LL-L "What does it mean?" 2003.09.11 (11) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
L O W L A N D S - L * 11.SEP.2003 (11) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
http://www.lowlands-l.net * lowlands-l at lowlands-l.net
Rules & Guidelines: http://www.lowlands-l.net/index.php?page=rules
Posting Address: lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org
Server Manual: http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html
Archives: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html
Encoding: Unicode (UTF-8) [Please switch your view mode to it.]
=======================================================================
You have received this because you have been subscribed upon request.
To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l" as message
text from the same account to listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org or
sign off at http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html.
=======================================================================
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)
=======================================================================

From: James Fortune <jamesrfortune at hotmail.com>
Subject: What does it mean

<quote>
From: Anja Meyfarth <anja-meyfarth at t-online.de>
Subject: Etymology

Moin!

Well, I'm not sure if the subject is choosen right. I've got a question:

In a song from the play Cymbeline (how is that pronounced by the way?) there
is a word that I cannot make out. This is the line:

Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages.

"art" is clear, it's an older form for "are", but "ta'en" I do not
understand. I've got no translation of the play and I'm not sure if that
would help anyway.

Thanks, folks!

Anja

----------

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: What does it mean?

Moin, Anja!

>Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages.

"Ta'ken" is "taken."  But the real problem here seems to lie in the fact
that you only looked at, at least gave us, one part of a sentence.  "Home
art gone" makes no sense.  (You would expect "Thou art gone" 'You are
gone'.)  Let's look at the entire verse Guiderius sings in this play by
William Shakepeare:

   Fear no more the heat o' the sun,
   Nor the furious winter's rages;
   Thou thy worldly task hast done,
   Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages:
   Golden lads and girls all must,
   As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

My modern translation:
   Fear no more the heat of the sun,
   Nor the furious winter's rages;
   You have performed your worldly task,
   Have gone home, have taken your rewards:
   Golden lads and girls all must,
   As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

So it is indeed "Thou art gone."

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
</quote>

Anja,
Ron is quite correct when he says that "ta'en" is "taken"... however, like
with most Lowlands languages I guess, it's not that simple. Scots is a
language that has a fair few dialects, and according to the Chambers Concise
Scots Dictionary:

tak
take
tack
tuk
teuk
tyeuk

all mean "take" and:

tane
ta'en
teine
teen
tacken
tooken

all mean "taken" ! I'm from the South East corner of Scotland (Berwickshire
to be precise) and I would tend to use "tane". I think "ta'en" is (a)older,
and (b)would tend to come from the South West / Ayrshire. You see it a lot
if you ever read any Burns.

James.

================================END===================================
* Please submit postings to lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org.
* Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.
* Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
* Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
  to be sent to listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org or at
  http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html.
=======================================================================