LL-L "Language varieties" 2012.07.11 (01) [DE-EN-NL]

Wed Jul 11 19:55:08 UTC 2012

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 L O W L A N D S - L - 11 July 2012 - Volume 01
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From: Joachim Kreimer-de Fries <Osnabryg+Lowlands at googlemail.com>

Subject: LL-L "EventsLL-L Events" 2012.07.11 (01) [EN-NL]

Am 22.06.2012 um 20:27 schrieb Roger Thijs:

In the week of July 2 Ghent University organizes a 5-day seminar
on "Afrikaans".
http://www.seminarie-afrikaans.ugent.be/programma
On July 3 one of the presentations deals with:
*Amerikaans Leeg Duits* (Low Dutch).

and asked:

What is ment with "American Low Dutch"?.

Dear Roger & free-minded Lowlanders,

following *Dr Jan Noordegraaf *– lecturer Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam -,
the *contributor* of the mentioned presentation,
*Amerikaans Leeg Duits*, literally *American Low Dutch*
were varieties spoken until ~ a. 1900 by some descendants of Dutch
(Netherlands) colonists (emigrants) *from the 17th century*, alongside
the *right
riverside of the Hudson* and in the *Mohawk Valley* upstate New York, USA.

According to *Noordegraaf* is "Leeg Duits = Nederlands wat verdween (Dutch
which diappeared)", but even in it's final stage (example of spoken Leeg
Duits from 1913) was it still identifiable as Dutch,

"en structureel niet zo sterk veranderd als bijvoorbeeld het Afrikaans. Uit
recent onderzoek is gebleken dat de woordenschat minder verengelst is dan
wel eens gedacht is. En verder zijn de woordvormen niet echt onherkenbaar
geworden." (Noordegraaf)

(and structurally not so much modified than Afrikaans … vocabulary less
Anglicized than thought … word-forms not really unknowable …)

… This might have been one of the topics of the respective lecture within
the 5-day seminar on "Afrikaans" at Gent university on July 3. Apart from
Africaans and the seminar - made curious simply because of the word "leeg"
I followed Roger's kindly provided links and came finally to three
corresponding philological essays of *Jan Noordegraaf*, whose results I'd
like to report here.

*Why the hell is the variety  in question called "Leeg Duits" (Low Dutch or
even Low German)?*

1.
*Let's begin with the (easier) second part of the term:* *Duits -* *EN
Dutch or German, DE Niederländisch or Deutsch -*:

We have to bare in mind the history of the language terms (the words)
*NL**Duits,
**EN** Dutch*:

The Netherlandish varieties of the Hudson riverside and the Mohawk Valley
were *Duits/Dutch in opposition to Hoog-Duits* (Upper Dutch/German,
Oberdeutsch), insofar (in the language use of Early Modern Age) *Duits/Dutch
= Nederduits*/Low German incl. Dutch, more or less the language varieties
of the Dutch-Low German dialect continuum,  the area of former Hanse's
activity, i.e. French and Belgian Flanders, Netherland and Northern Germany.

In the colonial period the descendants of the New Netherlanders were often
called the ‘Low Dutch’ by their English neighbors to distinguish them from
the ‘High Dutch’ or Germans. It might reasonably be supposed that ‘Low
Dutch’ was here a direct translation of Leeg (Läg) Duits, except for the
fact that the English term is more likely a translation of Nederduits, a
word which appeared prominently in the name Nederduyts Hervormde Kerk (Dutch
Reformed Church), the single unifying institution of colonial Dutch-
Americans after their subjugation to English rule. (Bachman, Van Cleaf.
1983. ‘What is Low Dutch?’. De Halve Maen 57:3, 14-17, 23-24.

*Nota bene:* No doubt, the mentioned immigrants had been Dutch (Hollanders,
partly Flemings) and the spoken variety *Leeg Duits* were apparently
stemming from Early Modern Dutch.

Thus the second part of the term, "Duits", in to-day's language use means
EN *Dutch / NL Nederlands / DE Niederländisch.*

2.
*The first part, "Leeg",* of the term *Leeg Duits* is more complicated
and *less
clear-out proved.* There are at least two possibilities or plausible
explanations - depending from the appropriate etymology of the word "leeg"
in that case.

a) *leeg ~ laeg ~ laag* EN low DE Nieder-, Mod. NL laag (niet hoog).

In that case the question is, why this American-Dutch variety didn't call
herself "Nederduits", which had been the usual Dutch term for "Dutch"
(=Netherlandish) at that time. One explanation could be:

The term *Leeg Duits*

was coined early in the colonial period to distinguish the lowly patois of
the Dutch- American farmers from the cultured Nederduits of the ministry.
Low Dutch as a dialect self-consciously distinct from Nederduits [i.e.
Nederlands - jk] may thus extend well back into colonial times (Bachman
1980:3; 1983:14).

There-over bespeaks *Noordegraaf*  an older Flemish connection of the term
Leeg-Duits: In a 1658 in Brugge edited Flemish translation of a travel
report was the language stated as "Leegh-Duytsch". He comments:

"Leeg Duits wordt ook hier in oppositie met Nederduits (=Dutch - jk)
gebruikt om de gewone volkstaal aan te duiden."

It remains open, wether and how there is a connection to the naming "Leeg
Duits" for the mentioned American-Dutch varieties.

 'Leeg Duits' in this interpretation means: *EN Plain/Humble Dutch, NL
Laag/Plat Nederduits/Nederlands, DE Platt-Holländisch* (in contrast to
Beschaaft/Voornaam/Deftig/Bible- Nederduits/Nederlands)

*b) leeg < ledig *EN empty/lone/free-minded DE leer/ledig/freisinnig NL
leeg/frank en vrij(gezind)

Noordegraaf quotes a letter (1972) from an American doctor *van Loon* aan
de known Flemish dialectologist Willem Pée (1903-1986) saying:

…(50) jaren geleede … een vriend van myn grootvader … heeft hy my te kennis
gegeven dat de naam ‘Läg Duits’– dewat is sinds 200 jaren vernomen als ‘Low
Dutch’ is weezelyk niet ‘Laag’ (ook dewat zou dan ‘Laog’ weeze tusse het
volk) maar beteekent ‘Vry’ in de zin van ‘vry-gezind’ in verglyking met
‘free’ corporally …

(≈… 50 years ago … I heard from a friend of my grandfather, that the name
'Läg Duits' - since 200 years heard as 'Low Dutch' - is essentially not
'Laag' *[EN Low]* (…) but means 'Free' in the sense of 'free-minded' in
comparison with 'free' physically …)

and *Noordegraaf* adds the information out of the "Woordenboek der
Nederlandsche Taal" (WNT) over ‘leeg’ or ‘ledig’:

‘De oorsprong is niet met zekerheid bekend; niet onwaarschijnlijk is
samenhang met Lid (I). De bet. zou dan oorspronkelijk zijn: de beschikking
hebbende over zijne leden, en vandaar: vrij, onbelemmerd, waaruit de latere
toepassingen zijn voortgekomen’ (zie verder WNT 8,1: 1214).

(The origin is not certain … connection with NL 'lid' (EN limb, member, DE
Glied - jk) … original meaning: to dispose over his limbs/members … to be
free, unhindered … and there off-springing meanings.)

In summary (2,b),  a very kind and sympathetic interpretation of the naming
"Leeg Duits" for this American-Dutch variety! - *EN Free-minded Dutch/Low
German, NL Frank en Vrijgezind Nederlands, DE Freisinniges
Niederländisch/Niederdeutsch.*
*
*
The hyperlinks to the pdf-essays of *Noordegraaf* are:
http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/1871/15958/1/LEEG DUITSCH XI.pdf
http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/1871/23844/1/TEKST 8 artikel.pdf
3 Sample texts in Leeg Duits (together with Clara van Beek):
http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/1871/19840/2/Artikel 9 voor Nieuw
Letterkundig Magazijn XXIX (2011).pdf

*3 short extracts of Leeg Duits *(I & II in an simplified phonetic spelling)
*:*

I. ‘dä prâte âlle hâr däuts än di tâit; lêx däuts’

II. Authentically spoken Leeg Duits - in 1913 reported by professor John D.
Prince, New York. By himself written oral version of the parable of the
prodigal son (Lucas 15: 11-32):

En kääd’l [man] had twî jòngers; de êne blêv täus; de andere xöng
vôrt f’n häus f’r en stât. Hâi wâz nît tevrêde täus en dârkîs tû
râkni ârm. Hâi do􏰩ti ôm dât täus en z’n vâders pläk. Tû zâide:
äk zâl na häus xâne. Mâin vâder hät plänti. En tû de vâder zâ􏰩
’m komme, hâi xöng äut en mûten’m en boste z’n zön en tû brot’m in
h’m häus. Tû zâide te de kääd’l, de xjehürde hânt: nâu xân en
slâxt het kâl’v en tû nâ dât xân en nôd de büre en komme met mâin
en wâi zâl nâu en fîst häbbe. Mâin zön wât v’lôre wâs äs nâu
ôm täus. Nâu zâle wâi en xûje dânkbâr tâit häbbe.
III. Romeo en Julia in upstate New York
"Cuylers gedicht uit 1719 gaat over twee jonge mensen die in eerste
instantie geen toestemming krijgen om te trouwen. Het verliefde stel vlucht
in een boot en probeert ver weg te varen." (Noordegraaf/van Beek)

Vader als het wesen can
lat het doch geschide dan
lat ons trouwen [tot ons?] bate
en de schade ons behoit
want ik sal ha[i]r noijt verlaten
sij dragt van mijn vles en bloitit

Met echt-westfœlsken »Goutgaun!«
joachim
Kreimer-de Fries,  Osnabrügge => Berlin-Pankow

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