Non-native linguistic detachment

[Wilson Gray]

Well, I didn't become conscious of the connection between "grass" and
"graze" until after I had figured out what a Swedish friend meant by
"sheep _grassing_ on a meadow." Yet, I'd always been conscious of the
connection between "glass" and "glaze." You never know.

-Wilson

On Dec 26, 2007 9:36 AM, Dennis R. Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Dennis R. Preston" <preston at MSU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Non-native linguistic detachment
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Piwnica means only cellar or basement in polish;
> a brewery is a piwonia or, especially in western
> Poland what I take to be a Germanic loan - browar.
>
> dInIs
>
> >---------------------- Information from the mail
> >header -----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >Subject:      Re: Non-native linguistic detachment
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Polish "piwo" [p'ivo] - "pivo" [p'iv@] in Russian - is from the Slavic
> >verb-root _pi-_ "drink," related in turn to the Homeric and Classical
> >Greek verb root _pi-_ "drink." Cf. Homeric
> >
> >Kuklops, te. _Pi-E_ [w]OInOn. "Cyclops, here. Drink [some] wine."
> >
> >"Pivnica" means ""brewery" in Russian, but may mean something
> >different in Polish. Cf. Czech _zhivot_ "life" (vs. "death") as
> >opposed to Russian _zhivot_ "belly. abdomen."
> >
> >-Wilson
> >
> >On Dec 24, 2007 11:27 AM, Damien Hall <halldj at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> >>  ---------------------- Information from the
> >>mail header -----------------------
> >>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>  Poster:       Damien Hall <halldj at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> >>  Subject:      Non-native linguistic detachment
> >>
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >>  dInIs said:
> >>
> >>  ==================
> >>
> >>  I always remember sitting in a basement beer bar drinking beer with
> >>  Polish friends when it struck me that one of the Polish words for
> >>  basement (piwnica) must have been connected to beer (piwo) - beer
> >>  storing place? It is, of course, but none of the native speakers with
> >>  me (all linguists!) had ever noticed the connection, and the phonetic
> >>  modification in the case was minimal.
> >>
> >>  ==================
> >>
> >>  Sometimes it takes a bit of detachment from a
> >>case to notice stuff like this.  I
> >>  remember once being at a party with other
> >>linguists in Philadelphia where the
> >>  local lager Juengling was being served.  The
> >>question came up as to where the
> >>  name had come from;  I was surprised that anyone should even be asking the
> >>  question, since it seemed very likely to me (especially given the partially
> >>  German settlement history of the area) that it was simply the German word
> >>  *J¸ngling* 'young man'.  A German friend among
> >>us didn't spot it, though;  her
> >>  first thought was that it looked like something Chinese.
> >>
> >>  I agree with the nomination for Quote of the
> >>Year.  And it makes me think:  how
> >>  do we pronounce these acronyms?  Is there an
> >>accepted way?  (Never been to the
> >>  ADS Annual Meeting.)  If Word Of The Year is
> >>/wowti:/, can Quote Of The Year be
> >>  /kwowti:/?
> >>
> >>  Damien Hall
> >>  University of Pennsylvania
> >>
> >>  ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >-----
> >                                               -Sam'l Clemens
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
> --
> Dennis R. Preston
> University Distinguished Professor
> Department of English
> 15C Morrill Hall
> Michigan State University
> East Lansing, MI 48824
> 517-353-4736
> preston at msu.edu
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                              -Sam'l Clemens

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org