Syntax.
The confusion of forms in the declension of German articles, pronouns, and adjectives, as given in print, is avoided in dialects, and on the upper Rhine all classes use the masculine nominative der for the accusative den, thus making a step towards rational grammar—the feminine die and the neuter das being equally nominative and accusative. According to Radlof, from Swisserland to Holland, on both sides of the Rhine, there is scarcely a locality where the nominative is distinguished from the accusative and the dative, and he cites as examples—"ich trinke rother Wein" (for rothen); "ich habe der Esel gesehen" (for den Esel); "ich sitze auf der Baum" (for dem Baum).[37] In PG. this rother for rothen is sometimes cut down to "root" the common PG. neuter form, particularly with the definite article, as in—
Ich trink d'r root wei˛. I drink the red wine. Was f'r wei˛ wit [willst du] trinke? What kind of wine willst drink? Ich trink tschenǝrli rooter wei˛.[36] I 'generally' drink red wine.
| Ich trink d'r root wei˛. | I drink the red wine. |
| Was f'r wei˛ wit [willst du] trinke? | What kind of wine willst drink? |
| Ich trink tschenǝrli rooter wei˛.[36] | I 'generally' drink red wine. |
G. Wir geben guten Lohn. PG. M'r gewwǝ guutǝr loo˛. We give good wages.
ǝn guutǝr freind (n guuti fraa, n guut haus) is n guut ding. A good friend (masc.), wife (fem.), house (neut.) is a good thing (neut.).
Sellǝr mann hǝt mei, huut allǝs ufgebrǝchǝ. That man has broken (meinen) my hat (alles auf) all up.
Ich bin naus in dǝr hoof un bin unsǝrǝr kats uf dǝr schwants getrettǝ, selli hǝt mich gekratst. (Nsp.) I went (hinaus) out, in (G. den Hof, m.) the yard, and trod on (G. den Schwanz) the tail of our cat, she scratched me.
... weil ich mich geschämmt hab, bin ich uf dǝr schpeichǝr geschniikt oone ǝn wǝrt tsu saaghǝ. (Nsp.) While I shamed myself, I 'sneaked' up to (den) the loft without a word to say.
G. Das Wetter ist den ganzen Tag schön gewesen. PG. s wettǝr iss d'r gants (or gans) daak schee˛ gwest. The weather has been fine the entire day.
G. Ich gehe in den Keller. PG. Ich gee in dǝr kellǝr. I am going into the cellar.
In the next, Stuhl being masculine, the nominative der is used for the dative dem, but the accusative ihn ('n) is preserved—
ær hǝt uf d'r schtuul k'hǝkt, un hǝt n f'rbrǝchǝ. He sat on the chair and has broken it.
G. Liebe deinen Nächsten, als dich selbst. Love thy neighbor as thyself. PG. Liib dei˛ nochbǝr ass wii dich selwer.
G. Lēgĕ das Buch auf dēn Tisch. Lay the book on the table. PG. Leeg s buch uf d'r tisch.
Here, if 'den tisch' were used in PG. it would rather mean 'this table,' because there is a tendency to use articles as demonstratives, saying 'dær' for G. dieser, and 'sellǝr' (G. selbiger) for G. jener,—'sel' (G. selbiges) being its neuter, and 'selli' (G. selbige) its feminine and plural. This 'sel' is found in Swisserland, and other parts of the Rhine region. Its Alsatian form tsel, with initial t, shows that it is akin to G. dasselbe. Notwithstanding its resemblance in form and function to Provensal sel or cel, French celui, celle, they are without etymologic relation. See Ch. VII., §2. p. 43, and §4, p. 45; and Ellis, Early English Pronunciation, p. 662, note 15.
'Das' (the) and 'es' (it) have a tendency to confusion under the short form 's used for both. 'Dass' (that) remains, and the neuter nominative article is changed from G. das to PG. 'des' as in 'des buch' (the book)—but as 'des buch' may mean this book, the function of the article is performed by reducing this 'des' to 's, as in—