LL-L "Idiomatica" 2009.03.11 (01) [E]

Wed Mar 11 19:21:21 UTC 2009

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L O W L A N D S - L - 11 March 2009 - Volume 01
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From: Mark Dreyer <mrdreyer at lantic.net>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2009.03.10 (06) [E]

Dear Roger:

Subject: LL-L "Language diversity"

You wrote:

I didn't get the meaning of *footsie..* A Dutch homophone is *foetsie*,
meaning "verdwenen, weg". Certainly not applicable to your sentence.
 Wikipedia came up with the following explanations: (which you quote at
length).

Mark:

If I may riposte (on Our Ron's behalf) with a quote from C.S. Lewis, who
never heard of Google, "This book tells me more than I want to know about
whales." & I thought playing footsie was such an innocent, Edwardian, even
Victorian diversion between consenting - mmm - adults; on a par if that with
spooning (no: Do *not* Google that for us)! We cherish our delusions you
know!

Of course we picked up on Ron's tease & rather heavily batted it back. This
sort of language-play is a common pursuit in South Africa, slipping between
Afrikaans & English. So it surely is between all polyglots with more than
one more or less related tongues at the tip of their... Well.

The fun is that the terminology may be closely related or at least cognate
(if that) while the metaphor is radically different. I think of a schoolboy
sample (suddenly the only cleanish one I can recall mea culpa the feeelthy
back-streets of my mind):

    A rural Afrikaner meets a new-chum neighbour (raw Englishman right off
the island you know) one brisk Winter in town, & calls to him, "Buur!" at
which the Pommy hospitably takes him off to the hotel & stands him a pint.
They have quite a few.

    Making conversation the Afrikaner (knowing Brits will discuss the
weather endlessly) proffers a comment, "Baie koud!" Well, it is auction day
so the Englishman buys him one, & it does after all, make sense.

    The Afrikaner gratefully responds, "Baie dankie!" Well it is auction day
so the Englishman does that for him.

    The baffled neighbour says, "Baie mooi!" Good neighbourliness & all the
Pommy buys him the whole next lot of them (donkeys were cheap, even during
the Rinderpest).

    But even good-neighbourliness has its limits & he sternly tells his
neighbour, "Stop: Stop!" The Boer understands him well enough & presents him
with his tobacco pouch, & failing even minimal response, his pipe as well.

    At this the Englishman confesses, "I can not cope with this folly!"
Well, there was one on the block that minute & then & there the 'Dutchman',
well aware of the resultant state of the other's purse, must needs
reciprocate & buy 'koop' the same for his pal. & so it goes.

    If you can & the audience will *suffer* it, squeeze in 'pet' 'pet'
(cap), 'merry' 'merrie (mare), 'humble' thanks & 'hamel' (bell-wether),
'bid' 'bid' (pray), 'bill' 'bul' (bull) 'Cock' 'Kak!' (dung/utter rejection
& repudiation) & so on. Close with Gone too 'far' 'vaar' (travel). That is
my limit tonight.

Good Night.

Mark.

P.S. On a more seemly note Christian Outreach groups round our way like the
slogan "Jesus is Here' which means what it sounds like in both English &
Afrikaans, 'Jesus is here.' & 'Jesus is Lord.'

A German group in Pretoria not long ago had this one: "Inspi*rat*sion *zum
Leben*!"

P.P.S. Sorry, I *Have* to share this: Five shops down on the other side of
the road there was a 'new South African' (a Nigerian) enterprise trading
under this sign: "*THE ST. MACCIAVELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS*"

----------

From: Marcus Buck <list at marcusbuck.org>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2009.03.10 (06) [E]

From: Roger Hondshoven <rhondshoven at yahoo.com <mailto:rhondshoven at yahoo.com
>>

Subject: LL-L "Language diversity" 2009.02.20 (03) [A/E]

Hi Ron,

You wrote: Congratulations, Ruth and Mark! Keep those little footsies
running!

I didn't get the meaning of /footsie../ A Dutch homophone is /foetsie/,
meaning "verdwenen, weg". Certainly not applicable to your sentence.
 Wikipedia came up with the following explanations:

*Footsies*, *playing footsies* or *footsie* is a form of flirtation <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flirt> in which people use their feet <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot> to play with each other's feet. This
generally takes place under a table <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_%28furniture%29> while rubbing feet <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot>, particularly the soles <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_%28foot%29> of the feet, against their
partners' feet. Occasionally, one will continue up his or her partner's
legs, and sometimes in their partner's groin (see footjob <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footjob>). Participants often remove their
shoes <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe> and play barefoot <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot>, however it can also be played in
socks, or wearing shoes. Footsies above the knee are also known as
thighsies. Footsies generally is used to flirt <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flirting> with sexual partners, particularly
ones with a foot fetish <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_fetish>, though
it can also be done without an erotic <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eroticism> intent.

Did you have this in mind?

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

Subject: Idimatica

Hi again, Roger! It's nice to hear from you again. I see you're working your
way through some pretty old mail. ;-)

My reference to "footsies" was a semi-inside "joke" to much earlier
correspondence with Ruth and Mark.

I used "footsie" in the sense of "little foot" (like Dutch /voetje/), and
Ruth and Mark retorted (supposedly jokingly) by alluding to the erotic twist
(which you cite above). It's just silliness.

The quoted Wikipedia article with all its talking about "footjobs" etc.
sounds like a rather "erotic" thing. Is it? When I was young (that's in the
90s) German "fÃ¼ÃŸeln" (I don't know a Low Saxon word for it, I guess there's
no own word for it) had the same "erotic" quality as holding hands. Thus
actually not erotic at all. Just some non-sexual form of intimacy. Are there
semantic differences between a "footsie" and "fÃ¼ÃŸeln" or is it just the
Wikipedia article that focuses on the erotic component?

Marcus Buck

----------

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

Moin, Marcus!

When I was young (sometime during the Chalcolithic Age), we said *FÃ¼ÃŸchen
spielen* in German, if I remember correctly. As far as I am concerned, it, *
fÃ¼ÃŸeln** *and "to play footsie" denote the same thing.

"Erotic" is of course a relative quality, depending on time, culture and
situation.

Thanks, Mark, for capturing the spirit! And please say hi to your Ruth.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

P.S.: A special hi and welcome to the three of you that came on board today,
from Belgium, England and Germany!

•

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