<div style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>==============================</font><font>=======================<br> L O W L A N D S - L - 29 February 2012 - Volume 01<br><a href="mailto:lowlands.list@gmail.com" target="_blank">lowlands.list@gmail.com</a>
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<big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Subject: Etymology<br><br>Dear Lowlanders,<br><br>In Dutch, the most basic adverbs expressing the idea of "why" are <i>waarom</i> and <i>hoezo</i> (= "how so"), while in Afrikaans they are <i>waarom</i> and <i>hoekom</i> (= "how come"). Do competent speakers perceive them as being semantically different?<br>
<br>Am I correct in assuming that Afrikaans <i>hoekom</i> is a calque (i.e. loan translation from English?<br><br>Low Saxon of Germany has <i>waarüm</i> ~ <i>worüm</i> [vo(ʊ̯)ˈrʏˑm], <i>woso</i> [vo(ʊ̯)ˈzoʊ̯] </big><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> (= "how so")</big><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">, <i>woför</i> [vo(ʊ̯)ˈfœɐ] (= "what for"?), and <i>waarvon ~ wovon </i>~ <i>wovun </i>[vo(ʊ̯)ˈfɔˑn] ~ [vo(ʊ̯)ˈfʊˑn] (= "what from").<br>
<br>It seems that words for "why" used to distinguish between</big><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> at least</big><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> the following ideas:<br>
<br></big><ul><li><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">"as a result of what (past) cause" (past)</big></li><li><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">"for what reason" (present-future)</big></li>
<li><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">"for what purpose/benefit" (future)</big></li></ul><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br>As semantic awareness of the differences disappeared, generally applicable ones came into more common use (e.g. English "why").<br>
<br>For example, default "why" in the following languages seem to have originally conveyed the sense of "for what (purpose/benefit"): Yiddish פֿֿארװאָס (<i>farvos</i>), Catalan <i>per què</i>, Castilian <i>por qué</i>, Portuguese <i>por que</i>, French <i>pourquoi</i>, Italian <i>perché</i>, Hebrew לַמָה (<i>lamāh</i>), Arabic <i>limā </i>~<i> </i></big><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><i>limā</i></big><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><i>đā </i>~<i> lima</i> (</big><span dir="rtl">لِمَا . لِمَاذَا . لِمَ</span><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">).<br>
<br>Any thoughts or insight, anyone?<br><br>Regards,<br>Reinhard/Ron<br>Seattle, USA</big><br><big style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"></big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"></span><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
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