Hawaiianisms; righteous

[Wilson Gray]

In what part(s) of the country is either "hamburger steak" or "hamburg
steak" used? Just asking for information.

-Wilson Gray


On 1/13/06, Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at nb.net> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Hawaiianisms; righteous
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >In Kihei, I spotted a "hamburg" dish. I suppose that's the same as the
> >Japanese hambaagu, made by cooking a mixture of ground beef, vegetables and
> >sauce.
>
> I think the Japanese "hambaagu [suteiki]" is etymologically identical to
> the English (US) "hamburg [steak]", although the typical referent may have
> regional variations. The usual current US form would be "hamburger
> [steak]", I think. The referent would be a lump or patty of ground beef
> with more or less of various fillers (often more fillers in East Asia than
> in US in my very limited experience). As I mentioned in an earlier message
> the term "hamburger steak" has existed (US) alongside the apparently
> synonymous "hamburg steak" since the 1890's, with "hamburger steak"
> predominating only since the 1940's or so. I would suppose that the
> English/Hawaiian "hamburg" is merely a conservative equivalent of
> "hamburger", then, rather than an adoption from Japanese, although given
> that it's in Hawaii one might suppose that this conservative form might be
> stabilized by Japanese tourism. I deny any expertise.
>
> -- Doug Wilson
>