LL-L "Lexicon" 2002.10.31 (08) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
               V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: ezinsser at icon.co.za <ezinsser at icon.co.za>
Subject: LL-L "Lexicon" 2002.10.30 (06) [E]

Hi all,

Yes Ron, it is true that "the taboo replacement word then became tabooized
itself and also
came to be used as a swerword." [sic]

A typical example in Afrikaans is "kak" - faeces (from L. faex).
An euphemistic form [*cagare* sp.? - still known in Italian] took its place
and has become
the form now used in Afrikaans. As this "k" word (noun and verb) became a
taboo word in
Afrikaans, the form "akkies" came to be used, mostly amongst smaller kids
and their
mothers. The word 'poef' is more generally used in closed company.

The origin of 'smuk' interested me! (I always knew it was suspect :-) In
Afrikaans the
word is used to denote an embellishment, whether fake or echt, and
semantically carries a
somewhat negative meaning.

Talking about taboos - while reading your LS forms on /penis/
other similar Afrikaans forms came to mind, i.e.
_piel_ (rude) (from Latin pilus - arrow
_peester_ (which I know from childhood but unknown to most Afrikaans
speakers my age or
younger). Incidentally also known in Mennonite Plaut.

Regards,
Elsie Zinsser

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From: John M. Tait <jmtait at wirhoose.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Lexicon" 2002.10.30 (06) [E]

Ron wrote:

>What really interests me about words of this type is tabooization,
>replacement and their consequences.  For instance, I have noticed that at
>least older Lowlands Saxon (Low German) speakers in Germany, or anyone
>feeling the need to sound more polite tends to use the more polite *German*
>equivalents or loan translations for such words to make them sound more
>"medical" or "clinical."
>
Curiously, I find a different tendency in Shetland. My pious aunts would use
words like 'erse' when speaking Shetlandic, but I can't imagine them saying
'arse' when using English. The English form sounds more rude. I think that
in English there is a dichotomy between polite and impolite words which is
less pronounced in many local dialects. That is, these dialects, being
perceived as more 'earthy', use words which would be regarded as impolite in
English without any impolite connotation, and some people will use words (or
their cognates) when speaking 'dialect' which they would not use when
speaking the standard language. Of course, this does not mean that some
words - such as the F and C words - are not still regarded as impolite.

John M. Tait.

http://www.wirhoose.co.uk

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Lexicon

John Magnus:

> Curiously, I find a different tendency in Shetland. My pious aunts would
use
> words like 'erse' when speaking Shetlandic, but I can't imagine them
saying
> 'arse' when using English. The English form sounds more rude.

Ah, that's similar in Lowlands Saxon (Low German), but only if there is no
sexual connotation.  I hear and read our own Clara Kramer-Freudenthal use LS
words whose German equivalents she would never use.

In fact, because the German equivalents are considered too rude, people will
often substitute them with LS equivalents when they speak German.  This
makes it a little funny in a folksy sort of way and thus more acceptable,
but it can of course only be done among North Germans that understand such
words, at least via Missingsch.  For instance, a North German counterpart of
your aunt would not say _Er ist auf den Arsch gefallen_ ("He fell on his
arse.") but might say _Er ist auf den Moors gefallen_ (using the LS word,
cf. LS _He is up d'n Moors fullen_) or, borrowing a LS phrase, _Er ist
moorslangs hingefallen_ ("He fell down on his backside ("arselong")"; cf. LS
_He is moorslangs daalfullen_).  Similarly, your aunt's counterpart would
have no problem expressing something like "That's too bad/a shame/a bad
situation!" or "Rats!" or "Shoot!" as _Das ist ein Schiet!_ where the fully
German version _Das ist eine Scheiße!_ or, more North German with the
LS-based masculine, _Das ist ein Scheiß!_ (which you will hear younger
people say practically anywhere) would not be acceptable.

I noticed a similar phenomenon among speakers of Yiddish or their
descendants, both in Hebrew and English.  A Hebrew or English expression
would be substituted with its Yiddish one to soften it, take out the sting,
such as _tokhes_ ~ _tukhes_ for "ass" (= backside), or _meshugge_ for
"crazy", or for dramatization of disapproval and/or ridicule, _shmatte_
("rag") for "rag" (= old, ugly dress/outfit).

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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