LL-L "How do you say ...?" 2003.04.28 (10) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 28.APR.2003 (10) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: JRodenburg at aol.com
Subject: LL-L "Lexicon"

Dear List,

You have been very helpful in the past. I am trying to jog my mother's
memory. When she used to visit with her grandmother in platt, her
grandmother used the expression "He goes like the wind" - speaking of me
crawling on the floor. :)

They spoke Mecklenburgish Platt. Could anyone give a good translation of
the English into platt? With many thanks und

Mit freundlichen Grüßen aus Illinois
John Rodenburg

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: How do you say ...?

John,

My guess is your grandmother said something like _Dat geiht (ja) as de
Wind!_ [dat ga.It(SQ) ?as deI 'vI.nt] ("It goes as/like the wind!")

Why _dat_ 'that', 'it', instead of _he_ [he.I] (~ [ha.I]) 'he'?  The
verb _gahn_ 'to go' is not used as non-specifically as is English 'to
go'.  In most cases _gahn_ denotes walking.  In other cases where in
English you can generally say 'goes' you have to be specific as to mode
(_krabbeln_ 'to crawl', _fahrn_ 'to travel by vehicle', etc.).  However,
if you use impersonal _dat_ 'it' with _gahn_, i.e., _dat geiht_ "it
goes", then it takes on a different meaning, more like 'it works', 'it
progresses', hence the greetings _Wo geiht dat?_ 'How does it go?' =
'How are you?' - _Dat geiht good_ '(It goes) well'.  So, when/if your
grandmother said _Dat geiht (ja) as de Wind!_ she commented on the
quality of your crawling.  Had she used _he_ 'he', she would most likely
have said something like _He krabbelt (ja) as de Wind!_ ("He crawls
as/like the wind!").

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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