Preservings $20 Issue No. 26, 2006 - Home at Plett Foundation

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person who lacks courage or backbone. schluwe, schloof, jeschlowe - st. v. ausziehen, abnehmen, die Schale, Hülsen von Erdnüssen entfernen. to pull off, to remove, to husk. Schluwesoht - Hülsenkörner. legume seeds. Schluwsäl - n. Art Pferdesiel. utility harness. schmeissijch - adv. & adj. geschmeidig, biegsam, wendig (gefällig vom Freier). soft, pliable, dexterous, slender, agreeable (of a suitor). ndrl./Dt. smijdig, smedig. schnucke - schw. v., w. v. Schluckauf haben. to hiccup. Schoof - n. (pl. Schoowa) 1. großer Vorrat, eine ganze Menge, reichlich 2. Schar, Schwarm, Haufen. 1. a good supply, a large quantity, many 2. group, band, swarm. ndrl./Dt. schoof. Schroag - f. (pl. Schroage) Holzgestell mit drei oder vier Füßen auf dem Washgefäße, Bachtröge, auch Särge beim letzten Abschied vor dem Hinterlassenen ins Grab gesetzt warden. 2. das Stangegestell über Öfen, auf welchem nasse Wäsche oder nasses Holz getrocknet wird. 3. Leichentuch. 1. supporting platform or trestles to support water basins, baking troughs or also coffins at the graveside service 2. a wire contraption on which wet laundry or wet wood was dried above the stove/oven 3. shroud. Schulinj - f. Schutz; eine schattige Bleibe, in die man sich zurückzieht, um sich vor Hitze, Kälte oder Regen zu schützen. shelter; a shady nook sheltering from heat, cold or rain, the elements. ndrl./Dt. Schoeling. Schwoata Peeta - m. Schwarzer Peter beim Kartenspiel; offensichtlich stammt dieses Wort noch aus der niederländischen Heimat, wo der Schwarze Peter ein Gehilfe des Nikolaus ist. Er droht unartigen Kindern nach Spanien zu verschleppen. Der Ausdruck stammt aus der Zeit als die Mohren Nordafrikas weite Teile Europas besetzten. Black Peter, a boogey man at a game of cards; obviously this term dates back to the Netherlands, where Black Peter was an assistant to St. Nick, Santa Claus, who threatened to take naughty children to Spain at the time when North African Moors occupied much of the Iberian peninsula. siedlintjs - adv. seitwärts. sideways. ndrl./ Dt. zijdelings. Soss - f. Schnuller, meistens ein Lappen, der mit süßem Teig oder Brot gefüllt und Kindern zum Lutschen gereicht wird. a sop which is filled with sweet dough or bread, then inserted in a piece of cloth and twisted shut as a soother for little children. s./see Zockatett, Keiwsel. Spald, Spal - f. Stecknadel. pin, headpin. ndrl./Dt. spal. spläse, spleese - schw. v. w. v. Ineinanderflechten zweier Stricke. to splice as of ropes or strings. Spree - f. Star. starling, blackbird. ahd/ohg. spra, ndrl./Dt. spreuw. Stelozh - f. Baugerüst, Gestell am Bau. scaffold, frame, trestle. ndrl./Dt. stellage. Stoot -. Zeitraum. an amount of time. Stoottje, Stootstje - n. dim. Suffix. kurze Weile, von kurzer Dauer. short amount of time. ndrl./Dt. stoot. Struck -. Strauch, Sträuche, Untergehölz. underbrush, brush, shrubbery, brambles. ndrl./ Dt. struik. Struckhatjs - Strauchhexe, Schreckschraube. literally: brush-witch, hag; an ugly, cantankerous woman; battle axe. Strunk - m. das harte Innere eines Kohlkopfes. hard inner core of a cabbage head. T tachentijch - f. achtzig. eighty. ndrl./Dt. tachentig. Tjeew - f. (pl. Tjeewe) Mundwinkel, hintere Kinnpartie; auch Kinn; Kiemen. jaw, edge of the back of the mouth; gills. ndrl./Dt. kiewen. Tjielpogg - f. Kaulquappe. tadpole. Tjiesskaulf - n. weibliches Kalb. female calf. Tjieta-ama - m. Kücheneimer: (Behälter für restliche oder übriggebliebene Flüssigkeiten). slop pail in the kitchen used for storing liquid kitchen remains. Tjietawota - n. Abwaschwasser. swill, dish-water. tjietre - schw. v., w. v. im Wasser patschen, Wasser vergießen 2. eitern von einer Wunde. 1. to spill liquids, to splash around in water 2. to fester. Tjliea - f. (pl. Tjliere) Drüse. glands, node, nodule. mnl./mdt., cliere, nwfris. klier, ostfris. klir(e). Tjnäp - f. Taille. waist. Tjnäprock - m. Faltenrock. pleated skirt. Tjnief - n. Tachenmesser. pocket knife, jack knife. mnd./mlg. knif - n. ndrl./Dt. knyf - m. Tjniepa - m. (pl. Tjniepasch) Käfer (Kneifer). bug, beetle. ndrl./Dt. tjrape - schw. w., w. v. falten, fälteln; sorgfältig ein Gefäß luftdicht verschliessen. to crimp, to seal air tight. Tjreltje - n. Kringel am Schwanzende eines Ferkels. a curl at the end of a piglet’s tail. ndrl./Dt. krulletje. Tjrietje, Tjriedtje - n. Blumenstrauß, Girlande. sprig, garland, bouquet, posy, spray, corsage. Tjwiel - f. Speichel, Spucke. spittle, saliva. mnl./mdt. quijl, quilen. mnd./mdg. quil, fris. kwyl, quijl. quiel ist im Friesischen Gebiet und in Flandern belegt, daher ein altes Restwort. the word tjwiel is a remnant word from the Flanders-Flemish area. tjwiele - schw. v., w. v. spucken. to spit. tjwieme - schw. v., w. v. kränkeln und sich daher kümmerlich entwickeln. to be sickly and therefore develop poorly; to fade away slowly. ndrl./Dt. kwijnen, quenen. mnd./mlg. quin. Toch - m. 1. Luftzug 2. Aufwind. 1. draft (draught) of air current 2. courage of persuasion. wann hee eascht mol em Toch wea: wenn er erst einmal richtig im Schwung war: once he got into the swing of things; once he got going or a stiff breeze from behind. Tochdäa - luftdurchlässige Drahttür. screen door. Tochfensta - n. luftdurchlässiges Drahtfenster. screen window. toopkuakse - schw. v., w. v. zusammenbrechen von (Gebäuden). to collapse, to buckle. Tridjtratj - f. Puffspiel. backgammon. U utfloome, utflome - schw. v., w. v. Fett, besonders bei Gänsen, aber auch von Schweinen, beim Schlachten entfernen. to extract fat from poultry, especially geese, but also from pigs during slaughtering. utplatjche - schw. v., w. v. ausbleichen, durch Einwirkung z. B. von der Sonne die Farbe verschiessen. to bleach, as from the sun or bleaching agents. utschluwe, schloof ut, utjeschlowe - st. v. 1. bei einem Wettspiel gewinnen 2. Saat, wie z. B. Erbsen, von einer Schote entfernen, auspulen 3. enthülsen. 1. to win a contest or game 2. to remove seeds from a pod 3. to shell, husk. Utstäwinj - f. Täfelung, Tafelwerk. wainscoting, paneling. V vekolleare - schw. v., w. v. Farbe verlieren, Farbe wechseln, besonders rot oder reif werden wie Korn/Getreide. to change colour, blush, discolour, particularly at the stage of ripening of grain. Vemohna - m. Ver-Ermahner; früher Bezeichnung für den mennonitischen Prediger. admonisher: formerly term for a Mennonite preacher. vemohne - schw. v., w. v. ver/ermahnen, mahnen. to dun, admonish, exhort, expostulate. Vemoninj - f. Ermahnung. admonition. venäje, veneaje - schw. v., w. v. verneigen, Verbeugung machen. to bow, especially to/before a lady. Venasse - pl. Grimassen, Fratzen schneiden. grimaces, antics. veniele - schw. v., w. v. vertilgen, verschlingen 2. zerstören. 1. to devour, to wolf down food. 2. to destroy, obliterate. veschimpfiere, veschumfiere - schw. v., w. v. verunstalten, entstellen, verunzieren. to spoil the looks, appearance or effects of; to distort. veschmiete, veschmeet, veschmäte - st. v. 1. verwerfen, besonders vom Glauben 2. krümmen. biegen, wellen (von Holz). 1. to reject one’s faith; to rid one’s self of something by rejecting or throwing away 2. to warp. veschräje - schw. v., w. v. versengen, ausdorren, besonders von Korn durch Hitze und Trockenheit, spröde werden. to singe, scorch, parch of grain through heat and dryness. ndrl./ Dt. verschroeijen. vondoag - m. heute. today. ndrl./Dt. vandaag. Vondoagdendach, Vondoagschendach - m. heutzutage, in unserer Zeit. nowadays, at this time; today’s day. W weede - schw. v., w. v. jäten. to hoe, to weed. ndrl./Dt. wieden. Woat - m. Erpe, männliche Ente. drake. 26 - Preservings No. 26, 2006
According to definition, any means of communicating ideas is a language. For this reason a form of communication that is much older than either High German or English, and which is replete with convenient and expressive idioms, should certainly be included in the family of languages. This is the case with Low German. There are those who seem to think that because the language is called Low German, it is so low that they must avoid using it, as a thing of ill repute. These people probably do not know that High German and Low German lie on the same linguistic level. It has probably never been pointed out to them that the sole reason for the use of “high” and “low” in referring to one or the other is that the fact that one was spoken in the lowlands of Germany, the other on the highlands. That is true very largely today. No significance attaches to the definitives “low” and “high” other than geographical. The original designation is not “Low” German but Plauttdeutsch. Low German Literature Still others ask why Low German is not a written language. It can be said that it is used in writing, but not so commonly as High German. It was by a sheer turn of circumstances that High German became the literary language in Germany. Just as Wyclif’s translation of the Bible into his own dialect, one of several in early England, helped to set the literary style and standard for the English language, so Luther’s translation of the Bible into the form of speech that he used set the literary style for Germany. Had Luther’s speech and translation been Low German, it would likely have become the literary standard. There is a considerable body of Low German literature. I mention a few items and names at random. Reinke de Vos is a work that appeared in 1498. It became highly popular and was translated into many languages. Till Eulenspiegel is a name in Low German folklore which has become associated with all sorts of whimsical frolics and amusing stories. A collection of popular tales that clustered about him appeared in 1515 and 1519. The earlier edition is found in the British Museum. The latter was translated into English and almost all European tongues. Fritz Reuter, born in 1810, is known as “the greatest writer of Plattdeutsch and one of the greatest humorists of the century.” Attention has been called in earlier issues of Mennonite Life to a contemporary Mennonite writer in Low German, Arnold Dyck, of Steinbach, Manitoba. To those familiar with the tongue, he can provide moments of jolly laughter, and added insight into human nature. His writings are classics of their kind. It is of special interest to those who know and use this speech that a book was published at Munchen University in 1928, entitle Die Mundart von Chortitza in Sued-Russland, written by Jakob Quiring. This is a scholarly treatise on Low German as spoken by Mennonites from Romance of Low German J. John Friesen (Reprinted with permission from Mennonite Life, April, 1947, 22) Russia. J.H. Janzen’s one-act plays, De Bildung, Utwandre, etc., always draw large audiences not only because they are humorous, but also because they express sentiments and attitudes of Low German speaking people better than any other language. A World-Wide Language It should be noted that Low German, too, has its variations. The Mennonites of the Holland- Prussia-Russian backgrounds have developed their speech to a well-standardized form. Those who came from Russian to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Paraguay, and Brazil speak that common language. But not only the Mennonites from Russia speak Plattdeutsch; a nearly identical Plattdeutsch is spoken by others in many parts of the world. An amusing incident is told by one of our cowboys of the sea. On his recent trip to Danzig his ship took the shortcut through the Kiel Canal, and was piloted by a German. The young man approached the pilot, and in his Plattdeutsch asked him whether he, too, could speak it. The pilot was amazed to meet an American who spoke his tongue, and he called to his mate: “Hauns, komm mol hea, hia ess eena ut Aumerikau de redt grod so aus wie.” The cowboy of the sea was born and reared in America. His forbears had left Holland probably around 1530, making their home successively in Prussia, in Russia, and in America. During this span of more than 400 years, and in strange environments, a language that amazed the German had been kept alive. This young American, with many others, possesses an intellectual inheritance of practical value, which only the thoughtless would dismiss lightly. It will interest the readers to learn that there exists a weekly paper, Plattdeutsche Post, published in Brooklyn, New York. During World War II the Mennonites of Brazil were not permitted to use the High German language in worship services. For years, they used the Low German in their singing, preaching, and praying. Even the Scriptures are published in current Low German editions. A Member of the Family of Languages I have spoken of Low German as a language. It is a living language. This can be illustrated by use of a chart as found in books on such matters. Languages are classed into families. We are illustrating this by the use of a language tree. The West Germanic language is one of the older languages and is the trunk of the tree that divided into the Low German and High German language families. As there are a great number of variations of High German, so there are of ancient Low German. Among them are the English, Dutch, Frisian, and modern Low German. Several things become obvious from this language tree. First, that among the languages, High German and Low German hold the same rank. Second, that these are in a sense basic languages, from which dialectal differences spring. These differentiations became languages on their own merit, which becomes clear in the relationship between Low German and English. We remember that the Angles and Saxons, tribes from the lowlands of Germany, occupied the island, now England, in the fifth century and became the ground stock of English society. The English speech of today has acquired a composite vocabulary, but it is descended from the speech of that ground stock. No languages show closer kinship than that between Low German and English. The close connection can best be demonstrated by a reference to some simple English words. I take them as they come to mind. “Knife” is the Low German Knif. The English retains the “k” in spelling, but not the sound. The words, “trough,” “through,” and “rough” have their exact counterpart in Low German, but in the latter tongue “gh” is given its proper sound value, which the English corrupts into “f”. Words like “gruff”, “help” and “go’ are entirely alike in sound in both languages. These are a few illustrative cases. They indicate that English is derived from Low German, which is a much older language than English, and that English is a Low German speech. It is estimated that somewhat less than half of the English vocabulary is of Low German origin. It might be noted, too, that the letters “L.G.” after a word in the dictionary mean that the word comes from the Low German. In many cases the letters “A.S.” are found after a word. They stand for Anglo-Saxon, an older form of Plattdeutsch. For instance, the English word “deal” (a share) is the Anglo-Saxon Dael, the same word used in Low German. Or the word “mean” (to signify) is the Anglo-Saxon work maenen which we recognize as Low German, too. Again the work “fifty” is fiftig in Anglo-Saxon and fiftig in Low German. This is merely calling attention to the identity of Anglo-Saxon and Low German. There is a great deal of history stored up in the Low German vocabulary. A third thing that we get from the tree is, not only that Low German holds the same rank as High German and that it is a basic language; but that, because it is basic, it is of educational value. It is evident that knowledge of languages is of intellectual import. By 1200 every educated person was expected to know three languages. Among Europeans today it is quite common to know several. To those of Low German tradition it is no small thing to be the inheritors of a language which is the background of a number of other languages, and the key to English, as an eminent British scientist, Thomas Huxley, has reminded us. A student of English who is of Low German ancestry has a tool for the study of English, and a broader view of that language than a Britisher who knows no language but his own. For such reasons Plattdeutsch is an intellectual asset, and its possessor measures his Preservings No. 26, 2006 - 27
Page 1 and 2: ~ A Journal of the D. F. Plett Hist
Page 3 and 4: D.F. Plett Foundation Names Executi
Page 5 and 6: Interior of the church in Witmarsum
Page 7 and 8: An engraving of Menno Simons by Pie
Page 9 and 10: this first wave of persecution. Som
Page 11 and 12: The Frisian-Flemish Division Causes
Page 13 and 14: practice actually prevailed, such a
Page 15 and 16: Inter-church conversations with the
Page 17 and 18: concerning the Points of the Christ
Page 19 and 20: to their children, for all inherita
Page 21 and 22: Hamburg (after 1641 the Danish mona
Page 23 and 24: Dutch-Flemish Words in Mennonite Lo
Page 25: Henkel und Deckel. goblet, mug with
Page 29 and 30: The history of Mennonites in Amster
Page 31 and 32: Rembrandt van Rijn 1606-1956 . Van
Page 33 and 34: Wife of Cornelis Claesz Anslo. Deta
Page 35 and 36: Some Rembrandts In America John F.
Page 37 and 38: Biographies Aeltester Johann Loeppk
Page 39 and 40: Old Colony delegates to Mexico in t
Page 41 and 42: Old Colony Mennonites departing to
Page 43 and 44: give heed first to the son, then th
Page 45 and 46: Tribute to Aeltester Herman J. Buec
Page 47 and 48: mass emigration. In 1872 Jansen pub
Page 49 and 50: me no de ole tit.’. . So this col
Page 51 and 52: was involved in confession before t
Page 53 and 54: Hamm Family Journals Translated by
Page 55 and 56: that was for a small one. Sugar is
Page 57 and 58: etter return until the parents agai
Page 59 and 60: The Wiebe Family. Grandmother came
Page 61 and 62: The Von Stauffenbergs and the Klass
Page 63 and 64: the rapid Allied advance. In total,
Page 65 and 66: Throughout his life, Mr. Froese’s
Page 67 and 68: time. Meanwhile, the Old Colony chu
Page 69 and 70: They also considered the US. Land a
Page 71 and 72: for those older teens who wanted to
Page 73 and 74: such a group, why we should raise o
Page 75 and 76: Teaching Staff of Barnaul School fo
Page 77 and 78:
collectives continue to this day an
Page 79 and 80:
were also assembling to travel at t
Page 81 and 82:
different areas have such varied we
Page 83 and 84:
Preservings No. 26, 2006 - 83
Page 85 and 86:
Another Look at the Creation-Evolut
Page 87 and 88:
Hutterite Life Hutterite Christmas
Page 89 and 90:
Graduation Address At The Oak River
Page 91 and 92:
Our Christmas Wonder by Linda Maend
Page 93 and 94:
Mennonitische Forschungsstelle Gary
Page 95 and 96:
For the 3,000 dead in the fall of t
Page 97 and 98:
Material Culture Passing on the Com
Page 99 and 100:
or Paraguay and again for safety in
Page 101 and 102:
questions that deserve consideratio
Page 103 and 104:
sadness. The first sadness is that
Page 105 and 106:
sive collection of data. Trafford P
Page 107 and 108:
“The Singel Mennonite Church, Ams
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