LL-L: "Conjunctions" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 20.MAY.1999 (03)

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From: "John M. Tait" <jmtait at jmt.prestel.co.uk>
Subject: Conjunctions

Alfred Brothers wrote:
>
>We've been having a discussion on another list regarding the use of the
>comparative particle 'than' in the Germanic languages (bigger/smaller
>than; groter/kleiner dan). The question has come up whether there are
>any Low German (Low Saxon) dialects which use some form of Engl. 'than',
>Du. 'dan', G. 'denn' instead of the more usual (?) variants of 'as, als,
>wie'?
>
>I've also read that the use of Dutch 'als' in these cases is becoming
>increasingly more common, at least in colloquial Dutch. Can anyone
>comment on this? Apparently Afrikaans and most dialects of Frisian also
>use only some form of 'as', as well.
>
>And finally, are there any Low Saxon/English/Scots/other LL dialects
>which use exclusively (or predominantly) forms of 'than' or the
>conjunction 'that' without the 'th/d' phoneme at the beginning? For
>example, colloquial English "bigger 'n life" for "bigger than..." or "he
>says 'at he's coming" for "he says that...".

Different Scots dialects use 'than', 'as' and 'nor' in this context. Under
the influence of English, 'than' is probably now the most common. 'As' is
characteristic of certain varieties, such as South and Shetlandic, and
'nor' - which is often regarded as the most literary or classical of the
three - of others, such as the Doric of the North East.

As regards the relative pronoun, both 'at' and 'that' (usually pronounced
'thit') are common - I couldn't swear to whether or how they are
distributed by dialect - in some cases they may both be used with varying
emphases. In Shetlandic, though 'dat' is heard in this context, 'at' is
usually regarded - e.g. in _Grammar and Usage of the Shetland Dialect_ - as
the more traditional form.

John M. Tait.

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