LL-L "Grammar" 2010.12.14 (02) [EN]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 14 December 2010 - Volume 01
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From: "Jacqueline Bungenberg de Jong" <Dutchmatters at comcast.net>

Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2010.12.13 (01) [EN-NDS]



Dear Lowlanders,



In a conversation on this blog between Marlou Lessing and Marcus Buck,
Marlou uses the expression “Wenn ik dat rechterhand baven ingeven do”. This
fascinates me. The totally different way in which English on the one hand
and Dutch and German on the other use the verb “ to do” and doen/tun. First
as a helper verb:



Do you have two rain coats? vs Heb jij twee regenjassen/Haben Sie zwei
Regenmantel. Today I don’t swim vs Vandaag zwem ik niet/Heute schwim ich
nicht.



In English and Dutch I also know several expressions where “to do” is used
as an independent action verb: I do the laundry vs ik doe de was/Ich wasche
?????



And then there is the verb used as “put”



English I stick my hand in my pocket, Dutch Ik *doe* mijn hand in mijn
zak/ik *steek* mijn hand in mijn zak; German “Ich *stecke* die Hand in meine
Tasche”.



This is probably the way in which Marlou uses it in “Wenn ich dat
rechterhand baven ingeven *do*”



Can one of you explain to me how all these different uses of the verb “to
do” came into being?



Jacqueline BdJ

Seattle WA



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

Subject: Grammar



Hi, Jacqueline!

(Just a brief reminder: Low Saxon is not German, but maybe I misunderstood
you.)

Low Saxon uses the full verb *doon* (/dou-/) pretty much the way Dutch uses
*doen*; e.g. *Ik do/stẹẹk de/mien hand in de/mien Fick.*

Marlou’s use of the auxiliary verb *doon* (/dou-/) belong to a
hard-to-describe Low-Saxon-specific grammatical-stylistic complex. As far as
I know, in German it is used only the northern Missingsch dialects, those
with Low Saxon substrata. There tends to be something emphatic about the
device; e.g.

conditional:
LS: *wenn ik dat rechterhand baven ingẹven do ...
*Missingsch: *wenn ich das rechterhand oben eingeben tu ...*
Standard German: *wenn ich es oben rechts eingebe ...*

English: when I enter it at the top right ...

Alternatively, you could do it without the auxiliary:
LS: *wenn ik dat rechterhand baven ingẹv’ ...
*Missingsch: *wenn ich das rechterhand oben eingeb ...*

non-conditional:

LS:* Ik gẹv’ dat rechterhand baven in. ~
      Ik do dat rechterhand baven ingẹven.
*Missingsch: *Ich geb das rechterhand oben ein. ~
      Ich tu das rechterhand oben ein.
*Standard German: *Ich gebe es oben rechts ein.*

English: I enter it at the top right.



interrogative:
LS:* Giffst (du) dat rechterhand baven in? ~
      Deist (du) dat rechterhand baven ingẹven?
*Missingsch: *Gibst**(u) das rechterhand oben ein? ~
      Tust(u) das rechterhand oben eingeben.
*Standard German: *Gibst du es oben rechts ein?*

English: *Do* you enter is at the top right?


Perhaps it goes back to an attempt at avoiding “splitting verbs.” But it is
also used with simple verbs.

Perhaps its use in interrogative constructions is old enough that the Saxon
settlers in Britain took it over with them.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
Seattle, USA



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