LL-L: "Phonology" (was "Frisian") [E] LOWLANDS-L, 11.AUG.1999 (03)

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From: Jens u. Regina Jessen [jessen-amrum at t-online.de]
Subject: LL-L: "Frisian" [E] LOWLANDS-L

> From: Muhammed Suleiman [suleiman at lineone.net]

> Secondly, on a slightly more mundane note, there is an old rhyme in English:
>            Good bread and good cheese      is good English and good Friese
> Can anyone tell me if this is EXACTLY true in any of the Friesian dialects. I
> know it is essentially correct, but does the Friesian word for 'cheese' not
> begin with a hard k- ? And should the -d of 'and' not remain silent (as it can

> in colloquial English)? I have always wondered about this, and would be
grateful
> if someone could put me out of my misery!

The North Frisisan forms differ more or less, e.g.:
_Gud bruad an gud sees_ (öömrang/fering)
_Gödj brüüdj än gödj säis_ (frasch)

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

> One of several fascinating features of Westerlauwer Frisian is
k-palatalization
> before front vowels, usually k- > ts-, thus _tsiis_ 'cheese' (cf. Dutch
_kaas_,
> Low Saxon _kees'_).  I believe this shows up in some form or other in the
other
> Frisian varieties also, though I am not sure.

This phenomenon is known as 'frisian breaking' and is a characteristic
of  all the frisian dialects.

Regards
Jens

----------

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

Moin, Jens!

You wrote with regard to k-palatalization:

> This phenomenon is known as 'frisian breaking' and is a characteristic
> of  all the frisian dialects.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that "Frisian
breaking," like all types of "breaking" in historical phonology, refers not to
this but to diphthongization and the eventual development of the first segment
into a glide.

There are several such cases in Germanic, for instance the development of
Proto-North-Germanic *_erðu_ to _iorð_ to Modern Icelandic _jörð_ and Modern
Scandinavian _jord_ 'earth'.  In Frisian you get manifestations such as *_richt_
> Old Frisian _riucht_ > Westerlauwer Frisian _rjucht_ ~ _rjocht_ and Sater
Frisian _Gjucht_ (with r>g) and the deletion of the glide in Föhr North Frisian
(Fering) _rocht_ 'right', or *_singwan_ > *_siungan_ > Old Frisian _sjunga_ >
Westerlauwer Frisian _sjonge_, Sater Frisian _sjunge_, Föhr North Frisian
(Fering) _schong_ 'sing'.

Allow me to quote our own Henno Brandsma (25.NOV.1998 (03)):

<begin quote>

Modern West Frisian Breaking is the most studied one, a whole thesis
and many papers have been written on it. It affects all falling
diphthongs, namely [i.@], [I.@], [o.@], [y.@], [u.@], [o".@], spelled
as ie, ea, oa, ue, oe and eo respectively. These have ascending
counterparts (except the last one, as I recall), namely (in the same
order) [jI], [jE], [wa], [jU], [wo]. In cases where one expects a
shortening, before heavy consonant clusters in plurals and
diminuatives, and in compounds/derivations, it is possible (but not
certain, there are many exceptions) that a word changes the diphthong
to its counterpart. (the spelling does not always refelct it, the
spelling I used in the previous post is an unofficial one that does
reflect it): examples (in standard spelling)

beam  - beammen [bI. at m] - [bjEm at n] (tree - trees)
tried - triedsje [tri.@(d)] - [trjIdsj@] (thread-little thread)
bloed - bluodderich [blu. at d]- [blwod at r@x] (blood - bloody (lit.))
sluere - sljurkje [sly. at r@] - [sljUrkj@]  (glide - glide "delicately")
hoas  - hoasfuotling [ho. at s] - [hwasfwotlI(ng)] {(ng)= Dutch -ng}
  (Dutch kous, German Hose - "with no shoes on" = hoas + broken form
"foet"=foot + ending -ling), so two cases in one word..
(the eo is rare and rarely occurs in a "breaking environment")

<end quote>

Breaking is also a well-known phenomenon in Westphalian Low Saxon (Low German)
dialects; e.g., _Düörp_ (North Saxon _Dörp_) 'village', _üöwrig_ (NS _öövrig_)
'remaining', _vergiäten_ (NS _vergeten_ ~ _vergäten_) 'to forget', _biäter_ (NS
_beter_ ~ _bäter_) 'better', _Miälke_ (NS _Melk_ ~ _Mälk_) 'milk', _wuohnde_ (NS
_wahn(de)_ ~ _wohn(de)_) 'dwelled', _Riägnweär_ (NS _Regenwe(dd)er_ ~
_Rägenwäär_, etc.) 'rainy weather', _siäwen_ (NS _seven_ ~ _söven_) 'seven'.

Outside Germanic, but also in Germany, you find this kind of breaking in the two
West Slavic languages Upper and Lower Sorbian.  They have _wo-_ (with an
English-type _w_) where other Slavic languages have _o-_; e.g., _wokno_ ['wOknO]
(cf., Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene _okno_ [OknO], Russian _oknó_ [ak'no])
'window', and also in Belarusian _vaknó_ 'window'.

Best regards,

Reinhard/Ron

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