LL-L "Vocabulary" 2001.10.31 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 31.OCT.2001 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/>
 Rules: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/rules.html>
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Server Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 Archive: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html>
=======================================================================
 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
=======================================================================

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Vocabulary

Dear Lowlanders,

Now that Europe's "smaller" languages are at least officially getting more
respect, protection and airtime, I feel that the matter of vocabulary
development is becoming more of an issue.  I have been watching the case of
Low Saxon (Low German) in Northern Germany.

Traditionally, especially during its "dark age" (from the end of World War II
till the early 1980s), Low Saxon in Northern Germany was confined mostly to
people's private spheres and to certain professions, such as farming and
traditional trades, also to religious instruction.  Whenever other subject
areas needed to be discussed without switching to "High" German, German
terminology would be borrowed, either directly or in literally translated
(calque) form.  Some of the German-based neologisms would eventually take a
foothold in the language.  Some neologisms would compete with each other.
Much would be up to the individual speaker or writer.  Some of these would
make ample use of this and would freely invent new words, and most people
would understand.  Some people would see it as a fun game and would even try
to use "nicknames" for items as though they were "serious" words, e.g.,
_Puuschenkino_ ['p`u:S=nki:no] ("slipper cinema") for 'television', and
_Klöönkassen_ ['klø:nkas=n] ~ ['klø:Nkas=n] ("chat box") for 'telephone',
instead of _Feernsehn_ ['fe.I3nzE.In] (< German _Fernsehen_) and _Telefoon_
[t`ele'fo:n] ~ ['t`elefo:n] (< German _Telefon_) respectively.

Most days I scan the daily Low Saxon news from Radio Bremen
(http://www.radiobremen.de/bremeneins/platt/news/), because they are easily
accessible and the Low Saxon writers at that station seem to be more
innovative than others.  Today I noticed the following terms:

_normale Fleegeree_ [no3'mQ:le flE.Ige'rE.I] ("normal flying (business)")
'civil aviation' (cf. German _normaler Flugverkehr_ ("normal flight traffic"))

_Koalitschoonsutschuß_ [k`o?ali'tSo:ns?u:tSUs] 'coalition committee' (< German
_Koalitionsausschuss_, formerly spelled _Koalitionsausschuß_).  The native
equivalent of German _Schuss_ 'shot' (which is contained in _Ausschuss_
("out-shot"!) 'committee') is _Schööt_ [Sø:t], though German-derived _Schuss_
[Sus] is used in some dialects.  My personal inclination would be to use the
old French loan (_comité_ >) _Kommitee_ [k`Omi'tE.I] (cf. Dutch _comité_),
thus _Koalitschoonskommitee_.

_Ruumschipp_ ['ru:mSIp] ("space ship") 'spacecraft' (cf., German _Raumschiff_)

_Ruumföhrer(sch(e))_ ['ru:mfø:r3(S(e))] ("space rider") '(female) astronaut'
(cf., German _Raumfahrer(in)_ ~ _Astronaut(in)_, cf. Dutch _astronaut_ ~
_ruimtevaarder_)

I also noticed _Fleegerhaben_ ['flE.Ig3hQ:b=m] (~ _Fleegerhaven_
['flE.Ig3hQ:v=m]) ("aircraft harbor/port") 'airport', which I find innovative,
since I and people I know use the German-based calque _Flooghaven_
['flo.UxhQ:v=m] (~ _Flooghaben_ ['flo.UxhQ:b=m], cf. German _Flughafen_
("flight harbor/port")).

Furthermore, where most North German speakers would use the German loan
_Verteidigungsminister_ 'minister of defense', the Radio Bremen writer uses
_Minister för Verdeffendeern_, utilizing a nominalized form of the "nativized"
(i.e., older French-based) verb _verdefendeern_ 'to defend' (< French
_défendre_).

In yesterday's news I was particularly taken by the term _Atomschiet_
[?a'to:mSi:t] for 'nuclear waste'.  As far as I know, the German word is
_Atommüll_.  _Müll_ [mY.l] for 'waste' or 'garbage' is also used in North
German Low Saxon, though I am not sure if all dialects have it.  The choice
for 'waste' in this case is _Schiet_.  Yes, Low Saxon _Schiet_ *is* the
cognate of exactly what you suspect.  However, in Low Saxon it can also be
legitimately used to denote 'waste', 'dirt', 'filth', etc., often to the
amusement of German speakers, who assume this is a "legitimized dirty word."
(Northern speakers of German use the Low Saxon loan _Schiet_ to denote 'bad
situation', 'nonsense', etc., in Missingsch dialects also in the sense of
'dirt'.)  I wonder why _Schiet_ and not _Müll_ or _Affall_ ['?af(f)a.l] was
chosen here?  To be provocative?  Because the writer considers _Müll_ too
German?  Our Dutch-, Zeelandic- and Afrikaans-speaking subscribers will be
amused or bemused to know that in some Low Saxon dialects words for 'waste' or
'garbage' are _Struntkraam_ ['strU.ntkrQ:m], _Struntgood_ ['strU.ntgoUt] and
_Struntschiet_ ['strU.ntSi:t].  Bear in mind that Low Saxon has the reputation
of being a "peasant language" in Germany (_Bauernsprache_) and in the
Netherlands (_boerentaal_), not unjustifiably so, since rural and semi-rural
areas are the most important remaining strongholds of the language.  This sort
of terminology would confirm its "coarseness" in many people's minds, people
who judge the language from the standpoint of their own, closely related,
"refined" (= official and dominant) languages.

I am wondering how other regional or minority Lowlands languages are doing
with regard to building vocabularies to accommodate innovations.  I take it
none of them has any formal language planning, i.e., decision-making bodies
that approve neologisms.

I imagine that Low Saxon of the Netherlands borrows freely from Dutch
(probably mostly in calque form), since this is tempting and easy, considering
the closeness between the two languages.

Does the same apply to Zeelandic/West Flemish and to Limburgish?  Are these
more likely to borrow French words in Belgium and Dutch words in the
Netherlands?  Is there any attempt at spreading neologisms to Limburgish
everywhere, or are the Limburgish dialects of Germany immune and only open to
German influence?

Does Mennonite Low Saxon (Plautdietsch) borrow mostly from "High" German or
from the dominant languages of the countries in which it is used (e.g.,
Russian, English, Spanish and Portuguese)?  Once in a while I come across
Plautdietsch words that seem to be English calques, though I can't think of
any particular example right now.

Does Afrikaans now predominantly borrow from English, or is it still open to
Dutch influences?

What about Scots vs. English?  Are English loans considered the normal choice,
or are there attempts at creating neologisms that set Scots apart from closely
related and dominant English?

Thanks for thinking about it and for responding.

Regards.
Reinhard/Ron

==================================END===================================
 You have received this because your account has been subscribed upon
 request. To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l"
 as message text from the same account to
 <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or sign off at
 <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================
 * Please submit postings to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
 * Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.
 * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
 * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
   to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
   <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 * Please use only Plain Text format, not Rich Text (HTML) or any other
   type of format, in your submissions
=======================================================================