LL-L 'Names' 2006.10.31 (11) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 31 October 2006 * Volume 10
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From: Luc Hellinckx [luc.hellinckx at gmail.com]
Subject: LL-L 'Names'

Hi Roger,

You wrote:
> Hello Luc,
>  
> You wrote:
> Standard Dutch stresses the second syllable in this word, but we go for
> the first one here in the South (aka Spanish Netherlands 1579-1713 and
> Austrian Netherlands 1713-1794 :-D ).
>
> As a matter of fact I'd like todiffer. Fifty, forty years ago stressing the
first syllable in 'Mercedes' was the general rule in Belgian Dutch, clearly under
the influence of French. The curious thing, however, is that  where French
stresses the last syllable, Flemish often shifts the stress  in French words or
names (e.g. Dumoulin, Dujardin) to the first syllable (a kind of Germanic reflex,
I guess).
> But nowadays the people I consort with in very large majority put the stress in
'Mercedes' on the second syllable.

Guess it must be a geographical thing then, 'cause in my neighborhood (Western
Brabant), both young and old still seem to say "Mèrcedes" and not "Mercédes".
Same goes for some people I happen to know in Bruges, but I admit they're not
exactly spring chickens anymore :-D . I think it could well be that Northern
Dutch/German influence primarily enters Belgium through the provinces of Antwerp
and Limburg, before moving south-west.

You're right about Flemish often shifting stress in French (and other foreign)
words/names to the first syllable, but around Brussels this is much less the
case, e.g.:

in the rest of Belgium, "Maria" is often heard as "Marìa" or "Mà ria", but here we
say "Marjà "
"Louisa" is always "Louisà " around here
same for "Leona", being pronounced like "Leonà "
"auto" becomes "ottò"
"Opel" is always "Opèl"
...

Surely this is due to Brussels and Wallonia, which are both within range of
Halle, the city where I'm living. That's why it struck me all the more that
precisely in this border region, people were stressing the first syllable in
"Mercedes".

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

PS: Pronunciations I mention are those of genuine dialect speakers, not of people
speaking a mishmash that I'd like to label "Missingsch-Flemish". 

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