LL-L: "Etymology" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 05.AUG.1999 (04)

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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at fleimin.demon.co.uk]
Subject: LL-L: "Etymology" [E/Norwegian] LOWLANDS-L, 05.AUG.1999 (03)

> From: Muhammed Suleiman [suleiman at lineone.net]
> Subject: Seeking Cognates
>
> Obviously, the suffix -less means just that, so the actual root
> we are looking
> for is _gaum_  (begrudgingly ? _gorm_). Now I do seem to recall
> that there is a
> Gothic verb _gauma_, meaning 'to understand', and it seems to me
> to be cognate,
> but proof from other Germanic languages would help.

While the etymology ("without understanding") is sound, "gaumless" is now
considered obsolete in English, while it seems to me that the form
"gormless" could now be considered general English (or at least general
British English). The spelling "gormless" is supported by speakers of
Scottish English, the "r" always being clearly trilled.

Sandy Fleming
http:\\www.fleimin.demon.co.uk

------------

From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Etymology

Hi, Sandy!

Nice to see you back.

You wrote:

> While the etymology ("without understanding") is sound, "gaumless" is now
> considered obsolete in English, while it seems to me that the form
> "gormless" could now be considered general English (or at least general
> British English). The spelling "gormless" is supported by speakers of
> Scottish English, the "r" always being clearly trilled.

Do you think this could be a case of r-insertion in rhotic varieties, i.e.,
reanalysis of supposedly "southern" non-rhotic /(...)orC(...)/ -> [O:] (-> [o:])
as rhotic [Or], analogous to /form/ -> [fO:m] ~ [fo:m] = [fOrm]?  In other
words, I am speculating that _gaum(less)_ came from Scandinavian _gaum_ (see my
previous posting) and came to be reanalized as _gorm(less)_, hence two spelled
versions of which the "wrong" one has taken over.

I have found exactly this type of realysis to be common in Modern Uyghur (a
Turkic language used mostly in Xinjiang [Eastern Turkestan], under Chinese
administration).  Most Uyghur dialects are non-rhotic much in the way many South
English, Australian or New England dialects are (which is unusual among the
Turkic languages), but most people switch to "formal" or "correct" recitative
rhotic mode (when they sing songs or recite poetry, or when they make very
formal speeches).  In that mode they tend to insert an /r/ even where there
ought to be no /r/, namely in instances of long vowels that occur rarely
(usually in foreign-derived words).  Also like the mentioned English dialects,
Uyghur inserts a final /r/ after a (foreign-derived) long or unusual final
vowel, e.g., English _Afrika(r)orAsia_ or _law(r)andorder_, where _law_ is
treated like _lore_.   (Find a detailed description and analysis in Hahn, R. F.,
"Modern Uyghur y~r-insertion: nativization through analogical extension," _Acta
linguistica hafniensia_ 24:77-96, 1991.)

Returning to _gaumless_ ~ _gormless_, I certainly do not think that the semantic
shift *"without attention" > "without understanding" is a stretch of the
imagination, especially if we consider  Muhammed's description of the meaning
("... a simpleton, one who finds it difficult to complete any task successfully"
-- in other words, somebody who doesn't know what he/she is doing because of
insufficient knowledge [that could have been acquired by paying attention]).

Regards,

Reinhard/Ron

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