Chapter VI: 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._

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. _d_as_sel_be. 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--

's buch iss mei˛ _the book is mine_--des buch iss mei˛ THIS
_book is mine._

"Donn hab ich gedenkt [not _gedacht_], _=des=_ is doch now ordlich
plain deitsch," ... (_Rauch._[38]) _Then I thought,_ THIS _is
at-any-rate 'now' tolerably 'plain' Dutch._

Dær mann iss krankǝr (not _kränker_) wie d'r annǝr. THIS _man
is sicker than the other._ (G. als der andere.)

G. Ein Mann und eine Frau waren hier diesen Morgen. _A man and a
woman were here this morning._ PG. Es war ǝn mann un ǝn fraa
hiir den márighǝ. _There was a man and a woman here this
morning._

G. Ich wünsche dass er komme. _I wish that he come._ PG. Ich
wǝtt (or wott, for _wollte_) dass ær deet [G. thät] kummǝ. _I
would that he would come._ Swiss--I wett, asz er chäm. _Stalder_,
1, 112.

Swiss _asz_ for _dass_ is often used in PG., as in--

Wann ich geglaabt hätt 'ass er mich net betsaalt (or betsaalǝ
deet), so hätt ich 'm gar net gebárikt (or gebaricht). _If I had
believed that he would not pay me, I would_ (gar nicht) _not at all
have_ (geborgt) _trusted him._

Wann ich gedenkt [not G. _gedacht_] hätt 'ass es net woor wæær,
dann hätt ich 's net geglaabt. _If I had not supposed it to be
true, I would not have_ (geglaubt) _believed it._

G. Wäre er reich, er würde nicht betteln. _Were he rich he would
not beg._ G. Wenn er reich wäre, so würde er nicht betteln. PG.
Wann ær reich wæær, deet ær net bettǝln. _If he were rich, he
would not beg._

PG., like Swiss,[39] dislikes the imperfect tense, and prefers G. _Ich habe gedacht_ (I have thought), to G. _Ich dachte_ (I thought), which gives forms like--

Wii ich n gesee˛ hab, hab ich gedenkt ær wært k'sund. _As I saw
him_ (having seen him) _I thought he would get well._

Ich bin gangǝ _I have gone;_ not G. Ich gieng _I went_, nor
gegangen _ygone_.

Whan myn houſbond is fro the world i-gon,--_Chaucer_, (_Wright's
ed._) l. 5629.
With menſtralcy and noyſe that was (y-)maked, l. 2526.
Bet is to be (y-)weddid than to brynne. l. 5634.

PG. has also 'kummǝ' (has come) for G. gekommen, showing a tendency to follow a law which caused ge-(y-, i-) to be dropped in English. The practice seems to have started with _gekommen_ and _gegangen_, because they are much used, and their initial guttural absorbs the guttural _g-_ or _k-_ of the prefix. In an Austrian dialect,[40] _ge-_ disappears before _b_, _p_, _d_, _t_, _z_, as in "Ih bin kumma" (I have come), PG. Ich bin kummǝ.

PG. Ich hab s [G. gekauft] kaaft im schtoor. _I bought it at the
'store.'_ Hǝscht mei˛ briif krikt? _Hast_ (G. gekriegt)
_received my letter?_ Ich schreib n briif. _I write a letter._

"Der Charle hat jung geheiert un hat e fleiszige Fra krickt,"
_Wollenweber_, p. 78.

D'r 'Tschærli' hǝt jung k'eiǝrt un hǝt ǝ fleissighǝ fraa
krikt.

_'Charley' married young and got an industrious wife._

G. Es regne. _It may rain._ PG. s maak (G. mag) reeghǝrǝ.

G. Es regnete. _It might rain._ PG. s kennt (G. könnt)
reeghǝrǝ.

G. Es habe geregnet. _It may have rained._ PG. s kennt reeghǝ
hawwǝ.

PG. has the Swiss _als_ (hitherto, formerly, always), a form in which it is not shortened into _a's_, as in--

ær hǝt als ksaat ær wær (or wæær) miir niks schuldich.
(_Ziegler_). _He has hitherto said he is to-me nothing indebted._

Mr. Rauch, in his partly English spelling, has--

"Er hut aw behawpt das mer set sich net rula lussa bi seiner fraw,
un das de weiver nix wissa fun denna sacha, un das es kens fun eara
bisness is we an monn vote odder we oft er _=als=_ drinkt."

.ær hǝt aa behaapt dass mǝr set sich net 'ruulǝ' lǝssǝ
bei seinǝr fraa, un dass dii weiwǝr niks wissǝ fun dennǝ
sachǝ, un dass es kens fun eerǝ 'bissnǝss' iss wii ǝn mann
'woot,' ǝdǝr wii ǝft ær als drinkt.

_He_ (_has_) _maintained that one should not_ (lassen) _let_
(sich) _one's-self be 'ruled' by one's wife, and that the_ (weiber
nichts wissen) _women know nothing of such things, and that it is_
(keines von ihre) _none of their 'business' how a man 'votes,' or
how oft he_ (als) ALWAYS _drinks._

In the following Suabian example (Radlof 2, 17) _als_ is a form of G. alles (all), and _schmieren_ is used as in PG. for _to pay off, to trick_.

Kurz! i will _o_lls eba macha
Daſz oim 's Herz im Leib mu'ſz lacha;
I will au de Tuifel ſchmiera,
Daſz er Niem_â_ ka_n_ verführa,
Hack' ihm boyde Hörner _o_,
Daſz er nimma ſtecha ka-.

In short, I will make all so even
that the heart in one's body must laugh;
I will also trick [den] the devil
that he none can lead astray--
chop for him both his horns off
that he cannot thrust again.

PG. 'dass' for _als_ (with the sense of _as_), and 'dass wan' G. _als wenn_ (South German of Breisgau _as wenn_) for _as if_, seems peculiar. The German adverbial particles admit of a wide range of meaning, and in Low Austrian certain inversions occur, as _aussa_ (aus-her) for G. _heraus_; _aussi_ (aus-hin), also in old Bavarian, for G. _hinaus_, which would allow PG. 'dass' to be referred to _als dasz_ or da(r)als.[41] But independently of this surmise, the cutting down of the pronouns _des_ (G. das) and _es_ to _'s_ and _als_ to _ass_, makes it as easy to accept _dass_ for _als_, as 'd of English 'I'd rather,' for _had_ instead of _would_. Farther, as _da_ has _als_ for one of its meanings, this _dass_ may be _da_ with the adverbial suffix _-s_.[42]

"des land is aw frei for mich so goot das for dich."--_Rauch_, p.
32.

... des land is aa frei f'r mich soo guut dass f'r dich.

_This_ (not _the_) _country is_ (auch) _also free for me as well_
AS _for thee._

"net wennicher dos sivva hunnert for dich un mich"....--_Rauch_,
1869.

... net wennichǝr dass siwǝ hunǝrt f'r dich un mich.

_Not less_ THAN _seven hundred for thee and me._

"Er will hawa dos ich bei eam aw roof in Filldelfy, un dut _=dos
wanns=_ tsu meiner advantage wær wann ich kumm."--_Rauch_, Aug.
16, '69.

'ær will hawǝ dass ich bei iim aa˛ruuf in Fildelfi, un duut
dass wann s tsu meinǝr 'atfæntitsch' wær wann ich kumm.

_He will have that I_ (bei) _at-the-house-of him_ [G. _anrufen_,
perverted to an English idiom] _call-on in Phildelphi_ [the
common pronunciation] _and_ (_he_) _does_ AS IF _it_ (were)
_would be to my 'advantage' if I come._[43]

"Selly froke hut mich awer sheer gorly schwitza macha, un ich hob
g'feeld yusht grawd _=das wann=_ ich mich full heaser hulder tæ
g'suffa het un g'mixd mit tansy, katzakraut un
bebbermint."--_Rauch_, Aug. 9, 1869.

Selli frook hǝt mich schĭr gaarli schwitsǝ machǝ, und ich
hab kfiilt juscht graad dass wann ich mich fǝl heesǝr huldǝr
tee ksǝffǝ het un 'gmikst' mit 'tænsi' [_s_ not as _z_]
katsǝkraut un 'bebbǝrmint.'

[Dieselbe Frage] _That question however almost_ [G. gar] _quite
made me sweat, and I felt just exactly_ AS IF _I had_ (G.
gesoffen) _drunk myself full of hot_ (G. Holder) _elder tea, and
'mixed' with 'tansy' catnip and 'peppermint'._

"'s scheint m'r wærklich _=as wann=_ du im sinn hätscht in deinǝ
altǝ daaghǝ noch n Dichter tsu gewǝ (tsu wærrǝ). Awǝr
ich færricht 's iss tsu schpot; du hätscht ǝ paar joor friiǝr
aa˛fange sollǝ, dann wær viileicht ebbǝs draus [G. worden]
warrǝ."[44] _It appears to me really_ AS IF _you intended in
your old days yet to become a poet. But I fear it is too late; you
should have commenced a few years earlier, then perhaps something
might have come of it._

The next is from the description of a willow-tree with the 'nesht' (pl. of G. _nast_[45]) branches broken by ice.[46]

"Er guckt net gans so stattlich meh,
Er guckt net gans so gross un' schoe
_=Das=_ wie er hut die anner woch
Wu'r all sei nesht hut katte noch."

.ær gukt net gans soo schtattlich mee
ær gukt net gans soo gross un schee,
dass wii ær hǝt dii anǝr woch
wuu 'r all sei˛ nescht hǝt kattǝ noch.

_It_ (nicht mehr) _no more looks quite so stately, it looks not_
(ganz) _quite so large and fine,_ AS THAT _it did the_ (andere)
_other week,_ (wo er _where he_) _when it_ (hat gehabt) _has had
all its boughs._

At present PG. is exhibiting a tendency to drop G. _zu_ (to), the sign of the so-called infinitive, altho in the following examples perhaps most speakers would use it.

Wann fangscht aa˛ [tsu] schaffǝ? _When do you begin_ [to]
_work?_

Ich hab aa˛fangǝ schaffǝ. _I have begun_ (_to_) _work._

... fiil annǝri hen hart prowiirt sich farnǝ naus schaffǝ.
(_Rauch._)

_Many others_ (have) _tried hard_ (to) _work themselves_ (G.
vorn) _forward._

"De mæd ... hen kea so kleany bonnets g'hat di nix sin for hitz
odder kelt; es wara rechtshaffene bonnets, das mer aw sea hut kenne
ohna de brill uf du."--_Nsp._

Dii meed hen kee˛ soo klee˛ni 'bannǝts' katt dii niks sin
f'r hits ǝd'r kelt; ǝs waarǝ rechtschaffǝnǝ 'bannǝts,'
dass m'r aa seeǝ hǝt kennǝ, oone dii brill uf [tsu] duu˛.

_The girls_ (haben gehabt) _had no such small 'bonnets'_ (die)
_which are nothing for heat or_ (kälte) _cold; there were honest
'bonnets' that_ (mir) _one_ (auch) _also could see without
putting the spectacles on._

PG. Sometimes distinguishes between the present tense and the aorist, as in Swiss--"er thuot choh" (he does come)--

Sellǝr hund knarrt. _That dog growls_ (has a habit of growling).

Sellǝr hund tuut (G. thut) knarrǝ. _That dog is now growling._

D'r mann tuut essa--ær iss am essǝ. _The man is eating--he is at
eating._

PG. does not use equivalents to _neither_ and _nor_.

G. Er ist _weder_ reich _noch_ arm. _He is neither rich nor poor._
PG. ær iss net reich un net aarm.

E. He is _either_ sick _or_ lazy. PG. ær iss krank ǝdǝr faul.
(Or, adopting _either_ and its idiom) ǝr iss 'iitǝr' krank
ǝdǝr faul.

In a case like the last, no matter how well the speaker knows English, he must _not_ pronounce a word like 'either' in the English mode, because it would be an offense against the natural rhetoric of the dialect.

FOOTNOTES:

[36] ... "Von der Schweiz an zu beiden seiten des Rheines hinab bis an Hollands gränzen, giebt es kaum einige Gegenden, wo man den Koch vom Kellner, den Herrn vom Knechte, den Hammer vom Amboſze, d.i. den Werfall (_Nominativ_) vom Wenfalle (_Accusativ_) und dem Wemfalle (_Dativ_) richtig zu unterscheiden vermöchte. Bald hört man nehmlich: "ich trinke rother Wein" bald: "ich habe der Esel gesehen" bald: "ich sitze auf der Baum." s.f."--_Dr. Joh. Gottl. Radlof_, Mustersaal aller teutschen Mundarten, ... Bonn, 1822; 2, 90.

Stalder (Schweiz. Idiotikon, 1812) gives the accusatives of _der_ and _ein_ as agreeing with the nominative, and under _ein_ (1, 37) he has--Acc. wie der Nom., welches überhaupt zu bemerken ist.

When I read extracts from this Treatise before the Philological Society on 3 June, 1870, Prof. Goldstücker and Dr. E. Mall, the latter an Alsatian, both considered that this presumed substitution of the nominative for the accusative or dative case must be a misapprehension. Dr. Mall declared himself totally unaware of it. Both considered that it must have resulted from the disappearance of the inflectional _-m_, _-n_ (the latter of which is the rule certainly in the Rhine region), and the degradation of the preceding _e_ vowel into [_e_]. This would account for "ich trinke rother Wein," considering _rother_ to mean 'rootǝ,' but would not account for "ich habe der Esel gesehen," in which the _r_ must be taken as trilled, unless we consider that first _den_ was made into 'dǝ,' and then the 'r' _evolved_ as in the Cockney's 'idea-r of things.' Hence the original passages on which the assertions in the text are founded, have been added.--_Alex. J. Ellis._

[37] "Dii Jarik Kaunti leit, wann sii furn rootǝ wei, schwätzǝ, saaghǝ g'weenlich--"Ich trink rootǝr wei." Wann sii awǝr kee rootǝr hen, dann trinkǝ sii weisser wann sii n kriighǝ kennǝ." _The Rev. D. Ziegler_, letter of Jan. 15, 1870 (literatim).

[38] In a spelling based upon English, and not fully phonetic. See _Ellis_, Early English Pronunciation, pp. 654-661.

[39] _Stalder_ (1, 46) says that the imperfects war, hatte, sagte, kam, rufte, kaufte, would be scarcely understood in Swisserland.

[40] _Castelli_, Wörterbuch, Wien, 1847, p. 30.

[41] Suabian condenses _da unten_ to _dunda_. The Rev. D. Ziegler suggests that this 'dass' may have arisen from a _d_, as of 'grad' (G. gerade) before 'as' of _als_, as in--ær schwätzt gra_d as_ wann [G. wenn] ær reich wær. (He speaks just as if he were rich.)

[42] See _Hald_. Affixes. p. 213.

[43] The present tense ('wann ich kumm') is used here for the G. subjunctive _wenn ich käme_.

[44] The Rev. D. Ziegler, transliterated by himself.

[45] The usual German is _ast_, pl. _äste_. Schmeller (_Mundarten Bayerns_, art. 610) notices the following examples of this initial _n_ in Bavarian dialects; his phonetical spelling is given in italics, and interpreted into the present in brackets: der _Nà'n_ [Noon] 'Àthen: _Nàst_ [nost] Ast; die Nàſ'n [noozn] 'Àsen; _Naſſ·l_ [nassl] Assel; _Nárb_ [narb] Arb; _Neichté_ [neichte] Eichte; _Nuǝrǝ’_ Nuǝrǝ Urhab; _Nueſch_ [Nuesch] Uesch. In art. 545 he also gives the form ǝ _Lueſsch_, and in art. 636, the form _ẽRàuſ·n_, for Uesch, a gutter, and 'A'sen, a beam or joist. _Nárb_ is the staple on the door, which carries the padlock; _Eicht_ is a little while. The following are examples of omitted initial _n_, (ib. art. 611); _dǝr 'Apoleon_ Napoleon; _'idǝ'_ nider, _'Ánkinet_ Nanquinet; _'Impfǝburg_ Nymphenburg; ganz _'atürli'_ natürlich; _'ében_, _'iǝbm_ neben; _'achǝr_, _'achǝ’_ nachher; _'E'st_, _'iǝſt_ Nest. St. Antwein und St. Nantwein, Aventin Chron. Edit. v. 1566, fol. 470.--Compare the English added initial _n_ in _nickname_ (nekename for ekename, see Pr. Parv.), _niggot_, _nugget_ for ingot; _newt_ for eft, ewt; _nawl_ for awl; _nunkle_ for uncle; _Nan_, _Ned_, _Noll_, for Anne, Edward, Oliver:--and the omitted initial _n_ in _adder_ (old edres and neddres), _apron_ for napron, _eyas_ for nias.--_A. J. Ellis._

[46] Poems. By Rachel Bahn. York, Pa. 1869. Containing twenty pages of "Poems in Pennsylvania Dutch." Noticed by me in Trübner's _American and Oriental Literary Record_, Jan. 24, 1870, p. 634. The following may be consulted also:

Gemälde aus dem Pennsylvanischen Volksleben ... von L. A. Wollenweber. Philadelphia und Leipzig. Schäfer und Konradi, 1869.

Harbaugh's Harfe. Gedichte in Pennsylvanisch-Deutscher Mundart. Philadelphia, Reformed Church Publication Board, 1870.

On the German Vernacular of Pennsylvania. By S. S. Haldeman. Trans. Am. Philological Association, 1869-70.

Lancaster Pa. WEEKLY ENTERPRISE (newspaper), with a weekly article by Mr. Rauch.

Der Waffenlose Wächter (monthly newspaper). Gap P.O., Lancaster Co. Pa.

Early English Pronunciation, ... by Alexander J. Ellis, F.R.S., F.S.A. London, 1871. Twelve pages (652-65) are devoted to Pennsylvania German.

P'älzische G'schichte' ... von Franz von Kobell. München, 1863. In the main, this little volume of 'Palatinate Stories' comes nearer to Pennsylvania German than any other I have seen.