Chapter VII · Comparisons with other Dialects.

§ 1. PG. not Swiss.

PG. is not Swiss, altho it has a number of Swiss characteristics, and the line (Radlof, 2, 68)—

"Was isch säll für e sufere kärli?"

is very near its PG. form—

Was isch sel f'r ǝ saubǝr kærli? What sort of cleanly fellow is that?

PG. has both 'ær iss' and 'ær isch' (he is) according to the locality, of which the latter may be less common. The Rev. D. Ziegler (a native, like myself) refers the 'isch' variety to the Mennonite and Dunker population, and as there were many Dunkers (or Tunkers) where my early years were passed, I heard more of this than of the other.

The indicative mood present tense of haben and sein are, with some variations, as follows (Stalder, 1, 47-50)—

Swiss. PG. Swiss. PG.

i hah; ich hab, hap, I have. i bi; ich bin, I am.

de hest; du hǝscht, thou hast. de bisch, bist; du bischt, thou art.

er hed, hett; ær hat, he has. er isch, ist; ær iss, isch, he is.

mer hend; m'r hen, we have. mer sind; m'r sin, we are.

der hend; d'r hent, you have. der sind; d'r sint, you are.

sj hend; sii hen, they have. sj sind; sii sin, they are.

Here the dative singular mir (to me) is used in the nominative plural instead of wir (we), and also in impersonal expressions; and the dative singular dir (to thee) is similarly used for Ihr (you), as in 'd'r sint' for G. Ihr seid (you are). G. Ihr habet (you have) has forced its t upon the first and third persons plural of the Swiss forms; and in PG. the second person is sometimes forced upon the third, as in the following, from the Wollenweber's Gemälde (in the German character), 1869, p. 124,—

For äbout 32 Johr z'rick, do hent unsre ... Schaffleut ... im Stenbruch geschafft, un sten gebroche, for de grosze Damm zu fixe. 'Fr ǝbaut' tswee-un-dreissich joor tsrik, do hent unsre ... schaffleit ... im schtee˛bruch geschafft, un schtee˛ gebrǝchǝ f'r di grosse 'damm' tsu fixǝ.

'For about' thirty-two years back, here have our laborers worked in the quarry, and quarried stone to 'fix' the big 'dam.' (Here the English fix and dam are used, instead of G. fixîren, and der damm.)

Here the first for may be regarded as English, but the second occurs in the Palatinate—"for den Herr Ring sehr ungünschtig" (Kobell), for Mr. Ring very unfavorable—"for sei Lügerei,"—for his truthlessness.

The next is extracted from a poem by Tobias Witmer, dated from the State of New York, June 1, 1869, printed in the 'Father Abraham' English newspaper, in roman type, and reprinted Feb. 18, 1870. The original spelling is that of Mr. Rauch, and is not reproduced. Dialectic words are spaced, and English words are here put in italics. The translation is rather free.

Geburts-Daak—An mei˛ Alti. Oo wass is schennǝr uf dǝr welt dass blimlin, root un weiss? un bloo un geel,[47] im ærblǝ[48] felt wass sin sii doch so neis! Ich wees noch guut, in seller tseit hab ich niks liiwǝrs duu˛[49] dass in dii wissǝ—lang un breit so blimlin ksuucht wii duu. Doch iss ǝs schun ǝ lang-i tseit sid'r ích dart ín dem felt, dii blimlin ksuucht, uf lang un breit, un uf dei˛ bussǝm kschpellt. D'r hent ǝmool ǝ gærtl kat— mei˛ schwestǝrli un duu; ich hab s pripeerd mit hak un schpaat dii blummǝ nei˛ tsu duu˛; un wuu ich hab im grossi schweel, dii kii dart hinnǝ ksuucht, dii leedi-schlippǝrss, weiss un geel, hab ich mit, heem gebracht, un hab sii in sel gærtl plantst bei nacht, in muundǝs licht: d'r hent s net gwist, bis juscht æt wantst[51] hent diir s gegest s war mich. Birthday—To my Wife. Oh what is finer in the world than flowrets red and white? and blue and yellow in the field how beautiful and bright. I know yet well that in that time, nought would I rather do, than in the meadows long and wide such flowrets seek as you. Yet it is quite a lengthened time, since I in yonder field, sought out the flowers far and wide, and on thy bosom pinned. You also had a garden bed— you and my sister fair, which I prepared with hoe and spade to set the flowers there; and where I in the ample vale[50] the cattle there had sought, the lady-slippers, gold, and pale, with me I homeward brought, and in that garden bed at night I set them when the moon was light. You did not know who it could be, but all at once you thought of me.

§ 2. PG. not Bavarian.

PG., Bavarian, Austrian and Suabian have the vowel of fall, and nasal vowels. In Pangkofer's Gedichte in Altbayerischer Mundart, are the PG. words 'aa' also; 'bissel' a little; 'ebbas,' G. etwas something; 'do is' there is; 'glei' (also Austrian) soon; 'sunst,' G. sonst besides; 'frumm,' G. fromm kind; 'kloo' claw; 'kumma,' G. gekommen come; Ohg. 'coman' and 'cuman' to come; 'mir' we, for G. wir; 'sel' G. dasselbe that-same; but PG. has not 'mi' me; 'di' thee; 'hoarn' horn; 'hout' has; 'thuan' to do; 'g'spoasz,' sport; 'oamal' once; 'zwoa' two, G. zwei, PG. 'tswee'; wei, PG. 'weip' wife; zon, PG. 'tsum' to the.

The following example of upper Bavarian is given by Klein,[52] beside which a PG. version is placed for comparison.

"Schau, nachbe', wàs mei' freud' is,— In suntàe', in der frûe, Gern lûs' i' in mei'n gâârt'l 'n kircheläut'n zue. "Dà is 's so still und hâemli', Kâe' lärm, kâe g'schrâe kimmt 'nei': In'n himmi kà's nit schöner W' as in mei'n gâârt'l sei'." Sii nochbǝr wass mei, freet iss! Am sundaak marrghǝ frii, Gærn hæær[53] ich in mei˛m gærtli Dii kærchǝ-bellǝ hii˛.[54] Do 's iss so schtill un heemlich, Kee˛ jacht, kee˛ kschrei kummt nei˛; Im himml kann s net schee˛nǝr Wii s in mei˛m gærtl sei.

See neighbor, what my joy is, on Sunday in the morn; I listen in my garden, to the church-bell ring. Here it is so still and calm, no turmoil, no strife comes within; in heaven (kann es nicht) it cannot be fairer than (es) it is in my little garden.

§ 3. PG. not Suabian.

The Pennsylvania Germans have traditional stories against the Suabians, although their population is in part derived from the upper (Pfalz) Palatinate; and some Suabians settled in Northumberland County, Pa., the evidence of which remains in the name of a stream, Schwaben (or Swope) Creek.

PG. resembles Suabian in using 'e, eǝ' for ö, and 'ii' for ü—in the loss of infinitive -n,—in turning final -n into a nasal vowel (as in sei˛ for seyn), and in saying 'du bischt,' 'du kannscht,' etc. (for G. du bist), 'du witt' for du willst; 'nimme' for nicht mehr; 'glei' for gleich in the sense of soon—but the adjective 'gleich' (similar) remains. PG. does not turn o into au, as in Suabian 'braut,' 'hauch,' for brot, hoch; nor cut down G. ich habe to 'i ha'; it does not add elements, as in 'bois' for G. bös, PG. 'bees,' 'bluat' for G. blut, 'reacht' for recht, 'kuine' for keine, and 'stuinige fealder' for steinige felder, a peculiarity of Suabian, Alsatian, Swiss, Bavarian and its kin Austrian. PG. has archaic 'hees' (hot) for G. heisz, but nothing like Bavarian haǝs.

Difference of pronunciation causes confusion of speech between speakers of different dialects, as shown by Dr. Rapp in his Physiolōgie der Sprache, 4, 131. In the 'Fliegende Blätter' (13, 158) there is a dialogue called 'Ein Deutsch-Böhme' (a German Bohemian), between a Bauer and a Städter—but a Swiss speaker is now added, with the rejoinder to his remark.

Bauer. Wie is de Suppe so hāsz!

Städter. Man sagt ja nicht hāsz, sondern heisz. Has [G. hase, PG. haas hare] nennt man das Thier....

Bauer. Dös hāszt bei uns Hōs!

Städter. Das ist wieder falsch. Hōs bedeutet jenes Kleidungsstück, womit Eure langen Beine bedeckt sind.

Bauer. Dös hāszt Hus!

Schweitzer. Aber mer sind jets im Huus.

Bauer. Dös iss 'n Haus!

Diminutives in PG. and Suabian are made with-li; both use 'des' for das, 'uffm' for auf dem, 'biirǝ' for birnen, 'g'hat' or 'kat' for gehabt, 'suu˛' for sohn, 'schoof' for schâf, 'Schwop' for Schwâbe, 'als' for alles, and 'as' for als.

§ 4. PG. not Alsatian.

In the very German county of Berks there is an Elsass township, which indicates an Alsatian influence. As a German province of France,[55] two languages are in use, and are taught in the schools, but the French is Germanised in pronunciation, as may be verified among the Alsatian and German servants of Paris. Being akin to Swiss and Suabian, PG. has some points in common with this dialect, without being influenced by French.

Alsatian differs from PG. in having i haa for 'ich hab,' tsel for 'sei' (G. derselbe), bluǝt for 'bluut,' ūss for 'aus,' hūs for 'haus,' tsiit for 'tseit,' bisch for 'bischt,' biim for 'bei'm,' morje for 'marrghǝ.'

PG. and Alsatian turn some b-s to w, they have the vowels of fall, what, up, and have 'prowiirǝ' for probiren, 'ass' for als, 'do' for da, 'joo' for ja, 'joor' for jahr, 'hoor' for haar, 'fun' for von, 'isch' for ist, 'jets' for jetzt, 'uff' for auf, 'druff' for dorauf, 'uff'm' for auf dem, 'raus' for daraus, 'draan' for daran, 'iwwǝr' for über, 'dno' for darnach; PG. 'ǝffǝ,' Alsat. 'offǝ,' G. ofen; 'bal' for bald, 'm'r' for wir, 'm'r muss' for man musz, 'mee' for mehr, 'welli' for welche; 'was batt s' (what boots it).

The following lines (Radlof, 2, 110) are extracted from a piece of Alsatian which well illustrates the concurrent use of two languages. The French should be read in the German mode. Other French words occur in Radlof's examples, such as allong allons, tur tour, schalu jaloux, anterpoo entrepôt, bangenet baïonnette. The original of the following is in German (gothic) and French (roman) print according to the language, here imitated by roman and italic types. The speaker is telling a friend how she was addressed by a stranger:

So kummt ä Wälscher her, und macht mit Kumblemente, Und redt mich gradzu an.—Mach er kein Spargemente,[56] Hab i glich zu ihm g'sait. Losz Er, was ich 'ne bitt, Mich mine Waih fortgehn; ich kenn de Herre nit. »Sans avoir, frout er mich, l'honneur de vous connaître, Vous êtes seule ici, voulez-vous me permettre De vous offrir mon bras pour vous accompagner?« Allez, Mousié, sa ich, allez-vous promener, Und spar Er sich die müh; Er musz sich nit trumpire, Ich bin von dene nit die mer am Arm kann führe.[57] »Vous êtes bien cruelle, arrêtez un moment,« Sait er, und kummt soglich mit sine Santimang.... Zu diene, hab i g'sait; losz Er mich aber gehn, Min Ehr erlaubt mir nit noch länger do zu stehn. »Je n'insisterai pas, mais veuillez bien m'apprendre, Si demain en ces lieux vous daignerez vous rendre.« Behüt mich Gott davor! i gib kein rendez-vus. Adié, mousié, adié, je ne vus [sic] verrai plus.

Translation.—Thus comes a Frenchman up and proceeds with compliments, and (an-redet) accosts me (gerade zu) directly. Make no formalities,[56] I said to him at once. Let me, what I beg ('ne, G. ihn) him, continue (meinen weg) my way—I know not the (herren) gentlemen. "Without having," he (frägt) asked me, "the honor of knowing you, you are alone here, will you permit me to offer you my arm to accompany you?" Go, sir, (sagte) said I, Proceed with your walk—and spare himself the trouble; he must not deceive himself, I am not of those who can be conducted on the arm.[57] "You are very cruel, stay a moment," says he—and comes at once with his sentiment.... At your service, I said, he should let me go, my honor would not allow me to stand there longer. "I do not insist, but will you kindly inform me, if to-morrow in these places you will deign to return." Preserve me heaven from it! I give no rendez-vous; adieu, sir, adieu, I will not see you more.

§ 5. PG. is akin to several South German Dialects.

Like Suabia, the name of Pfalz has disappeared from the map of Europe, and what was once the Lower Palatinate, is now to be looked for chiefly in Baden, Bavaria, and Darmstadt.

It was partly bounded by Alsatia, Baden, and Würtemberg, and Manheim was the chief city. A few examples, condensed from Kobel, will show the nearness of its dialect to PG.

So nehmt er dann desz Album desz uff 'm Tisch gelege is. So takes he then the album that is laid on the table. So is 'm glei' ei'gfalle'. So it soon happened to him. Guck emol, do is er, mer kennt 'n. Look once, here he is, one knows him. Wei is er dann do drzu kumme? How then has he come? Desz will ich Ihne sage. That I will tell you. Mer hot nix mehr vun 'm g'hört. Nothing more has been heard of him. Mir habe [PG. mr hen] alls minanner 'gesse. We ate all together. Juscht am selle Tag is e' Gascht a'kumme. Precisely on that day a guest arrived. Mit eme finschtre' Gesicht. With a dark face. Sacha macha for die Leut. To make things for people. Bsunners especially; ghat had; drbei thereby; schun already; sunscht nix besides nothing; drvun thereof; eens one; zwee two; keens none; unner under; druff on; johr year; wohr true; kummt rei [PG. rei] come in; ne no; jetz' now; gedenkt supposed; fraa woman; kopp head; weesz knows; meeschter master; e' gut' kind a good child.

The South German dialect of Breisgau has G. er hilft (he helps, PG. ær helft), g'seit (as in Alsatia) for gesagt, PG. 'ksaat,' us for G. and PG. 'aus,' i for ich, herrli for herrlich, (PG. hærrlich), wön for wollen, zît (as in Alsatia) for zeit, aue for augen (eyes, PG. aughǝ, Alsat. auǝ), de for du, gen for gegeben (given, PG. gewwǝ, sometimes suppressing ge-, to which attention has been called). Besides gen, the following Allemanic example (Radlof, 2, 99) contains wore for geworden, and uskratzt for ausgekratzt—

"Se han kurzwilt un Narrethei triebe, un am End isch der Hirt keck wore, un het em Mümmele e Schmützle gen, un se het em seldrum d'Aue nit uskratzt."

They trifled and fooled, and finally the shepherd (ist keck geworden) became bold, and (hat gegeben) gave (dem) to the water nymph a kiss, and she did not (dasselbe darum) on-that-account ('em' for ihm) scratch out his eyes.

In the following examples, the Breisgauish and PG. are probably more nearly allied than might be supposed from a comparison of the spelling. The Alsatian and PG. are in the same alphabet.

German. Breisgau. Alsace. PG. English.

regenbogen, regeboge, râjǝbâu-ǝ, reeghǝbooghǝ, rainbow.

wo, von, wu, vun, wuu, fun, wuu, fun, where, of.

da, mal, do, mol, doo, mool, doo, mool, here, times.

schaf, schof, schoof, schoof, sheep.

schlafen, schlofe, schloofǝ, schloofǝ, to sleep.

und, gelt, un, gel, un, gel, un, gel, and, truly!

wohnen, wuhne, woonǝ, wuunǝ, to reside.

kommen, kumme, kummǝ, kummǝ, to come.

gesehen, g'sehne, g'sên, kseenǝ, seen.

jahr, auch, johr, au, joor, au, joor, aa, year, also.

nachbar, nochber, nochbǝr, nochbǝr, neighbor.

nicht, nichts, nit, nix, net, niks, net, niks, not, nothing.

selbiger, seller, tsellǝr, sellǝr, that one.

es ist jetzt, 's isch jetz, ǝs isch jetz, s isch jetz, it is now.

etwas, ebbes, eppǝs, ebbǝs, eppǝs, something.

nunmehr, nummee, (nimmǝ), nummi, now.

darunter, runter, (nuntǝr), runtǝr, under.

als, einem, as, eme, as, ǝmǝ, as, mǝ, as, to a.

man kann, mer kann, m'r kann, mǝr kann, one can.

sie haben, sie hen, han, sii haan, sii hen, they have.

wir sind, mer sin, m'r sin, m'r sin, we are.

weiszt, wescht, weischt, weescht, knowest.

das, hat, des, het, des, hot, des, hǝt, the, has.

In the next three lines of Breisgauish (Radlof, 2, 95) words which agree more or less with PG. are in italic—

"Do isch au kei Plätzle meh, Here is also no spot more,

Wu i könnt mi Haupt[58] hinlege, where I might my head repose,

Wenn i vun der Arbet geh." when I from my work depart.

The following (Radlof, 2, 92) is also in the Breisgau dialect:

Siehsch de, Kind, de Regeboge,... Gel, das isch e Pracht vun Farbe,... Noeh het jetz mit de Sine E Johannisfirle g'macht, Un in Herrlikeit un Pracht Isch der Herr debi erschine, Un zum Noeh het er g'sproche: Guck, e Zeiche setz i fest, Wil de Fride mit mer hest, 's Wort des hab i niemol broche Un de Herr het's Wort au g'halte, Den der Regeboge steht, Wenn Gott au im Wetter geht, Un er loszt de Zorn nit walte. Seest thou child the rainbow,... truly it is a glory of color,... Noah has now with (the) his [people] made a (midsummer) Johannes-fire[59] and in splendor and glory the Lord (dabei) thereat appeared, and to Noah has he spoken: Behold, a sign I firmly set whilst thou (hast) keepst peace with me, the word—that have I never broken and the Lord has the word also kept, for the rainbow stands whenever God goes in the tempest, and he (läszt) allows not (den) the anger to rule.

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