The ground-squirrel is named 'fensǝmeissli' (fence-mouselin, fence being English); a large grey squirrel is called 'eech-haas' (for eich-hase, oak-hare); and in Austria a squirrel is akatzel and achkatzel (oak-kitten). The burrowing marmot (Arctomys monax), known as ground-hog, is called 'grun'daks' (from a fancied analogy with the German dachs or badger) and in York County 'grundsau,' a translation of the English name. The English patridge (partridge, Dutch patrijs) is Germanised into 'pattǝreesǝli'—also called 'feld-hinkli' (little field-chicken),—hinkl being universally used for chicken or chickens.
The usual perversions by otōsis occur, as in the city of Baltimore, where foreign Germans say 'Ablass' for Annapolis and 'Kälber Strasze' (Street of Calves) for Calvert Street—but the citizens themselves have replaced the vowel of what with that of fat, in the first syllable of this name; and the people of New York now pronounce 'Beekman Street' with the syllable beak instead of bake according to the earlier practice.
A German botanist gave 'Gandoge' as the locality of an American plant; a package sent by express to 'Sevaber' (an English name), and a letter posted to the town of 'Scur E Quss, Nu Yourck,' arrived safely; and I have seen a handboard directing the traveller to the English-named town of 'Bintgrof.' As these present no special difficulty, they are not explained.
English rickets for 'rachîtis' is a familiar example of otōsis, and it appears in the following names of drugs furnished by a native druggist who speaks both languages, and who was able to determine the whole from the original prescriptions.
Allaways, Barrickgerrick, Sider in de ment, Essig of Iseck, Hirim Packer, Cinment, Cienpepper, Sension, Saintcun, Opien, High cyrap, Seno and mano miset, Sking, Coroces suplement, Red presepeite, Ammeline, Lockwouth, Absom's salts, Mick nisey, Corgel, Chebubs, By crematarter potash, Balderyon, Lower beans, Cots Shyneel.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Un-ab-häng-ig, un-off-hang-ing, in-de-pend-ent, Polish nie-za-wis-ty.
[2] Allentown has just completed one of the finest public school buildings in Eastern Pennsylvania.—Newspaper, February, 1870.
[3] As if 'hühn-kel weihe' chicken hawk, 'wai' rhyming with boy.
[4] In an article on (the) "Pennsylvania Dutch" in the 'Atlantic Monthly' (Boston, Mass., Oct., 1869, p. 473), it is asserted that "the tongue which these people speak is not German, nor do they expect you to call it so." On the contrary, the language is strictly a German dialect, as these pages prove. The mistake has arisen from the popular confusion between the terms Dutch and German, which are synonymous with many. In Albany (New York) they speak of the Double Dutch Church, which seems to have been formed by the fusion of a 'German Reformed' with a 'Dutch Reformed' congregation. These are different denominations, now greatly anglicised. In 1867 the Rev. J. C. Dutcher was a Dutch Reformed pastor in New York.