LL-L "Etymology" 2002.01.17 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 17.JAN.2002 (03) * 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: "John M. Tait" <jmtait at altavista.net>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2002.01.15 (02) [E]

With regard to Muriel Norde's posting about seagull names.

In Shetland, there is an explicit distinction between:

maa [ma:] (seagull, usually herring gull)
maalie [ma:li] (fulmar petrel)

On the North East coast of Scotland, there is an East/West split which occurs
somewhere between Gardenstown and Fraserburgh. In Fraserburgh, the word for a
gull (again usually a herring gull - common gulls are not common in these
parts!)
is 'myaav' [mja:v], obviously related to some of the examples given. Further
East, it is 'peul' [pjul], which seems to be an independent onomatopoeism.

John M. Tait.

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

John Magnus,

It's great to hear from you again!

Do you think there may be a connection between Northeastern Scots _peul_
[pjul] 'seagull' (even though you suspected it to be onomatopoetic), English
_(northern) fulmar_ (_Fulmarus glacialis_) and Scottish Gaelic _faoileann_
(and Irish _faoileag_)?

_Fulmar_ is supposed to be of Scandinavian origin; e.g., Icelandic _fýll_ --
e.g., 'fulmar' in Modern Scandinavian: Danish _mallemuk_, Norwegian _havhest_
"sea-horse" (family of _stormfugl_ "storm-bird"), Swedish _stormfågel_
"storm-bird").  (Dutch has _noordse stormvogel_ "northern storm-bird", German
_Eissturmvogel_ "ice-storm-bird".)

It is also interesting to note that Welsh has _gwylan_ and Breton has
_gouelanig_ for 'gull', and that English 'gull' is supposed to be of Celtic
origin, the Germanic counterpart being _mew_.

Is there a regular _f-_ = _g(w)-_ correspondence between the Goidelic and
Brythonic branches of Celtic, so that _faoileann_, _faoileag_, _gwylan_ and
_gouelanig_ are cognates?  And might there be a connection between these and
English _fowl_ (< _fugol_) as well as other Germanic words for 'bird', e.g.,
Low Saxon _Vagel_ ['fQ:g=l] ~ ['fQ:G=l], Dutch _vogel_, Afrikaans _voël_,
German _Vogel_ ['fo:g at l], Danish _fugl_, Norwegian _fugl_, Swedish _fågel_,
etc.?

Just wildly stabbing in the semi-dark ...

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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