Page:The American language; an inquiry into the development of English in the United States (IA americanlanguage00menc 0).pdf/424

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
410
THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE

'S war wimol ei Mätel, wu ihr Liebling fat in der Grieg is, un' is dot gmacht wure. Sie hut aich so arg gedrauert un' hut ksat: "O wann ich ihn just noch eimol sehne könnt!" Ei Ovet is sie an 'n Partie gange, aver es war ken Freud dat für sie. Sie hut gwünscht, ihre Lieve war dat au. Wie freundlich sie sei hätt könne! Sie is 'naus in den Garde gange, un' war allei im Monlicht khockt. Kschwind hut sie 'n Reiter höre komme. 'S war ihre Lieve ufm weisse Gaul. Er hut ken Wat ksat, aver hut sie uf den Gaul hinner sich gnomme, un' is fatgritte.…

The German spoken elsewhere in the United States is much less decayed. The hard effort of German schoolmasters and the extensive literature that it has produced[1] tend to keep it relatively pure, even from English influences. But a great many loan-words have nevertheless got into it, and it shows some phenomena that instantly arrest the attention of a German arriving from Germany, for example, the use of gleiche for to like, by false analogy from gleich (=like, similar), and the appearance of such forms as ausgespielt[2] (by imitation from the American-English played out). The German encountered in German newspapers printed in the United States is often very bad, but this is simply due to the fact that much of it is written by uneducated men. Nothing approaching a general decay is visible in it; in intent, at least, it is always good High German.

2.
French

The French spoken in Canada has been so extensively studied and literature is so accessible that it is scarcely necessary to describe it at any length. A very extensive investigation of it was undertaken by the late Dr. A. M. Elliott, of the Johns Hopkins University; his conclusions may be found in the American Journal of Philology.[3] Since then researches into its history, phonology and morphology

  1. Cf. Non-English Writings: I, German, by A. B. Faust, in the Cambridge History of American Literature, vol. iv, p. 572 ff. There is a valuable bibliography appended, p. 813 ff.
  2. This word has gone into American.
  3. Vol. vi, p. 135; vol. vii, p. 141; vol. vii, p. 135 and p. 338; vol. x, p. 133.