LL-L "Morphology" 2003.05.27 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 27.MAY.2003 (04) * 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: "Elsie Zinsser" <ezinsser at simpross.co.za>
Subject: Confusing plurals in English of Afrikaans words

Dag almal,

The word 'dolos, [plural dolosse] from dol - mad; os - ox, has two
meanings in Afrikaans:
1- It is a cleaned-off piece of beef vertebra (neck or backbone) used
traditionally by a child as a toy animal. They were also strung together
as a team of 'oxen'.
2- It is the name given to a massive block of cast cement and packed
along coastal areas to keep the Cape of Storms at bay.

I found the article below (shortened) in the SA Engineering News Online
and add it for interest. Seems that the plural of an original Afrikaans
word is easily confused in English. Interesting case of
overcompensation.

"Local subsidiary clinches contract to supply 28 000 dolosse to Coega"
[this is the Afrikaans plural form]
>From a concrete point of view, the technical challenge posed by the
project is that the concrete has to be fluid enough to be poured and
gain tensile strength at an early enough stage to be easily removed from
the dolos mould.
To aid the removal of the dolosses from the moulds, Chryso is also
supplying the release agents for this highly specialised application."

Groete,
Elsie Zinsser

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

Thanks, Elsie.  An interesting case!  Singular and plural derivation can
be tricky with loanword.  It reminds me of English speakers mistaking
the masculine singular ending in Greek as plural-marked, as in awarding
"a kudo" (< kudos) and asking for "one gyro" (< gyros, sometimes
pronounced "jiros" instead of "yeeros").  At least the folks in South
Africa are knowledgeable enough not to singularize _dolos_ to *_dolo_
(or *_dollo_)!

But what a weird name for a bone toy for children!  The Lowlands Saxon
(Low German) version (if there were one) would be *_dul-os_ (*_Dulloss_
['dU.l(?)Os]) or *_dol-os_ (*_Dolloss_ ['dO.l(?)Os]), depending on the
dialect (*_Tollochse_ in German).

Cheers!
Reinhard/Ron

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