PHONOLOGY OF PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.
§ 1. _Use of the Alphabet._
In his "Key into the Languages of America," London, 1643, Roger Williams
says that "the life of all language is pronuntiation"--and in the
comparison of dialects it deserves especial attention. To enable the
reader the more readily to understand these pages, and to compare the
words with literary German, the principles of German orthography will be
used as far as they are consistent, but every letter or combination is
in every case to be pronounced according to the power here
indicated--except in literal quotations, where the originals are
followed. A single vowel letter is always to be read short, and when
doubled it must have the same sound, but lengthened--but as a single
vowel letter is often read long in German, and as short vowels are often
indicated by doubling a consonant letter, this absurd mode is sometimes
used to prevent mispronunciation through carelessness.[6] The 's' is
also sometimes doubled to prevent it from becoming English 'z' with
readers who, in careless moods, might rhyme 'as' (as) with _has_ instead
of _fosse_. In a PG. poem of Rachel Bahn, commencing with--
"Wie soothing vocal music is!
Wie herrlich un wie schoe!"
most English readers would be likely to rhyme 'is' with _phiz_ instead
of _hiss_, which will be prevented by writing 'iss,' etc.
Although I have visited various counties of the State at distant
intervals, the facts given here pertain chiefly to a single locality, so
that if it is stated, for example, that 's' with its English sound in
'misery' does not occur, or that 'kǝp' (head) is used to the exclusion
of _haupt_, it is not intended to assert that such a sound as _z_, or
such a word as _haupt_, have not a local existence. In fact, although
they are not recorded here, English _z_, _w_, and _v_, may be common
enough. A German confounds _met_ and _mat_, _cheer_ and _jeer_, and when
he becomes able to pronounce them all, he not unfrequently creates a new
difficulty, and for _cherry_ says _jărry_ (rhyming _carry_), and
after he has acquired sounds like English _z_, _w_, and _v_, they might
readily slip into his German speech.
The letter _b_ and its spirant (German _w_) both occur, and the latter
often replaces _b_, in one region 'ich haw' (I have) replaces 'ich hab,'
German _ich habe_, and 'nit' replaces 'net' (not), German _nicht_. The
vowels of _up_ and _ope_ interchange, as in 'kǝch' or 'koch' (cook)
'nǝch' or 'noch' (yet); and it is difficult to determine whether the
prefixes _ge_-and _be_-have the vowel of _bet_ or _but_. Lastly, the
nasal vowels are by some speakers pronounced pure. Should discrepancies
be found upon these points, they are to be attributed rather to the
dialect than to the writer--or to the two conjointly.
§ 2. _The Vowels._
E. indicates _English_; G. _German_; SG. _South German_; PG.
_Pennsylvania German_ (or 'Dutch');.a preceding dot indicates what would
be a capital letter in common print. It is used where capital forms have
not been selected, as for æ.
a in wh_a_t, n_o_t; PG. kat (G. gehabt) _had_; kats _cat_.
aa (ah[7]) in f_a_ll, _o_rb; PG. haas _hare_; paar _pair_; haan
(G. hahn) _cock_; tsaam (G. zaum) _bridle_.
_a_ in _a_isle, h_e_ight, _o_ut. In a few cases it is written â.
See under the dipthongs.
æ (ä, e[1]) in f_a_t; hær (G. Herr) _Sir_; dær (and d'r, G. der)
_the_; hærn (G. hirn) _brain_; schtærn, pl. schtærnǝ (G. stern)
_star_; mær (G. mähre) _mare_; ærscht (G. erst) _first_; wærts-haus
(G. wirtshaus) _inn_.
ææ (ä, äh) in b_aa_, the preceding vowel lengthened.[8] PG. bæær
(G. bär) _bear_; kæær E. _car_.
e (ä, ö) in b_e_t; PG. bet _bed_; net (G. nicht) _not_; apnémǝ
(G. abnahme _decline_) PG. a wasting disease; het (G. hätte
_had_), which, with some other words, will sometimes be written
with ä (hätt) to aid the reader. In a few cases it is lengthened
(as in thêre), when it is written ê, as in French.
ee (ä, äh, eh, ö) in _a_le; PG. meel (G. mehl) _meal_; eel (G. öl)
_oil_.
ǝ (e, o, a) in b_u_t, mention;[9] PG. kǝp (G. kopf) _head_;
lǝs (G. lasz) _let_, hawǝ (_a_ short, G. haben) _to have_.
i (ü, ie, ö) in f_i_nn_y_; niks (G. nichts) _nothing_; tsrik (G.
zurück) _back_; míglich (G. möglich) _possible_; lít'rlich (G.
liederlich) _riotous_.
ii (ih, ie, ü) in f_ee_l; fiil (G. viel) _much_; dii (G. die)
_the_; riiwǝ (G. rübe) _turnip_; wiischt (G. wüst, ü long)
_nasty_. It is the French î, which is sometimes used in these
pages.
o in _o_-mit; los _loose_; hofnung _hope_. English _o_ pronounced
quickly.
oo in d_oo_r, h_o_me; wool (G. wohl) _well_; groo (G. grau)
_grey_.
u in f_u_ll, f_oo_t; mus (G. musz) _must_; fun (G. von) _of_.
uu (uh) in f_oo_l; kuu (G. kuh) _cow_; guut (G. gut) _good_.
The true 'a' of _a_rm does not occur, except approximately in the
initial of au and ei. The proper sounds of ä, ö, ü are absent, and if
these letters are used in a few cases to enable the reader to recognise
words, the two former will be restricted to syllables having the vowel
sound in _met_, and 'ü' to such as have that in _fit_.
§ 3. _The Dipthongs._
ei (eu) in h_ei_ght, _ai_sle, German ei, with the initial '_a_'
(italic) of Mr. Ellis (in his _Early English Pronunciation_), 'eu'
has the same power in PG.
ai in b_oy_, _oi_l; somewhat rare, but present in the names Boyer,
Moyer (from Meyer), ai (G. ei) _egg_; ajǝr (aajǝr, aijǝr)
_eggs_; hai (G. heu) _hay_; bai (sounding like E. boy, and from
E.) _pie_; wai (G. weihe) _hawk_. Literary German has it in
'bäume' _trees_, and 'eu' (which is properly ǝi) is usually
confounded with it in German.
ǝi, which Mr. Ellis (_ibid._) gives as the power of English 'ai'
(aisle) in London, occurs in the PG. exclamation 'hǝi,' used in
driving cows, and naturalised in the vicinal English. Slavonic has
(in German spelling) huj, and Hungarian hü, used in driving swine.
Compare Schmidt, Westerwäld. Idiot., p. 276.
au in h_ou_se; G. haus, PG. haus. English 'ou' is thus pronounced
in adopted words like 'County,' or 'Caunty,' 'Township' or
'Taunschip.'
_Care must be taken_ not to confound the initial of these pairs,
for G. and PG. 'eis' (ice) and 'aus' (out) have the same initial
vowel, while 'aistǝr' would spell _oyster_.
§ 4. _Nasal Vowels and Dipthongs._
PG. is not a harsh dialect, like Swiss. It has, however, the Suabian
feature of nasal vowels,[10] but to a less extent. They will be
indicated with (˛) a modification of the Polish mode. This nasality
replaces a lost _n_ (but not a lost _m_), and it does not pervert the
vowel or dipthong, as in the French _un_, _vin_, as compared with _une_,
_vinaigre_. Nor does it affect all vowels which have been followed by
_n_, for most of them remain pure. Nasal 'ee' (in _they_, French _é_) is
very common, but does not occur in French, and French _un_ does not
occur in PG. Being unaware of the existence of this feature, the writers
of the dialect neglect it in the printed examples, which makes it
difficult for a foreigner to comprehend them, because a word like 'aa'
(the English syllable _awe_) would stand for G. _auch_ (also), and when
nasal (aa˛) for G. _an_ (on); and 'schtee' would represent both the
German _stehe_ and _stein_, as in saying 'I stand on the stone'--
G. Ich stehe auf dem stein.--PG. ich schtee uf m schtee˛.
The following words afford examples:--
aa˛-fang-ǝ (G. anfangen) _to begin_; alée˛ (G. alleín)
_alone_; schee˛ (G. schön) _handsome_; bee˛ (G. bein, pl.
beine) _leg_, _legs_; kee˛ (G. kein) _none_; grii˛ (G. grün)
_green_; duu˛ (G. thun) _to do_. Was hǝt ær geduu˛? (G. Was
hat er gethan?) _what has he done?_ mei˛ (G. mein, meine) _my_;
dei˛ (G. dein) _thy_; nei˛ (G. hinein) _within_; ei˛ being
the only nasal dipthong.
The obscurity arising from a neglect of the nasal vowels appears in the
following lines--
"Die amshel singt so huebsch un' feih,
Die lerch sie duht ihr lied ah neih;" ...
"Awhaemle duht mich eppes noh."--_Rachel Bahn._
Final _n_ is not always rejected, but remains in many words, among which
are--'in' _in_; 'bin' _am_; 'un' _and_; 'iin'(him)
G. _ihn_ (but hii˛ for G. _hin_ thither); 'fun' (from) G. _von_; 'wan'
(when); 'hen' (have) G. _haben_; 'kan' (can); 'schun' (already) G.
_schon_.
German infinitives in-en end in-ǝ in PG., a vowel not subject to
nasality, so that when G. _gehen_ (to go) remains a dissyllable it is
'gee'ǝ,' but when monosyllabised it becomes 'gee˛'--this vowel being
nasalisable. Similarly, G. _zu stehen_ (to stand) becomes 'tsu
schteeǝ' and 'tsu schtee˛;' G. _zu thun_ (to do) may be 'tsu
tuu˛'--'tsu tuuǝ' or (with _n_ preserved) 'tsu tuunǝ,' and G.
_gehen_ (to go) may have the same phases.
§ 5. _The Consonants._
The Germanism of confusing b, p; t, d; k, g, is present in PG. and they
are pronounced _flat_, that is, with more of the surface of the organs
in contact than in English--a characteristic which distinguishes German
from languages of the Dutch and Low-Saxon (Plattdeutsch) type.[11] This
must be remembered in reading the examples, in which the ordinary usage
of these letters will be nearly followed.
The consonants are b, ch, d, f, g (in _g_et, _g_ive), gh, h, j (English
_y_), k, l, m, n, ng, p, r (trilled), s (in _s_eal, not as in mi_s_er),
sch (in _sh_ip), t, w (a kind of _v_ made with the lips alone). 'ch'
has the two usual variations as in _recht_ and _buch_, and its sonant
equivalent 'gh' (written with 'g' in German) presents the same two
phases, as in G. _regen_ and _bogen_. 'ng' before a vowel as in
_singer_, hence 'finger' is _fing-er_ and not _fing-ger_. 'n' before
'k' is like 'ng,' as in G. _links_ (on the left), which is pronounced
like an English syllable. Vowels to be repeated are indicated by a
hyphen, as in ge-ennǝrt (altered), nei-ichkeit (novelty).
Should letters be wanted for English j, z, v, w, the first may have
_dzh_, and the others italic _z_, _v_, _w_, with ks for x.
As the reader of English who speaks PG. can learn the German alphabetic
powers in half an hour, PG. should be written on a German basis, and not
according to the vagaries of English spelling, with its uncertainty and
reckless sacrifice of analogy. In print, PG. should appear in the
ordinary roman type, in which so many German books are now
published.[12]
§ 6. _Stein or Schtein?_
The sequents _sp_, _st_, are perhaps universally converted into 'schp'
and 'scht' in PG., as in 'geescht' for _gehest_, 'hascht' for _hast_,
'Kaschp'r' for _Caspar_, 'schtee˛' for _stein_, and 'schpeck' for
_speck_, all of which are genuine German, as distinguished from Saxon,
Anglo-saxon, and Hollandish, because _S is incompatible before labials_
(w, m, p) _and dentals_ (l, n, t) _in High German_. Hence, where Dutch
has _zwijn_, _smidt_, and _speelen_, German has _schwein_, _schmidt_,
and _schpielen_; and for Dutch forms like _slijm_, _snee_, and _steen_,
German has _schleim_, _schnee_, and _schtein_; but as the German uses
the conventional spellings 'spielen' and 'stein,' he is apt to fancy
that a law of speech is of less importance than the flourishes of a
writing-master, or the practice of a printing-office, even when his own
speech should teach him the law.
That German has this feature practically, is proved by the fact that
words apparently in sp-, st-, become schp-, scht-, when adopted into
Russian, although this language has initial sp-, st-,--a transfer of
_speech_ rather than of _spelling_, which is as old as the thirteenth
century, when the Old High German 'spiliman' (an actor) went into Old
Slavonic as (using German spelling) 'schpiljman,' where 'spiljman'
would have been more in accordance with the genius of the language.
§ 7. _Vowel Changes._
Altho the pronunciation of many words is strictly as in High German,
there are the following important variations. German _a_ becomes
normally the vowel of _what_ and _fall_, but it has the Swiss
characteristic of closing to 'o,' as in 'ool' (eel) G. _aal_; 'ee˛
mool' (once) G. _ein mal_; 'woor' (true) G. _wahr_; 'joor' (year) G.
_jahr_; 'frooghǝ' (to ask) G. _fragen_; 'frook' (a question) G.
_frage_; 'doo' (there) G. _da_; 'schloofǝ' (to sleep) G. _schlafen_;
'schtroos' (street) G. _strasze_; 'nooch' (towards) G. _nach_; 'hoor'
(hair) G. _haar_, but 'paar' (pair) and others do not change.
The vowel of _fat_ occurs in 'kschær' (harness) G. _geschirr_;
'hærpscht' (autumn) G. _herbst_; færtl (fourth) G. _viertel_; kærl
(fellow) G. _kerl_.
German 'o' becomes 'u,' as in 'kumǝ' (_u_ short, see § 2) _to come_,
Austrian kuma, G. _kommen_; 'schun' (already) G. _schon_; 'fun' (of) G.
_von_; 'wuunǝ' (to reside) G. _wohnen_; 'wuu' (where) G. _wo_; 'sun'
(sun) Austr. sunn, G. _sonne_; 'suu˛' and 'suun' (son) G. _sohn_;
'númitaag' and 'nómidaak' (afternoon) G. _nachmittag_; 'dunǝrschtaag'
(thursday) G. _donnerstag_; 'hunich' (honey) G. _honig_.
German 'ei' is often 'ee,' as in 'heem' (home) G. _heim_; 'deel' (part)
G. _theil_; 'seef' (soap) G. _seife_; 'bleech' (pale) G. _bleich_; eens
(one) G. _eins_; 'tswee' (two) G. _zwei_.
Irregular forms appear in 'maulwarf' (mole) G. _maulwurf_; 'blĕs'
(pale, rhyming _lace_) G. _blass_; 'siffer' (tippler) G. _säufer_;
'schpoot' (late) G. _spät_, ä long; 'm'r wellǝ' (we will) G. _wir
wollen_; 'dii úmeesǝ' (the ant) G. _die ameise_; 'ep,' 'eb' (whether)
G. _ob_; 'dærfǝ' (to dare) G. _dürfen_; 'færichtǝrlich' (frightful)
G. _fürchterlich_; 'ich færicht mich dat [or dart, G. _dort_] anǝ tsu
gee˛.' _I fear me to go yonder._
'Dat anǝ' is for G. _dort hin_, 'anǝ' being a Swiss adverb made of
G. _an_ (on, towards). 'dat' is not common in PG. and it may have been
brought from abroad, as it occurs in Suabian--
"Aepfel hott ma dott gsia, wie d' Kirbiss bey üss;" (Radlof, 2,
10.)--(Man hat dort gesehen) _Apples have been seen there like_ (G.
Kürbisse, PG. kærǝpsǝ) _pumpkins with us._
The foregoing 'anǝ' appears in Swiss "ume und anne" (thither and
hither) where 'ume,' Austr. 'uma,' is from G. _um_ (about). Stalder
refers 'anne' to G. _an-hin_, and Swiss 'abe' to _ab-hin_. Schmid
(Schwäb. Wb., p. 23) has ane, dortane, dettane. Schmeller (Bayer. Wb.
1869, p. 91) cites Graff (1, 499), for Ohg. _ostana_ (from the East),
and Grimm (3, 205).
While PG. 'alt' and 'kalt' (old, cold, _a_ in wh_a_t) have the
comparatives 'eltǝr' 'keltǝr,' the influence of _r_ in 'karts'
(short), G. _kurz_, and 'hart' (hard), produces 'kærtsǝr' and
'hærtǝr,' instead of G. _kürzer_ and _härter_. Long _a_ becomes long
_u_ in G. _samen_ (seed), PG. 'suumǝ.'
§ 8. _Dipthong Changes._
German 'au' sometimes becomes 'aa' (in call), as in PG. 'laafǝ' (to
walk) G. _laufen_; 'glaabǝ' (to believe) G. _glauben_; 'kaafǝ' (to
buy) G. _kaufen_; 'tsaam' (bridle) G. _zaum_; 'traam' (dream) G.
_traum_; 'fraa' (wife, woman) G. _frau_, PG. pl. 'weiwǝr,' because, as
the German plural of _frauen_ could not well make 'fraaǝ,' the plural
of _weib_ was preferred.
German 'au' remains in PG. 'plaum' (plum) G. _pflaume_; 'daum' (thumb);
'haufǝ' (heap); 'saufǝ' (to sup); 'haus' (house); 'taub' (dove) G.
_taube_; 'aus' (out); 'fauscht' (fist).
German 'au' becomes 'oo' (Eng. fl_oo_r) in PG. 'groo' (grey) an earlier
form of G. _grau_; 'bloo' (blue) G. _blau_; and the name 'Stauffer' is
sometimes pronounced 'stoof'r.'
In the plural, 'au' becomes 'ei,' as in PG. 'haus,' pl. 'heiser;' 'maus'
pl. 'meis;' 'laus' pl. 'leis;' 'maul' (mouth) pl. 'meiler' G. pl.
_mäuler_; 'gaul,' pl. 'geil,' G. pl. _gäule_ (horses); 'sau' (sow, hog),
pl. 'sei,' G. pl. _säue_, _sauen_.
When 'au' has become 'aa' the German plural _äu_ becomes 'ee,' as in
'beem' (trees) G. _bäume_; 'tseem' (bridles) G. _zäume_.
'Floo,' G. _floh_ (flea) pl. 'flee' for G. _flöhe_, is due to the fact
that German long ö is replaced by ee.
German _au_ is _u_ in the earlier PG. 'uf' (up) G. _auf_, found in
Swisserland and other localities; but 'haus' is not _hūs_, and 'maul'
is not _mūl_ as in Swiss.
§ 9. _Words lengthened._
Some monosyllables are dissyllabised under the influence of trilled _r_,
and of _l_ (which is akin to _r_), as in 'Jar’ik' (York); 'Jær'ik,'
German _Georg_ (George), perhaps the only example of the Berlin change
of G to (German) J.
PG. G. E.
schtar'ik stark _strong_
mar'ikt markt _market_
ær'ǝwǝt arbeit _work_
kær'ich kirche _church_
karrich karren _cart_
geenǝ gehen _to go_
reeghǝrǝ regnen _to rain_
dar'ich durch _through_
kar'ǝp korb _basket_
bær'ik berg _hill_
mil'ich milch _milk_
kal'ich kalk _lime_
genunk genug _enough_
wammǝs wamms _jacket_
PG. g'seenǝ (seen) G. _gesehen_, occurs in South German, as in the
following (Radlof 2, 100), which closely resembles PG.
.... vun der Zit an het me niks me vun em g'sehne un g'hört. _From
that time on,_ ('mĕ' G. man) _one_ (hat) _has seen and heard
nothing_ ('mē' G. mehr) _more of him._
G. Es fängt an zu regnen und zu schneien. PG. es fangt (not fängt)
aa˛ tsu reeghǝrǝ un tsu schneeǝ. _It begins to rain and to
snow._
§ 10. _Words shortened._
Condensation is effected by absorption, as of _d_ by _n_ in 'wunǝr'
(wonder) G. _wunder_; and of _f_ by _p_ in 'kǝp' (head) G. _kopf_;--by
the elision of consonants (an Austrian feature) as in 'wet' (would) G.
_wollte_; 'net' (not) G. _nicht_.
By elision of vowels (particularly final _e_) as in 'schuul' (school) G.
_schule_, 'tsammǝ' (together) G. _zusammen_; and by shortening vowels,
as in 'siw'ǝ' (seven) G. _sieben_; 'gew'ǝ' (to give) G. _gēben_;
G. _heurathen_ (to marry), Suab. heuren, PG. 'heiǝrǝ'; G. _gleich_
(like) PG. 'glei'; 'tsimlich' (tolerable) G. _ziemlich_.
PG. G. E. PG. G. E.
niks nichts _nothing_ | mr sin wir sind _we are_
wet wollte _would_ | géscht'r gestern _yesterday_
set sollte _should_ | nemmǝ nehmen _to take_
knǝp knopf _button_ | nam'itag nachmittag _afternoon_
knep knöpfe _buttons_ | geblíwǝ geblieben _remained_
kich küche _kitchen_ | jets[13] jetzt _now_
kuuchǝ kūchen _cake_ | parr'ǝ pfarrer _preacher_
wǝch woche _week_ | oowǝt abend _evening_
wǝchǝ wochen _weeks_ | weipsleit weibsleute _women_
kiw'l kübel _bucket_ | rei˛ herein _herein_
blos blase _bladder_ | nei˛ hinein _hither-in_
meim meinem _to my_ | draa˛ daran _thereon_
anǝr ander _other_ | eltscht älteste _oldest_
nanǝr einander _each other_ | tswíwlǝ zwiebeln _onions_
unǝr unter _under_ | hend hände _hands_
drunǝ darunter _ther'under_ | plets plätze _places_
nunǝr hinunter _down there_ | nummǝ[13] nun mehr _only_
dro'wǝ daroben _above_ | nimmǝ[13] nimmer _never_
driw'ǝ darüber _ther'over_ | mee[13] mehr _more_
drin darin _ther'in_ | noo darnach _ther'after_
ruff darauf _there up_ | pluuk pflūg _plow_
nuff hinauf _up there_ | pliighǝ plfüge _plows_
sind sünde _sin_ | kalénǝr kalénder _cálendar_
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 ſelfe?[14]
Ich wil fischǝ gee˛. _I will go to fish._
Ich hab kschriwwǝ. _I have_ (geschrieben) _written_.
Sin mr net keiǝrt? _Are we not married?_ G. Sind wir nicht
geheirathet? (or verheirathet.)
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 _rŏte_ or _rōde_), 'so' or 'soo,' 'nochbǝr' or
'noochbǝr,' 'ǝmol' or 'ǝmool,' 'ja' or 'jaa,' 'sii' or 'sĭ'
(she, they, ĭ in deceĭt, not in _sit_). Compare English
'S_ē_e!' and 'S_ĕ_e thêre!'
_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.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] For example, as the vowel of German _schaf_ is long, the
PG. word 'schafleit,' which occurs in a quoted passage farther on, would
be likely to be read 'schaafleit' (sheep-people or shepherds) instead of
'schaffleit' (work-people), although it is stated that in the spelling
used, a vowel _must not be made long_ unless its letter is doubled.
"This tendency, and a trick of reading words like nisbut, _relation_,
qismut, _fortune_, as if written _nizbut_, _qizmut_, should be carefully
guarded against.... Even is, as, rusm, will, in spite of the caveat, ...
become again in his mouth iz, az, ruzm, rather than the iss, auss,
russm, intended."--_Gilchrist_, 1806.
[7] High German _letters_ which represent PG. _sounds_ are in
parentheses.
[8] The long vowel used by native speakers in B_a_th,
Somersetshire, England.
[9] These two powers are not quite the same.
[10] Indicated in 1860 in my Analytic Orthography, §§ 661-3,
and in my note to A. J. Ellis's _Early English Pronunciation_, 1869, p.
655, note 2, col. 2. "The lost final _n_ is commonly recalled by a nasal
vowel."
[11] The real physiological generation of these _flat_
consonants is very difficult for an Englishman to understand. Dr. C. L.
Merkel, of Leipzig, a middle-German, confesses that for a long time he
did not understand the pure b, d, not having heard them in his
neighbourhood. He distinguishes (_Physiologie der Menschlichen Sprache_,
Leipzig, 1866, pp. 146-156), 1. The "soft shut sounds" or _mediæ_,
characterized by an attempt to utter voice before the closure is
released, 2. "the half-hard shut sounds" or _tenues implosivæ_,
characterized by a sound produced by compressing the air in the mouth by
the elevation of the larynx, the glottis being closed, which "therefore
acts like a piston," followed by the sudden opening of the mouth and
glottis, allowing the vowel to pass, (this is his description of the
_flat_ sounds, which he says Brücke, a Low-Saxon, reckons among his
_mediæ_), 3. "the hard explosive shut sounds," characterized by a shut
mouth and open glottis through which the unvocalised breath is forced
against the closing barrier more strongly than in the last case, but
without pressure from the diaphragm, 4. "the aspirated or sharpened
explosive sound," in which the last pressure occurs with a jerk. The
compound English distinction, p, b; t, d; k, g, seem almost impossible
for a middle and south-German to understand.--A. J. E.
[12] On the inconsistencies of Rauch's Orthography on an
English basis, see my note 2, p. 655 of Ellis's _Early English
Pronunciation_.
[13] Swiss forms.
[14] _Hamlet_, act 5, sc. 1, speech 106; folio 1623, tragedies,
p. 278, col. 2.