LL-L "Etymology" 2003.04.07 (02) [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) N=Northumbrian
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From: R. F. Hahn <admin at lowlands-l.net>
Subject: Etymology

I wrote:

> In Lowlands Saxon (Low German) we use the term _Schuermann_ ~ _Schuurmann_
> (sometimes _Schüermann_ or _Schüürmann_) for what in Standard German tends
> to be called, somewhat generically, _Hafenarbeiter_ ("port worker").  In
> Hamburg dialect (Missingsch and Missingsch-based German), and no doubt
also
> in many other LS dialects, we say _Schauermann_, which I assume is a LS
loan
> (analogous to LS _Schuer_ ~ _Schuur_ = G _Schauer_ '(rain) shower') .  My
> very own etymological theory so far had been that it has something to do
> with _Schuer_ ~ _Schuur_ ~ _Schüer_ ~ _Schüür_ 'barn', that perhaps in the
> olden days this word had something to do with the storehouses for ships'
> freight, though nowadays _Schuer_ ~ _Schuur_ ~ _Schüer_ ~ _Schüür_, like
its
> German equivalents _Scheune_ and _Scheuer_ and English "barn," only occurs
> within rural contexts.
>
> Now I have started to wonder if _Schuermann_ ~ _Schuurmann_ is
> etymologically connected with English "longshoreman," which *is* its
correct
> English gloss, that perhaps the English term had been imported,
abbreviated,
> into the LS language varieties of port cities (and many such words were
> imported, especially nautical ones).  I am pretty sure that, if loaning is
> involved, it went the said way rather than the other way around, because
the
> etymology of English "longshoreman" is pretty clear: "longshore" < "along
> shore" + "man," i.e., a man who works along the shore.

By the way, this makes sense phonologically.  The dialects of the Lower Elbe
region (thus including those of Hamburg) have a monophthongization rule
before syllable-final /r/ (which I assume is a triphthong prevention rule,
because /-r/ is realized as a vowel):

/eir/ -> iir (e.g., /steirt/ -> Stiert [sti:3`t] 'tail')
/our/ -> uur (e.g., /dour/ -> Duur [du:3`] 'large door', 'gate')

(In other dialects _Steert_ [stE.I3`t] and _Door_ [do.U3`] respectively.)

English "shore" could thus have been analyzed as /Sour/, hence realization
as _Schuur_ [Su:3`](corresponding to _Schoor_ [So.U3`] elsewhere).  Local
German (starting with Missingsch, i.e., LS-based German) dialects would then
have analyzed _Schuur_ as corresponding to German _Schauer_ (cf., _Schuur_ =
_Schauer_ '(rain) shower', _Buur_ = _Bauer_ 'farmer', 'peasant', Duur =
Dauer 'duration', 'regret', 'pity'), hence _Schuurmann_ > _Schauerman_.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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