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_
Coquerelle _Corcoran_
de Vries _Freezer_
Giessen _Gleason_
Grimm _Grimes_
Henning _Hannon_
Rosier _Rosetree_
Schöffeler _Scofield_
van Dendriessche _Driscol_
van Emstede _Hampsted_
Winsiersski _Winchester_
Fayette Street _Faith St._
Alice Ann St. _Alexander St._
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_
Bachman _Baughman_
Becker _Baker_, _Pecker_
Dock _Duck_
Eberhardt _Everhart_
Eberle _Everly_
Eckel _Eagle_
Ege[78] _Hagy_?
Ewald _Evalt_
Fehr _Fair_
Frey (free) _Fry_
Früauf _Freeauf_
Fusz (foot) _Foose_
Geisz (goat) _Gise_
Gerber _Garber_
Giebel _Gibb_
Gräff _Graff_, _-o_, _-ae_
Guth _Good_, _Goot_
Haldeman _Holderman_[79]
Herberger _Harberger_
Hinkel _Hinkle_
Hofman _Hoofman_
Huber _Hoover_
Kaufman _Coffman_
Kaufroth _Cuffroot_
Kehler _Kaylor_
Kochenauer _Goughnour_
Koick _Cowhawk_
Krauskopf _Krosskop_
Kreider _Crider_
Kreybil _Graypeel_
Kühnlein _Coonly_, _-ley_
Kutz _Kutts_
Leitner _Lightner_
Leybach _Libough_
Mayer _Moyer_
Meyer _Mire_
Mosser _Musser_
Mosseman _Musselman_
Neumeyer _Narmire_?
Noll _Null_
Nüssli _Nicely_, _Nissly_
Oberholtzer _Overholser_
Pfautz _Fouts_, _Pouts_
Pfeiffer _Pyfer_
Reif (ripe) _Rife_
Reisinger _Riesinger_
Riehm _Ream_
Roth (red) _Roath_, _Rote_
Ruth _Root_
Schellenberger _Shallyberger_[80]
Schenk _Shank_
Scheuerman _Shireman_
Schnebele _Snavely_
Schneider _Snyder_, _Snider_
Seip _Sype_, _Sipe_
Seipel _Seiple_, _Sible_
Seitz _Sides_
Senz _Sense_
Spraul _Sprowl_
Stambach _Stambough_
Strein _Strine_
Valentin _Felty_
WeltzhuBer _BeltzhooVer_[81]
Wetter _Fetter_
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 Fink_bine_, Espen_shade_,
Traut_wine_--where the first syllable has the German sound. Fentz_maker_
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, Löb (lion),
Löwr (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), Schöttel, 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_!"
[73]
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.