LL-L: "Syntax" LOWLANDS-L, 08.NOV.1999 (03) [E]

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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Syntax

Dear Lowlanders,

I would like to solicit your input regarding variation in a certain type of
basic syntactic construction.  In particular, I would like to find out how far
spread each variant is, and if we are dealing with "Lowlandic" versus
"non-Lowlandic" patterns.  For introductory purposes I will limit this to
German, Low Saxon (Low German) and English.  I will not dabble in the other
languages but will leave it up to the experts to provide equivalents.

The type of construction I have in mind may be summarized as follows:

Standard German:
(a) da(r)+PREP. VERB PERS.PRON. ...
(b) PERS.PRON. VERB ... da+PREP.
(c) PERS.PRON. VERB da(r)+PREP. ...

Low Saxon:
(a) daar VERB PERS.PRON. ... PREP.
(b) PERS.PRON. VERB ... daar  PREP.
((c) PERS.PRON. VERB daar+PREP. ... ?)
[I perceive (c) as German-influenced, questionable, and in some cases even
ungrammatical.]

English:
PERS.PRON. VERB ... PREP. it/that

In Standard German, the preposition adheres to the demonstrative pronoun _da_
("there", "that, _dar..._ if the preposition begins with a vowel; and this may
involve some "splittable verbs" (PREP.+VERB > VERB ... PREP).  In Low Saxon
(_daar_) and English, on the other hand, the preposition is separate from the
demonstrative pronoun and is assigned to a slot toward the end of the sentence.
In Missingsch and other Low-Saxon-influenced German dialects, the Low Saxon
pattern prevails:

Missingsch/Northern German:
(a) da VERB PERS.PRON. ... PREP.
(b) PERS.PRON. VERB ... da PREP.
(Note: No "connecting" -r in Missingsch!)

Examples:

Preposition: G. _von_, LS _vun_~_von_~_van_ 'from', 'off', 'of', 'about'

Standard German:
(a) Davon weiß ich nichts.
(b) Ich weiß nichts davon.
(c) Ich weiß davon nichts.

Missingsch/Northern German:
(a) Da weiß ich nix von.
(b) Ich weiß da nix von.
((c) Ich weiß da von nix. ?)

Low Saxon:
(a) Daar weet ick niks vun.
(b) Ick weet daar niks vun.
((c) Ick weet daar vun niks. ?)

English:
(a) I know nothing about it/that.
(b) I don't know (anything) about it/that.

Note also double preposition involving _af_ 'off' in the verb _afweten_ 'to know
well', 'to be familiar with', 'to be well-versed in' in Low Saxon:
(a) Daar weet ick niks vun af.
(b) Ick weet daar niks vun af.
((c) Ick weet daar vun niks af. ?)
(cf. German _Davon verstehe ich nichts_ / _Ich verstehe nichts davon_ / _Ich
verstehe davon nichts _  'I have no clue about it/that', 'I'm not familiar with
it/that', 'I'm not well-versed in it/that')

Preposition: G. _gegen_, LS _gegen_~_tegen_ 'against'

Standard German:
(a) Dagegen hat er nichts.
(b) Er hat nichts dagegen.
(c) Er hat dagegen nichts.

Missingsch/Northern German:
(a) Da hat er nix gegen.
(b) Er hat da nix gegen.
((c) Er hat dagegen nix. ?)

Low Saxon:
(a) Daar hett he niks gegen.
(b) He hett daar niks gegen.
((c) *He hett daar gegen niks. ?)

English:
(a) He has nothing against it/that.
(b) He doesn't have anything against it/that.

Preposition: G. _unter_, LS _ünner_~_unner_ 'under(neath)'

Standard German:
(a) Darunter hat sie etwas gefunden.
(b) Sie hat etwas darunter gefunden.
(c) Sie hat darunter etwas gefunden.

Missingsch/Northern German:
(a) Da hat sie was under gefunnen.
(b) Sie hat was da under gefunnen.
((c) Sie hat da under was gefunnen. ?)

Low Saxon:
(a) Daar hett se wat ünner funnen.
(b) Se hett daar wat ünner funnen.
((c) Se hett daar ünner wat funnen. ?)

English:
She (has) found something underneath it/that.

Preposition: G. _hinein_ (~ _rein_), LS _rin_ 'in(to)'

Standard German:
(a) Da hinein (~ darein) passt viel.
(b) Es passt viel da hinein (~ darein).

Missingsch/Northern German:
Da geht/passt viel rein.

Low Saxon:
Daar gait/passt veel rin.

English:
A lot goes/fits into it/that.

I would be interested in your observations, analyses and comparable
constructions in other Lowlands languages.

Thank you very much for thinking about it.

Regards.

Reinhard/Ron

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