LL-L "Etymology" 2002.08.14 (09) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 14.AUG.2002 (09) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Etymology

Dear Lowlanders,

As many of you know, several of us are currently working on a series of
short online introductions to the Lowlands language varieties.  Each of
the "blurbs" comes with one or more small language samples.  To
represent Mennonite Low Saxon (Low German, Plautdietsch) under "Lowlands
Saxon (Low German)" I chose the poem "De Varjoarschnacht" (probably by
Helena Schmidt, Zelinograd, Kazakhstan, 1962) as recorded in Orlovo,
Altai Region, Russia, in 1992.  (If you want to read the poem, you
should either get Reuben Epp's _The Story of Low German & Plautdietsch_,
or you have to wait until our project is finished and posted, which you
could speed up by volunteering ...)

In this poem, the word _Kruschtjeboom_ 'pear tree' is used.  At first I
did not think much about it.  However, as soon as I read the equivalent
_grusha_ Roman Laryushkin's superb Russian and Ukrainian renderings I
was reminded that the first part ('pear') of _Kruschtjeboom_ is a Slavic
loan (assumedly *_krushka_ > *_Kruschke_ > *_Kruschkje_ > _Kruschtje_).

Plautdietsch has quite a few Slavic loanwords.  So this does not really
come as a surprise.  However, there are two things that intrigue me
about this particular loan.

(1) Elsewhere in Plautdietsch, Germanic-based _Bäa_ 'pear' and
_Bäareboom_ 'pear tree' are used (cf. North Saxon _Beer_, _Berenboom_).
Are _Kruschtjeboom_ and _ Bäareboom_ freely interchangeable, or is this
a matter of dialectal distribution?

(2) Going by the Slavic words for "pear (tree)" that I would expect to
have been used around Plautdietsch, I would expect Plautdietsch
*_Gruschkje_ ~ *_Gruschtje_, thus _g-_ rather than _k-_; cf. e.g.,
Polabian _grausái_, Polish _grusz(k)a_, Czech, Slovak _hrus^ka_,
Belarusan, Ukrainian, Russian _grusha_ (also Proto-Slavic *_grusha_).
_K-_ occurs in South (Balkan) Slavic (e.g., Bulgarian, Macedonian
_krusha_, Serbo-Croatian _krus^ka_ (but Slovenian _grus^ka_).  It also
occurs in both Sorbian (Lusatian) languages (Upper _krus^ej_, Lower
_ks^us^ka_) that are unique to Germany.  As far as I am aware,
Plautdietsch had no direct contact with any of these _k-_-type
languages.  So, what about the North Polish and/or Kashubian dialects
that are or were spoken in what is now Northern Poland, the original
homeland of Plautdietsch?  Also, does any of you know of other
(non-Mennonite) eastern dialects of Lowlands Saxon that use this Slavic
loan?

Thanks and regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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