LL-L "Etymology" 2007.07.25 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  25 July 2007 - Volume 05

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

Elaine and other Lowlanders,

I am beginning to wonder if, instead of eastward, fiets(e) for 'bicycle'
spread westward, namely from Northwestern Germany to the Netherlands.  This
may sound audacious at first, but there are phonological reasons for this:

Let's assume that the origin is French vélocipède. This became Velociped in
German, pronounced [velotsi'pe:t]. Low Saxon of Germany typically borrows
neologisms from German. If this word was introduced into the relevant
dialects, it would have undergone predictable phonological adaptation to
[felotsi'pe:(t)] (as in German Violine [vio'li:n@] > Low Saxon
Vigelien[fige'li:n] 'violine'). Indeed, it is
Velozipee [felotsi'pe:] in some dialects.

To some up:

   - c is pronounced [ts]
   - v- is pronounced [f]

I think it is harder to imagine fiets [fi(:)ts] to be a contraction from [V
elosi'pe:] (Dutch) than from [felotsi'pe:] (Low Saxon).

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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