LL-L "Idiomatica" 2003.04.06 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: R. F. Hahn <admin at lowlands-l.net>
Subject: Idiomatica

Folks,

As no doubt you all agree, idiomatic expressions can be very interesting and
also mysterious, especially in the lesser-known and -studied language
varieties.  I often wonder what the origin of some of the Lowlands Saxon
(Low German) ones are and if there are similar ones in closely related
language varieties, such as the ones of the Frisian and Netherlandic areas.
Let me throw two of them at you today to see if you can come up with clues
as to their origin and distribution.

(1)

"Neutral" expressions:
Dat weet ik nich. ~ Ik weet dat nich.
(Dat wäät ik nich. ~ Ik wäät dat nich.)
(cf. German: Das weiß ich nicht. ~ Ich weiß es/das nicht.)
'I don't know it/that.'
Daar weet ik niks vun (af). (Daar wäät ik niks vun (af).)
(cf. German: Ich weiß nichts davon. ~ Davon weiß ich nichts.)
'I know nothing about it.', 'I don't know anything about it.', 'I have no
clue/idea (about it).'

"Colorful" equivalent:
Daar schal ik üm leygen. (Daar schall ik üm legen.)
("There shall I about lie." = "I would lie about that." = "If I said said
anything about it (and thus pretended to know), I'd be lying." = 'I don't
know.')
(> Missingsch/North German dialects: Da muss ich lügen. 'I don't know.',
'I'm not sure.')

(2)

"Neutral" expression:
Weetst bescheyd? (Wäätst Bescheed?)
(cf. German: Weißt du Bescheid?)
'Do you know (about it)?', 'Are you informed?', 'Are you clued in?'

"Colorful" equivalent:
Markst müys'? (Markst Müüs'?)
("Do you sense/notice mice?")

I wonder if the second "colorful" phrase originally meant something like "Do
you, too, feel there's something going on?", "Can you tell that something is
afoot?", "Do you, too, smell a rat?"  (perhaps from hearing mice and knowing
they are present and up to no good, just as in English "to smell a rat").  I
could see how this could have shifted to 'Do you know that something is
going on?' > 'Do you know what's going on?'

Any theories and information?

Thanks.
Reinhard/Ron

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