LL-L "Language varieties" 2003.06.10 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 10.JUN.2003 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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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
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: "ezinsser" <ezinsser at icon.co.za>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2003.06.09 (08) [E]

Hi all,

A few points on Ron's: >What exactly those influences are, if any, I
can't
say,
>and I wonder if any relevant studies have been undertaken.

Quite a number of studies have been undertaken on the un-European
influences on Afrikaans (Achmat Davids, Raidt, etc.).

>This includes at least one very basic Afrikaans word: Malay _banyak_
> ['banja'] > Afrikaans _baie_ 'much', 'many', 'very' (cf. Dutch _veel_,
> _zeer_, _heel_, _erg_, etc.).

It's also been postulated that Old Frisian and Low German forms (banni,
bannich, bannig, bandig, unbannig, unbendig) were influential in forming
'baie', (older forms: 1778 -banjer; 1780 - banje). Perhaps it served to
reinforce the Malay 'banjak'.

It is possible that many forms in Afrikaans came from the East via
Europe
(for example badju-jacket), or via Europe to the East (Port. nonna,
kombers,
kraal) and were rediscovered/reinforced in SA.

Regards,
Elsie Zinsser

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

Very interesting, Elsie!  Thanks.  This seems to point to theories that
in multi-linguistic contacts such as South Africa linguistic borrowing
is not always as simple as it tends to be thought of but tends to
involve multi-source loaning and reinforcing.

> It's also been postulated that Old Frisian and Low German forms (banni,
> bannich, bannig, bandig, unbannig, unbendig) were influential in forming
> 'baie', (older forms: 1778 -banjer; 1780 - banje). Perhaps it served to
> reinforce the Malay 'banjak'.

Interesting!  For those of you who aren't already aware of it, let me
add that this _bannig_ etc. in Lowlands Saxon comes from _unbandig_
("unbanded") 'boundless', 'wild(ly)', 'without constraint' > 'very
(much)'.  In some modern dialects its meaning can be somewhat ambiguous
in that it can mean either 'very' or 'rather'/'fairly', and in some
dialects it means one of these and in other dialects the other.  This is
so in dialects of Missingsch (i.e., German dialects on LS substrates) as
well.

I share Elsie's hunch that Afrikaans _baie_ started with Malay _banyak_
(now archaic Dutch-based spelling _banjak_) and may have been
reinforced.  In Standard Malay of Indonesia (Bahasa Indonesia) and of
Malaysia (Bahasa Malaysia), as in virtually all Southeast Asian and
Chinese languages (irrespective of genealogical classification) final
stop consonants are "unreleased," i.e., the sound is stopped at the
point of contact between the lips (-p) or between tongue and parts of
the roof of the mouth (-t, -k).  (Thus, it's an example of an "areal
feature" I recently referred to.)  To Westerners, especially final /k/
tends to sound as though the preceding vowel is "clipped," or they
interprete it as a glottal stop (as in the Cockney and Estuary English
dialects of Southern England). A development of _banyak_ to _banjer_, to
_banje_ and eventually to _baie_ thus seems quite plausible to me.

> It is possible that many forms in Afrikaans came from the East via Europe
> (for example badju-jacket), or via Europe to the East (Port. nonna, kombers,
> kraal) and were rediscovered/reinforced in SA.

Why?  Was _baju_ (Malay and Javanese, now archaic Dutch-based spelling
_badju_) 'blouse', 'jacket', used in the Netherlands *before* it was
used in Southern Africa?  I had thought that borrowings of this sort
mostly took place in the "Indies" and from there made their way directly
to Southern Africa, the presence of speakers of  Malayo-Polynesian
strengthening and increasing such influences.  Am I wrong there?

Note also that these words are contained in Petjoh, a Dutch-Malay hybrid
of Java, which is believed to have begun in the 19th century but may be
older.  The Pecoh equivalent of Afrikaans _baie_ is _baai-baai_!  There
are other words that may be familiar to speakers of Afrikaans; e.g.,
_baboe_ (babu) 'nannie', _karbouw_ 'water buffalo', _ketjap_ (kecap)
'soy cauce', _nasi_ 'cooked rice', _pisang_ 'banana'.  Might an early
form of Petjoh have been responsible for some of these words in
Afrikaans?  In other words, did some of them arrive already "made."

Here is nice sites about this language and related topics:
http://icloniis.fsw.leidenuniv.nl/walhain/Eindexamen/Level_3/cse/Indonesie/Petjoh/petjoh.htm
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/lien/gliederung.html
http://home.planet.nl/~basti034/Indhoek/Taal.htm

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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