As G. 'ü' becomes 'i' in PG., G. lügen (to tell a lie) and liegen (to lie down-both having the first vowel long) might be confused, but the latter is shortened in PG., as in ær likt' (he lies down) 'ær liikt' (he tells a lie). PG. Was wi' t? What wilst thou? G. Was willst du? Woo't weepe? Woo't fight? Woo't teare thy felfe ? 2 Ich wil fische gee,. Ich hab kschriwwe. Sin mr net keiǝrt? (or verheirathet.) I will go to fish. I have (geschrieben) written. 6 Are we not married? G. Sind wir nicht geheirathet ? Infinitive -n is rejected, as in the Swiss and Suabian dialects. In an Austrian dialect it is rejected when m, n, or ng precedes, as in singa, rena, nehma, for singen, rennen, nehmen.—Castelli, Wörterbuch, 1847, p. 31. The length of some vowels is doubtful, as in 'rot' or 'root' (red, like English rote or rõde), "so' or 'soo,' nochbər' or 'noochbər,' 'ǝmol' or 'emool,' 'ja' or 'jaa,'' sii' or 'sĬ' (she, they, I in deceit, not in sit). Compare English 'See!' and 'See there!" Accent in PG. agrees with that of High German. When indicated, as in danóot or danoot' (for the 'oo' represent a single vowel, as in Eng. floor), it is to afford aid to the reader not familiar with German accent. 1 Swiss forms. 2 Hamlet, act 5, sc. 1, speech 106; folio 1623, tragedies, p. 278, col. 2. 17 CHAPTER III. VOCABULARY. The vocabulary of PG. has but few synonyms, a single word being used where High German has several, as 'plats' (place) for G. plats and ort. Of the German words for horse (pferd, ross, gaul, etc.), 'gaul' is universal in speech, ross seems not to be known, and pferd is almost restricted to print.1 A colt is not called füllen as in German, but 'hutsch,' with a diminutival 'hutschli' (in Suabian hutschel, hutschele, Westerwald husz, Lusatian huszche.) A pig is not ferkel (Lat. porc-ell-us, Welsh porch-ell) but 'seili' (from sau), and children call it 'wuts' (Suab. butzel) a repetition of this being used (as well in vicinal English) in calling these animals. 'Kalb' (calf, pl. 'kelwər') is named by children 'haməli12 when a suckling. Cows are called with ‘kum see! see! see haməli ! see!' and when close at hand with 'suk suk suk' (as in forsook)—used also in the English of the locality.3 Of G. knabe (boy) and bube, pl. buben, PG. takes the latter as buu,' pl. buuwe;' and of the G. haupt and kopf (head) it prefers the latter as 'kep.' Of the verbs schmeissen and werfen (to throw), kriegen and bekommen (to obtain), hocken and sitzen (to sit), schwetzen and sprechen (to talk), erzählen and sagen (to tell), PG. uses 'schmeisse,' 'kriighə,' 'həkə,' ' schwetse' and 'saaghə' almost exclusively. The suffix -lein, condensed to -li and -1, is the universal diminutival, as in Swisserland and South Germany—a small 1 Of words not occurring in print, the Swiss, Bavarian, and Suabian form bruntsen replaces harnen and its synonyms. 2 Seemingly akin to Swiss ammeli, mammeli (a child's sucking-glass), whence mämmelen (to like to drink). G. amme (a wet-nurse), in Bavaria, also a mother. 3 PG. des kalb sukt (this calf sucks,) G. saugt. house being called 'heissli' and not häus-chen, and a girl 'meedl' and not mädchen. It is, however, very often associated with the adjective klee, (little) G. klein, as in PG. 'e klee, bichli' (a little book). German kartofeln (potatoes) is rejected for G. grundbirnen 1 under the form of 'krumpiirə,' where 'krum' is accepted by some as krumm (crooked), while some regard the latter part as meaning pears, and others as berries. F'rleicht, Fileícht (perhaps, G. vielleicht) are in use, but the former seems the more common. Sauerampl, G. sauerampfer (sorrel, Rumex). Rewwer, Krik, Krikli (Eng. river, creek) have thrust aside G. flusz and bach. Laafe (to walk; G. laufen to run, and to walk). Schpring-ǝ (to run, a Swiss usage. G. springen, to leap, spring, gush). Un'ich (under), G. unter, occurs in provincial German as unn-ig and unt-ig; hinnig occurs also, PG. 'hinnich,' as in 'hinnich d'r diir' behind the door. Wii m'r donaus gləffə sin, bin ich hinnich iin nooch gləffə. As we walked out, I walked behind him. For hinnich,' Alsatian has hing-ǝ, as in 'M'r geen hing-ə [nach den] noo de goorte noo'-We go along behind the garden. Uumət, oomət, Austr. omad, Swiss amet, G. das grummet (aftermath). Suab. ämt, emt, ömd, aumad; Bavar. âmad. Arik, arrig (much, very), Swiss arig, G. arg (bad, cunning). PG. Ich hab net gwist [Suab. gwest] dass es so arrik reeghǝrt. I did not suppose it to be raining so hard. Artlich (tolerably) is the Swiss artlich and artig. Ewwa, G. adv. eben (really, even, just), but it is PG. 'eewa' when it is the adj. even. Ich hab ewwe net gwist for sure eb ær ə fraa hət ədər net. (Rauch.) I did not even know for sure' if he has a wife or not. ámanat, adv. metathesised and adapted from G. an einem Orte (at a place), a dative for an accusative an einen Ort (in a place) as 1 This name seems to have been originally applied to the crooked tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke, and humming-bird was probably applied to moths of the genus Sphinx (named from the form of the larva) before the bird bearing this name was known in Europe. used here. In the example, anə' is G. an inflected, and zŭ of zu schicken is omitted, as sometimes done in PG. (Rauch.) When wan als ǝ briif kummt f'r amanat ane schikǝ ever a letter comes for to send on-to be sent on. Henkweide (weeping willow). G. Hängebirke, is hanging birch. Tapper (quickly), as in Schpring tappǝr run quick! be in a hurry— thus used in Westerwald, and as very in Silesia. G. tapfer (brave, bravely), E. dapper. Meener (more), Meenscht (most), for G. mehr, meist, are réferable to mancher and a hypothetic mannigste. 'Mee' and 'mee' (more), Swiss-"Was wett i meh ?" What would I more. "Nimme meh," never more. PG. Was wet ich mee? Nimmi mee.' (See Ellis, Early English Pronunciation, p. 663, note 39.) Schtrublich, schtruwlich. G. struppig (bristly, rough), Swiss strublig, PG. 'schtruwlich' (disordered, uncombed, as hair). English of the locality stroobly. Neewich; SG. nebensich, Wetterau (upper Hessia) nébig, G. neben (beside). "Naevvich der mommy ruht er now [Eng, now] In sellem Gottes-acker1 dort, Shraegs 2 fun der Kreutz Creek Kerrich nuf, [hinauf.] Hensching, G. handschue (gloves, Sw. händschen) becomes a new word with 'hen' for hände (hands), the ä umlaut being used to pluralise, but the word is singular also, and, to particularise, a glove proper is 'fing-er hensching and a mitten 'fauschthensching.' This termination is given to 'pærsching' a peach. Sidder (since), Swiss sider, sitter; Suabian and Silesian sider ; Scotch, etc., sithens. Schpel (a pin), SG. die spelle (a better word than G. stecknadel); Dutch speld (with deduced from 7); Lat. SPIcuLa. Botser (masc. a tail-less hen), Holstein, buttars. Provincial G. butzig (stumpy). Mallikap (i.e. thick-headed, a tadpole). Swiss mollig, molli (stout, blunt); Suabian mollig (fleshy). Alsatian muurkrǝntl (tadpole) from muur, G. moder, Eng. mud. The PG. of western New York has taken the New England word polliwog. Blech (tin, a tin cup); dim. 'blechli.' Blechiche Bool (a tin bowl, i.e. a dipper, a convenient word which seems not to have been introduced). In Pennsylvanian English, a tin cup is a tin. 1 Scarcely legitimate, the PG. word for a grave-yard being kærich-hof. 2 Diagonally. In old English, 'than' represented than and then, and PG. has 'dann' for both G. dann (then) and denn (for); and also 'wann' for Rachel Bahn's lines wann (when) and wenn (if), as in "Doch guckt 's ah recht huebsch un' nice Wann all die Baehm sin so foll ice-" Doch gukt 's aa recht hipsch un 'neis' Wan al dii beem sin so fǝl eis Yet it looks (auch) also right fair and'nice' WHEN all the trees are so full of ice. "Forn bild der reinheit is 's doh, F'r 'n bild dər reinheit1 iss as doo, bascht,' G. bast (soft inner bark, the husk of Indian corn.-Rachel For a picture of purity is it (da) here, can perceive therefrom, that our heart wollen hinein) IF we would enter into the kingdom. Baschte (to husk maize), from E. bast), applied in PG. to Bahn (1869) thus uses it"Die leut sie hocke's welshcorn ab, 'S is 'n rechte guhte crop, Un' wann's daer genunk werd sei, Noh bashte sies un' fahres eih." Dii leit sii hacke 's welschkarn ap, The people they (ab-hacken) chop off ('s, das) the maize, (es ist) it is a right good crop,' and when (es) it becomes (dürr genug) dry enough, they (darnach) afterwards husk it and (fahren) haul it in. Greisslich (to be disagreeably affected). SG. grüselig, G. gräszlich (horrible), E. grisly. Noo, danoo', danoot', nord, G. darnach (then, subsequently). 6 Schteiper, n. (Lat. stipes), a prop, as of timber. G. nautical term steiper, a stanchion. Schteipere, v.t. to prop; to set a prop. Fərhúttələ, v. intrans. Ich bin f'r-huttlt,' (I am confused, perplexed.) Ich denk dii bissness iss 'n bissli f'r-huttlt.' (I think the 'business' is a bit mixed up.) G. verhudeln (to spoil, bungle.) Paanhaas, as if, G. pfanne-hase (pan-hare). Maize flour boiled in the metsel-soup, afterwards fried and seasoned like a hare. (Compare Welsh rabbit.) The word is used in English, conjointly with scrapple. Loos (a sow), as in Swiss and Suabian. Laad, fem. (coffin), toodlaad, toodǝlaad, as in Alsace. G. die lade (chest, box, case). PG. bettlaad, Suab. bettlade, for G. bettgestell (bedstead). 1 By analogy these words should be rei, and rei heit, but as they are scarcely PG. they are given as High German. 2 This word is correct without the elisive mark, which perverts the syntax. |