LL-L "Orthography" 2004.01.25 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 25.FEB.2004 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Holger Weigelt <platt at holger-weigelt.de>
Subject: "Orthography"

> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Orthography
>
> Hey, Luc, Lowlanders!
>
> Luc, you brought up an interesting and "hairy" issue by mentioning the use
> of <z> in Dutch, the issue of "phoneme inventory augmentation due to
foreign
> influence."
>
> As far as we can tell, Germanic languages inherently do not have a
> word-initial /s/ - /z/ opposition but some of them, like Dutch, acquired
it
> by way of foreign influence.  I guess that in the case of Dutch it is due
to
> French influence, which also caused it in English and Scots.  Graphemic
> representation then came to be considered necessary.
>
> In German it did not happen.  Initial /s/ is always pronounced [z] before
a
> vowel and [s] before a consonant; [z-] and [s-] are thus allophones of
/s-/.
> Certain foreign terms were imported and are supposed to be pronounced with
> an initial [s].  These are marked "foreign" in the lexicon, i.e., are
> treated differently from native or nativized words.
>
> It is similar in Lowlands Saxon (Low German) of Germany and used among
> Mennonites.
.....
Hello Ron !
Let me add some little correction to Your words: In Eastern Friesland Low
Saxon we don't have the strict rule of initial _s_ being [z]. You often find
initial [s] (word initial as well as syllable initial) in genuine words. In
some cases however the use of [s] vs. [z] varies between speakers (partly
depending on their local heritage) while in other cases the distinction is
general. For example "up söört" (separated) must always be [Up sœ:@t].
Depending on the surrounding sounds You also often find a sound between
those [s] and [z].
In several foreign words initial [s] takes the place of German [ts] or [S].
For example sīğâr (cigar), sīğräet (cigarette), sukkeló (chocolate).
In cases like "sīw'læren" words belonging to the genuine inventory prove to
be loans and their initial [s] might really be due to alien influence.
Regards
Holger

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

Thanks, Holger.  Very interesting!

> For example "up söört" (separated) must always be [Up sœ:@t].

Can you also say this without the _up_ in front?  If so, is it still
[sœ:@t], or is it [zœ:@t] then?  (I'm wondering about devoicing due to
assimilation, as no doubt you have gathered by now.)

> In several foreign words initial [s] takes the place of German [ts] or
[S].
> For example sīğâr (cigar), sīğräet (cigarette), sukkeló (chocolate).

This applies to several dialects outside Eastern Friesland as well,
certainly in the first two cases.  In these cases I posit
(loanword-specific) /c/ as underlying, assuming that it is realized as
either [ts] or [s], depending on the dialect; e.g., _cygaar_ [(t)si'gQ:@]
'cigar' (Germ. _Zigarre_), _cygaret_ [(t)sigQ'rEt] 'cigaret' (Germ.
_Zigarette_), _cukker_ ['(t)sUk@] 'sugar' (Germ. _Zucker_), _cippel_
['(t)sIpl] 'onion', _cedel_ ['(t)se:dl] ~ ['(t)sE:dl] 'sheet', 'piece of
paper' (Germ. _Zettel_), _cireyn_
[(t)si're.In] ~ (nativized) _sireyn_ [zi're.In] 'elderbush', _citroon_
[(t)si'tro:n] 'lemon' (Germ. _Zitrone_), _cik_ [(t)sIk] (vs. native-rooted
_jit_) 'goat', _cop_ [(t)sOp] 'pigtail' ('hairbraid' < German _Zopf_,
Central German _Zopp_, vs. native-rooted _top_ 'top', 'point', 'end',
'pigtail'), _Cigoyner_
[(t)si'gO.In@] (vs. native or nativized _Tater_) 'Gypsy', 'Roma' (Germ.
_Zigeuner_).

In most cases it is easy to tell what is native _s-_ and what is
foreign-derived _c-_.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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