scarcely legitimate, the PG. word for a grave-yard being
kærich-hof.
[20] Diagonally.
[21] By analogy these words should be rei˛ and rei˛heit,
but as they are scarcely PG. they are given as High German.
[22] This word is correct without the elisive mark, which
perverts the syntax.
[23] The Rev. D. Ziegler.
CHAPTER IV.
GENDER.
§ 1. _Gender of English Words in Pennsylvania German._
German gender and declension might be said to be in a state of
barbarism, were it not that some of the languages of savages have
refinements which are wanting in the tongues of civilised people. German
gender being in a high degree arbitrary and irrational, there seem but
few principles applicable to introduced words, and yet, the linguistic
instinct produces a measure of uniformity. The clear distinction in
modern English between a spring and a well, does not exist between the
German _der quell_ (and _die quelle_, PG. 'dii qkel') and _der brunnen_,
but German has _der spring_ also, which may be used alone, or compounded
in _springquell_ or _springquelle_. Influenced by English, PG. uses 'dii
schpring' for a natural spring of water, keeping 'd'r brunnǝ' for a
well, 'tsig-brunnǝ' for a draw-well with a windlas and bucket--but
also 'laafǝndǝ brunnǝ' for a spring.
As a German says 'dii' for the English article _the_, which he hears
applied to everything singular and plural, and as this _die_ is his own
feminine and plural article, he will be likely to say 'dii fens' for
_the fence_, 'dii set' (set, of tools, etc.), 'dii faundri' (foundry),
'dii bænk' (bank of a stream), 'dii færm' (farm), 'dii plantaaschǝ'
(plantation), 'dii témǝti' (timothy hay), 'dii portsch,' 'dii schtæmp'
('stämp' in print, for G. _der stempel_), 'dii watsch' (timepiece),
'dii _bel_ hat ge_ring_t' (the 'bell' has 'rung'), "Stohrstube ...
mit einer offenen Front," (Store-room with an open front), "die
_Fronte_[24] des Hauses" (the 'front' of the house), "Die Sanitäts
_Board_," "Eine _Lot_ Stroh," "Eine _Lotte_ Grund," etc. All of these
are feminine in PG., together with the English nouns _alley_, _road_,
_borough_, _square_ (of a town), _fair_, _forge_, _creek_ (a stream),
_climate_, _bowl_, _vendue_, _court_ (at law), _law_, _lawsuit_,
_jury_, _yard_ (of a house),--
Als Herr Yost ... einen groszen Neufundländer Hund in seiner
_=Yard=_[1] anders anbinden wollte, fiel ihn das Thier an ... der
Hund wieder an ihn sprang, und ihn gegen die _=Fenz=_[25] drängte,
... _Der Pennsylvanier_, Lebanon, Pa. Sept. 1, 1869.
Of the masculine gender are _river_ (PG. 'rewǝr'), _bargain_, _crop_,
_beef_ (but 'gedörtes beef' makes it neuter), _carpet_, _turnpike_ (or
_pike_), _store_, _gravel_, _shop_, _smith-shop_, _shed_, and of course
words like _squire_, _lawyer_, and "_assignie_."
Of the neuter gender are "_das främ_" (frame), "das _flaur_" (flour,
influenced by G. _das mehl_), das _screen_, das _photograph_, das
_piano_, das _supper_, das _buggy_.
Wishing to know the gender of the preceding English words in another
county, the list was sent to the Rev. Daniel Ziegler, of York, Pa., who
assigns the same genders to them, adding der _settee_, die _umbréll_,
die _parasol_, die _bréssǝnt_ (prison), das _lampblack_, das _picter_
(picture), das _candy_, das _cash_, das _lumber_ (building timber), das
_scantling_, das _pavement_, das _township_.[26]
German _die butter_ (butter) is masculine in PG. as in South Germany and
Austria; and _die forelle_ (the trout) is PG. 'dær fǝrél.' G. _die
tunke_ (gravy) is neuter under the form 'tunkǝs' in PG., which makes
the _yard_ measure feminine, although in Germany (and in print here), it
has been adopted as masculine.
Variations in grammatic gender are to be expected under the
degenderising influence of English, but at present the German genders
usually remain, as in _der stuhl_ (chair), _der pflug_ (plough, PG.
'pluuk'), _der trichter_ (funnel, PG. 'trechtǝr'), _der kork_ (cork,
PG. karik), _der indigo_, _der schwamm_ (spunge), _die egge_ (harrow,
PG. 'eek,' sometimes 'êk'), _die bank_ (bench), _die wiese_ (meadow,
PG. 'wiss'), _die kiste_ (chest or chist, PG. kist), _das tūch_
(cloth), _das messing_ (brass, PG. 'mĕs,' like Eng. _mace_), _das
füllsel_ (stuffing, PG. 'filtsl').
§ 2. _The German Genders._
In various aboriginal languages of America there are two genders, the
animate and the inanimate--with a vital instead of a sexual polarity;
and while German can and does associate gender and sex, its departure
from this system is marked by objects conspicuously sexual, which may be
of the neuter gender, and by sexless objects of the three genders.
It is easy to see why _das kind_ (the child) is neuter, but under the
ordinary view of the rise of grammatic gender, it is not easy to see
why, in modern German, _der leib_ (body) should be masculine, and _das
weib_ (woman, wife) of the same gender as the child--why _die liebe_
(love) should be feminine, and _der friede_ (peace) masculine. In
German, the genders are incongruous, in English they are congruous, the
masculine and feminine being correlatives, with correlative relations to
the neuter also, and by dropping the false nomenclature of the German
genders, we may be able to get a more philosophic view of them as they
now exist, independently of the Old High German system of gender and
declension, which accounts for their later condition.
If we adopt _strong_ for the German masculine gender, there would be
nothing gained if the feminine were called weak, but with the first as
_strong_, the second as _soft_, and the third as _dull_, we would have
three terms which do not suggest correlation or sex, and we might see
nothing irrational in the fact that _man_ might be of the strong, and
_woman_ of the dull gender; and that _peace_ might be strong, and _love_
soft.
Of the _strong_ gender are mann, dieb, freund, mord, mund, hase (of
energetic action), aal, salm, fisch, tisch ([Greek: diskos]), käse
(CASEUS), schnee, klei, stock, fink (a strong-billed bird), apfel
(naturally harsh), stahl, stiefel, schuh, strumpf, fusz, keil,
bart, baum, daum, dorn,[27] punkt, stich, beginn, rubin, diamant,
klump, kummer, verstand, name, tag, halm (a rough material), floh,
krebs, skorpion, hummer, hals, fels, saft, bau, rath, werth, zoll,
flusz, Rhein, raub, acker, bogen.
Of the _soft_ gender are birne, hand, historie (Lat. -IA), liebe,
hoffnung, wohnung, stadt, burg (implying also jurisdiction),
sonne, gluth, milch, rahm, amsel, drossel, butter, feder, gans,
maus, ratte, luft, frucht, nacht, macht (as if personified),
armuth, kraft, furcht, kunst, haut, frau, wurst, schnur, bahn,
marsch, welt.
Of the _dull_ gender are weib, grab, brod,[28] blei, eisen, gold,
silber, zinn, (but der zink,) geld, feld, land, vieh, pferd (the
type being agricultural), rind, joch, pech, haar, auge, bein,
dorf, ding, mensch, mädchen, volk, hirn, leben, wort, buch,
gesetz, herz, gemach, loth, glück, werk, beil, messer, schwert,
glas, fenster, feuer, licht, wetter, wasser, bier, malz, kraut,
lamm, ei, haupt, kalb, loch.
FOOTNOTES:
[24] Such italics for English words are no part of the
original.
[25] This mode of indicating words is used to avoid corrupting
the text with italics.
[26] As this essay is passing through the press, I add the
following examples, which are all in print.
_Der_ charter, deed (legal), humbug, lunch or lunsch, ein delikater
Saurkraut-Lunch. Revenuetarif, crowd, fight, molasses, Select-Council,
crop (fem. with Miss Bahn). Im Juli--schreit der Whipper-will.
_Die_ jail, legislatur, Grandjury or grand Jury, ward (of a city), lane,
toll, gate, pike or peik, bill (legislative), Cornetband or Cornet Band,
eine grosze Box (of medicine), gefängniszbox, platform, manufactory,
shelfing, counter.
_Das_ County, committee or comite, picnic, screen (coal-screen), law
(also fem.), trial, verdikt, basin (reservoir), Groszes Raffle für
Turkeys und Gänse,.... ausgeraffelt werden.
[27] From a Gothic masculine in _-us_,--_das horn_ being from a
Gothic neuter in _-n_.
[28] Primitive bread was probably rather heavy than light--if a
mnemonic view may be taken.
CHAPTER V.
§ 1. THE ENGLISH INFUSION.
Pennsylvania German has long been recognised as a dialect with certain
English words, which are sometimes inflected in the German manner.
Sportive examples were quoted in the last century, and one is
occasionally cited as characteristic, which occurs in Joh. Dav. Schöpf's
Travels (1783-4) published at Erlangen, in 1788, and thus quoted by
Radlof,[29] but in German characters:--
"Mein Stallion ist über die Fehnsz getscheumpt, und hat dem Nachbor
sein whiet abscheulich gedämatscht." (My _stallion jumped_ over the
_fence_ and horribly _damaged_ my neighbor's _wheat_.)
This example is probably spurious and a joke, because PG. 'hengscht' and
'weetsǝ' (instead of _stallion_ and _wheat_) are in common use--for
the Pennsylvania farmer uses German terms for introduced European
objects, and if he calls _rye_ 'karn' (G. korn), instead of _roggen_,
this itself is a German name for what is in some localities regarded as
corn by excellence. Another example of Schöpf has 'geklaret land'
(cleared land), and 'barghen' (bargain), which are correct.
The German brings with him a vocabulary which is not quite adapted to
the objects around him, and he improves his language by dropping such of
his words as have an indefinite meaning, replacing them with terms which
have an exact and scientific value, where High German is weak and
indefinite--having failed to Latinise its vocabulary at the revival of
learning. The Pennsylvanian uses 'fenss' or 'fents' (not "fehnsz") for
the English _fence_, because the German _zaun_ is equally a _hedge_; he
uses 'flaur' (or 'flauer' Eng. flour) as well as the German _mehl_,
because the latter is equivalent to English meal; he seizes upon
_bargain_ as better than anything in his vernacular; and he restricts
G. _wagen_ (with the sound of 'waghǝ') to _wagon_, adopting a
variation like "bändwagen" for a vehicle used by a musical band, using
'kerritsch' ("carriagemacher") for the English _carriage_, altho
'kutsch' (G. kutsche) is also in use. He adopts English expressions for
clearing land and speaks of a _clearing_ (which he makes feminine)
because the destruction of forests by chopping and burning is not a
European practice. Railroads were probably built in America before they
were in use in Germany, and in Pennsylvania, our English name was
imitated in 'reelroot' ('Plankenroad' is in print) or, as in many other
cases, the word was translated into "riegelweg." At a later date the
foreign name "eisenbahn" was brought in by later immigrants--and
"riegel-bahn" is in use.
§ 2. _Newspapers._
The Pennsylvania German appreciates humor, and to avoid the humorous and
often illegitimate use of English words, the first examples in these
pages will be selected from the advertisements of about a dozen
different newspapers, all printed in the barbarous German character, and
published at distant points in Pennsylvania. In such compositions, the
attention of the public is called to common objects in a vocabulary
which can be accepted without hesitation, and in a style somewhat above
the colloquial, in which a horse is called 'gaul' and not _pferd_
('pfært') as usual in print. The spelling is sometimes English and
sometimes more or less Germanised, without much affecting the
pronunciation, as in "store" (a retail shop[30]) or "stohr" (buchstore,
storehalter, stohrhaus), which are equally 'schtoor'; "frame," (främe,
främ, frähm), are equally the English _frame_; "schap" (shap, schop,
schopp, shop, pl. schöp); "township" (townschip, taunschip); "county"
and "caunty"; "turnpike" and "turnpeik"; "cash" and "casch."
In some localities, English names of streets like _King_, _Queen_,
_High_, _Water_, _Chesnut Street_, are used in German speech and print,
and in others, _Königstrasze_, _Quienstrasze_, _Highstrasze_,
_Wasserstrasze_ and _Chesnutstrasze_, are preferred.
As parenthetic words like (Dry Goods) occur in the originals,
explanations will be [in brackets], and attention will be called to
strictly English words by putting them in _italics_.
The "Pennsylvanische Staats-Zeitung" (published at Harrisburg, the State
Capital) claims a larger circulation than any English journal of that
city, and the number for Nov. 25, 1869, will be quoted here in the
original spelling. Here, where English introduced words might be
expected throughout, certain French words are adopted from the German
dictionaries, such as _reparaturen, delikatessen_, lagerbier _salon_
(also _saloon_),[31] _etablissement, engagiren, quotiren, instruiren,
autorisiren, ordonnanz_. Others are rather English than French, as
_pavements, arrangements, publikationspreisen, textbücher, jury, city,
controle_ ( ... so wie dasz die City alleinige Controle über denselben
Committee....), _connektion_, _construktion, order, governör,
provisionen, groceries_.
Beste Familien-Mehl, in Fässern [in another journal--Roggen_flauer
per bärrel--preim flaur_] _superfine per Bärrel; Prime_ weitzen;
Roggen [rye] _per Buschel_. Korn [maize or indian corn, properly
called Welschkorn in the same column under the quoted Lancaster
prices, where "Korn" means rye.] Hafer; _Middlings; Shorts_.
In the Price-current we find--
Fische ... _Rock_ [Labrax lineatus]; _Pike_ [for Hecht, pl. Hechte,
a known term]; _Halibut; Haddock; Sturgeon; Trout; White Perch_
[Labrax albus, vel mucronatus]; Weisze Fische [Coregonus albus];
Härringe; _Cat_fische [Pimelodus, more commonly called
'katsǝfisch'].
Fleische ... _Roast Beef per_ Pfund; _Rump Steaks; Surloin;_
Hammelfleisch; Schweinfleisch; Gedörrtes _Beef_ [Getrocknetes
Rindsfleisch is quoted from Pittsburg]; _Beef_ Schinken; ... _Mess
Pork_; ... Schmalz in _kegs; Lard_-Oel; Butter (roll ... print)
[with 'roll' and 'print' in Roman type]; Molasses [commonly called
mǝlássich]; Süszkartoffeln [a translation of sweet-potatoes,
instead of bataten]; _Schellbarks_ [nuts of the shell-bark
hickory]; Aepfelbutter (Latwerg) [G. Latwerge, PG. látwærik,
translated from E. apple-butter].
In the humorous department we find--
Ein ähnliches Räthsel wie sell eine, war scho [schon] früher im
_Päper_; ... Sie sind ge_muvt?_[32] _Very well_, ... Sell isch e
guat's[33] Plätzel ... sellem Joseph am Eck[34] lasse mer nix
[lassen wir nichts] zu leids thun; ...
The next examples are condensed from journals of various localities,
all printed in the German character. The spelling and use of italics as
before.
Der Grosze Wohlfeile _Dry Goods Store_. Jetzt eröffnet: Direkt von
New York; _Bärgens_ in Weiszgütern und Ellenwaaren (Dry Goods),
Gemischte _Mohairs;_ Schöne Dress _Ginghams; Long Cloth_ [another
has Langes Tuch].
_Country Orders_ werden mit _prompt_heit ausgeführt ...
Groszhandels oder _Wholesäle_ Preisen zu _Retail_en oder einzelnen
[others have "im groszen und kleinen," "Groz und Klein-Verkauf"]
... _Ingrain_ oder Blumiger _Kärpet_; ... _Entry_ und Treppen
[stair] _Carpets; Cottage-Carpets; Floor_ Oel-Tücher [another has
Boden-Oeltücher]; Marseilles und _Honeycomb Quilts; Matting_,
weisz und bunt.
Allgemeine _Stohr_güter; Tücher fur _Ladies Cloaks_ [another has
Damen _Cloak_stoffe.] ... _Lädies Dress-Goods_ [others have
_Dresz_güter, _Dresz_-Anzüge, _Dresz_waaren]; _Fäncy_-Waaren;
Ueberdecken; _Quilts_ und Tisch-_Diapers; Napkins; Ticking_ beim
Stück; _Carriage Trimmings;_ Extra grosze ge_quilte comfortables;
Blänkets_; _Counter Paints_ [counterpanes]; _Dry Goods_ für
Frühjahr und Sommer. Kein _Humbug_.
_Millinery_ Waaren; _Ladies-, Misses-_, und Kinder Stroh und
_Fäncy Bonnets_ und _Flats;_ Corsetten; _Hoops_ [others have
_Hoops_röcke, and _Hoopskirts_ in neuer _Shapes_]; Haar Zöpfen;
Rollen; _Braids; Puffs; Dress-Trimmings_. Unsere "Fits" sind
vollkommen. _Yankee-Notions_ [another has _Notion_en]. _Shelfing_
und _Counter_ für einen _Stohr_.
Pelzwaaren jeder Art, ... Zobel; _Chinchilla; Ermin;_
Siberien-_Squirrel_; _Fitch;_ Wasser-_Mink_.
_Wholesale_ und _Retail_ Händler in Aechten _Rye Whiskeys_ von
verschiedenen _Bränd_en, Ausländischen und Einheimischen
_Brändies_, Weinen, _Gin_ [G. Wachholderbranntwein], feiner
Claret, _Scotch Ale, Fancy Liquors, Pine_ Apfel Syrup, _Cherry_
Wein und Kirschen _Brandy, Demijohns_ und _Bottel_n von allen
Gröszen.
Neue _Scale_ Pianoes, mit eisernen Gestellen, _overstrung Base_
und Agraffe _Bridge_. Ein schönes _Second Hand_ Piano.
Instrumenten zu groszen _Bärgen_ ... _Rotary Valve_[1] und _Side
Action_[35] Instrumente [wind instruments].
Eisen-_Store_ [Eisen-_Stohr_, Hartewaaren, _Hard_waaren,
Eisenwaaren] Küchen _Ränges;_ Extra _Grätes; Furnäces;
Bar-Room_-Oefen; _Air-Tight_ und alle Sorten _Parlor_ Oefen;
_Heating_-Oefen [also Heiz-Oefen]; _Brilliant_ Gas _Burner;_
tragbare _Heaters_, und Gasbrenner; Feuer-_bricks;_ Springs;
ge_forged_ und gerolltes eisen; _Schäfting; Safes;_ Meisel
[properly meiszeln] in _Setts; Razor Straps_ und _Hones; pullys;
Carving_messer, _Butscher_messer_; Varnisch_ [for Firniss]; Neues
Kohlen_screen; Boiler_ von allen Sorten; _Brasz_arbeit;
Kaffeemühlen ... verschiedene Haushaltgeräthschaften ... welche
_Retail_ oder _Wholesale_ zu den billigsten Preisen verkauft
werden ... Sie garantiren völlige Satisfaction.
Porzellan-Waaren _Stohr: Queens_waaren; _Dinner Sets; Toilet Sets;
Toy_ Thee _Sets; Chamber Sets;_ Schüszeln mit Deckel; _Bowl_en
(Bowls) aller Arten; _Pitchers_ aller Arten; Suppen _Tureens_ ...
all die letzten _Styles_ [Styl is also in use]. Ein groszer
Vorrath _Waiters_ und Thee-_Trays_ ... Haus-_Furnisching_ Waaren
... Vasen ... _Chimney Tops_.
Schuh_store_: _India-Rubber, Lasting_ und _Button_ Schuhe; hoch
_polisch Gaiters_ für frauen ... _Kid_ Schuhe ... _Schlippers_.
Juwellen, _Watsch_en und Uhren auf Hand [also 'an Hand' for
vorräthig]; _Watsch_en in goldenen und silbernen _Cäs_en [another
has _Repeating_-Taschenuhr, for Repetiruhr]; _Watsch_en-ketten;
Damen goldene _Bräcelet Setts; Studs; Sleeve_knöpfe; Messern [for
Messer].
Möbel-Waarenlager: Auswahl aller Arten Möbel ... _Bureaus_ [also
Burös, Buros, Büros]; _Sideboards_ [_Seidbord, Desk_];
_Dining_-Tische; _Lounges; Settees;_ [also _Setties_]; _Wardrobes_
[also Garderobe-Artikel, and Kleiderschrank, the proper term].
_Cäne_sitz Stühle; Fenster-blenden [and _Blinds_]; _What-Nots;_
Spiegel mit Gold-_Främs; Spring_betten ... _Parlor, Chamber,_ und
Küchen Möbeln ... und alle andern Artikel welche in Möbel-_Stohrs_
zu finden sind.
Bauholzhof [others have _Lumber-yard_ and Bretterhof] ... Alle
Sorten von Bauholz wohl ge_seasonet_ [also vollkommen
ausgetrocknet]; Wetter_boarding;_ Weisz_pein_ [for Fichte] und
_Hemlock_ [for Tanne] _Joists_ und _Scäntling_ [another has
_Hardwood Skäntling_] jeder Grösze; _Bill-Stuffs; Fenz_stoffen
[for pl. stoffe, others have _Fensing_ and _Fens_pfosten];
_Flooring_ [also Flurbretter]; _Panel Lumber; Poplarboards_ [also
Pappel]; _Pickets_ [also _Pälings,_ both for Pfähle] von allen
längen.
Buchdruckerei ... _Job_ Schriften; Programms; Circulars;
_Tickets;_ Karten; _Blänks; Handbills;_ Pamphlete; _Billheads;_
... an seinem alten _Ständ_.
Oeffentliche _Vendu_ [and Vendue--"_Vendue Creier_ und
Auktionär."] ... Eine Bauerie [also _Farm_, and _Plantasche_] zu
verkaufen ... 110 Acker, 70 ge_klart_ [and ge_klärt_] gelegen in
_Londonderry Taunschip, Lebanon_ [often Libanon] _County,_ an der
Strasze führend vom Palmyra _Landing_-Platze nach der _Jonestaun
Road_, grenzend an den _Lebanon Valley_ Riegelweg [and Rigelweg--a
verbal translation of Railway. Others have--"Es grenzt an die
Libanon Valley _Rail Road_," and "Libanon Thal Eisenbahn."] 2
meilen vom _Stockyard_ [location for cattle]. Die Verbesserungen
sind ein groszes _wedder_ge_bordet_es [Eng. weather-boarded;
another has "_Främ_ Haus wettergebordet"] _Främ_haus
[_Frähm_scheuer, _Bank_scheuer, _Frame_-Arbeit_shop_] neu tapezirt
[papered] ... mit fünf Stuben auf dem zweiten _Floor; Garret_
[others have Dachstube, and Dachzimmer] Küche und Keller. Eine
Cisterne [also _Cistern_] mit 33 _Hogsheads;_ Kohlen_bin_ unter
dem _pävement_ ... Eine Bau_lotte_ [building lot of ground] 50
Fusz _front_ [also--die _Fronte_, and _front_irend.]
Schmied_schap_ [Wagen_schopp_en]; Wagen_sched_ [zwei
Wagen_schäd_e] mit _Cribs_ [and Krippen, Welschkorn_krieb_,
Korn_kribbe_, Korn_kribb_]; _Log_scheuer [also Block-Wohnhaus,
_Logfräme_haus, blöckernes Haus]; mit Stein _Basement_ [another
has "Stallhoch Steinmauer"--the height of the stables of stone].
Das Land ist vom besten _Gravel_ [also _Gravel_-Land, _Flint_,
Kalkstein, Kalchstein, Feuerstein], und unter guten _Fenz_en [and
_Fens_en, alles unter _Fenz_, gut einge_fenzt_].--Laufendes Wasser
geht durch den Scheuerhof [also Scheuer_yard_]. Es ist bequem zu
Post_office_n, Kirchen, Schulen, Mühlen, _Stohr_es, und
Handwerkern.
Ein 6-jähriger brauner Gaul; ... ein junges _Bay_pferd; ein
_Sorrel_pferd; ein _Fallingtop-Buggy;_ ein _Rockaway;_ ein
_Spring_wagen [_huckster_wagen]; ein _Stohr_wagen mit drei
_Springs;_ eine _Sweep Power_ Dreschmaschine; eine _Set
Stäge_geschirr; _Yankie_geschirr; _Front_geschirre [for horses in
front]. Welschkorn_scheller_ [also Welschkornschäler,
Welschkorn_scräper_, Welschkornausmacher, hand_scheller_];
Schneid_box_; Wagen_box_ [and Wagen_body_]; _Molasses-Faktry;_
Mückengeschirre [Fliegen-Geschirre, Fliegennetze]; 1 _Lot Hausen's_
[housings for horses]; Windmühle, [translation of windmill, for
Kornschwinge]; 1 _Sink_ [kitchen sink-bench]; _Martingales_;
_Check_leinen; Cirkel-Säge [another has _Circular_säge] mit _Främ_
und _Sträp_.
Einige Pflanzgrundbeeren von _Prince Alberts_ Sorte.
FOOTNOTES:
[29] Mustersaal aller teutschen Mundarten, ... Bonn, 1822, vol.
2, p. 361. By a type error, _m_ of getscheumpt was omitted. See also Dr.
Mombert's History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1869, p. 373.
[30] See note 1 on next page.
[31] Any place where liquor is retailed is called a saloon, and
in a certain town a cabin with a single room is labeled DON JUAN
WALLING'S SIGN EMPORIUM.
[32] 'You have _removed_' (your residence), but the third
person plural is not thus used in PG.
[33] G. ein gutes, but the Austrian extension _gūăt_ is
not PG.
[34] Neuter for feminine, as in Bavarian and Austrian.
[35] These four words are printed in Roman type.
CHAPTER VI.
SYNTAX.
The confusion of forms in the declension of German articles, pronouns,
and adjectives, as given in print, is avoided in dialects, and on the
upper Rhine all classes use the masculine nominative _der_ for the
accusative _den_, thus making a step towards rational grammar--the
feminine _die_ and the neuter _das_ being equally nominative and
accusative. According to Radlof, from Swisserland to Holland, on both
sides of the Rhine, there is scarcely a locality where the nominative is
distinguished from the accusative and the dative, and he cites as
examples--"ich trinke rother Wein" (for _rothen_); "ich habe der Esel
gesehen" (for _den Esel_); "ich sitze auf der Baum" (for _dem
Baum_).[37] In PG. this _rother_ for _rothen_ is sometimes cut down to
"root" the common PG. neuter form, particularly with the _definite_
article, as in--
Ich trink d'r root wei˛. _I drink the red wine._ Was f'r wei˛
wit [willst du] trinke? _What kind of wine willst drink?_ Ich trink
tschenǝrli rooter wei˛.[36] _I 'generally' drink red wine._
G. Wir geben guten Lohn. PG. M'r gewwǝ guutǝr loo˛. _We give
good wages._
ǝn guutǝr freind (n guuti fraa, n guut haus) is n guut ding. _A
good friend_ (masc.), _wife_ (fem.), _house_ (neut.) _is a good
thing_ (neut.).
Sellǝr mann hǝt mei, huut allǝs ufgebrǝchǝ. _That man
has broken_ (meinen) _my hat_ (alles auf) _all up._
Ich bin naus in _=dǝr=_ hoof un bin unsǝrǝr kats uf
_=dǝr=_ schwants getrettǝ, selli hǝt mich gekratst. (_Nsp._)
_I went_ (hinaus) _out, in_ (G. den Hof, _m._) _the yard, and trod
on_ (G. den Schwanz) _the tail of our cat, she scratched me._
... weil ich mich geschämmt hab, bin ich uf _=dǝr=_ schpeichǝr
geschniikt oone ǝn wǝrt tsu saaghǝ. (_Nsp._) _While I shamed
myself, I 'sneaked' up to_ (den) _the loft without a word to say._
G. Das Wetter ist den ganzen Tag schön gewesen. PG. s wettǝr iss
d'r gants (or gans) daak schee˛ gwest. _The weather has been
fine the entire day._
G. Ich gehe in den Keller. PG. Ich gee in dǝr kellǝr. _I am
going into the cellar._
In the next, _Stuhl_ being masculine, the nominative _der_ is used for
the dative _dem_, but the accusative _ihn_ ('n) is preserved--
ær hǝt uf d'r schtuul k'hǝkt, un hǝt n f'rbrǝchǝ. _He sat
on the chair and has broken it._
G. Liebe deinen Nächsten, als dich selbst. _Love thy neighbor as
thyself._ PG. Liib dei˛ nochbǝr ass wii dich selwer.
G. Lēgĕ das Buch auf dēn Tisch. _Lay the book on the
table._ PG. Leeg s buch uf d'r tisch.
Here, if 'den tisch' were used in PG. it would rather mean '_this_
table,' because there is a tendency to use articles as demonstratives,
saying 'dær' for G. _dieser_, and 'sellǝr' (G. selbiger) for G.
_jener_,--'sel' (G. selbiges) being its neuter, and 'selli' (G. selbige)
its feminine and plural. This 'sel' is found in Swisserland, and other
parts of the Rhine region. Its Alsatian form _tsel_, with initial _t_,
shows that it is akin to G. _d_as_sel_be. Notwithstanding its
resemblance in form and function to Provensal _sel_ or _cel_, French
_celui, celle_, they are without etymologic relation. See Ch. VII., §2.
p. 43, and §4, p. 45; and _Ellis_, Early English Pronunciation, p. 662,
note 15.
'Das' (the) and 'es' (it) have a tendency to confusion under the
short form 's used for both. 'Dass' (that) remains, and the neuter
nominative article is changed from G. _das_ to PG. 'des' as in 'des
buch' (the book)--but as 'des buch' may mean _this book_, the function
of the article is performed by reducing this 'des' to 's, as in--
's buch iss mei˛ _the book is mine_--des buch iss mei˛ THIS
_book is mine._
"Donn hab ich gedenkt [not _gedacht_], _=des=_ is doch now ordlich
plain deitsch," ... (_Rauch._[38]) _Then I thought,_ THIS _is
at-any-rate 'now' tolerably 'plain' Dutch._
Dær mann iss krankǝr (not _kränker_) wie d'r annǝr. THIS _man
is sicker than the other._ (G. als der andere.)
G. Ein Mann und eine Frau waren hier diesen Morgen. _A man and a
woman were here this morning._ PG. Es war ǝn mann un ǝn fraa
hiir den márighǝ. _There was a man and a woman here this
morning._
G. Ich wünsche dass er komme. _I wish that he come._ PG. Ich
wǝtt (or wott, for _wollte_) dass ær deet [G. thät] kummǝ. _I
would that he would come._ Swiss--I wett, asz er chäm. _Stalder_,
1, 112.
Swiss _asz_ for _dass_ is often used in PG., as in--
Wann ich geglaabt hätt 'ass er mich net betsaalt (or betsaalǝ
deet), so hätt ich 'm gar net gebárikt (or gebaricht). _If I had
believed that he would not pay me, I would_ (gar nicht) _not at all
have_ (geborgt) _trusted him._
Wann ich gedenkt [not G. _gedacht_] hätt 'ass es net woor wæær,
dann hätt ich 's net geglaabt. _If I had not supposed it to be
true, I would not have_ (geglaubt) _believed it._
G. Wäre er reich, er würde nicht betteln. _Were he rich he would
not beg._ G. Wenn er reich wäre, so würde er nicht betteln. PG.
Wann ær reich wæær, deet ær net bettǝln. _If he were rich, he
would not beg._
PG., like Swiss,[39] dislikes the imperfect tense, and prefers G. _Ich
habe gedacht_ (I have thought), to G. _Ich dachte_ (I thought), which
gives forms like--
Wii ich n gesee˛ hab, hab ich gedenkt ær wært k'sund. _As I saw
him_ (having seen him) _I thought he would get well._
Ich bin gangǝ _I have gone;_ not G. Ich gieng _I went_, nor
gegangen _ygone_.
Whan myn houſbond is fro the world i-gon,--_Chaucer_, (_Wright's
ed._) l. 5629.
With menſtralcy and noyſe that was (y-)maked, l. 2526.
Bet is to be (y-)weddid than to brynne. l. 5634.
PG. has also 'kummǝ' (has come) for G. gekommen, showing a tendency to
follow a law which caused ge-(y-, i-) to be dropped in English. The
practice seems to have started with _gekommen_ and _gegangen_, because
they are much used, and their initial guttural absorbs the guttural _g-_
or _k-_ of the prefix. In an Austrian dialect,[40] _ge-_ disappears
before _b_, _p_, _d_, _t_, _z_, as in "Ih bin kumma" (I have come), PG.
Ich bin kummǝ.
PG. Ich hab s [G. gekauft] kaaft im schtoor. _I bought it at the
'store.'_ Hǝscht mei˛ briif krikt? _Hast_ (G. gekriegt)
_received my letter?_ Ich schreib n briif. _I write a letter._
"Der Charle hat jung geheiert un hat e fleiszige Fra krickt,"
_Wollenweber_, p. 78.
D'r 'Tschærli' hǝt jung k'eiǝrt un hǝt ǝ fleissighǝ fraa
krikt.
_'Charley' married young and got an industrious wife._
G. Es regne. _It may rain._ PG. s maak (G. mag) reeghǝrǝ.
G. Es regnete. _It might rain._ PG. s kennt (G. könnt)
reeghǝrǝ.
G. Es habe geregnet. _It may have rained._ PG. s kennt reeghǝ
hawwǝ.
PG. has the Swiss _als_ (hitherto, formerly, always), a form in which it
is not shortened into _a's_, as in--
ær hǝt als ksaat ær wær (or wæær) miir niks schuldich.
(_Ziegler_). _He has hitherto said he is to-me nothing indebted._
Mr. Rauch, in his partly English spelling, has--
"Er hut aw behawpt das mer set sich net rula lussa bi seiner fraw,
un das de weiver nix wissa fun denna sacha, un das es kens fun eara
bisness is we an monn vote odder we oft er _=als=_ drinkt."
.ær hǝt aa behaapt dass mǝr set sich net 'ruulǝ' lǝssǝ
bei seinǝr fraa, un dass dii weiwǝr niks wissǝ fun dennǝ
sachǝ, un dass es kens fun eerǝ 'bissnǝss' iss wii ǝn mann
'woot,' ǝdǝr wii ǝft ær als drinkt.
_He_ (_has_) _maintained that one should not_ (lassen) _let_
(sich) _one's-self be 'ruled' by one's wife, and that the_ (weiber
nichts wissen) _women know nothing of such things, and that it is_
(keines von ihre) _none of their 'business' how a man 'votes,' or
how oft he_ (als) ALWAYS _drinks._
In the following Suabian example (Radlof 2, 17) _als_ is a form of G.
alles (all), and _schmieren_ is used as in PG. for _to pay off, to
trick_.
Kurz! i will _o_lls eba macha
Daſz oim 's Herz im Leib mu'ſz lacha;
I will au de Tuifel ſchmiera,
Daſz er Niem_â_ ka_n_ verführa,
Hack' ihm boyde Hörner _o_,
Daſz er nimma ſtecha ka-.
In short, I will make all so even
that the heart in one's body must laugh;
I will also trick [den] the devil
that he none can lead astray--
chop for him both his horns off
that he cannot thrust again.
PG. 'dass' for _als_ (with the sense of _as_), and 'dass wan' G. _als
wenn_ (South German of Breisgau _as wenn_) for _as if_, seems peculiar.
The German adverbial particles admit of a wide range of meaning,
and in Low Austrian certain inversions occur, as _aussa_ (aus-her)
for G. _heraus_; _aussi_ (aus-hin), also in old Bavarian, for G.
_hinaus_, which would allow PG. 'dass' to be referred to _als dasz_ or
da(r)als.[41] But independently of this surmise, the cutting down of
the pronouns _des_ (G. das) and _es_ to _'s_ and _als_ to _ass_, makes
it as easy to accept _dass_ for _als_, as 'd of English 'I'd rather,'
for _had_ instead of _would_. Farther, as _da_ has _als_ for one of its
meanings, this _dass_ may be _da_ with the adverbial suffix _-s_.[42]
"des land is aw frei for mich so goot das for dich."--_Rauch_, p.
32.
... des land is aa frei f'r mich soo guut dass f'r dich.
_This_ (not _the_) _country is_ (auch) _also free for me as well_
AS _for thee._
"net wennicher dos sivva hunnert for dich un mich"....--_Rauch_,
1869.
... net wennichǝr dass siwǝ hunǝrt f'r dich un mich.
_Not less_ THAN _seven hundred for thee and me._
"Er will hawa dos ich bei eam aw roof in Filldelfy, un dut _=dos
wanns=_ tsu meiner advantage wær wann ich kumm."--_Rauch_, Aug.
16, '69.
'ær will hawǝ dass ich bei iim aa˛ruuf in Fildelfi, un duut
dass wann s tsu meinǝr 'atfæntitsch' wær wann ich kumm.
_He will have that I_ (bei) _at-the-house-of him_ [G. _anrufen_,
perverted to an English idiom] _call-on in Phildelphi_ [the
common pronunciation] _and_ (_he_) _does_ AS IF _it_ (were)
_would be to my 'advantage' if I come._[43]
"Selly froke hut mich awer sheer gorly schwitza macha, un ich hob
g'feeld yusht grawd _=das wann=_ ich mich full heaser hulder tæ
g'suffa het un g'mixd mit tansy, katzakraut un
bebbermint."--_Rauch_, Aug. 9, 1869.
Selli frook hǝt mich schĭr gaarli schwitsǝ machǝ, und ich
hab kfiilt juscht graad dass wann ich mich fǝl heesǝr huldǝr
tee ksǝffǝ het un 'gmikst' mit 'tænsi' [_s_ not as _z_]
katsǝkraut un 'bebbǝrmint.'
[Dieselbe Frage] _That question however almost_ [G. gar] _quite
made me sweat, and I felt just exactly_ AS IF _I had_ (G.
gesoffen) _drunk myself full of hot_ (G. Holder) _elder tea, and
'mixed' with 'tansy' catnip and 'peppermint'._
"'s scheint m'r wærklich _=as wann=_ du im sinn hätscht in deinǝ
altǝ daaghǝ noch n Dichter tsu gewǝ (tsu wærrǝ). Awǝr
ich færricht 's iss tsu schpot; du hätscht ǝ paar joor friiǝr
aa˛fange sollǝ, dann wær viileicht ebbǝs draus [G. worden]
warrǝ."[44] _It appears to me really_ AS IF _you intended in
your old days yet to become a poet. But I fear it is too late; you
should have commenced a few years earlier, then perhaps something
might have come of it._
The next is from the description of a willow-tree with the 'nesht' (pl.
of G. _nast_[45]) branches broken by ice.[46]
"Er guckt net gans so stattlich meh,
Er guckt net gans so gross un' schoe
_=Das=_ wie er hut die anner woch
Wu'r all sei nesht hut katte noch."
.ær gukt net gans soo schtattlich mee
ær gukt net gans soo gross un schee,
dass wii ær hǝt dii anǝr woch
wuu 'r all sei˛ nescht hǝt kattǝ noch.
_It_ (nicht mehr) _no more looks quite so stately, it looks not_
(ganz) _quite so large and fine,_ AS THAT _it did the_ (andere)
_other week,_ (wo er _where he_) _when it_ (hat gehabt) _has had
all its boughs._
At present PG. is exhibiting a tendency to drop G. _zu_ (to), the sign
of the so-called infinitive, altho in the following examples perhaps
most speakers would use it.
Wann fangscht aa˛ [tsu] schaffǝ? _When do you begin_ [to]
_work?_
Ich hab aa˛fangǝ schaffǝ. _I have begun_ (_to_) _work._
... fiil annǝri hen hart prowiirt sich farnǝ naus schaffǝ.
(_Rauch._)
_Many others_ (have) _tried hard_ (to) _work themselves_ (G.
vorn) _forward._
"De mæd ... hen kea so kleany bonnets g'hat di nix sin for hitz
odder kelt; es wara rechtshaffene bonnets, das mer aw sea hut kenne
ohna de brill uf du."--_Nsp._
Dii meed hen kee˛ soo klee˛ni 'bannǝts' katt dii niks sin
f'r hits ǝd'r kelt; ǝs waarǝ rechtschaffǝnǝ 'bannǝts,'
dass m'r aa seeǝ hǝt kennǝ, oone dii brill uf [tsu] duu˛.
_The girls_ (haben gehabt) _had no such small 'bonnets'_ (die)
_which are nothing for heat or_ (kälte) _cold; there were honest
'bonnets' that_ (mir) _one_ (auch) _also could see without
putting the spectacles on._
PG. Sometimes distinguishes between the present tense and the aorist, as
in Swiss--"er thuot choh" (he does come)--
Sellǝr hund knarrt. _That dog growls_ (has a habit of growling).
Sellǝr hund tuut (G. thut) knarrǝ. _That dog is now growling._
D'r mann tuut essa--ær iss am essǝ. _The man is eating--he is at
eating._
PG. does not use equivalents to _neither_ and _nor_.
G. Er ist _weder_ reich _noch_ arm. _He is neither rich nor poor._
PG. ær iss net reich un net aarm.
E. He is _either_ sick _or_ lazy. PG. ær iss krank ǝdǝr faul.
(Or, adopting _either_ and its idiom) ǝr iss 'iitǝr' krank
ǝdǝr faul.
In a case like the last, no matter how well the speaker knows English,
he must _not_ pronounce a word like 'either' in the English mode,
because it would be an offense against the natural rhetoric of the
dialect.
FOOTNOTES:
[36] ... "Von der Schweiz an zu beiden seiten des Rheines hinab
bis an Hollands gränzen, giebt es kaum einige Gegenden, wo man den Koch
vom Kellner, den Herrn vom Knechte, den Hammer vom Amboſze, d.i. den
Werfall (_Nominativ_) vom Wenfalle (_Accusativ_) und dem Wemfalle
(_Dativ_) richtig zu unterscheiden vermöchte. Bald hört man nehmlich:
"ich trinke rother Wein" bald: "ich habe der Esel gesehen" bald: "ich
sitze auf der Baum." s.f."--_Dr. Joh. Gottl. Radlof_, Mustersaal aller
teutschen Mundarten, ... Bonn, 1822; 2, 90.
Stalder (Schweiz. Idiotikon, 1812) gives the accusatives of _der_ and
_ein_ as agreeing with the nominative, and under _ein_ (1, 37) he
has--Acc. wie der Nom., welches überhaupt zu bemerken ist.
When I read extracts from this Treatise before the Philological Society
on 3 June, 1870, Prof. Goldstücker and Dr. E. Mall, the latter an
Alsatian, both considered that this presumed substitution of the
nominative for the accusative or dative case must be a misapprehension.
Dr. Mall declared himself totally unaware of it. Both considered that it
must have resulted from the disappearance of the inflectional _-m_, _-n_
(the latter of which is the rule certainly in the Rhine region), and the
degradation of the preceding _e_ vowel into [_e_]. This would account
for "ich trinke rother Wein," considering _rother_ to mean 'rootǝ,'
but would not account for "ich habe der Esel gesehen," in which the _r_
must be taken as trilled, unless we consider that first _den_ was made
into 'dǝ,' and then the 'r' _evolved_ as in the Cockney's 'idea-r of
things.' Hence the original passages on which the assertions in the text
are founded, have been added.--_Alex. J. Ellis._
[37] "Dii Jarik Kaunti leit, wann sii furn rootǝ wei,
schwätzǝ, saaghǝ g'weenlich--"Ich trink rootǝr wei." Wann sii
awǝr kee rootǝr hen, dann trinkǝ sii weisser wann sii n kriighǝ
kennǝ." _The Rev. D. Ziegler_, letter of Jan. 15, 1870 (literatim).
[38] In a spelling based upon English, and not fully phonetic.
See _Ellis_, Early English Pronunciation, pp. 654-661.
[39] _Stalder_ (1, 46) says that the imperfects war, hatte,
sagte, kam, rufte, kaufte, would be scarcely understood in Swisserland.
[40] _Castelli_, Wörterbuch, Wien, 1847, p. 30.
[41] Suabian condenses _da unten_ to _dunda_. The Rev. D.
Ziegler suggests that this 'dass' may have arisen from a _d_, as of
'grad' (G. gerade) before 'as' of _als_, as in--ær schwätzt gra_d as_
wann [G. wenn] ær reich wær. (He speaks just as if he were rich.)
[42] See _Hald_. Affixes. p. 213.
[43] The present tense ('wann ich kumm') is used here for the
G. subjunctive _wenn ich käme_.
[44] The Rev. D. Ziegler, transliterated by himself.
[45] The usual German is _ast_, pl. _äste_. Schmeller (_Mundarten
Bayerns_, art. 610) notices the following examples of this initial _n_
in Bavarian dialects; his phonetical spelling is given in italics, and
interpreted into the present in brackets: der _Nà'n_ [Noon] 'Àthen:
_Nàst_ [nost] Ast; die Nàſ'n [noozn] 'Àsen; _Naſſ·l_ [nassl]
Assel; _Nárb_ [narb] Arb; _Neichté_ [neichte] Eichte; _Nuǝrǝ’_
Nuǝrǝ Urhab; _Nueſch_ [Nuesch] Uesch. In art. 545 he also gives
the form ǝ _Lueſsch_, and in art. 636, the form _ẽRàuſ·n_, for
Uesch, a gutter, and 'A'sen, a beam or joist. _Nárb_ is the staple on
the door, which carries the padlock; _Eicht_ is a little while. The
following are examples of omitted initial _n_, (ib. art. 611); _dǝr
'Apoleon_ Napoleon; _'idǝ'_ nider, _'Ánkinet_ Nanquinet;
_'Impfǝburg_ Nymphenburg; ganz _'atürli'_ natürlich; _'ében_,
_'iǝbm_ neben; _'achǝr_, _'achǝ’_ nachher; _'E'st_, _'iǝſt_
Nest. St. Antwein und St. Nantwein, Aventin Chron. Edit. v. 1566, fol.
470.--Compare the English added initial _n_ in _nickname_ (nekename for
ekename, see Pr. Parv.), _niggot_, _nugget_ for ingot; _newt_ for eft,
ewt; _nawl_ for awl; _nunkle_ for uncle; _Nan_, _Ned_, _Noll_, for Anne,
Edward, Oliver:--and the omitted initial _n_ in _adder_ (old edres and
neddres), _apron_ for napron, _eyas_ for nias.--_A. J. Ellis._
[46] Poems. By Rachel Bahn. York, Pa. 1869. Containing twenty
pages of "Poems in Pennsylvania Dutch." Noticed by me in Trübner's
_American and Oriental Literary Record_, Jan. 24, 1870, p. 634. The
following may be consulted also:
Gemälde aus dem Pennsylvanischen Volksleben ... von L. A. Wollenweber.
Philadelphia und Leipzig. Schäfer und Konradi, 1869.
Harbaugh's Harfe. Gedichte in Pennsylvanisch-Deutscher Mundart.
Philadelphia, Reformed Church Publication Board, 1870.
On the German Vernacular of Pennsylvania. By S. S. Haldeman. Trans. Am.
Philological Association, 1869-70.
Lancaster Pa. WEEKLY ENTERPRISE (newspaper), with a weekly article by
Mr. Rauch.
Der Waffenlose Wächter (monthly newspaper). Gap P.O., Lancaster Co. Pa.
Early English Pronunciation, ... by Alexander J. Ellis, F.R.S., F.S.A.
London, 1871. Twelve pages (652-65) are devoted to Pennsylvania German.
P'älzische G'schichte' ... von Franz von Kobell. München, 1863. In the
main, this little volume of 'Palatinate Stories' comes nearer to
Pennsylvania German than any other I have seen.
CHAPTER VII.
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER DIALECTS.
§ 1. PG. _not Swiss_.
PG. is not Swiss, altho it has a number of Swiss characteristics, and
the line (Radlof, 2, 68)--
"Was isch säll für e sufere kärli?"
is very near its PG. form--
Was isch sel f'r ǝ saubǝr kærli? _What sort of cleanly fellow
is that?_
PG. has both 'ær iss' and 'ær isch' (he is) according to the locality,
of which the latter may be less common. The Rev. D. Ziegler (a native,
like myself) refers the 'isch' variety to the Mennonite and Dunker
population, and as there were many Dunkers (or Tunkers) where my early
years were passed, I heard more of this than of the other.
The indicative mood present tense of _haben_ and _sein_ are, with some
variations, as follows (Stalder, 1, 47-50)--
_Swiss._ _PG._
i hah; ich hab, hap, _I have_.
de hest; du hǝscht, _thou hast_.
er hed, hett; ær hat, _he has_.
mer hend; m'r hen, _we have_.
der hend; d'r hent, _you have_.
sj hend; sii hen, _they have_.
i bi; ich bin, _I am_.
de bisch, bist; du bischt, _thou art_.
er isch, ist; ær iss, isch, _he is_.
mer sind; m'r sin, _we are_.
der sind; d'r sint, _you are_.
sj sind; sii sin, _they are_.
Here the dative singular _mir_ (to me) is used in the nominative plural
instead of _wir_ (we), and also in impersonal expressions; and the
dative singular _dir_ (to thee) is similarly used for _Ihr_ (you), as in
'd'r sint' for G. _Ihr seid_ (you are). G. _Ihr habet_ (you have) has
forced its _t_ upon the first and third persons plural of the Swiss
forms; and in PG. the second person is sometimes forced upon the third,
as in the following, from the Wollenweber's Gemälde (in the German
character), 1869, p. 124,--
For äbout 32 Johr z'rick, do _=hent=_ unsre ... Schaffleut ... im
Stenbruch geschafft, un sten gebroche, for de grosze Damm zu fixe.
'Fr ǝbaut' tswee-un-dreissich joor tsrik, do hent unsre ...
schaffleit ... im schtee˛bruch geschafft, un schtee˛
gebrǝchǝ f'r di grosse 'damm' tsu fixǝ.
_'For about' thirty-two years back, here have our laborers worked
in the quarry, and quarried stone to 'fix' the big 'dam.'_ (Here
the English _fix_ and _dam_ are used, instead of G. _fixîren_,
and _der damm_.)
Here the first _for_ may be regarded as English, but the second occurs
in the Palatinate--"for den Herr Ring sehr ungünschtig" (Kobell), _for
Mr. Ring very unfavorable_--"for sei Lügerei,"--_for his truthlessness_.
The next is extracted from a poem by Tobias Witmer, dated from the State
of New York, June 1, 1869, printed in the 'Father Abraham' English
newspaper, in roman type, and reprinted Feb. 18, 1870. The original
spelling is that of Mr. Rauch, and is not reproduced. Dialectic words
are _=spaced=_, and English words are here put in _italics_. The
translation is rather free.
Geburts-Daak--An mei˛ Alti.
Oo wass is schennǝr uf dǝr welt
_=dass=_ blimlin, root un weiss?
un bloo un _=geel=_,[47] im ærblǝ[48] felt
wass sin sii doch so _neis_!
Ich wees noch guut, in _=seller=_ tseit
hab ich niks liiwǝrs duu˛[49]
_=dass=_ in dii wissǝ--lang un breit
so blimlin ksuucht wii duu.
Doch iss ǝs schun ǝ lang-i tseit
sid'r ích dart ín dem felt,
dii blimlin ksuucht, uf lang un breit,
un uf dei˛ _bussǝm_ _=kschpellt=_.
D'r hent ǝmool ǝ gærtl kat--
mei˛ schwestǝrli un duu;
ich hab s _pripeerd_ mit hak un schpaat
dii blummǝ nei˛ tsu duu˛;
un wuu ich hab im grossi _=schweel=_,
dii kii dart _=hinnǝ=_ ksuucht,
dii _leedi-schlippǝrss_, weiss un _=geel=_,
hab ich mit, heem gebracht,
un hab sii in _=sel=_ gærtl plantst
bei nacht, in muundǝs licht:
d'r _=hent=_ s net gwist, bis juscht _æt wantst_[51]
_=hent=_ diir s ge_gest_ s war mich.
Birthday--To my Wife.
Oh what is finer in the world
than flowrets red and white?
and blue and yellow in the field
how beautiful and bright.
I know yet well that in that time,
nought would I rather do,
than in the meadows long and wide
such flowrets seek as you.
Yet it is quite a lengthened time,
since I in yonder field,
sought out the flowers far and wide,
and on thy bosom pinned.
You also had a garden bed--
you and my sister fair,
which I prepared with hoe and spade
to set the flowers there;
and where I in the ample vale[50]
the cattle there had sought,
the lady-slippers, gold, and pale,
with me I homeward brought,
and in that garden bed at night
I set them when the moon was light.
You did not know who it could be,
but all at once you thought of me.
§ 2. PG. _not Bavarian_.
PG., Bavarian, Austrian and Suabian have the vowel of _fall_, and nasal
vowels. In Pangkofer's _Gedichte in Altbayerischer Mundart_, are the PG.
words 'aa' _also;_ 'bissel' _a little;_ 'ebbas,' G. etwas _something;_
'do is' _there is;_ 'glei' (also Austrian) _soon;_ 'sunst,' G. sonst
_besides;_ 'frumm,' G. fromm _kind;_ 'kloo' _claw;_ 'kumma,' G. gekommen
_come;_ Ohg. 'coman' and 'cuman' _to come;_ 'mir' _we_, for G. wir;
'sel' G. dasselbe _that-same;_ but PG. has not 'mi' _me;_ 'di' _thee;_
'hoarn' _horn;_ 'hout' _has;_ 'thuan' _to do;_ 'g'spoasz,' _sport;_
'oamal' _once;_ 'zwoa' _two,_ G. zwei, PG. 'tswee'; wei, PG. 'weip'
_wife;_ zon, PG. 'tsum' _to the_.
The following example of upper Bavarian is given by Klein,[52] beside
which a PG. version is placed for comparison.
"Schau, nachbe', wàs mei' freud' is,--
In suntàe', in der frûe,
Gern lûs' i' in mei'n gâârt'l
'n kircheläut'n zue.
"Dà is 's so still und hâemli',
Kâe' lärm, kâe g'schrâe kimmt 'nei':
In'n himmi kà's nit schöner
W' as in mei'n gâârt'l sei'."
Sii nochbǝr wass mei, freet iss!
Am sundaak marrghǝ frii,
Gærn hæær[53] ich in mei˛m gærtli
Dii kærchǝ-_bell_ǝ hii˛.[54]
Do 's iss so schtill un heemlich,
Kee˛ jacht, kee˛ kschrei kummt nei˛;
Im himml kann s net schee˛nǝr
Wii s in mei˛m gærtl sei.
_See neighbor, what my joy is, on Sunday in the morn; I listen in
my garden, to the church-bell ring. Here it is so still and calm,
no turmoil, no strife comes within; in heaven_ (kann es nicht)
_it cannot be fairer than_ (es) _it is in my little garden._
§ 3. PG. _not Suabian_.
The Pennsylvania Germans have traditional stories against the Suabians,
although their population is in part derived from the upper (Pfalz)
Palatinate; and some Suabians settled in Northumberland County, Pa., the
evidence of which remains in the name of a stream, _Schwaben_ (or
_Swope_) Creek.
PG. resembles Suabian in using 'e, eǝ' for _ö_, and 'ii' for ü--in the
loss of infinitive _-n_,--in turning final _-n_ into a nasal vowel (as
in sei˛ for _seyn_), and in saying 'du bischt,' 'du kannscht,' etc.
(for G. _du bist_), 'du witt' for _du willst_; 'nimme' for _nicht mehr_;
'glei' for _gleich_ in the sense of _soon_--but the adjective 'gleich'
(similar) remains. PG. does not turn _o_ into _au_, as in Suabian
'_braut_,' '_hauch_,' for _brot_, _hoch_; nor cut down G. _ich habe_ to
'_i ha_'; it does not add elements, as in '_bois_' for G. _bös_, PG.
'bees,' '_bluat_' for G. _blut_, '_reacht_' for _recht_, '_kuine_' for
_keine_, and '_stuinige fealder_' for _steinige felder_, a peculiarity
of Suabian, Alsatian, Swiss, Bavarian and its kin Austrian. PG. has
archaic 'hees' (hot) for G. _heisz_, but nothing like Bavarian _haǝs_.
Difference of pronunciation causes confusion of speech between speakers
of different dialects, as shown by Dr. Rapp in his Physiolōgie der
Sprache, 4, 131. In the 'Fliegende Blätter' (13, 158) there is a
dialogue called 'Ein Deutsch-Böhme' (a German Bohemian), between a
_Bauer_ and a _Städter_--but a Swiss speaker is now added, with the
rejoinder to his remark.
_Bauer._ Wie is de Suppe so hāsz!
_Städter._ Man sagt ja nicht hāsz, sondern heisz. Has [G. hase,
PG. haas hare] nennt man das Thier....
_Bauer._ Dös hāszt bei uns Hōs!
_Städter._ Das ist wieder falsch. Hōs bedeutet jenes
Kleidungsstück, womit Eure langen Beine bedeckt sind.
_Bauer._ Dös hāszt Hus!
_Schweitzer._ Aber mer sind jets im Huus.
_Bauer._ Dös iss 'n _Haus_!
Diminutives in PG. and Suabian are made with-li; both use 'des' for
_das_, 'uffm' for _auf dem_, 'biirǝ' for _birnen_, 'g'hat' or 'kat'
for _gehabt_, 'suu˛' for _sohn_, 'schoof' for _schâf_, 'Schwop' for
_Schwâbe_, 'als' for _alles_, and 'as' for _als_.
§ 4. PG. _not Alsatian_.
In the very German county of Berks there is an Elsass township, which
indicates an Alsatian influence. As a German province of France,[55] two
languages are in use, and are taught in the schools, but the French is
Germanised in pronunciation, as may be verified among the Alsatian and
German servants of Paris. Being akin to Swiss and Suabian, PG. has some
points in common with this dialect, without being influenced by French.
Alsatian differs from PG. in having _i haa_ for 'ich hab,' _tsel_ for
'sei' (G. _d_er_sel_be), _bluǝt_ for 'bluut,' _ūss_ for 'aus,'
_hūs_ for 'haus,' _tsiit_ for 'tseit,' _bisch_ for 'bischt,' _biim_
for 'bei'm,' _morje_ for 'marrghǝ.'
PG. and Alsatian turn some _b_-s to _w_, they have the vowels of _fall_,
_what_, _up_, and have 'prowiirǝ' for _probiren_, 'ass' for _als_,
'do' for _da_, 'joo' for _ja_, 'joor' for _jahr_, 'hoor' for _haar_,
'fun' for _von_, 'isch' for _ist_, 'jets' for _jetzt_, 'uff' for _auf_,
'druff' for _dorauf_, 'uff'm' for _auf dem_, 'raus' for _daraus_,
'draan' for _daran_, 'iwwǝr' for _über_, 'dno' for _darnach_; PG.
'ǝffǝ,' Alsat. 'offǝ,' G. _ofen_; 'bal' for _bald_, 'm'r' for
_wir_, 'm'r muss' for _man musz_, 'mee' for _mehr_, 'welli' for
_welche_; 'was batt s' (what boots it).
The following lines (Radlof, 2, 110) are extracted from a piece of
Alsatian which well illustrates the concurrent use of two languages. The
French should be read in the German mode. Other French words occur in
Radlof's examples, such as allong _allons_, tur _tour_, schalu _jaloux_,
anterpoo _entrepôt_, bangenet _baïonnette_. The original of the
following is in German (gothic) and French (roman) print according to
the language, here imitated by roman and italic types. The speaker is
telling a friend how she was addressed by a stranger:
So kummt ä Wälscher her, und macht mit Kumblemente,
Und redt mich gradzu an.--Mach er kein Spargemente,[56]
Hab i glich zu ihm g'sait. Losz Er, was ich 'ne bitt,
Mich mine Waih fortgehn; ich kenn de Herre nit.
»_Sans avoir,_ frout er mich, _l'honneur de vous connaître,_
_Vous êtes seule ici, voulez-vous me permettre_
_De vous offrir mon bras pour vous accompagner?_«
_Allez_, _Mousié_, sa ich, _allez-vous promener_,
Und spar Er sich die müh; Er musz sich nit trumpire,
Ich bin von dene nit die mer am Arm kann führe.[57]
»_Vous êtes bien cruelle, arrêtez un moment_,«
Sait er, und kummt soglich mit sine Santimang....
Zu diene, hab i g'sait; losz Er mich aber gehn,
Min Ehr erlaubt mir nit noch länger do zu stehn.
»_Je n'insisterai pas, mais veuillez bien m'apprendre,_
_Si demain en ces lieux vous daignerez vous rendre._«
Behüt mich Gott davor! i gib kein _rendez-vus_.
_Adié, mousié, adié, je ne vus_ [sic] _verrai plus._
_Translation._--Thus comes a Frenchman up and proceeds with
compliments, and (an-redet) accosts me (gerade zu) directly. Make
no formalities,[56] I said to him at once. Let me, what I beg
('ne, G. ihn) him, continue (meinen weg) my way--I know not the
(herren) gentlemen. "_Without having_," he (frägt) asked me, "_the
honor of knowing you, you are alone here, will you permit me to
offer you my arm to accompany you?_" _Go, sir_, (sagte) said I,
_Proceed with your walk_--and spare himself the trouble; he must
not deceive himself, I am not of those who can be conducted on the
arm.[57] "_You are very cruel, stay a moment_," says he--and comes
at once with his sentiment.... At your service, I said, he should
let me go, my honor would not allow me to stand there longer. "_I
do not insist, but will you kindly inform me, if to-morrow in
these places you will deign to return._" Preserve me heaven from
it! I give no _rendez-vous_; _adieu, sir, adieu, I will not see
you more_.
§ 5. PG. _is akin to several South German Dialects._
Like _Suabia_, the name of _Pfalz_ has disappeared from the map of
Europe, and what was once the Lower Palatinate, is now to be looked for
chiefly in Baden, Bavaria, and Darmstadt.
It was partly bounded by Alsatia, Baden, and Würtemberg, and Manheim
was the chief city. A few examples, condensed from Kobel, will show the
nearness of its dialect to PG.
So nehmt er dann desz Album desz uff 'm Tisch gelege is. _So takes
he then the album that is laid on the table._ So is 'm glei'
ei'gfalle'. _So it soon happened to him._ Guck emol, do is er, mer
kennt 'n. _Look once, here he is, one knows him._ Wei is er dann do
drzu kumme? _How then has he come?_ Desz will ich Ihne sage. _That
I will tell you._ Mer hot nix mehr vun 'm g'hört. _Nothing more has
been heard of him._ Mir habe [PG. mr hen] alls minanner 'gesse. _We
ate all together._ Juscht am selle Tag is e' Gascht a'kumme.
_Precisely on that day a guest arrived._ Mit eme finschtre'
Gesicht. _With a dark face._ Sacha macha for die Leut. _To make
things for people._ Bsunners _especially_; ghat _had_; drbei
_thereby_; schun _already_; sunscht nix _besides nothing_; drvun
_thereof_; eens _one_; zwee _two_; keens _none_; unner _under_;
druff _on_; johr _year_; wohr _true_; kummt rei [PG. rei] _come
in_; ne _no_; jetz' _now_; gedenkt _supposed_; fraa _woman_; kopp
_head_; weesz _knows_; meeschter _master_; e' gut' kind _a good
child_.
The South German dialect of Breisgau has G. _er hilft_ (he helps, PG. ær
helft), _g'seit_ (as in Alsatia) for _gesagt_, PG. 'ksaat,' _us_ for G.
and PG. 'aus,' _i_ for _ich_, _herrli_ for _herrlich_, (PG. hærrlich),
_wön_ for _wollen_, _zît_ (as in Alsatia) for _zeit_, _aue_ for _augen_
(eyes, PG. aughǝ, Alsat. auǝ), _de_ for _du_, _gen_ for _gegeben_
(given, PG. gewwǝ, sometimes suppressing _ge-_, to which attention has
been called). Besides _gen_, the following Allemanic example (Radlof, 2,
99) contains _wore_ for _geworden_, and _uskratzt_ for _ausgekratzt_--
"Se han kurzwilt un Narrethei triebe, un am End isch der Hirt keck
wore, un het em Mümmele e Schmützle gen, un se het em seldrum d'Aue
nit uskratzt."
_They trifled and fooled, and finally the shepherd_ (ist keck
geworden) _became bold, and_ (hat gegeben) _gave_ (dem) _to the
water nymph a kiss, and she did not_ (dasselbe darum)
_on-that-account_ ('em' for _ihm_) _scratch out his eyes._
In the following examples, the Breisgauish and PG. are probably more
nearly allied than might be supposed from a comparison of the spelling.
The Alsatian and PG. are in the same alphabet.
_German._ _Breis- _Alsace._ _PG._ _English._
gau._
regenbogen, regeboge, râjǝbâu-ǝ, reeghǝ- _rainbow_.
booghǝ,
wo, von, wu, vun, wuu, fun, wuu, fun, _where_, _of_.
da, mal, do, mol, doo, mool, doo, mool, _here_, _times_.
schaf, schof, schoof, schoof, _sheep_.
schlafen, schlofe, schloofǝ, schloofǝ, _to sleep_.
und, gelt, un, gel, un, gel, un, gel, _and_, _truly!_
wohnen, wuhne, woonǝ, wuunǝ, _to reside_.
kommen, kumme, kummǝ, kummǝ, _to come_.
gesehen, g'sehne, g'sên, kseenǝ, _seen_.
jahr, auch, johr, au, joor, au, joor, aa, _year_, _also_.
nachbar, nochber, nochbǝr, nochbǝr, _neighbor_.
nicht, nit, nix, net, niks, net, niks, _not_, _nothing_.
nichts,
selbiger, seller, tsellǝr, sellǝr, _that one_.
es ist 's isch ǝs isch jets, s isch jets, _it is now_.
jetzt, jetz,
etwas, ebbes, eppǝs, ebbǝs, _something_.
eppǝs,
nunmehr, nummee, (nimmǝ), nummi, _now_.
darunter, runter, (nuntǝr), runtǝr, _under_.
als, einem, as, eme, as, ǝmǝ, as, mǝ, _as_, _to a_.
man kann, mer kann, m'r kann, mǝr kann, _one can_.
sie haben, sie hen, sii haan, sii hen, _they have_.
han,
wir sind, mer sin, m'r sin, m'r sin, _we are_.
weiszt, wescht, weischt, weescht, _knowest_.
das, hat, des, het, des, hot, des, hǝt, _the_, _has_.
In the next three lines of Breisgauish (Radlof, 2, 95) words which agree
more or less with PG. are in italic--
"_Do isch au kei Plätzle meh,_ Here is also no spot more,
_Wu_ i könnt _mi_ Haupt[58] _hinlege,_ where I might my head repose,
Wenn i _vun der Arbet geh._" when I from my work depart.
The following (Radlof, 2, 92) is also in the Breisgau dialect:
Siehsch de, Kind, de Regeboge,... Seest thou child the rainbow,...
Gel, das isch e Pracht vun Farbe,... truly it is a glory of color,...
Noeh het jetz mit de Sine Noah has now with (the) his
[people]
E Johannisfirle g'macht, made a (midsummer)
Johannes-fire[59]
Un in Herrlikeit un Pracht and in splendor and glory
Isch der Herr debi erschine, the Lord (dabei) thereat appeared,
Un zum Noeh het er g'sproche: and to Noah has he spoken:
Guck, e Zeiche setz i fest, Behold, a sign I firmly set
Wil de Fride mit mer hest, whilst thou (hast) keepst peace
with me,
's Wort des hab i niemol broche the word--that have I never broken
Un de Herr het's Wort au g'halte, and the Lord has the word also
kept,
Den der Regeboge steht, for the rainbow stands
Wenn Gott au im Wetter geht, whenever God goes in the tempest,
Un er loszt de Zorn nit walte. and he (läszt) allows not (den)
the anger to rule.
FOOTNOTES:
[47] G. gelb, Ohg. gelo, Swiss, etc., gäl _yellow_.
[48] Not PG. ærpsǝ, G. erbsen (peas), but a form of
_erdbeere_ (strawberry).
[49] G. Ich habe nichts lieber gethan. (G. adj. and adv.
_lieber_, adverbialised with _-s_.) _Nothing would I rather have done._
[50] The word is "schwöhl" in the original--probably
borrowed from the local English word _swale_. Wuu, G. wo, _where_. The
author was born in 1816, at Niagara, in a small colony which had
emigrated from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania--his father in 1811. The
colony received additions about the year 1830.
[51] = _at once_. Dr. Jones, 1701, gives '_w_æns, _w_ænst' as
the English pronunciation in Shropshire and some parts of Wales.
Buchanan, 1766, gives '_w_æns' as correct English.--_A. J. Ellis._
[52] Die Sprache der Luxemburger. Luxemburg, 1855.
[53] This word varies to heer, and horch may be used.
[54] Here _hii_˛ is given for the rhyme, the proper word
being G. _da_, PG. 'doo.' On this account the Rev. D. Ziegler makes the
following variation on my version--
Sii noochbǝr was mei, freet iss,
Wann ich im gærtli schtee,
Gærn heer ich frii am sundaak
Dii kærchǝbellǝ geh.
[55] This was written before the Franco-German war which
re-annexed Alsatia to Germany. When I read out the first example in
Chapter VIII. (_Wiidǝr aa˛geschmiirt_), to the Philological Society,
on communicating this paper, 3 June, 1870, Dr. E. Mall, an Alsatian, who
was present, remarked that it reminded him throughout of his native
dialect, of which he thoroughly recognized the pronunciation. I may
remark that I have never heard PG. pronounced, although I have heard
Austrian, Saxon, Rhenish, Bavarian, and Swiss dialects, and read solely
by the phonetic orthography here given.--_A. J. Ellis._
[56] F. E. Petri (Handbuch der Fremdwörter, 1845) explains
_Spargimént_ or _Spargemént_ as "ein ausgestreutes Gerücht,
Ausgesprenge, Geträtsch oder Gerede; Aussprengsel," in short, _gossip_
or _idle talk_, evidently from Latin _spargere_.--_A. J. Ellis._
[57] Compare Goethe's _Faust_--
_Faust._ Mein schönes Fräulein, darf ich wagen,
Meinen Arm und Geleit Ihr anzutragen?
_Margarete._ Bin weder Fräulein, weder schön,
Kann ungeleitet nach Hause gehn.--_A. J. E._
[58] Scarcely PG., 'kǝp' (G. kopf) being used.
[59] See Pulleyn's Etym. Compendium, 1853, at BONE-FIRES. [See
also, Jacob Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_, pp. 567-597, for fires
generally, and pp. 583-593, for these Midsummer fires in
particular.--_A. J. Ellis._]
CHAPTER VIII.
EXAMPLES.
§ 1. _Wiidǝr aa˛geschmiirt._
¶ 1. Dass dii meed ǝn wunnǝrbaarǝr schtǝff sin, wen [wann?] sii
f'r mennǝ ausgrukǝ, wærd iir aa schun ausgefunnǝ hawǝ. Sii sin
so schlippǝrich wii ǝn fisch, un wan m'r meent m'r hätt eens fescht,
dan knabbǝrt 's schun an nǝr annǝrǝ ang'l.
TRICKED AGAIN.--_That the maidens are a wondrous matter if they_
(ausgucken) _look out for husbands_ (werdet Ihr) _will you_ (auch) _also
have_ (schon) _already discovered._ _They are as slippery as a fish, and
when one supposes_ (subjunctive er hätte) _he might have one fast,_ (it
nibbles) _there is already nibbling at_ (einer andern) _another hook._
¶ 2. Ich hab eich do schun foor 'sǝm' tseit tsrik f'rtseelt, wii ich
mit d'r 'Hænnǝ' ei˛kummǝ bin, un was f'r 'kælkǝleesch'nss' dass
ich gemacht hab f'r n 'schtoor' úftsusétsǝ an dem alti Schniipikl
seinǝr kreits-schtross.
_I have recounted_ (euch) _to you here 'some' time ago, how I paid
attentions to 'Hannah,' and the 'calculations' that I made to set up_
[an English idiom] _a 'store' at old Schniepickel's Crossroads._
¶ 3. 'Well,' selli tseit hab ich mich bei d'r 'Hænnǝ' wiischt
aa˛geschmiirt gefunnǝ (kfunnǝ), f'r ich hab gemeent, dass sii
niimand sunscht 'g_leich_ǝ,' un liiwǝr drei moonat lang
gebrootǝnǝ rattǝ fressǝ deet, wii an eenighǝr annǝrǝr kærl
tsu denkǝ--
_'Well,' that time I found myself badly[60] tricked with 'Hannah,' for I
believed that she 'liked' nobody else, and_ (thät lieber fressen) _would
rather devour fried rats three months long, than to think on any other
fellow;_
¶ 4. un dii 'seem' tseit hat sii dem 'Sæm' Hinnǝrbee˛ 'kumpanii'
gewwǝ, un tsu annǝri ksaat, sii wǝtt sich liiwǝr ufhenkǝ un
d'r hals mit d'r hǝls-seeg apschneidǝ, as so ǝn alt 'griinharn'
wii mich heiǝrǝ.
_and the 'same' time she gave 'Sam' Hinterbein 'company' and said to
others, she would rather hang herself and cut off the neck with the
wood-saw_ (als) _than to marry such an old greenhorn as me._
¶ 5. Du kannscht diir denkǝ, dass mich sel f'rtsernt hǝt un dass ich
mei˛ 'plæns' weeghǝ schtoorhaltǝ an dem kreitsweek pletslich
ge-ennǝrt hab.
_You can imagine to yourself that that_ (verzürnt) _angered me, and
that_ (plötzlich) _suddenly I_ (habe geändert) _changed my plans about
storekeeping at the Crossway._
¶ 6. Ich hab mich dann ǝn bissl rúmgegúkt un gefúnnǝ dass drǝwǝ
an d'r 'Passǝm krik' ǝn 'neisi opning' f'r n tíchtighǝr
'schmærtǝr' kærl wii ich eenǝr bin, wær.
_I then looked me_ (ein biszchen herum) _a little round and_ (gefunden)
_found that_ (droben) _up on 'Possum creek' was a 'nice opening' for a_
(tüchtig _tight_) _capable 'smart' fellow, as I am one._
¶ 7. Dart am ek wuunt d'r alt 'Eeb' Windbeissǝr uf m groosi schtik
land; dem sei˛ 'Meeri' hǝt m'r 'ǝbaut' aa˛kschtannǝ, un
allǝs sunscht dart rum hǝt m'r recht guut gefállǝ (kfallǝ),
juscht hǝt dii 'Meeri' so gaar eewich fiil schweschtǝr un briidǝr,
dass als kee˛ plats f'r uns tswee im haus waar, un in dii scheir
geeǝ musstǝ, wann m'r mit ǝn-annǝr schwetsǝ wǝttǝ.
_There on the corner lives old 'Abe' Windbeisser on a large piece (of)
land; whose 'Mary about' pleased me, and all_ (sonst dort herum)
_besides there-about pleased me right well, only Mary had_ (gar ewig so
viel) _quite ever so many sisters and brothers, that (there) was always
no place for us two in the house, and (we) must go in the barn when we
would speak with oneanother._
¶ 8. Sell hǝt m'r 'ǝf-koors' net so árik aa˛kschtannǝ, awǝr
(aawǝr) dii Meeri hǝt gemeent des wær niks, m'r misst sich ewwǝ
tsu helfǝ wissǝ.
_That 'of-course' was not so very agreeable to me, but Mary considered
that to be nothing; one must know_ (eben) _exactly how to help one's
self._
¶ 9. En tseit lang iss 'nau' allǝs guut gangǝ, meini
'kælkǝleeschǝnss' waarǝ wiidǝr 'reddi' un dii Meeri hǝt mir
tsu f'rschteeǝ gewwǝ, dass ich eenichǝ tseit mit iirǝm daadi
schwetsǝ un dann d'r parrǝr [and parrǝ] beschtéllǝ kennt.
_(For) some time 'now' all went well, my 'calculations' were again
'ready,' and Mary had given me to understand that any time I could speak
with her_ (Swiss dädi) _father, and then engage the minister._
¶ 10. 'Well,' d'r neekscht sundaak, ich hab iim ksaat dass ich un sei˛
Meeri unsǝr meind ufgemacht hättǝ tsu heiǝrǝ, un froog iin ep ær
eenich eppǝs [or ebbǝs] dageeghǝ hätt. Nee˛, secht ær, ich hab
niks dageeghǝ, aawǝr hǝscht du dann dii 'Mændǝ' heit kseene?
_'Well' the next Sunday I told him that I and his Mary had_ (English
idiom) _made up our 'mind' to marry, and asked him_ (ob) _if he had_
(einiges etwas) _any_(some)_thing there-against. No,_ (_sägt_, for G.
sagte) _said he, I have nothing against it--but have you seen 'Amanda'
to-day?_
¶ 11. "Iir hen mich lets f'rschtannǝ," saag ich, "ich will dii Meeri
heiǝrǝ, net dii Mændǝ." (Du muscht wissǝ, dii Mændǝ iss
'ǝbaut' seks joor eltǝr wii dii Meeri un net neekscht soo
guutgukich.)
_"You have understood me_ [Swiss and SG. letz] _wrongly," say I, "I wish
to marry 'Mary' and not 'Amanda'." (You must know, 'Amanda' is 'about'
six years older than 'Mary,' and not_ (next) _near so goodlooking.)_
¶ 12. "Joo, ich hab dich recht guut f'rschtannǝ, aawǝr du bischt
noch net 'ufge_pooscht_.' Geschtǝr marighǝ iss dii Mændǝ nooch 'Hen'
Greifdaalǝrs 'schtoor' un hǝt sich eppǝs kaaft--'Griischǝn' Bendǝr
glaab ich heescht sii des ding.
_"Yes, I have understood you right well, but you are not yet 'posted'
up. Yesterday morning 'Amanda' went to 'Hen.' Gripedollar's 'store' and
bought herself something--'Grecian' Bend_ (pun on _bend_ and _bänder_,
ribbons,) _I believe she calls the thing._
¶ 13. "Wii dii Meeri sel geseenǝ (or kseenǝ) hat, wærd sii gans (or
gants) närrisch dofoor, un fangt aa˛ mit d'r Mændǝ tsu handlǝ,
weil d'r 'schtoorkiipǝr' juscht dii eéntsighǝ maschiin katt hǝt.
_When Mary saw it she becomes quite silly_ (dafür) _for it, and begins
to bargain with Amanda, as the 'storekeeper'_ (hat gehabt) _had but the
single machine._
¶ 14. "Well, sii sin net eenich [geworden] warrǝ bis geeghǝ oowǝt,
un dann hen sii 'ǝgriid,' das dii Meeri dich tsu d'r Mændǝ ufgept,
un dii Meeri dii Griischǝn Bendǝr kriikt!"
_"Well, they were not_ (einig) _in accord till_ (gegen abend) _towards
evening, and then they 'agreed' that Mary would give you up to Amanda,
and she should get the Grecian Bend."_
¶ 15. F'r_schwappt_? Mich uf den 'Griischǝn', Bendǝr 'f'rschwappt,'
oone mich ærscht tsu frooghǝ?!
_'Swapped'! Me 'swapped' on the Grecian Bend,_ (ohne mich erst zu
fragen) _without first asking me?!_
¶ 16. "So schteet s 'nau,' dii Mændǝ is drunnǝ im kuuschtall, wann
du fĭleicht ærscht mit iir dǝrweeghǝ schwetsǝ witt."
_"So stands it 'now,' Amanda is_ (darunter) _down there at the stable,
if you perhaps_ (willst) _will first speak with her about it."_
¶ 17. Ich? mit iir dǝrweeghǝ schwetsǝ? Iss gaar net nootwennich!
Wann mich deini meed kaafǝ, f'rkaafǝ un f'r_schwapp_ǝ kennǝ,
dann sollǝ sii aa seenǝ, dass sii mich kriighǝ. 'Guutbei.'
_I? speak with her about it? (It) is quite unnecessary. If your girls_
(können kaufen) _can buy, sell, and 'swap' me, then_ (sollen sie auch
sehen) _shall they also see that they get me. 'Goodby.'_
¶ 18. Ich wees net was dii Windbeissǝr meed[61] mit un oone
Griischǝn Bendǝr fun miir denkǝ, aawǝr was ich fun iinǝ denk
wees ich, wærd diir s aawǝr 'ennihau' net saaghǝ.
_I know not what the Windbeisser girls with and without Grecian Bend
think of me,_ (aber ich weiss) _but I know what I think of them--but
will 'anyhow' not tell it to you._
¶ 19. 'Nau' hab ich im sinn noch eé˛mool[62] tsu prowiirǝ, sobál ich
n 'tschænss' ausfinn, un wann m'r s aa dann net glikt, geb ich s uf un
wærd ǝn altǝr 'bætschǝlǝr.'[63]
_I now have in mind_ (zu probîren) _to try yet_ (einmal) _once, as soon
as I find out a 'chance,' and if it also prospers not then with me, I
will give it up and be an old 'bachelor.'_
§ 2. _Wii kummt ǝs?_
¶ 1. Ich lees eiǝr tseitung 'reglǝr' alli woch, un weil ich alsfart
so fiil nei-ichkeit'n drin lees, do bin ich schun oft (ǝft) uf dii
'nosch'n' [gekommen] kummǝ iir [müsset] misst allǝs wissǝ.
HOW COMES IT? _I read_ (euer) _your journal 'regular' every week, and
as I constantly read so many novelties in it,_ (da _then_) _have I
indeed often come to the 'notion' you must know everything._
¶ 2. Wann _=epper=_ sich ufhengt, ǝdǝr heiǝrt, ǝdǝr
_=eppǝs=_ schteelt, ǝdǝr gærn ǝn guuti 'affis' hätt, ǝdǝr in
dii 'tscheel' kummt, ǝdǝr sich n fing-er apschneidt, ǝdǝr sei˛
'plats' f'rkaaft, ǝdǝr n hinkl schteelt, ǝdǝr 'guuf'rniir´'
wærrǝ will, ǝdǝr im 'gǝttǝr' kfunnǝ wært, ǝdǝr seini
tseitung net betsaalt, dann kann m'r sich druf f'rlassǝn, dass ǝs in
dii tseitung kummt.
_If_ (Swiss _epper_, masc. of G. etwas,) _anyone hangs himself, or
marries, or steals_ (G. etwas) _anything, or would like to have a good
'office,' or gets into 'jail,' or cuts himself a finger off, or sells
his 'place'_ (or _farm_), _or steals a chicken, or wishes to become
'governor,' or is_ [gefunden] _found in the 'gutter,' or does not pay
for his journal, then one can depend upon it that it gets into the
newspaper._
¶ 3. Ich bin ǝn altǝr bauǝr un f'rschtee net fiil, un weil iir
alles tsu wissǝ scheint, doo will ich eich ǝmoól ǝn paar sachǝ
frooghǝ, dii ich gærn wissǝ deet.
_I am an old farmer and do not understand much, and as you seem to
understand everything, I will here ask you once several things, which I
would like to know._
¶ 4. Wii kummt ǝs, dass dii jung-i bauǝrǝbuuwǝ graad brillǝn
un schtǝk traaghǝ missǝ, wann sii in dii 'kallitsch' [geschickt
werden] kschikt wærrǝ? Ich hab als gemeent ich wollt mei˛ 'Sæm' aa
in dii 'kallitsch' schikǝ, aawǝr wann dii leit graad schlechti
aaghǝ kriighǝ un laam wærrǝ, dann behalt ich mei˛ 'Sæm' liiwǝr
dǝheem un lærn iin selwǝr als oowǝts.
_How comes it, that the young farmer-boys must immediately carry
spectacles and_ (stöcke) _sticks when they are sent to 'college'? I have
hitherto thought I would send my 'Sam' to 'college,' but if people
immediately get bad eyes and become lame, I will rather keep him at home
and teach him myself of evenings._
¶ 5. Wii kummt ǝs, dass deel weipsleit in eirǝm iistan (Easton) soo
aarm [sein wollen] sei˛ wellǝ un doch soo lang-i frackschwents uf 'm
'peefmǝnt' noochschleefǝ? [Werden] wærre[64] selli weipsleit
betsaalt f'r s 'peefmǝnt' [sauber] sauwǝr tsu haltǝ, ǝdǝr wii
[können] kennǝ sii 'affoordǝ' soo aa˛tsugeeǝ?
_How comes it, that_ (theil) _part (of the) women in your Easton_ (sein
wollen) _pretend to be so poor, and yet_ (nach-schleifen) _drag along_
_such long frock_ (schwänze) _tails on the 'pavement'? Will those women
be paid for keeping the 'pavement' clean, else how can they 'afford' to
proceed thus?_
¶ 6. Wii kummt ǝs, dass dii jung-i buuwǝ selli meed, woo reichi
daadis [Swiss dädi] hen, liiwǝr noochschpringǝ als dii aarmi? Gukt
sel net als wii wann sii meer uum s geld gewwǝ [thäten] deetǝ als
wii uum dii meed? Wann ich ǝn meedl wær un hätt so ǝn 'boo,' dann
deet ich iin mit d'r feiǝrtsang fartschtéwǝrǝ.
_How comes it, that the young men_ (lieber nachspringen) _sooner run
after those girls who have rich_ [the plural _-s_ is English] _fathers,
than the poor ones? Looks it not just as if they would give more for the
money than for the maid? If I were a girl and had such a 'beau,'_ (then)
_I would_ [stöbern, ö long] _drive him forth with the fire-tongs._
¶ 7. Wii kummt ǝs, dass n deel jung-i leit nimmi deitsch leesǝ un
schwetsǝ kennǝ, wann sii mool '_jes_' un '_noo_' saaghǝ kennǝ?
Meim [dative for genitive] nochbǝr, dem Maardi Halsbendl sei˛
eltǝst'r [sohn] suu˛, dær so deitsch waar wii saurkraut des schun
siwwǝ mool ufgwærmt iss, waar kærtslich ǝmool in d'r schtatt, un wii
ær wiid'r heem kummǝ iss, do waar ær so eng-lisch, dass ær schiir gaar
nimmi mit seim daadi un mammi schwetsǝ kann. Sii sin 'nau' arik im
'truwl' un sei˛ daadi meent, sii misst'n iin naus nooch Kniphaus'n
schikkǝ, f'r iin wiid'r (widr) deitsch tsu machǝ.
_How comes it that some young people are no longer able to read and
speak German if they only know how to say 'yes' and 'no'? The eldest son
of my neighbor Martin Neckband, who was as Dutch as sourcrout which has
been warmed up seven times, was once recently a week in town, and when
he had returned home again, there was he so English that he could
scarcely speak anymore with his father and mother. They are 'now'
greatly in 'trouble,' and his father thinks they must send him out to
Kniphausen to make him German again._
¶ 8. Wie kummt ǝs, dass dii aarmi leit geweenlich dii meerschtǝn
hund un katsǝ hen? Do bei uns wuunt n famíljǝ, dii als bettǝlǝ
muss, un dii fiir groosǝ hund un siwwǝ katsǝ hǝt. Sii selwǝr
saaghǝ, sii misst'n so fiil hund hawǝ f'r dii diib aptsuhaltǝ.[65]
_How comes it, that poor people_ (gewöhnlich haben) _commonly have the
most dogs and cats? Here near us lives a family which must always beg,
and which has four large dogs and seven cats. They themselves say, they_
(müszten haben) _were obliged to have so many dogs to keep away the
thieves._
§3.
_Will widd'r Biiwǝli[66] sei˛._ _Will be a Boy again._
¶ 1. 1.
.ǝs reeghǝrt heit, mr kann net It rains to-day, one cannot
naus out,
un s iss so 'loonsǝm' doo im haus; and t'is so 'lonesome' in the
house;
mr wees net wii mr fiilt. one knows not how one feels,
ich will mool duu, als wæær ich klee˛ I will once do as were I small
un uf d'r éwǝrscht schpeichǝr gee˛ and in the highest garret go--
dart hab ich uftmools kschpiilt. there have I ofttimes played.
¶ 2. 2.
.ǝn biiwli bin ich widdǝr jets, An urchin am I now again,
wu sin mei˛ _=krutsǝ=_ un mei˛ where are my corn-cobs and my
klets? blocks?
'nau' wært n haus gebaut! 'now' will a house be built!
ǝs schpiilt sich doch net guut one plays indeed not well
alée˛-- alone--
ich bin joo doch kee˛ biiwli mee! I am in fact no urchin more!
was kluppt mei, hærts so laut! my heart how loud it beats!
¶ 3. 3.
Harrich! was 'n wunnǝrbaarǝ sach! And hark! how wonderful it is!
d'r reeghǝ rapplt uf 'm dach the rain now rattles on the
roof
gaar nimmi wii ær hǝt! no more as it once did!
ich hab 's als kæært mit leichtǝm I heard it once with buoyant
hærts, heart,
nau gepts m'r arik heemwee schmærts, but now it gives a home-sick
smart,
kennt heilǝ wan ich wǝt. I coúld weep if I would.
¶ 5. 5.
Des schpiilǝ geet net, sǝl ich The play succeeds not, shall I
fart? forth?
was iss uf selli balkǝ dart? what is upon that timber there?
'nau' bin ich widdǝr buu! 'now' I'm a boy again!
dart hen m'r keschtǝ ausgeschtreit, there did we spread the
chestnuts out
tsu dærrǝ uf dii Krischdaak tseit-- to have them dry for Christmas
time--
deet 's gleichǝ widdǝr duu! would 'like' to do t again!
¶ 6. 6.
.ǝn biiwli sei˛--sell iss d'r To be a boy--that is worth
wært-- while--
dii keschtǝ 'rooschtǝ' uf d'r to 'roast' the chestnuts on the
hært-- hearth--
was hǝt des als gekracht! what crackling that produced!
Sell iss forbei. Ich fiil 's im t'is gone--I feel that in my
gmiid,[67] soul
es schpiilt 'n rechtǝs heemwee it plays a real home-sick
liid, tune--
d'r reeghǝ uf 'm dach! the rain upon the roof!
¶ 7. 7.
Dort schteet dii 'seem' alt walnus There stands the 'same' old
kischt, walnut chest
ich wunnǝr 'nau' was dart drin I wonder 'now' what may be
isch? in 't,
's muss eppǝs 'bartich sei˛. it must be something (abartig)
rare.
Kallénǝr, tseitung, bichǝr--hoo! Calendars--newspapers--books
--oh
dii alti sachǝ hen sii doo the olden objects have we here
all sunnǝrscht-sewǝrscht[68] all upside down within.
nei˛.
¶ 8. 8.
'Nau' bin ich aawǝr recht ǝn buu, But 'now' I truly am a boy
weil ich do widdǝr seenǝ duu because I now again behold
des alt bekanntǝ sach. this old familiar thing.
Harrich! hæærscht d'r reeghǝ! 'Jes Hark! Hearst the rain! 'Yes,
indiid'-- yes indeed,'
er schpiilt ǝn rechtǝs heemwee liid it plays a proper home-sick
dart oowǝ uf 'm dach! air up there upon the roof!
¶ 13. 13.
Sii henkǝ net am balkǝ mee They hang not on the
cross-beams more
dii bindlǝ fun dem kreitǝr tee, the bundles of botanic tea,
un allǝrlee gewærts; and every kind of root;
'nau' will ich widdǝr biiwli sei˛-- 'now' I will be a boy again
ich hool sii f'r dii mammi rei˛-- and for my mother bring them
in--
sell 'pliist' mei, biiwli hærts.[69] that 'pleased' my boyish
heart.
--HARBAUGH.
§ 4. _Anglicised German._
The following factitious example, full of English words and idioms, is
from a New York German newspaper, and purports to be written by a German
resident in America. The spelling recalls the name HEYFLEYER over a
stall in the stables of the King of Wurtemberg. The writer of the letter
spells his name in three ways, instead of 'Schweineberger,' as given in
the tale.
Landkäsder, Penſilvenia, North-Amerika, 32. Dezr. 52.
Dheire Mudder!--Du Würſt es nit begreife kenne, alſz ich dort
weck bin, hawen alle Leit geſacht, der Hannes werrd nit gud
ausmache, das ich jetzt ſo gut ab binn. Awer, well, jetzt g'hör'
ich zu de Tſchentel-Leit in unſre Zitti unn eeniger Männ, wo
in Iurop en werri fein Männ is, dhät lachche, bikahs er gleichte
ſo gut auszumache, als der John Swinebarker.
Obſchon, ich unterſtehe des Büſſeneſſ beſſer as
die andre Dotſchmänn, wo eweri Teim ſo ſchlecht
edſchukädet bleibe, as ſe in Iurop ware; Wer hier gleicht, gud
auszumache, muſz ſich zu de amerikaniſche Tſchentel-Leit
halte, wo eweri Männ Something lerne kann.
Du kannſt auch zu mein dheires Eliänorche ſage, das es kommen
kann; ſie kann der hohl Däy im Rockel-Schär ſitze, ich ſend
hir inkluded ſixtig Dollars, mit das kann ſie über Liwerpuhl
und Nujork zu mich komme, und verbleibe
Dein moſt zänkvoll Son John Swineberger.
Boſchkrippt: Du muſt die Monni for des Bordo auslege; ich will
ſend es Dir mit dem nächſte Letter. John Schweinebärker.
FOOTNOTES:
[60] A Swiss use of the G. wüst (waste, confused, wild).
[61] This 'meed' is singular and plural, but the singular is
more commonly meedl, SG. maidle, G. mädchen. It differs from maad (sing.
and pl. G. _magd_), a female servant.
[62] Being emphasised, the accent is on the first syllable,
while in 'ǝmool' (below § 2, ¶ 3) it is on the second.
[63] Condensed and transliterated from the (German) _Bucks
County Express_, Doylestown, Pa. July 20, 1869.
[64] G. _worden_ becomes 'warrǝ.' See §1, ¶14.
[65] Condensed from the (German) _Correspondent & Demokrat_,
Easton, Pa. Aug. 25, 1869.
[66] The spelling of the original is 'Buwelle,' without the
_umlaut_, which others use. The original has 'owerscht' in the fifth
line, but the _umlaut_ is in use, and seems to be required, as in
Bavarian.
[67] G. gemüth.
[68] G. da_s_ _un_t_erst_e _z_u _oberst_ (topsy-turvy). Compare
PG. 'hinnǝrscht-feddǝrscht' (wrong end foremost).
[69] Transliterated extract from a longer poem in the _Father
Abraham_, Lancaster, Pa. Feb. 1869.
CHAPTER IX.
ENGLISH INFLUENCED BY GERMAN.
§ 1. _German Words introduced._
If the Germans of Pennsylvania adopted many words from English, the
English speaking population applied the appellation of _German_ or
_Dutch_ to unfamiliar varieties of objects, such as a _Dutch cheese_, a
_German lock_; or they adopted the original names, as in calling a form
of curds _smearcase_ (G. schmierkäse) in the markets and prices current.
German forms of food have furnished the vicinal English with
_sourcrout_, _mush_, _shtreisslers_, _bretsels_, _fawstnachts_,[70]
_tseegercase_, _knep_ (G. Knöpfe, the _k_ usually pronounced),
_bower-knep_, _noodles_; and in some of the interior markets, endive
must be asked for under the name of 'æntiifi,' even when speaking
English. Dutch gives _crullers_, but _stoop_ (of a house) is hardly
known. In English conversation one may hear expressions like "He belongs
to the _freindschaft_" (he is a kinsman or relation); "It makes me
_greisslich_ to see an animal killed" (makes me shudder and revolt with
disgust--turns my stomach). A strong word without an English equivalent.
The German idiom of using _einmal_ (once) as an expletive, is common, as
in "Bring me a chair once," and when a person whose vernacular is
English says, "I am through another" (I am confused), he is using a
translation of the German _durch einander_, PG. 'dárich ǝnánnǝr.' Of
such introduced words, the following deserve mention.
=Metsel-soup=, originally pudding broth, the butcher's perquisite,
but subsequently applied to a gratuity from the animals he has
slaughtered.
=Shinner=, G. schinder (a knacker,[71]) an objurgatory epithet
applied by butchers to farmers who compete with them in the
market.
=Speck=, the flitch of salt bacon, particularly when boiled with
sourcrout, hence, 'speck and sourcrout.'
=Tsitterly=, calf's-foot jelly.
=Hartley=, a hurdle for drying fruit.
=Snits=, a =snit= (G. schnitz, a cut), a longitudinal section of
fruit, particularly apples, and when dried for the kitchen. The
term is in use in districts where German is unknown.[72]
=Hootsle=, PG. hutsl, G. hotzel, a dried fruit; Bavar. and Suab.
hutzel, a dried pear. In Pennsylvania, a peach dried without
removing the stone.
=Dumb= (G. dumm) is much used for _stupid_.
=Fockle= (G. fackel), a fisherman's torch.
=Mother= (PG. from G. mutter-weh, not parturition, but) a
hysterical rising in the throat. The word occurs in old and
provincial English.[73]
=Chipmunk=, a ground-squirrel (Tamias); _chip_ probably from its
cry, and Swiss _munk_, a marmot.
=Spook= (G. Spuk), a spectre; and the verb, as--"It spooks there,"
"The grave-yard spooks."
=Crĭstkintly= (PG. Krischtkintli, G. Chrĭst Kindlein), the
Christ Child who is supposed to load the chrĭstmas trees and
bring presents at Christmas. Perverted in the Philadelphia
newspapers to _Kriss Kringle_, _Kriss Kingle_, and _Kriss Kinkle_.
=Christmas-tree=, a well-known word for a well-known and much used
object, but absent from the American dictionaries.
=Bellsnickle=, PG. beltsnikkl (G. _Pelz_ a pelt, skin with hair,
as a bear-skin, here used as a disguise, and perhaps associated
with _peltzen_, to pelt,) and _Nickel_, _Nix_, in the sense of a
demon. (Suab. Pelzmärte, as if based on _Martin_). A masked and
hideously disguised person, who goes from house to house on
christmas eve, beating (or pretending to beat) the children and
servants, and throwing down nuts and cakes before leaving. A noisy
party accompanies him, often with a _bell_, which has influenced
the English name.
These, I suppose, were Christmas mummers, though I heard them
called "Bell-schnickel."--_Atlantic Monthly_, October, 1869, p.
484.
=Gounsh=, n. and v.i. As _to seesaw_ implies reciprocal motion, so
_to gounsh_ is to move up and down, as upon the free end of an
elastic board. PG. 'Kumm, mr wellǝ gaunschǝ.' (Come, let us
gounsh.) Suab. gautschen; Eng. to _jounce_.[74]
=Hoopsisaw= (PG. húppsisaa, also provincial German). A rustic or low
dance, and a lively tune adapted to it. Inferior lively music is
sometimes called 'hoopsisaw music,' 'a hoopsisaw tune.'[75]
=Hoove=, v.i. a command to a horse to back, and used by extension as
in "The men hooved (demurred) when required to do more work." Used
in both senses in the Swiss _hüfen_, imperative _hüf!_ and
Schmeller (_Bayr. Wörterb._ 2, 160) gives it as Bavarian.
=Hussling-=, or =Hustling-match=, PG. hossl-mætsch (with English
_match_), a raffle. From the root of _hustle_, the game being
conducted by shaking coins in a hat and counting the resulting
heads.
=Sock up=, "to make a man sock up," pay a debt, produce his _sack_ or
pouch. This is uncertain, because, were a PG. expression to occur
like "Du muscht ufsakkǝ" (you must sock up), it might be borrowed
from English.
=Boof=, peach brandy. In Westerwaldish, _buff_ is water-cider,--cider
made by wetting the pomace and pressing it a second time.
=Sots=, n. sing. G. satz, home-made 'yeast' as distinguished from
'brewer's-yeast.'
=Sandman=, "The sandman is coming,"--said when children get sleepy
about bedtime and indicate it by rubbing the eyes. Used thus in
Westerwald and Suabia.[76] Children are warned against touching
dirt by the exclamation (bæætschi).
=Snoot=, for snout, a widespread teutonic form.
§ 2. _Family Names Modified._
With several concurrent languages, the deterioration of names is an
obvious process. Among the mixed population of Baltimore, the name
'Bradley' is to a Frenchman _Bras-de-long_; for 'Strawberry' (alley) and
'Havre-de-grâce' (in Maryland) the Germans say _Strubbel_, and
_Hasel-im-gras_; and the Irish make the following changes--
Carron (French) _Scarron_
Coquerelle _Corcoran_
de Vries _Freezer_
Giessen _Gleason_
Grimm _Grimes_
Henning _Hannon_
Rosier _Rosetree_
Schöffeler _Scofield_
van Dendriessche _Driscol_
van Emstede _Hampsted_
Winsiersski _Winchester_
Fayette Street _Faith St._
Alice Ann St. _Alexander St._
Happy Alley _Apple Alley_
A German with a name which could not be appreciated, was called _John
Waterhouse_ because he attended a railroad tank--a name which he adopted
and placed upon his sign when he subsequently opened a small shop. A
German family became ostensibly Irish by preferring the sonant phase of
their initial--calling and writing themselves _Grady_ instead of Krady;
a name 'Leuter' became _Lander_; 'Amweg' was tried a while as _Amwake_
and then resumed; and in a family record, the name 'George' is given as
_Schorts_. A postoffice 'Chickis' (Chikiswalungo--place where crayfish
burrow) received a letter directed to _Schickgets_, another _Schickens
Laenghaester Caunte_, and 'Berks County' has been spelled _Burgix
Caunte_.[77]
The following German and Anglicised forms may be compared,--
Albrecht _Albright_
Bachman _Baughman_
Becker _Baker_, _Pecker_
Dock _Duck_
Eberhardt _Everhart_
Eberle _Everly_
Eckel _Eagle_
Ege[78] _Hagy_?
Ewald _Evalt_
Fehr _Fair_
Frey (free) _Fry_
Früauf _Freeauf_
Fusz (foot) _Foose_
Geisz (goat) _Gise_
Gerber _Garber_
Giebel _Gibb_
Gräff _Graff_, _-o_, _-ae_
Guth _Good_, _Goot_
Haldeman _Holderman_[79]
Herberger _Harberger_
Hinkel _Hinkle_
Hofman _Hoofman_
Huber _Hoover_
Kaufman _Coffman_
Kaufroth _Cuffroot_
Kehler _Kaylor_
Kochenauer _Goughnour_
Koick _Cowhawk_
Krauskopf _Krosskop_
Kreider _Crider_
Kreybil _Graypeel_
Kühnlein _Coonly_, _-ley_
Kutz _Kutts_
Leitner _Lightner_
Leybach _Libough_
Mayer _Moyer_
Meyer _Mire_
Mosser _Musser_
Mosseman _Musselman_
Neumeyer _Narmire_?
Noll _Null_
Nüssli _Nicely_, _Nissly_
Oberholtzer _Overholser_
Pfautz _Fouts_, _Pouts_
Pfeiffer _Pyfer_
Reif (ripe) _Rife_
Reisinger _Riesinger_
Riehm _Ream_
Roth (red) _Roath_, _Rote_
Ruth _Root_
Schellenberger _Shallyberger_[80]
Schenk _Shank_
Scheuerman _Shireman_
Schnebele _Snavely_
Schneider _Snyder_, _Snider_
Seip _Sype_, _Sipe_
Seipel _Seiple_, _Sible_
Seitz _Sides_
Senz _Sense_
Spraul _Sprowl_
Stambach _Stambough_
Strein _Strine_
Valentin _Felty_
WeltzhuBer _BeltzhooVer_[81]
Wetter _Fetter_
Wĭld _Wilt_
So 'Schleyermacher' passed thro _Slaremaker_ to _Slaymaker_; and by a
similar process, farther changes may take place, like Mutsch to _Much_,
Bertsch to _Birch_, Brein to _Brine_, Schutt to _Shoot_ or _Shut_,
Rüppel to _Ripple_, Knade (gnade _grace_) to _Noddy_, Buch to _Book_,
Stahr to _Star_, Fing-er to _Fin-ger_, Melling-er to _Mellin-jer_,
Stilling-er[82] to _Stillin-jer_, Cōver to _Cŏver_, Fuhrman to
_Foreman_, Rohring[83] to _Roaring_, Gehman to _Gayman_.
Names are sometimes translated, as in _Stoneroad_ for 'Steinweg,'
_Carpenter_ for both 'Schreiner' and 'Zimmermann,' and both _Short_ and
_Little_ for 'Kurz' or 'Curtius.'
Part of a name may be anglicised, as in Fink_bine_, Espen_shade_,
Traut_wine_--where the first syllable has the German sound. Fentz_maker_
is probably a condensation of Fenstermacher.
It is remarkable that speakers of German often use English forms of
baptismal names, as _Mary_ for Marîa, _Henry_ for Heinrich, and _John_
(tschan, shorter than the medial English sound) for Johannes.[84]
Of curious family names without regard to language, the following may be
recorded--premising that proper names are especially subject to be made
spurious by the accidents of typography.[85]
Ahl, Awl, Ammon, Annĕ, Barndollar, Baud, Bezoar, Bigging,
Blades, Bohrer, Boring, Book, Bracken, Bricker (bridger),
Buckwalter, Burkholder and Burchhalter (burg-holder), Byler,
Candle, Candour, Care, Case, Channell, Chronister, Condit, Cooher,
Cumberbus (Smith's Voyage to Guinea, 1744), Curgus or Circus,
Dehoof, Dialogue, Ditto, Dosh, Eave, Eldridge (in part for
Hildreth), Erb, Eyde, Eyesore (at Lancaster, Pa.), Fassnacht (G.
fastnacht _shrovetide_), Feather, Ferry (for the Walloon name
Ferree[86]); Friday, Fornaux, Furnace, Gans (_goose_, Gansert,
Gensemer, Grossgensly), Gift (poison), Ginder, Gruel, Gutmann
(good-man) Hag (hedge), Harmany, Hecter, Hepting, Herd, Heard,
Hergelrat (rath _counsel_), Hinderer, Hock, Holzhauer and Holzhower
(woodchopper), Honnafusz (G. hahn _a cock_), Kash, Kitch, Koffer,
Landtart, Lawer, Leis, Letz, Licht, Line, Lipp, Löb (lion),
Löwr (at St. Louis), Mackrel, Manusmith, Matt, Marrs, Mehl,
Mortersteel, Mowrer (G. maur _a wall_), Napp, Neeper (Niebuhr?),
Nohaker, Nophsker, Ochs, Over, Oxworth, Peelman, Penas (in Ohio),
Pfund, Popp, Poutch, Quirk, Rathvon (Rodfong, Rautfaung), Road,
Rottenstein (in Texas), Rutt, Sangmeister, Scheuerbrand,
Schlegelmilch, Schlong (snake), Schöttel, Segar, Seldomridge,
Senn, Service (in Indiana), Shaver, Shilling, Shinover, Shock,
Shot, Showers, Skats (in Connecticut), Smout, Spoon, Springer,
Steer (in Texas), Stern, Stetler, Stormfeltz, Strayer, Stretch,
Stridle, Sumption, Surgeon, Swoop (a Suabian), Test, Tise, Tice
(Theiss?), Tittles, Towstenberier, Tyzat (at St. Louis), Umble,
Venus, Venerich,-rik, Vestal (in Texas), Vinegar('s Ferry, on the
Susquehanna), Vogelsang, Wallower, Waltz, Wolfspanier, Wonder,
Woolrick (for Wulfrich?), Work, Worst, Yaffe, Yecker, Yeisley,
Yordea, Zeh, Zugschwerdt.
Among the following curious, incompatible, or hĭbrid[87] names,
titles (except that of 'General') have been mistaken for proper
names--Horatio Himmereich, Owen Reich, Caspar Reed, Dennis Loucks,
Baltzer Stone, Addison Shelp, Paris Rudisill, Adam Schuh, Erasmus
Buckenmeyer, Peter Pence, General Wellington H. Ent, General Don Carlos
Buel, Don Alonzo Cushman, Sir Frank Howard, Always Wise (probably for
Alŏîs Weiss). In November, 1867, Gilbert Monsieur Marquis de
Lafayette Sproul, asked the legislature of Tennessee to cut off all his
names but the last two.
FOOTNOTES:
[70] Shrove-tide cakes--with the PG. pronunciation, except _st_.
[71] G. Knochen (bones).
[72] A teacher asked a class--If I were to cut an apple in two,
what would you call one of the pieces? "A _half_." And in four? "A
_fourth_." And if I cut it in eight equal pieces, what would one of them
be? "A _snit_!"
[73]
Compare--O, how this mother swells up toward my heart!
Hysterica passio, thou climbing sorrow,
Thy element's below.--_King Lear_, act 2, sc. 4, speech 20,
v. 54.
--_A. J. Ellis._
[74] The German word appears to be _gautschen_ without the _n_.
So Schmeller (Bayerisches Wörterbuch, 2, 87) "_gautschen_, _getschen_,
schwanken, schaukeln." Adelung (Wörterbuch der hochdeutschen Mundart, 2,
439) explains it as a technical paper-maker's word for taking the sheets
out of the mould and laying them upon the press-board, _Gautschbret_. He
adds that a carrying chair was formerly called a _Gautsche_, and refers
it to _Kutsche_ and French _coucher_.--_A. J. E._
[75] Compare Papageno's song in Mozart's _Zauberflöte_:
Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja
Stets lustig, heisa, hopsasa.--_A. J. Ellis._
[76] Known probably throughout England. Known to me, a
Londoner, from earliest childhood.--_A. J. Ellis._
[77] The geographical names at the close of Chapter I. p. 6,
are Kentucky, Safe Harbor, Syracuse, and Pinegrove. The drags are aloes
(pronounced as in Latin!), paregoric, citrine ointment, acetic acid,
hiera piera, cinnamon, Guiana pepper, gentian, cinchona, opium, hive
syrup, senna and manna mixed, sulphate of zink, corrosive sublimate, red
precipitate, aniline, logwood, Epsom salts, magnesia, cordial, cubebs,
bichromate of potash, valerian (G. Baldrian), laurel berries,
cochineal.
[78] Rhymes plaguey, even in English localities.
[79] As if from the plant _elder_, instead of Swiss halde, a
_steep_ or _declivity_--the name being Swiss.
[80] And Shellabarger, American Minister to Portugal, 1869.
[81] The 'b' and 'v' of the two forms have changed place.
[82] These names, with Rauch, Bucher, the Scotch Cochran, etc.,
are still pronounced correctly in English speaking localities in
Pennsylvania; and at Harrisburg, 'Salade' rhymes _holid'y_.
[83] The organists Thunder and Rohr gave a concert in
Philadelphia some years ago. In New York I have seen the names 'Stone
and Flint,' and 'Lay and Hatch,' where the proper name takes
precedence.
[84] In the following inscription on a building, 'bei' instead
of 'von' shows an English influence. The author knew English well: was a
member of the state legislature, had a good collection of English--but
not of German books--and yet preferred a German inscription--
ERBAUET BEI JOHN & MARIA HALDEMAN 1790.
Inscriptions are commonly in the roman character, from the difficulty of
cutting the others.
[85] As in 'Chladori' for _Chladni_, in the American edition of
the Westminster Review for July, 1865. The name Slyvons stands on the
title-page as the author of a book on Chess (Bruxelles, 1856), which M.
Cretaine in a similar work (Paris, 1865) gives as Solvyns. Upon calling
Mr. C.'s attention to this point, he produced a letter from the former,
signed _Solvyns_.
[86] The forms of this name are Ferree, Ferrie, Fuehre, Ferie,
Verre, Fiere, Firre, Ferry, Feire, Fire; and as 'Ferree' is now
pronounced _Free_, this may be a form also. In the year 1861, when in
Nassau, I observed that the English visitors pronounced the name of a
building in four modes, one German and three not German--Bâdhaus,
Bath-house, Bad-house, and Bawd-house.
[87] Latin HIBRIDA. I have marked the first English syllable
short to dissociate it from the _high-breed_ of gardeners and florists,
which 'hȳbrid' suggests.
CHAPTER X.
IMPERFECT ENGLISH.
§ 1. _Broken English._
Specimens of English as badly spoken by Germans who have an imperfect
knowledge of it, are common enough, but they seldom give a proper idea
of its nature. The uncertainty between sonant and surd is well known,
but like the Cockney with _h_, it is a common mistake to suppose that
the misapplication is universal,[88] for were this the case, the simple
rule of reversal would set the speakers right in each case.
It is true that the German confounds English _t_ and _d_, but he puts
_t_ for _d_ more frequently than _d_ for _t_. In an advertisement cut
from a newspaper at Schwalbach, Nassau, in 1862--
Ordres for complet Diners or simples portions is punctually
attented to and send in town--
there seems to be a spoken reversal of _t_ and _d_, but I take 'send' to
be an error of grammar, the pronunciation of the speaker being probably
_attentet_, and _sent_. "Excuse my bad riding" (writing) is a perversion
in speech. A German writes 'dacke' _take_, 'de' _the_, 'be' _be_,
'deere' _deer_, 'contra' _country_, and says:--
I am æbple [able] to accommodeted with any quantity of dis kins
of Ruts [kinds of roots]. Plies tirectad to ... Sout Frond Stread
... nort america.
Here there is an attempt at the German flat _p_ (p. 11) in the _b_
of 'able'; the surd _th_ of 'north' and 'south' becomes _t_, and the
sonant _th_ of 'this' becomes _d_--'with' remaining under the old
spelling. The _p_ of 'please' remains, but _d_ of 'direct' becomes _t_;
and while final _t_ of 'front' and 'street' becomes _d_, the first
_t_ in 'street,' and that in 'directed,' are kept pure by surd _s_ and
_cay_. The rule of surd to surd and sonant to sonant is neglected in
most of the factitious specimens of broken English.
The next is an instructive and a genuine example, being the record of a
Justice of the Peace in Dauphin County (that of Harrisburg, the State
Capital). It will be observed that the complainant bought a house, and
being refused possession, makes a forcible entry and is resisted. The
spelling is irregular, as in 'come' and 'com,' 'the' and 'de,' 'did' and
'dit,' 'then' and 'den,' 'nothin' and 'nosing,' 'house' and 'hause,'
'put' and 'but,' 'open' and 'upen.'
The said ... sait I dit By de hause and I went in de hause at de
back winder and den I dit upen de house and Dit take out his
forniture and nobotty Dit disstorbe me till I hat his forniture
out; I did but it out in de streat Before the house; and then he
dit Com Wis a barl and dit nock at the dore that the Dore dit fly
open and the molding dit Brack louse[89] and then I dit Wornt him
not to come in the hause and not to put anneysing in the hause and
he dit put in a barl Into the hause and I did put it out and he dit
put it in again and then he did put In two Sisses[90] and srout the
barl against Me; and then I dit nothin out anneymore and further
nosing more; Sworn & Subscript the Dey and yeare above ritten
before me.... J. P.--_Newspaper._
The beginning and close follow a legal formula. The PG. idiom which
drops the imperfect tense runs through this, in expressions such as 'I
did open,' 'I did put,' 'I did warned,' etc.; but as might be expected,
the English idiom is also present, in 'I went' and 'he throwed.' Making
allowance for reminiscences of English spelling, and the accidents of
type, this is an excellent specimen of the phases of English from German
organs. It shows that sonants and surds do not always change place, as
in _did_, _nobody_, _disturb_, _out_, _that_, _not_, _come_, which are
not necessarily turned into _tit_, _nopotty_, _tisdurp_, _oud_, _dad_,
_nod_, _gum_.[91]
In the foregoing example, the final _t_ of _went_ (where some might have
expected 'wend'), _dit_ for 'did,' _hat_ for 'had,' _streat_, _wornt_
for 'warned,' _put_, _srout_ for 'throwed,' and _subscript_,--is for
Latin -AT -US, English _-ed_, and as this is _t_ in German, it is
retained by the language instinct, even when represented by 'd,' as in
_gol-d_. Were there not something different from mere accident here,
Grimm's Law would be a delusion. The _t_ of _out_, _disturb_, and the
first one in _street_, is due to the surd _s_ beside it, or in the
German _aus_ and _strasze_.
In _the_, _de_; _then_, _den_; _wis_; _anneysing_, _nosing_; _srout_,
the sonant _th_ becomes _d_ by glottōsis,[92] and the surd one _s_ by
otōsis, or _t_ by glottosis also, and 'no_th_ing' is more likely to
become no_ss_ing or no_tt_ing, than no_dd_ing--and English _z_ is not
known to many German dialects. On the other hand, _z_ as the
representative of sonant _th_, is legitimate in the broken English of a
Frenchman.
The _p_ of 'open' and the _g_ of 'against' are influenced by the German
forms _öffnen_ and _gegen_.
In "I dit nothin out annezmore"--_any_ is made plural, and 'did out'
(for the previous 'put out') seems to be a reminiscence of the German
_austhun_.
§ 2. _The Breitmann Ballads._
In these ballads Mr. Leland has opened a new and an interesting field
in literature which he has worked with great success, for previous
writers wanted the definite, accurate knowledge which appears in every
page of Hans Breitmann, and which distinguishes a fiction like the Lady
of the Lake from a figment like Hiawatha. Here we have an attempt to
represent the speech of a large class of Europèan[93] Germans who have
acquired English imperfectly, and who must not be confounded with the
Pennsylvania German, altho the language of the two may have many points
in common.
Apart from their proper function, and under their present spelling, the
Breitmann ballads have but little philologic value. Instead of being the
representative of an average speech, they contain forms which can hardly
occur, even when influenced by the perversity of intentional
exaggeration, such as shbeed, shdare, shdory, ghosdt, exisdt, lefdt,
quesdions, excepdion, and where the sonant _d_ occurs beside the surd
_sh_, _f_, and _t_, in the lines:--
'De dimes he cot oopsetted[1] 1 oopsettet.
In shdeerin lefdt und righdt.[2] 2 G. rech_t_.
Vas ofdener[3] as de cleamin shdars[4] 3 G. öf_t_er. 4 shtarrss.
Dat shtud de shky[5] py[6] nighdt.' 5 sky. 6 _b_ei.
In these pages an _average_ speech is assumed as the basis of
comparison, and also the average German who does one thing or avoids
another in language. In such examples of bad English, surd and sonant
(_p_,_b_; _t_,_d_; _k_,_gay_) must be confused, and German words like
'mit' for _with_, and 'ding' (rather than 'ting' or 'sing') for _thing_,
may be introduced at discretion, as in Mr. Leland's use of _ding_,
_mit_, _blitzen_, _erstaun_ished (for _-isht_), _Himmel_, _shlog_, and
others.
When German and English have the same phrase, it should be preserved,
_book_ (G. _buch_) has a sonant initial and a surd final in both
languages; a German therefore, who brings his habits of speech into
English, will not be likely to call a book a _boog_, _poog_, or _pook_;
and Mr. Leland's habits as a German scholar have led him to write
_book_, _beer_ (and _bier_), _fear_, _free_, _drink_, _denn_, _trink_,
_stately_, _plow_, _born_, _dokter_, _togeder_, _hart_ (hard), _heart_,
_tead_ (dead), _fought_, _frolic_, _goot_, _four_, _hat_ (had, hat,--but
in the latter sense it should have been _het_), _toes_, _dough_
(though), _tousand_, _pills_, etc. Under this rule, his 'ploot' and
'blood' (G. blut) should have been _blut_:--
benny _penny_
blace _place_
blaster _plaster_
breest _priest_
creen _green_
deers _tears_
dell _tell_
den _ten_
dwelve _tvelf_
dwice _tvice_
fifdy _fifty_
giss _kiss_
led _let_
mighdy _mighty_
pack n. _back_
pall _băll_
peard _beart_
pecause _becauss_
pefore _before_
pegin _begin_
pehind _behint_
plue _blue_
pone _bone_
prave _brafe_
pranty _brandy_
preak _break_
prings _bringss_
prown _brown_
py _by_
prow _brow_
sed _to set_
streed _shtreet_
veet _feet_
vifdeen _fifteen_
vine _fine_
wide _vite_
In cases where the two languages do not agree in phase, either phase may
be taken, as in 'troo' or 'droo' for English _through_ with a surd
initial, beside German _durch_ with a sonant; but as German cognate
finals are more likely to be surd than sonant (as in loc_k_wou_t_h for
lo_g_woo_d_ at the end of Ch. I. p. 6), _goot_, _hart_ and _holt_, as
breitmannish forms, are better than _good_, _hard_, and _hold_. Mr.
Leland practically admits this, as in 'barrick' (G. _berg_, a hill),
which, however, many will take for a _barrack_.[94] The following have a
different phase in German and English:--
day tay
ding ting
dirsty tirsty
done tone
door toor
dream tream
drop trop
fader fater
-hood -hoot
hund- huntert
middle mittle
pad path
red ret
said set
saddle sattle
drink trink
but _k_, and the pure final German _s_ would turn _d_ to _t_ in
'bridges,' 'brackdise,' 'outsides,' 'holds,' 'shpirids;' it would turn
_g_ to _k_ in 'rags,' and it makes 'craps' (crabs) correct. The power of
English _z_ can scarcely be said to belong to average German, or to the
breitmannish dialect; it should therefore be _ss_ in 'doozen,' 'preeze'
(breeze), and 'phaze.' When it is present it occurs initial, and we have
'too zee' once, against numerous _s_ initials like see, sea, say, so,
soul, six.
The ballads have many irregularities in spelling like--as, ash; is, ish;
one, von; two, dwo; dwelf, dwelve, twelve, zwölf (for tvelf); chor,
gorus; distants, tisaster; dretful; tredful; eck (the correct form),
egg; het, head, headt; groundt, cround, croundt; land, lantlord,
Marylandt; shpirid, shpirit, shbirit; drumpet, trumpet; foorst, foost,
first, virst; fein, vine; went, vent; old, olt, oldt; teufel, tyfel,
tuyfel.
English _J_ is placed in soobjectixe, objectified, jail, jammed, juice,
jump (shoomp, choomp); it is represented by _sh_ in shoost, shiant,
shinglin; by _ch_ (correctly) in choin, choy, choke, enchine; by _g_,
_dg_ in change, hedge; and by _y_ in Yane and soobjectifly--which is not
objectionable. English _Ch_ remains in catch, child, chaps (and shaps),
fetch, sooch, mooch; and it becomes _sh_ in soosh (such), shase, sheek.
English _Sh_ is proper in shmoke, shmile, shplit, shpill, shpoons,
shtart, shtick, shtrike, shtop, shvear; it is omitted in smack, stamp,
slept; and it is of doubtful propriety in ash (as), ashk, vash (was),
elshe, shkorn, shkare, shky.
English _D_ final is often written _dt_ that the word may be recognised
and the sound of _t_ secured, as in laidt, roadt, shouldt, vouldt,
findt, foundt, roundt (and round), vordt (and vord), obercoadt. English
_ed_ and its equivalents should be _et_ or _t_ in broken English, as in
loadet, reconet, pe-markt, riset, signet, rollet, seemet, slightet,
declaret, paddlet, mate (made), kilt; _-ed_ being wrong, as in said,
coomed, bassed, scared, trinked, smashed, rooshed, bleased.
English _F_, _V_, _W_, receive the worst treatment, and are judged by
the eye rather than by speech. German _folgen_ and English _follow_ are
turned into 'vollow'; German _weil_ is 'vhile' and 'while.' Other
examples are wind and vindow; vhen, vhene_f_er (turning not only German
_v_, but English _v_ into _f_), fery for _very_,--but svitch, ve (we),
veight, vink, are proper. The following example is from 'Schnitzerl's
Philosopede'--
'Oh vot ish all[1] dis eartly pliss? 1 _ol_ in _folly_.
Oh, vot ish[4] man's soocksess?[2] 2 sooccess.
Oh, vot is various kinds[3] of dings? 3 _s_ turns _d_ into _t_.
Und vot is[4] hoppiness? 4 _iss_ or _ish_, not both.
Ve find a pank node in de shtreedt,[5] 5 shtreet.
Next[-sht][6] dings[6] der pank ish[7] 6 dingss.
preak! 7 _d_ requires _b_.
Ve folls[1] und knocks our outsides[8] 8 G. _seit_, and final _s_,
in, require _t_.
Ven ve a ten-shtrike make.'
CHICKIS, NEAR COLUMBIA, PENNSYLVANIA,
_Feb. 16, 1870._
FOOTNOTES:
[88] A boy in the street in Liverpool (1866) said to a
companion--"'e told me to 'old up my 'ands an' I 'eld em up." He did not
say _h_up, _h_an' _h_I, _h_em.
[89]: Compare with a word in the following note sent to a
druggist in Harrisburg, Pa. "Plihs leht meh haf Sohm koh kohs Peryhs ohr
Sähmting darhts guht vohr Ah lihttel Dahg Gaht lausse vor meh." [_Louse_
for _loose_ is common in the north of England. Thus in Peacock's
Lonsdale Glossary (published for the Philological Society, 1869) we
find: "=Louse=, _adj._ (1) loose. O.N. _laus_, solutus. (2) Impure,
disorderly.--_v.t._ to loose. "To _lowse_ 'em out on t' common" = To let
cattle go upon the common.--=To be at a louse-end.= To be in an
unsettled, dissipated state.--=Lous-ith'-heft=, _n._ a disorderly
person, a spendthrift."--_A. J. Ellis._]
[90] The _two_ shows that this is a plural. When recognised, it
will be observed that the law of its formation is legitimate.
[91] For the word 'twenty-five,' the speaking and singing
machine of the German Faber said _tventy-fife_, in imitation of its
fabricator, using _t_ and _f_ because they occur in the German word.
Similarly, feif for _five_ appears in the following joke from an
American German newspaper:--
"Ein Pennſylvaniſch-Deutſcher hatte zwei Pferde verloren und
ſchickte folgende Annonce: Ei loſt mein tu Horſes! Der wonne iſt
a Sarrelhors, langen Schwanzthäl, ſchort abgekuthet, aber weederum
ausgrown; der annerwonn is bläcker, aber mit four weiht Fieht un en
weiſzen Strich in his Fähs. Hu will bring mein tu Horſes bäck to mi,
will rezief feif Thalers reward."
[92] _Hald._ Analytic Orthography, § 294.
[93] This accent is not wanted for Englishmen of the present
day. Noah Webster (Dissertations on the English Language, Boston U.S.
1789, p. 118) says: "Our modern fashionable speakers accent _European_
on the last syllable but one. This innovation has happened within a few
years.... Analogy requires _Euro'pean_ and this is supported by as good
authorities as the other." He adds in a footnote. "_Hymenean_ and
_hymeneal_ are, by some writers, accented on the last syllable but one;
but erroneously. Other authorities preserve the analogy." Milton has
_hymenéan_, P. L. 4, 711. Milton's line "Epicurean, and the Stoic
severe," P. Reg. 4 280, is strange, however the word may be accented;
Shakspere's "keep his brain fuming; Epicúrean cooks," A. and C., act 2,
sc. 1, sp. 9, v. 24, is distinct enough. If the long diphthong or vowel
in Latin were a proper guide, we should have to say _inimī'cal_,
_doctrī'nal_, _amī'cable_. These words are accented on the same
plan as those taken from the French. And this would give the common
_Eurō'pean_, which is now strictly tabooed.--_A. J. Ellis._
[94] The probable breitmannish form of scythes is given in
these pages. Compare "Pargerswill, Box [Parkersville, Bucks] Kaundie
Pensilfäni."
Transcriber's notes:
Gesperrt text marked as _= ... =_
Bold text marked as = ... =
Italic text marked as _ ... _
Different spelling of some words (e.g. 'fing-er' and 'finger')
results from different usage.
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