LL-L "Etymology" 2002.07.09 (06) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 09.JUL.2002 (06) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Web Site: <http://www.sassisch.net/rhahn/lowlands/>
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Etymology

Dear Lowlanders,

"Ma wee, wickit crack at the Scots," to which Sandy Fleming kindly and
indulgingly responded ("Resources"), reminded me of a rather interesting
"function" word in Scots: the verb _gar_ used in the sense of 'to cause
to', 'to make (do)'.

When I first came across this _gar_ in Scots, it clicked immediately (as
it will for most who know a Scandinavian language): it's a gift from our
dear, albeit erstwhile dreaded cousins to the north, or, in the case of
our Scottish friends, our cousins to the east (across the North Sea).  A
quick look into _The Concise Scots Dictionary_ (Chambers) confirms this:
it also existed in Northern Middle English as _ger(e)_ and comes from
Old Norse (/ger-/) _gera_ 'to do' (in some contexts 'to make'); cf.
Danish _gøre_, Norwegian _gjøre_, Swedish _göra_, Icelandic _gera_ ~
_gjöra_.

It is fascinating to me (but then again, maybe I should get out more)
how English and Scots manage(d) to borrow "basic" foreign words that
have native equivalents (in this case _dae_, _do_, etc.) and assign to
them special functions (in this case causative function).

It certainly can be said about the sister languages English,
Appalachian, Northumbrian and Scots that they excel in flexibility when
it comes to not only borrowing but also to taking advantage of borrowed
items by assigning to them new functions.  Perhaps this flexibility and
mutability is built in, because their Anglo-Saxon ancestor started off
as a sort of Creole (i.e., as a mixed language).

Is this device _gar_ ~ _ger_ also still used in Northumbrian?

Can any of you think of similar specialized treatment of borrowed items
in the named languages or any Lowlands varieties?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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