§3.
Will widd'r Biiwǝli[66] sei˛. Will be a Boy again. ¶ 1. 1. .ǝs reeghǝrt heit, mr kann net naus
un s iss so 'loonsǝm' doo im haus;
mr wees net wii mr fiilt.
ich will mool duu, als wæær ich klee˛
un uf d'r éwǝrscht schpeichǝr gee˛
dart hab ich uftmools kschpiilt.It rains to-day, one cannot out,
and t'is so 'lonesome' in the house;
one knows not how one feels,
I will once do as were I small
and in the highest garret go—
there have I ofttimes played.¶ 2. 2. .ǝn biiwli bin ich widdǝr jets,
wu sin mei˛ krutsǝ un mei˛ klets?
'nau' wært n haus gebaut!
ǝs schpiilt sich doch net guut alée˛—
ich bin joo doch kee˛ biiwli mee!
was kluppt mei, hærts so laut!An urchin am I now again,
where are my corn-cobs and my blocks?
'now' will a house be built!
one plays indeed not well alone—
I am in fact no urchin more!
my heart how loud it beats!¶ 3. 3. Harrich! was 'n wunnǝrbaarǝ sach!
d'r reeghǝ rapplt uf 'm dach
gaar nimmi wii ær hǝt!
ich hab 's als kæært mit leichtǝm hærts,
nau gepts m'r arik heemwee schmærts,
kennt heilǝ wan ich wǝt.And hark! how wonderful it is!
the rain now rattles on the roof
no more as it once did!
I heard it once with buoyant heart,
but now it gives a home-sick smart,
I coúld weep if I would.¶ 5. 5. Des schpiilǝ geet net, sǝl ich fart?
was iss uf selli balkǝ dart?
'nau' bin ich widdǝr buu!
dart hen m'r keschtǝ ausgeschtreit,
tsu dærrǝ uf dii Krischdaak tseit—
deet 's gleichǝ widdǝr duu!The play succeeds not, shall I forth?
what is upon that timber there?
'now' I'm a boy again!
there did we spread the chestnuts out
to have them dry for Christmas time—
would 'like' to do t again!¶ 6. 6. .ǝn biiwli sei˛—sell iss d'r wært—
dii keschtǝ 'rooschtǝ' uf d'r hært—
was hǝt des als gekracht!
Sell iss forbei. Ich fiil 's im gmiid,[67]
es schpiilt 'n rechtǝs heemwee liid,
d'r reeghǝ uf 'm dach!To be a boy—that is worth while—
to 'roast' the chestnuts on the hearth—
what crackling that produced!
t'is gone—I feel that in my soul
it plays a real home-sick tune—
the rain upon the roof!¶ 7. 7. Dort schteet dii 'seem' alt walnus kischt,
ich wunnǝr 'nau' was dart drin isch?
's muss eppǝs 'bartich sei˛.
Kallénǝr, tseitung, bichǝr—hoo!
dii alti sachǝ hen sii doo
all sunnǝrscht-sewǝrscht[68] nei˛.There stands the 'same' old walnut chest
I wonder 'now' what may be in 't,
it must be something (abartig) rare.
Calendars—newspapers—books—oh
the olden objects have we here
all upside down within.¶ 8. 8. 'Nau' bin ich aawǝr recht ǝn buu,
weil ich do widdǝr seenǝ duu
des alt bekanntǝ sach.
Harrich! hæærscht d'r reeghǝ! 'Jes indiid'—
er schpiilt ǝn rechtǝs heemwee liid
dart oowǝ uf 'm dach!But 'now' I truly am a boy
because I now again behold
this old familiar thing.
Hark! Hearst the rain! 'Yes, yes indeed,'
it plays a proper home-sick air
up there upon the roof!¶ 13. 13. Sii henkǝ net am balkǝ mee
dii bindlǝ fun dem kreitǝr tee,
un allǝrlee gewærts;
'nau' will ich widdǝr biiwli sei˛—
ich hool sii f'r dii mammi rei˛—
sell 'pliist' mei, biiwli hærts.[69]They hang not on the cross-beams more
the bundles of botanic tea,
and every kind of root;
'now' I will be a boy again
and for my mother bring them in—
that 'pleased' my boyish heart.—Harbaugh.
| Will widd'r Biiwǝli[66] sei˛. | Will be a Boy again. | |
| ¶ 1. | 1. | |
| .ǝs reeghǝrt heit, mr kann net naus un s iss so 'loonsǝm' doo im haus; mr wees net wii mr fiilt. ich will mool duu, als wæær ich klee˛ un uf d'r éwǝrscht schpeichǝr gee˛ dart hab ich uftmools kschpiilt. | It rains to-day, one cannot out, and t'is so 'lonesome' in the house; one knows not how one feels, I will once do as were I small and in the highest garret go— there have I ofttimes played. | |
| ¶ 2. | 2. | |
| .ǝn biiwli bin ich widdǝr jets, wu sin mei˛ krutsǝ un mei˛ klets? 'nau' wært n haus gebaut! ǝs schpiilt sich doch net guut alée˛— ich bin joo doch kee˛ biiwli mee! was kluppt mei, hærts so laut! | An urchin am I now again, where are my corn-cobs and my blocks? 'now' will a house be built! one plays indeed not well alone— I am in fact no urchin more! my heart how loud it beats! | |
| ¶ 3. | 3. | |
| Harrich! was 'n wunnǝrbaarǝ sach! d'r reeghǝ rapplt uf 'm dach gaar nimmi wii ær hǝt! ich hab 's als kæært mit leichtǝm hærts, nau gepts m'r arik heemwee schmærts, kennt heilǝ wan ich wǝt. | And hark! how wonderful it is! the rain now rattles on the roof no more as it once did! I heard it once with buoyant heart, but now it gives a home-sick smart, I coúld weep if I would. | |
| ¶ 5. | 5. | |
| Des schpiilǝ geet net, sǝl ich fart? was iss uf selli balkǝ dart? 'nau' bin ich widdǝr buu! dart hen m'r keschtǝ ausgeschtreit, tsu dærrǝ uf dii Krischdaak tseit— deet 's gleichǝ widdǝr duu! | The play succeeds not, shall I forth? what is upon that timber there? 'now' I'm a boy again! there did we spread the chestnuts out to have them dry for Christmas time— would 'like' to do t again! | |
| ¶ 6. | 6. | |
| .ǝn biiwli sei˛—sell iss d'r wært— dii keschtǝ 'rooschtǝ' uf d'r hært— was hǝt des als gekracht! Sell iss forbei. Ich fiil 's im gmiid,[67] es schpiilt 'n rechtǝs heemwee liid, d'r reeghǝ uf 'm dach! | To be a boy—that is worth while— to 'roast' the chestnuts on the hearth— what crackling that produced! t'is gone—I feel that in my soul it plays a real home-sick tune— the rain upon the roof! | |
| ¶ 7. | 7. | |
| Dort schteet dii 'seem' alt walnus kischt, ich wunnǝr 'nau' was dart drin isch? 's muss eppǝs 'bartich sei˛. Kallénǝr, tseitung, bichǝr—hoo! dii alti sachǝ hen sii doo all sunnǝrscht-sewǝrscht[68] nei˛. | There stands the 'same' old walnut chest I wonder 'now' what may be in 't, it must be something (abartig) rare. Calendars—newspapers—books—oh the olden objects have we here all upside down within. | |
| ¶ 8. | 8. | |
| 'Nau' bin ich aawǝr recht ǝn buu, weil ich do widdǝr seenǝ duu des alt bekanntǝ sach. Harrich! hæærscht d'r reeghǝ! 'Jes indiid'— er schpiilt ǝn rechtǝs heemwee liid dart oowǝ uf 'm dach! | But 'now' I truly am a boy because I now again behold this old familiar thing. Hark! Hearst the rain! 'Yes, yes indeed,' it plays a proper home-sick air up there upon the roof! | |
| ¶ 13. | 13. | |
| Sii henkǝ net am balkǝ mee dii bindlǝ fun dem kreitǝr tee, un allǝrlee gewærts; 'nau' will ich widdǝr biiwli sei˛— ich hool sii f'r dii mammi rei˛— sell 'pliist' mei, biiwli hærts.[69] | They hang not on the cross-beams more the bundles of botanic tea, and every kind of root; 'now' I will be a boy again and for my mother bring them in— that 'pleased' my boyish heart. | |
| —Harbaugh. | ||
§ 4. Anglicised German.
The following factitious example, full of English words and idioms, is from a New York German newspaper, and purports to be written by a German resident in America. The spelling recalls the name Heyfleyer over a stall in the stables of the King of Wurtemberg. The writer of the letter spells his name in three ways, instead of 'Schweineberger,' as given in the tale.
Landkäsder, Penſilvenia, North-Amerika, 32. Dezr. 52.
Dheire Mudder!—Du Würſt es nit begreife kenne, alſz ich dort weck bin, hawen alle Leit geſacht, der Hannes werrd nit gud ausmache, das ich jetzt ſo gut ab binn. Awer, well, jetzt g'hör' ich zu de Tſchentel-Leit in unſre Zitti unn eeniger Männ, wo in Iurop en werri fein Männ is, dhät lachche, bikahs er gleichte ſo gut auszumache, als der John Swinebarker.
Obſchon, ich unterſtehe des Büſſeneſſ beſſer as die andre Dotſchmänn, wo eweri Teim ſo ſchlecht edſchukädet bleibe, as ſe in Iurop ware; Wer hier gleicht, gud auszumache, muſz ſich zu de amerikaniſche Tſchentel-Leit halte, wo eweri Männ Something lerne kann.
Du kannſt auch zu mein dheires Eliänorche ſage, das es kommen kann; ſie kann der hohl Däy im Rockel-Schär ſitze, ich ſend hir inkluded ſixtig Dollars, mit das kann ſie über Liwerpuhl und Nujork zu mich komme, und verbleibe Dein moſt zänkvoll Son
John Swineberger.
Boſchkrippt: Du muſt die Monni for des Bordo auslege; ich will ſend es Dir mit dem nächſte Letter.
John Schweinebärker.
FOOTNOTES:
[60] A Swiss use of the G. wüst (waste, confused, wild).
[61] This 'meed' is singular and plural, but the singular is more commonly meedl, SG. maidle, G. mädchen. It differs from maad (sing. and pl. G. magd), a female servant.
[62] Being emphasised, the accent is on the first syllable, while in 'ǝmool' (below § 2, ¶ 3) it is on the second.
[63] Condensed and transliterated from the (German) Bucks County Express, Doylestown, Pa. July 20, 1869.
[64] G. worden becomes 'warrǝ.' See §1, ¶14.
[65] Condensed from the (German) Correspondent & Demokrat, Easton, Pa. Aug. 25, 1869.
[66] The spelling of the original is 'Buwelle,' without the umlaut, which others use. The original has 'owerscht' in the fifth line, but the umlaut is in use, and seems to be required, as in Bavarian.
[67] G. gemüth.
[68] G. das unterste zu oberst (topsy-turvy). Compare PG. 'hinnǝrscht-feddǝrscht' (wrong end foremost).
[69] Transliterated extract from a longer poem in the Father Abraham, Lancaster, Pa. Feb. 1869.
[CHAPTER IX.]
English Influenced by German.
§ 1. German Words introduced.
If the Germans of Pennsylvania adopted many words from English, the English speaking population applied the appellation of German or Dutch to unfamiliar varieties of objects, such as a Dutch cheese, a German lock; or they adopted the original names, as in calling a form of curds smearcase (G. schmierkäse) in the markets and prices current. German forms of food have furnished the vicinal English with sourcrout, mush, shtreisslers, bretsels, fawstnachts,[70] tseegercase, knep (G. Knöpfe, the k usually pronounced), bower-knep, noodles; and in some of the interior markets, endive must be asked for under the name of 'æntiifi,' even when speaking English. Dutch gives crullers, but stoop (of a house) is hardly known. In English conversation one may hear expressions like "He belongs to the freindschaft" (he is a kinsman or relation); "It makes me greisslich to see an animal killed" (makes me shudder and revolt with disgust—turns my stomach). A strong word without an English equivalent.
The German idiom of using einmal (once) as an expletive, is common, as in "Bring me a chair once," and when a person whose vernacular is English says, "I am through another" (I am confused), he is using a translation of the German durch einander, PG. 'dárich ǝnánnǝr.' Of such introduced words, the following deserve mention.
Metsel-soup, originally pudding broth, the butcher's perquisite, but subsequently applied to a gratuity from the animals he has slaughtered.
Shinner, G. schinder (a knacker,[71]) an objurgatory epithet applied by butchers to farmers who compete with them in the market.
Speck, the flitch of salt bacon, particularly when boiled with sourcrout, hence, 'speck and sourcrout.'
Tsitterly, calf's-foot jelly.
Hartley, a hurdle for drying fruit.
Snits, a snit (G. schnitz, a cut), a longitudinal section of fruit, particularly apples, and when dried for the kitchen. The term is in use in districts where German is unknown.[72]
Hootsle, PG. hutsl, G. hotzel, a dried fruit; Bavar. and Suab. hutzel, a dried pear. In Pennsylvania, a peach dried without removing the stone.
Dumb (G. dumm) is much used for stupid.
Fockle (G. fackel), a fisherman's torch.
Mother (PG. from G. mutter-weh, not parturition, but) a hysterical rising in the throat. The word occurs in old and provincial English.[73]
Chipmunk, a ground-squirrel (Tamias); chip probably from its cry, and Swiss munk, a marmot.
Spook (G. Spuk), a spectre; and the verb, as—"It spooks there," "The grave-yard spooks."
Crĭstkintly (PG. Krischtkintli, G. Chrĭst Kindlein), the Christ Child who is supposed to load the chrĭstmas trees and bring presents at Christmas. Perverted in the Philadelphia newspapers to Kriss Kringle, Kriss Kingle, and Kriss Kinkle.
Christmas-tree, a well-known word for a well-known and much used object, but absent from the American dictionaries.
Bellsnickle, PG. beltsnikkl (G. Pelz a pelt, skin with hair, as a bear-skin, here used as a disguise, and perhaps associated with peltzen, to pelt,) and Nickel, Nix, in the sense of a demon. (Suab. Pelzmärte, as if based on Martin). A masked and hideously disguised person, who goes from house to house on christmas eve, beating (or pretending to beat) the children and servants, and throwing down nuts and cakes before leaving. A noisy party accompanies him, often with a bell, which has influenced the English name.
These, I suppose, were Christmas mummers, though I heard them called "Bell-schnickel."—Atlantic Monthly, October, 1869, p. 484.
Gounsh, n. and v.i. As to seesaw implies reciprocal motion, so to gounsh is to move up and down, as upon the free end of an elastic board. PG. 'Kumm, mr wellǝ gaunschǝ.' (Come, let us gounsh.) Suab. gautschen; Eng. to jounce.[74]
Hoopsisaw (PG. húppsisaa, also provincial German). A rustic or low dance, and a lively tune adapted to it. Inferior lively music is sometimes called 'hoopsisaw music,' 'a hoopsisaw tune.'[75]
Hoove, v.i. a command to a horse to back, and used by extension as in "The men hooved (demurred) when required to do more work." Used in both senses in the Swiss hüfen, imperative hüf! and Schmeller (Bayr. Wörterb. 2, 160) gives it as Bavarian.
Hussling-, or Hustling-match, PG. hossl-mætsch (with English match), a raffle. From the root of hustle, the game being conducted by shaking coins in a hat and counting the resulting heads.
Sock up, "to make a man sock up," pay a debt, produce his sack or pouch. This is uncertain, because, were a PG. expression to occur like "Du muscht ufsakkǝ" (you must sock up), it might be borrowed from English.
Boof, peach brandy. In Westerwaldish, buff is water-cider,—cider made by wetting the pomace and pressing it a second time.
Sots, n. sing. G. satz, home-made 'yeast' as distinguished from 'brewer's-yeast.'
Sandman, "The sandman is coming,"—said when children get sleepy about bedtime and indicate it by rubbing the eyes. Used thus in Westerwald and Suabia.[76] Children are warned against touching dirt by the exclamation (bæætschi).
Snoot, for snout, a widespread teutonic form.
§ 2. Family Names Modified.
With several concurrent languages, the deterioration of names is an obvious process. Among the mixed population of Baltimore, the name 'Bradley' is to a Frenchman Bras-de-long; for 'Strawberry' (alley) and 'Havre-de-grâce' (in Maryland) the Germans say Strubbel, and Hasel-im-gras; and the Irish make the following changes—
Carron (French) Scarron Schöffeler Scofield Coquerelle Corcoran van Dendriessche Driscol de Vries Freezer van Emstede Hampsted Giessen Gleason Winsiersski Winchester Grimm Grimes Fayette Street Faith St. Henning Hannon Alice Ann St. Alexander St. Rosier Rosetree Happy Alley Apple Alley
| Carron (French) | Scarron | Schöffeler | Scofield |
| Coquerelle | Corcoran | van Dendriessche | Driscol |
| de Vries | Freezer | van Emstede | Hampsted |
| Giessen | Gleason | Winsiersski | Winchester |
| Grimm | Grimes | Fayette Street | Faith St. |
| Henning | Hannon | Alice Ann St. | Alexander St. |
| Rosier | Rosetree | Happy Alley | Apple Alley |
A German with a name which could not be appreciated, was called John Waterhouse because he attended a railroad tank—a name which he adopted and placed upon his sign when he subsequently opened a small shop. A German family became ostensibly Irish by preferring the sonant phase of their initial—calling and writing themselves Grady instead of Krady; a name 'Leuter' became Lander; 'Amweg' was tried a while as Amwake and then resumed; and in a family record, the name 'George' is given as Schorts. A postoffice 'Chickis' (Chikiswalungo—place where crayfish burrow) received a letter directed to Schickgets, another Schickens Laenghaester Caunte, and 'Berks County' has been spelled Burgix Caunte.[77]
The following German and Anglicised forms may be compared,—
Albrecht Albright Leitner Lightner Bachman Baughman Leybach Libough Becker Freeauf Mayer Moyer Dock Duck Meyer Mire Eberhardt Everhart Mosser Musser Eberle Everly Mosseman Musselman Eckel Eagle Neumeyer Narmire Ege[78] Hagy? Noll Null Ewald Evalt Nüssli Nicely, Nissly Fehr Fair Oberholtzer Overholser Frey (free) Fry Pfautz Fouts, Pouts Früauf Freeauf Pfeiffer Pyfer Fusz (foot) Foose Reif (ripe) Rife Geisz (goat) Gise Reisinger Riesinger Gerber Garber Riehm Ream Giebel Gibb Roth (red) Roath, Rote Gräff Graff, -o, -ae Ruth Root Guth Good, Goot Schellenberger Shallyberger[80] Haldeman Holderman[79] Schenk Shank Herberger Harberger Scheuerman Shireman Hinkel Hinkle Schnebele Snavely Hofman Hoofman Schneider Snyder, Snider Huber Hoover Seip Sype, Sipe Kaufman Coffman Seipel Seiple, Sible Kaufroth Cuffroot Seitz Sides Kehler Kaylor Senz Sense Kochenauer Goughnour Spraul Sprowl Koick Cowhawk Stambach Stambough Krauskopf Krosskop Strein Strine Kreider Crider Valentin Felty Kreybil Graypeel WeltzhuBer BeltzhooVer[81] Kühnlein Coonly, -ley Wetter Fetter Kutz Kutts Wĭld Wilt
| Albrecht | Albright | Leitner | Lightner |
| Bachman | Baughman | Leybach | Libough |
| Becker | Freeauf | Mayer | Moyer |
| Dock | Duck | Meyer | Mire |
| Eberhardt | Everhart | Mosser | Musser |
| Eberle | Everly | Mosseman | Musselman |
| Eckel | Eagle | Neumeyer | Narmire |
| Ege[78] | Hagy? | Noll | Null |
| Ewald | Evalt | Nüssli | Nicely, Nissly |
| Fehr | Fair | Oberholtzer | Overholser |
| Frey (free) | Fry | Pfautz | Fouts, Pouts |
| Früauf | Freeauf | Pfeiffer | Pyfer |
| Fusz (foot) | Foose | Reif (ripe) | Rife |
| Geisz (goat) | Gise | Reisinger | Riesinger |
| Gerber | Garber | Riehm | Ream |
| Giebel | Gibb | Roth (red) | Roath, Rote |
| Gräff | Graff, -o, -ae | Ruth | Root |
| Guth | Good, Goot | Schellenberger | Shallyberger[80] |
| Haldeman | Holderman[79] | Schenk | Shank |
| Herberger | Harberger | Scheuerman | Shireman |
| Hinkel | Hinkle | Schnebele | Snavely |
| Hofman | Hoofman | Schneider | Snyder, Snider |
| Huber | Hoover | Seip | Sype, Sipe |
| Kaufman | Coffman | Seipel | Seiple, Sible |
| Kaufroth | Cuffroot | Seitz | Sides |
| Kehler | Kaylor | Senz | Sense |
| Kochenauer | Goughnour | Spraul | Sprowl |
| Koick | Cowhawk | Stambach | Stambough |
| Krauskopf | Krosskop | Strein | Strine |
| Kreider | Crider | Valentin | Felty |
| Kreybil | Graypeel | WeltzhuBer | BeltzhooVer[81] |
| Kühnlein | Coonly, -ley | Wetter | Fetter |
| Kutz | Kutts | Wĭld | Wilt |
So 'Schleyermacher' passed thro Slaremaker to Slaymaker; and by a similar process, farther changes may take place, like Mutsch to Much, Bertsch to Birch, Brein to Brine, Schutt to Shoot or Shut, Rüppel to Ripple, Knade (gnade grace) to Noddy, Buch to Book, Stahr to Star, Fing-er to Fin-ger, Melling-er to Mellin-jer, Stilling-er[82] to Stillin-jer, Cōver to Cŏver, Fuhrman to Foreman, Rohring[83] to Roaring, Gehman to Gayman.
Names are sometimes translated, as in Stoneroad for 'Steinweg,' Carpenter for both 'Schreiner' and 'Zimmermann,' and both Short and Little for 'Kurz' or 'Curtius.'
Part of a name may be anglicised, as in Finkbine, Espenshade, Trautwine—where the first syllable has the German sound. Fentzmaker is probably a condensation of Fenstermacher.
It is remarkable that speakers of German often use English forms of baptismal names, as Mary for Marîa, Henry for Heinrich, and John (tschan, shorter than the medial English sound) for Johannes.[84]
Of curious family names without regard to language, the following may be recorded—premising that proper names are especially subject to be made spurious by the accidents of typography.[85]
Ahl, Awl, Ammon, Annĕ, Barndollar, Baud, Bezoar, Bigging, Blades, Bohrer, Boring, Book, Bracken, Bricker (bridger), Buckwalter, Burkholder and Burchhalter (burg-holder), Byler, Candle, Candour, Care, Case, Channell, Chronister, Condit, Cooher, Cumberbus (Smith's Voyage to Guinea, 1744), Curgus or Circus, Dehoof, Dialogue, Ditto, Dosh, Eave, Eldridge (in part for Hildreth), Erb, Eyde, Eyesore (at Lancaster, Pa.), Fassnacht (G. fastnacht shrovetide), Feather, Ferry (for the Walloon name Ferree[86]); Friday, Fornaux, Furnace, Gans (goose, Gansert, Gensemer, Grossgensly), Gift (poison), Ginder, Gruel, Gutmann (good-man) Hag (hedge), Harmany, Hecter, Hepting, Herd, Heard, Hergelrat (rath counsel), Hinderer, Hock, Holzhauer and Holzhower (woodchopper), Honnafusz (G. hahn a cock), Kash, Kitch, Koffer, Landtart, Lawer, Leis, Letz, Licht, Line, Lipp, Lœb (lion), Lœwr (at St. Louis), Mackrel, Manusmith, Matt, Marrs, Mehl, Mortersteel, Mowrer (G. maur a wall), Napp, Neeper (Niebuhr?), Nohaker, Nophsker, Ochs, Over, Oxworth, Peelman, Penas (in Ohio), Pfund, Popp, Poutch, Quirk, Rathvon (Rodfong, Rautfaung), Road, Rottenstein (in Texas), Rutt, Sangmeister, Scheuerbrand, Schlegelmilch, Schlong (snake), Schœttel, Segar, Seldomridge, Senn, Service (in Indiana), Shaver, Shilling, Shinover, Shock, Shot, Showers, Skats (in Connecticut), Smout, Spoon, Springer, Steer (in Texas), Stern, Stetler, Stormfeltz, Strayer, Stretch, Stridle, Sumption, Surgeon, Swoop (a Suabian), Test, Tise, Tice (Theiss?), Tittles, Towstenberier, Tyzat (at St. Louis), Umble, Venus, Venerich,-rik, Vestal (in Texas), Vinegar('s Ferry, on the Susquehanna), Vogelsang, Wallower, Waltz, Wolfspanier, Wonder, Woolrick (for Wulfrich?), Work, Worst, Yaffe, Yecker, Yeisley, Yordea, Zeh, Zugschwerdt.
Among the following curious, incompatible, or hĭbrid[87] names, titles (except that of 'General') have been mistaken for proper names—Horatio Himmereich, Owen Reich, Caspar Reed, Dennis Loucks, Baltzer Stone, Addison Shelp, Paris Rudisill, Adam Schuh, Erasmus Buckenmeyer, Peter Pence, General Wellington H. Ent, General Don Carlos Buel, Don Alonzo Cushman, Sir Frank Howard, Always Wise (probably for Alŏîs Weiss). In November, 1867, Gilbert Monsieur Marquis de Lafayette Sproul, asked the legislature of Tennessee to cut off all his names but the last two.
FOOTNOTES:
[70] Shrove-tide cakes—with the PG. pronunciation, except st.
[71] G. Knochen (bones).
[72] A teacher asked a class—If I were to cut an apple in two, what would you call one of the pieces? "A half." And in four? "A fourth." And if I cut it in eight equal pieces, what would one of them be? "A snit!"
Compare—O, how this mother swells up toward my heart!
Hysterica passio, thou climbing sorrow,
Thy element's below.—King Lear, act 2, sc. 4, speech 20, v. 54.
—A. J. Ellis.
[74] The German word appears to be gautschen without the n. So Schmeller (Bayerisches Wörterbuch, 2, 87) "gautschen, getschen, schwanken, schaukeln." Adelung (Wörterbuch der hochdeutschen Mundart, 2, 439) explains it as a technical paper-maker's word for taking the sheets out of the mould and laying them upon the press-board, Gautschbret. He adds that a carrying chair was formerly called a Gautsche, and refers it to Kutsche and French coucher.—A. J. E.
[75] Compare Papageno's song in Mozart's Zauberflöte:
Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja
Stets lustig, heisa, hopsasa.—A. J. Ellis.
[76] Known probably throughout England. Known to me, a Londoner, from earliest childhood.—A. J. Ellis.
[77] The geographical names at the close of Chapter I. p. 6, are Kentucky, Safe Harbor, Syracuse, and Pinegrove. The drags are aloes (pronounced as in Latin!), paregoric, citrine ointment, acetic acid, hiera piera, cinnamon, Guiana pepper, gentian, cinchona, opium, hive syrup, senna and manna mixed, sulphate of zink, corrosive sublimate, red precipitate, aniline, logwood, Epsom salts, magnesia, cordial, cubebs, bichromate of potash, valerian (G. Baldrian), laurel berries, cochineal.
[78] Rhymes plaguey, even in English localities.
[79] As if from the plant elder, instead of Swiss halde, a steep or declivity—the name being Swiss.
[80] And Shellabarger, American Minister to Portugal, 1869.
[81] The 'b' and 'v' of the two forms have changed place.
[82] These names, with Rauch, Bucher, the Scotch Cochran, etc., are still pronounced correctly in English speaking localities in Pennsylvania; and at Harrisburg, 'Salade' rhymes holid'y.
[83] The organists Thunder and Rohr gave a concert in Philadelphia some years ago. In New York I have seen the names 'Stone and Flint,' and 'Lay and Hatch,' where the proper name takes precedence.
[84] In the following inscription on a building, 'bei' instead of 'von' shows an English influence. The author knew English well: was a member of the state legislature, had a good collection of English—but not of German books—and yet preferred a German inscription—
ERBAUET BEI JOHN & MARIA HALDEMAN 1790.
Inscriptions are commonly in the roman character, from the difficulty of cutting the others.
[85] As in 'Chladori' for Chladni, in the American edition of the Westminster Review for July, 1865. The name Slyvons stands on the title-page as the author of a book on Chess (Bruxelles, 1856), which M. Cretaine in a similar work (Paris, 1865) gives as Solvyns. Upon calling Mr. C.'s attention to this point, he produced a letter from the former, signed Solvyns.
[86] The forms of this name are Ferree, Ferrie, Fuehre, Ferie, Verre, Fiere, Firre, Ferry, Feire, Fire; and as 'Ferree' is now pronounced Free, this may be a form also. In the year 1861, when in Nassau, I observed that the English visitors pronounced the name of a building in four modes, one German and three not German—Bâdhaus, Bath-house, Bad-house, and Bawd-house.
[87] Latin HIBRIDA. I have marked the first English syllable short to dissociate it from the high-breed of gardeners and florists, which 'hȳbrid' suggests.
[CHAPTER X.]
Imperfect English.
§ 1. Broken English.
Specimens of English as badly spoken by Germans who have an imperfect knowledge of it, are common enough, but they seldom give a proper idea of its nature. The uncertainty between sonant and surd is well known, but like the Cockney with h, it is a common mistake to suppose that the misapplication is universal,[88] for were this the case, the simple rule of reversal would set the speakers right in each case.
It is true that the German confounds English t and d, but he puts t for d more frequently than d for t. In an advertisement cut from a newspaper at Schwalbach, Nassau, in 1862—
Ordres for complet Diners or simples portions is punctually attented to and send in town—
there seems to be a spoken reversal of t and d, but I take 'send' to be an error of grammar, the pronunciation of the speaker being probably attentet, and sent. "Excuse my bad riding" (writing) is a perversion in speech. A German writes 'dacke' take, 'de' the, 'be' be, 'deere' deer, 'contra' country, and says:—
I am æbple [able] to accommodeted with any quantity of dis kins of Ruts [kinds of roots]. Plies tirectad to ... Sout Frond Stread ... nort america.
Here there is an attempt at the German flat p (p. 11) in the b of 'able'; the surd th of 'north' and 'south' becomes t, and the sonant th of 'this' becomes d—'with' remaining under the old spelling. The p of 'please' remains, but d of 'direct' becomes t; and while final t of 'front' and 'street' becomes d, the first t in 'street,' and that in 'directed,' are kept pure by surd s and cay. The rule of surd to surd and sonant to sonant is neglected in most of the factitious specimens of broken English.
The next is an instructive and a genuine example, being the record of a Justice of the Peace in Dauphin County (that of Harrisburg, the State Capital). It will be observed that the complainant bought a house, and being refused possession, makes a forcible entry and is resisted. The spelling is irregular, as in 'come' and 'com,' 'the' and 'de,' 'did' and 'dit,' 'then' and 'den,' 'nothin' and 'nosing,' 'house' and 'hause,' 'put' and 'but,' 'open' and 'upen.'
The said ... sait I dit By de hause and I went in de hause at de back winder and den I dit upen de house and Dit take out his forniture and nobotty Dit disstorbe me till I hat his forniture out; I did but it out in de streat Before the house; and then he dit Com Wis a barl and dit nock at the dore that the Dore dit fly open and the molding dit Brack louse[89] and then I dit Wornt him not to come in the hause and not to put anneysing in the hause and he dit put in a barl Into the hause and I did put it out and he dit put it in again and then he did put In two Sisses[90] and srout the barl against Me; and then I dit nothin out anneymore and further nosing more; Sworn & Subscript the Dey and yeare above ritten before me.... J. P.—Newspaper.
The beginning and close follow a legal formula. The PG. idiom which drops the imperfect tense runs through this, in expressions such as 'I did open,' 'I did put,' 'I did warned,' etc.; but as might be expected, the English idiom is also present, in 'I went' and 'he throwed.' Making allowance for reminiscences of English spelling, and the accidents of type, this is an excellent specimen of the phases of English from German organs. It shows that sonants and surds do not always change place, as in did, nobody, disturb, out, that, not, come, which are not necessarily turned into tit, nopotty, tisdurp, oud, dad, nod, gum.[91]
In the foregoing example, the final t of went (where some might have expected 'wend'), dit for 'did,' hat for 'had,' streat, wornt for 'warned,' put, srout for 'throwed,' and subscript,—is for Latin -AT -US, English -ed, and as this is t in German, it is retained by the language instinct, even when represented by 'd,' as in gol-d. Were there not something different from mere accident here, Grimm's Law would be a delusion. The t of out, disturb, and the first one in street, is due to the surd s beside it, or in the German aus and strasze.
In the, de; then, den; wis; anneysing, nosing; srout, the sonant th becomes d by glottōsis,[92] and the surd one s by otōsis, or t by glottosis also, and 'nothing' is more likely to become nossing or notting, than nodding—and English z is not known to many German dialects. On the other hand, z as the representative of sonant th, is legitimate in the broken English of a Frenchman.
The p of 'open' and the g of 'against' are influenced by the German forms öffnen and gegen.
In "I dit nothin out annezmore"—any is made plural, and 'did out' (for the previous 'put out') seems to be a reminiscence of the German austhun.
§ 2. The Breitmann Ballads.
In these ballads Mr. Leland has opened a new and an interesting field in literature which he has worked with great success, for previous writers wanted the definite, accurate knowledge which appears in every page of Hans Breitmann, and which distinguishes a fiction like the Lady of the Lake from a figment like Hiawatha. Here we have an attempt to represent the speech of a large class of Europèan[93] Germans who have acquired English imperfectly, and who must not be confounded with the Pennsylvania German, altho the language of the two may have many points in common.
Apart from their proper function, and under their present spelling, the Breitmann ballads have but little philologic value. Instead of being the representative of an average speech, they contain forms which can hardly occur, even when influenced by the perversity of intentional exaggeration, such as shbeed, shdare, shdory, ghosdt, exisdt, lefdt, quesdions, excepdion, and where the sonant d occurs beside the surd sh, f, and t, in the lines:—
'De dimes he cot oopsetted1 1 oopsettet. In shdeerin lefdt und righdt.2 2 G. recht. Vas ofdener3 as de cleamin shdars4 3 G. öfter 4 shtarrss. Dat shtud de shky5 py6 nighdt.' 5 sky. 6 G. bei.
| 'De dimes he cot oopsetted1 | 1 oopsettet. | |
| In shdeerin lefdt und righdt.2 | 2 G. recht. | |
| Vas ofdener3 as de cleamin shdars4 | 3 G. öfter 4 shtarrss. | |
| Dat shtud de shky5 py6 nighdt.' | 5 sky. 6 G. bei. |
In these pages an average speech is assumed as the basis of comparison, and also the average German who does one thing or avoids another in language. In such examples of bad English, surd and sonant (p,b; t,d; k,gay) must be confused, and German words like 'mit' for with, and 'ding' (rather than 'ting' or 'sing') for thing, may be introduced at discretion, as in Mr. Leland's use of ding, mit, blitzen, erstaunished (for -isht), Himmel, shlog, and others.
When German and English have the same phrase, it should be preserved, book (G. buch) has a sonant initial and a surd final in both languages; a German therefore, who brings his habits of speech into English, will not be likely to call a book a boog, poog, or pook; and Mr. Leland's habits as a German scholar have led him to write book, beer (and bier), fear, free, drink, denn, trink, stately, plow, born, dokter, togeder, hart (hard), heart, tead (dead), fought, frolic, goot, four, hat (had, hat,—but in the latter sense it should have been het), toes, dough (though), tousand, pills, etc. Under this rule, his 'ploot' and 'blood' (G. blut) should have been blut:—
benny penny dwice tvice pefore before prown brown blace place fifdy fifty pegin begin py by blaster plaster giss kiss pehind behint prow brow breest priest led let plue blue sed to set creen green mighdy mighty pone bone streed shtreet deers tears pack n. back prave brafe veet feet dell tell pall băll pranty brandy vifdeen fifteen den ten peard beart preak break vine fine dwelve tvelf pecause becauss prings bringss wide vite
| benny | penny | dwice | tvice | pefore | before | prown | brown |
| blace | place | fifdy | fifty | pegin | begin | py | by |
| blaster | plaster | giss | kiss | pehind | behint | prow | brow |
| breest | priest | led | let | plue | blue | sed | to set |
| creen | green | mighdy | mighty | pone | bone | streed | shtreet |
| deers | tears | pack n. | back | prave | brafe | veet | feet |
| dell | tell | pall | băll | pranty | brandy | vifdeen | fifteen |
| den | ten | peard | beart | preak | break | vine | fine |
| dwelve | tvelf | pecause | becauss | prings | bringss | wide | vite |
In cases where the two languages do not agree in phase, either phase may be taken, as in 'troo' or 'droo' for English through with a surd initial, beside German durch with a sonant; but as German cognate finals are more likely to be surd than sonant (as in lockwouth for logwood at the end of Ch. I. p. 6), goot, hart and holt, as breitmannish forms, are better than good, hard, and hold. Mr. Leland practically admits this, as in 'barrick' (G. berg, a hill), which, however, many will take for a barrack.[94] The following have a different phase in German and English:—
day tay door toor -hood -hoot red ret ding ting dream tream hund- huntert said set dirsty tirsty drop trop middle mittle saddle sattle done tone fader fater pad path drink trink
| day tay | door toor | -hood -hoot | red ret |
| ding ting | dream tream | hund- huntert | said set |
| dirsty tirsty | drop trop | middle mittle | saddle sattle |
| done tone | fader fater | pad path | drink trink |
but k, and the pure final German s would turn d to t in 'bridges,' 'brackdise,' 'outsides,' 'holds,' 'shpirids;' it would turn g to k in 'rags,' and it makes 'craps' (crabs) correct. The power of English z can scarcely be said to belong to average German, or to the breitmannish dialect; it should therefore be ss in 'doozen,' 'preeze' (breeze), and 'phaze.' When it is present it occurs initial, and we have 'too zee' once, against numerous s initials like see, sea, say, so, soul, six.
The ballads have many irregularities in spelling like—as, ash; is, ish; one, von; two, dwo; dwelf, dwelve, twelve, zwölf (for tvelf); chor, gorus; distants, tisaster; dretful; tredful; eck (the correct form), egg; het, head, headt; groundt, cround, croundt; land, lantlord, Marylandt; shpirid, shpirit, shbirit; drumpet, trumpet; foorst, foost, first, virst; fein, vine; went, vent; old, olt, oldt; teufel, tyfel, tuyfel.
English J is placed in soobjectixe, objectified, jail, jammed, juice, jump (shoomp, choomp); it is represented by sh in shoost, shiant, shinglin; by ch (correctly) in choin, choy, choke, enchine; by g, dg in change, hedge; and by y in Yane and soobjectifly—which is not objectionable. English Ch remains in catch, child, chaps (and shaps), fetch, sooch, mooch; and it becomes sh in soosh (such), shase, sheek.
English Sh is proper in shmoke, shmile, shplit, shpill, shpoons, shtart, shtick, shtrike, shtop, shvear; it is omitted in smack, stamp, slept; and it is of doubtful propriety in ash (as), ashk, vash (was), elshe, shkorn, shkare, shky.
English D final is often written dt that the word may be recognised and the sound of t secured, as in laidt, roadt, shouldt, vouldt, findt, foundt, roundt (and round), vordt (and vord), obercoadt. English ed and its equivalents should be et or t in broken English, as in loadet, reconet, pe-markt, riset, signet, rollet, seemet, slightet, declaret, paddlet, mate (made), kilt; -ed being wrong, as in said, coomed, bassed, scared, trinked, smashed, rooshed, bleased.
English F, V, W, receive the worst treatment, and are judged by the eye rather than by speech. German folgen and English follow are turned into 'vollow'; German weil is 'vhile' and 'while.' Other examples are wind and vindow; vhen, vhenefer (turning not only German v, but English v into f), fery for very,—but svitch, ve (we), veight, vink, are proper. The following example is from 'Schnitzerl's Philosopede'—
'Oh vot ish all1 dis eartly pliss? 1 ol in folly. Oh, vot ish4 man's soocksess?2 2 sooccess. Oh, vot is various kinds3 of dings? 3 s turns d into t. Und vot is4 hoppiness? 4 iss or ish, not both. Ve find a pank node in de shtreedt,5 5 shtreet. Next[-sht]6 dings 6 der pank ish 7 preak! 6 dingss. 7 d requires b. Ve folls1 und knocks our outsides 8 in, 8 G. seit, and final s, require t. Ven ve a ten-shtrike make.'
| 'Oh vot ish all1 dis eartly pliss? | 1 ol in folly. | |
| Oh, vot ish4 man's soocksess?2 | 2 sooccess. | |
| Oh, vot is various kinds3 of dings? | 3 s turns d into t. | |
| Und vot is4 hoppiness? | 4 iss or ish, not both. | |
| Ve find a pank node in de shtreedt,5 | 5 shtreet. | |
| Next[-sht]6 dings 6 der pank ish 7 preak! | 6 dingss. 7 d requires b. | |
| Ve folls1 und knocks our outsides 8 in, | 8 G. seit, and final s, require t. | |
| Ven ve a ten-shtrike make.' |
FOOTNOTES:
[88] A boy in the street in Liverpool (1866) said to a companion—"'e told me to 'old up my 'ands an' I 'eld em up." He did not say hup, han' hI, hem.
[89] Compare with a word in the following note sent to a druggist in Harrisburg, Pa. "Plihs leht meh haf Sohm koh kohs Peryhs ohr Sähmting darhts guht vohr Ah lihttel Dahg Gaht lausse vor meh." [Louse for loose is common in the north of England. Thus in Peacock's Lonsdale Glossary (published for the Philological Society, 1869) we find: "Louse, adj. (1) loose. O.N. laus, solutus. (2) Impure, disorderly.—v.t. to loose. "To lowse 'em out on t' common" = To let cattle go upon the common.—To be at a louse-end. To be in an unsettled, dissipated state.—Lous-ith'-heft, n. a disorderly person, a spendthrift."—A. J. Ellis.]
[90] The two shows that this is a plural. When recognised, it will be observed that the law of its formation is legitimate.
[91] For the word 'twenty-five,' the speaking and singing machine of the German Faber said tventy-fife, in imitation of its fabricator, using t and f because they occur in the German word. Similarly, feif for five appears in the following joke from an American German newspaper:—
"Ein Pennſylvaniſch-Deutſcher hatte zwei Pferde verloren und ſchickte folgende Annonce: Ei loſt mein tu Horſes! Der wonne iſt a Sarrelhors, langen Schwanzthäl, ſchort abgekuthet, aber weederum ausgrown; der annerwonn is bläcker, aber mit four weiht Fieht un en weiſzen Strich in his Fähs. Hu will bring mein tu Horſes bäck to mi, will rezief feif Thalers reward."
[92] Hald. Analytic Orthography, § 294.
[93] This accent is not wanted for Englishmen of the present day. Noah Webster (Dissertations on the English Language, Boston U.S. 1789, p. 118) says: "Our modern fashionable speakers accent European on the last syllable but one. This innovation has happened within a few years.... Analogy requires Euro'pean and this is supported by as good authorities as the other." He adds in a footnote. "Hymenean and hymeneal are, by some writers, accented on the last syllable but one; but erroneously. Other authorities preserve the analogy." Milton has hymenéan, P. L. 4, 711. Milton's line "Epicurean, and the Stoic severe," P. Reg. 4 280, is strange, however the word may be accented; Shakspere's "keep his brain fuming; Epicúrean cooks," A. and C., act 2, sc. 1, sp. 9, v. 24, is distinct enough. If the long diphthong or vowel in Latin were a proper guide, we should have to say inimī'cal, doctrī'nal, amī'cable. These words are accented on the same plan as those taken from the French. And this would give the common Eurō'pean, which is now strictly tabooed.—A. J. Ellis.
[94] The probable breitmannish form of scythes is given in these pages. Compare "Pargerswill, Box [Parkersville, Bucks] Kaundie Pensilfäni."
Chickis, near Columbia, Pennsylvania,
Feb. 16, 1870.