LL-L "Semantics" 2004.06.16 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 16.JUN.2004 (02) * 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: Ruth & Mark Dreyer <mrdreyer at lantic.net>
Subject: LL-L "Semantics" 2004.06.15 (01) [E]

Dear Ron, Gabriele, & Sandy.

    First of all, thanks Sandy for 'dysphemism'. Actually, I must confess I
was being lazy. I should have come up with that one myself. I have maybe
just enough Greek.

    These are no longer euphemisms, those that ever were: The Afrikaans
synonyms for 'Mad'; mal, dwaas, gek, sot, dol, kranksinnig, dof, dom,
verspot, onnosel, laf.

    I appreciate learning that 'mal ' comes from the French. I suppose it
came to us via the Low Saxon. I wish I had the means to trace up the others
as well.

    Verdrayd we would follow, thinking it was Yiddish. Dul too, though we
would say dol. Also narsch, though the Afrikaans is naars. Unwys would be
seriously misunderstood; there being generally a big difference between the
unwisdom of a sane man & the stupidity (if any) of a madman.

> Talking about words for "deaf"[1] and "dumb"[2] as replacements for
"insane"
> or "unintelligent," this would be another set of examples of the semantic
> shifts you are talking about, Mark, where it is (nearly) impossible to use
> the words with their original meaning.

    Conceded, Ron (sadly).

    Thanks for all that,
Yrs sincerely,
Mark.

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

Haai, Mark!

> Dul too, though we would say dol.

You can say that in Lowlands Saxon (Low German) also (spelled <doll>
according to German-based rules).

One way of classifying the dialects of that language is by vowel height.
Some dialects have high short vowels (e.g., dul, vun, vinster, dinken, mist,
etc.) where others have mid-level short vowels (e.g., dol, von, venster,
denken, mest, etc.), though this does not work consistently.

The German cognate of _dul_ ~ _dol_ is, predictably, _toll_ 'crazed',
'crazy'.  It can also be used to mean 'great', 'fantastic', etc. (which LS
_dul_ ~ _dol_ can not).  In Northern German dialects (which have been
variously influenced by LS), _doll_ has been borrowed in the specialized
sense of 'very (much)', 'greatly', etc.  For example, _Sie hat sich (ganz)
doll gefreut_ 'She was terribly glad'.  So there is a difference between
native _toll_ and loaned _doll_ (though so far I have never come across the
combination _doll toll_ 'terribly crazy').

>     I appreciate learning that 'mal ' comes from the French. I suppose it
> came to us via the Low Saxon.

Unless it comes from Zealandic.

> gek

This is a noun in LS (spelled <Geck> in Germany), meaning 'fool' and
pronounced with a "hard G" ([gEk]) in most dialects, except the farwestern
dialects in which it is fricative ([GEk] ~ [xEk]).

>    Verdrayd we would follow, thinking it was Yiddish.

I can understand that, considering that the LS and Yiddish forms of 'turn'
and 'twist' coincide: LS _drayen_ and _verdrayen_ vs. Yiddish _drayn_ and
_fardrayn_ respectively (vs German _drehen_ and _verdrehen_ respectively).

Groete,
Reinhard/Ron

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