<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">L O W L A N D S - L - 27 September 2007 - Volume 04</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Song Contest: <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/contest/">lowlands-l.net/contest/</a> (- 31 Dec. 2007)</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
=========================================================================</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">From: </span>
<span id="_user_mrdreyer@lantic.net" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148); font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Mark Dreyer <<a href="mailto:mrdreyer@lantic.net">mrdreyer@lantic.net</a>></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" class="lg">
</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.09.26 (02) [E/LS]</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Dear M<span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);">arcel &
Ron:</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);"></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);"></span>Subject: LL-L "Etymology"</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Ron, you wrote:</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">"Mark, I wonder if this endearing <span style="font-style: italic;">-a</span> you talked about is related to traditional
(and now apparently disappearing) <span style="font-style: italic;">-a</span>
added to monosyllabic or abbreviated names of males in Low Saxon of
Germany. The best known of these is <span style="font-style: italic;">Kalla</span> for <span style="font-style: italic;">Karl</span> (Charles); cf. Swedish <span style="font-style: italic;">Kalle</span> for <span style="font-style: italic;">
Karl</span>. In the ancient days of my
childhood I'd also hear forms like <span style="font-style: italic;">Willa</span>
(<span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">~
</span>Willi</span>) for <span style="font-style: italic;">Willem</span> ~ <span style="font-style: italic;">Wilhelm</span> (William) and <span style="font-style: italic;">Freda</span> (~ <span style="font-style: italic;">
Fredi</span>) for <span style="font-style: italic;">Fredrich</span> ~ <span style="font-style: italic;">Friedrich </span>(Frederic)."</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">& Marcel, you
wrote:</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Very
interesting!! So it is still a suffix, and a productive one! I
never expected this. It sounds rather exotic, but Low Saxon being one of
the languages that contributed to Afrikaans, we shouldn't rule out this
European origin of -a. Maybe the use was enhanced (or conserved) by the presence
of common Afrikaans words of non-Germanic origin, such as <em>kamma, abba,
hoeka/toeka</em> and <em>gogga</em>.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><font size="2">I'm with you there. In Afrikaans the emphesis
seldom falls on the last syllable of a word, & if I'm right this applies to
most Lowlands languages. The result is that ordinarily the vowel of an open or
closed syllable softens to a schwa '<strong>hon</strong>de',
'<strong>bê</strong>re', '<strong>bul</strong>der', '<strong>son</strong>der',
'ge<strong>was</strong>se', '<strong>op</strong>trede' &
'<strong>af</strong>ge<strong>son</strong>der'. Yiddish of course falls
under the same Germanic regime, & also incidentelly the Ashkenazi
dialect of Hebrew, so changing eg 'Shab<strong>bat</strong>' to
'<strong>Sha</strong>bes' & 'ma<strong>zal</strong>' to
'<strong>moz</strong>zel'. I might add this is a little limiting to a guy with
poetic pretensions, that the rhyming syllable is weak. The Koikoi
loanwords, among them those you quote, stand out like gems in a setting, two
syllables, & both strong: Trochee.</font></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span>From:
Ron</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span>The jury is
still out on this one.<br><br>Come to think of it, we are quite likely
dealing with <span style="font-style: italic;">-er instead of
</span>-<span style="font-style: italic;">a</span> . After all, they sound the same in
most dialects, and this suffix is hardly ever written and is merely approximated
if it is.<br><br>So it might as well be <span style="font-style: italic;">Kaller</span> instead of <span style="font-style: italic;">Kalla</span>.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span>Thanks Ron. I
really must make a point of first of all reading all of a letter
finished...</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span>Yrs,</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span>Mark<br><br>----------<br><br></span>From: <span id="_user_marcelbas@gmail.com" style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">Marcel Bas <<a href="mailto:marcelbas@gmail.com">marcelbas@gmail.com
</a>></span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg"></span><span id="_user_mrdreyer@lantic.net" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);"></span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg"></span><br>Subject: LL-L "Etymology"
2007.09.27 (02) [E/LS]<br>
<br>
<div><div id="mb_1"><div>Hi Reinhard,</div><span class="q">
<div> </div>
<div>You wrote:<br><br>"To find <span style="font-style: italic;">-a</span>
added to words of Germanic origin in Afrikaans is therefore surprising.
I'm with you there, Marcel. It also seems to lend credence to my
hypothesis that in Low Saxon we are really dealing with <span style="font-style: italic;">
-er</span> in that case."<br></div></span>
<div>The same in Bavarian languages: "hamà" < "habm-mir" "supa" < "super". </div><span class="q">
<div><br>"The ending <span style="font-style: italic;">-a</span>
is still treated as foreign in most non-rhotic dialects of English ( e.g., Afric<span style="font-weight: bold;">a</span>-<span style="font-weight: bold;">
r</span> -o-<span style="font-weight: bold;">r</span>-Asia), while in most English varieties of North America it seems to have been nativized (
e.g., Afric <span style="font-weight: bold;">a</span> o-<span style="font-weight: bold;">r</span>
-Asia)."</div>
<div> </div></span>
<div>When a word like this
is followed by a vowel, you get intrusive or linking-r. Interestingly,
this does not occur in South African English, although it is an
non-rhotic dialect. E.g. "South Afric<strong>a a</strong>nd Zimbabwe" and "For Alan" [f@ <a href="mailto:El@n" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">El@n</a>] rather than "South Afric
<strong>a</strong>-<strong>r</strong> and Zimbabwe" and [fA@r <a href="mailto:El@n" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">El@n</a>]. But I do not attempt to demonstrate any parallells with the Afrikaans -a suffix.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>In Scandinavian
languages, the -a suffix is still retained in feminine words and the
verbal infinitive, but the latter is due to delition of final -n. But I
don't know if the -a suffix in feminine words is still productive, as
in Afrikaans, where it is associated with endearment and diminution. It
seems like a fossilised suffix. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>It is, indeed, a foreign final vowel to West Germanic languages.</div>
<div>As Mark says,
it is still productive in Afrikaans for a diminutive. The
Etimologiewoordeboek van die Afrikaanse taal seems to agree with the
endearment element.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>For "baba" it doesn't say anything about the suffx,</div>
<div>For "bolla" it only says that it derives from Middle Dutch <em>bolle</em>,</div>
<div>For "boeta" it does say that <em>-a </em>is a derivation from <em>boet</em>, and it originates from children's language. The dictionary says: "Die agtervoegsel <em>-a</em> het die gevoelswaarde van vertroulikheid en toon ook 'n volwassener verhouding aan." (Bear in mind that
<em>boeta </em>is the elderly brother).</div>
<div>"Poena" is not in the dictionary, "harta" is in no dictionary (so that may be a sign of <em>-a </em>being productive), and about the suffix in <em>gotta, gonna </em>and <em>gomma</em> ("golly", "gosh") it says nothing about the suffix either, other than that
<em>gotta </em>could have been inspired by a Khoi swearing word <em>t'ganassi</em>.</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Best regards,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Marcel. <br><a href="http://roepstem.net/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://roepstem.net</a><br> </div>
</div></div><span>
----------<br>
<br>
</span>From: <span id="_user_marcelbas@gmail.com" style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">Marcel Bas <<a href="mailto:marcelbas@gmail.com">marcelbas@gmail.com</a>></span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg"></span>
<span id="_user_mrdreyer@lantic.net" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);"></span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg"></span><br>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.09.27 (02) [E/LS]<br><br><div id="mb_2"><div>Dear Lowlanders,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>My South African friend Liesl gave me another example of the -a suffix with an association of endearment:</div>
<div> </div>
<div><em>bokka</em>: 'girl' (cf. <em>bokkie</em>: girl - literally 'little buck, little goat'.<em> <br><br></em></div>
<div>Best regards,</div><span class="sg">
<div> </div>
<div>Marcel.<br><br>----------<br><br>From: <span id="_user_marcelbas@gmail.com" style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">Marcel Bas <<a href="mailto:marcelbas@gmail.com">marcelbas@gmail.com</a>></span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg">
</span><span id="_user_mrdreyer@lantic.net" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);"></span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg"></span><br>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.09.27 (02) [E/LS]<br><br><div>Then there is also:</div>
<div> </div>
<div><em>seuna</em> 'little son' </div>
<div><em>dogga </em>'little daughter'<br><br>Best regards,</div><span class="sg">
<div> </div>
<div>Marcel.<br>
<br>
----------<br>
<br>
From: <span id="_user_ben.j.bloomgren@gmail.com" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);">"Ben J. Bloomgren" <<a href="mailto:ben.j.bloomgren@gmail.com">ben.j.bloomgren@gmail.com</a>></span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg">
</span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg"></span><span id="_user_mrdreyer@lantic.net" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);"></span><span style="font-weight: normal;" class="lg"></span><br>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2007.09.27 (02) [E/LS]<br>
<br>
<br>
<div id="mb_4">
<div dir="ltr" bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font size="2">Adding -a or suffixes ending in -a to words<br>of
masculine or neuter gender tends to "feminize" them, with few exceptions such as
Latin agricola 'farmer' and Spanish artista 'artist'.</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font size="2">Ron, I don't know the historical linguistics behind
this one, but be careful. Artista is one of IE's many loved exceptions. Artista
is with an A whether it be a man or a woman. El artista o la artista. I would
venture a guess that the A here is not a gender morpheme as it is with, say,
pintora (painter) or Holandesa (dutch woman).</font></div>
<div><font size="2">Ben</font></div></div>
</div>
</div></span><br></div>
</span></div>----------<br><br>From: R. F. Hahn <
<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>>
<br>Subject: Etymology<br><br>Thanks, Mark and Marcel.<br><br>Have you considered the possibility of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">stressed</span>, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">long<span style="font-style: italic;">
</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>-a </span>in Afrikaans being a contraction of the obvious word and an "absorbed" following word (such as an exclamation)?
<br><br>Contractions of this sort are quite frequent in the world's languages, especially among African and Eastern Asian languages and also among indigenous North American languages. In casually spoken Mandarin Chinese dialects, for instance, exclamatory particle 啊
<span style="font-style: italic;">ā</span> tends to be fused with the last vowel of the preceding word, and the resulting vowel is somewhat lengthened (e.g., 白色的啊！báisè de ā! -> báisè dā! 'The <span style="font-style: italic;">
white</span> one!'). (In tonal languages, this tends to involve tonal contractions, in some African languages resulting in contour tones where contour tones don't otherwise exist, i.e., are not phonemic.)<br><br>So, if something like this happened in Afrikaans, what kind of absorbed word could be involved here? "A"? "Ha"? "Ja"? Could it be a particle borrowed from Malay or Khoi-San?
<br><br>Regards,<br>Reinhard/Ron<br><br>P.S.: Ben, I know that Romance <span style="font-style: italic;">-ista</span> is not feminine, which is why I said "<span class="sg"><span class="sg"><font size="2">with few exceptions such as ..." But I guess that wasn't clear.
<br></font></span></span></div>