Learning Alsatian through English

By the Same Author

Ph.D. dissertation

Adolf, Paul. "Contrastive Phonology of the Local Alsatian Vernacular of Obernai and British English," These de 3eme cycle, Strasbourg, 1975.

Adolf, Paul. "Contrastive Lexical Structures of the Local Alsatian Dialect of Obernai and British English," These de doctorat nouveau regime, Strasbourg, 1985.

Books

Adolf, Paul. Lexique alsacien-anglais (vrais et foux amis) (Tome 1. Le substantij), Universite Populaire d'Obernai, 1982.

Adolf, Paul, assisted by Raymond Matzen. Dictionary "l'anglais par l'alsacien," Universite Populaire d'Obernai et Le Verger Editeur, 1997.

Adolf, Paul. "Mer lehre Englisch" 2002 guide pratique de conversation et de grammaire anglaise pour Alsaciem,

Editions Bentzinger, Colmar.

Adolf, Paul. "Dictionnaire comparatiJ multilingue ftanrais allemand alsacien anglais," Editions Midgard, Strasbourg, 2006.

Encyclopedia

"Anglais en Alsace" and "Enseignement de l'anglais en Alsace," "L'anglicisme en alsacien," in EncyclopMie de

1'Alsace, vols. 1 and 5, Editions Publitotal, Strasbourg, 1982. "Le parler dialectal d'Obernai," EncyclopMie de

l'Alsace, vol. 9.

Magazines, newspapers, various publications

"Pour une methode de prononciation anglaise a l'usage du dialectophone alsacien," in Bulletin APLV

(Association des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes) no. 11, May 1975; "L'apprentissage du vocabulaire anglais en milieu dialectal," in Bulletin APLV, no. 18, pp. 19-26, Strasbourg, 1975.

"L'alsacien au service de l'anglais" (Plaidoyer pour une pedagogie corrective), in Bulletin APL V, no. 45, June 1992.

"Englisch-Unterricht fUr Dialektsprechende Elsasser," in Llmd un Sprooch (Les cahiers du bilinguisme), pp. 13-15, 1992; "Bilinguisme et apprentissage de l'anglais en Alsace," in "d'Heimet," Les cahiers des dialectes

atemanique et ftancique, Selestat, Bas-Rhin, 1989: "Les Anglicismes. Qu'en pensons-nous?" in Dernieres

Nouvelles d'Alsace (DNA), August 12, 1985; "Linguistique contrastive et apprentissage de l'anglais en milieu dialectal alsacien," Cahiers germaniques, Nancy, 1998.

Linguistic seminary

Coordination d'un colloque en Alsace pour enseignants anglicistes et germanistes: applications pedagogiques de la parente genetique entre l'allemand (et l'alsacien) et l'anglais, May 1987.

For further information, the author can be contacted bye-mail atpaul.adolf@Wanadoo.fr.

Learning Alsatian through English

A Comparative Dictionary

-English-German-Alsatian-French­

for English Speakers

Paul Adolf Ph.D. Linguistics

Honorary President of "Universiti Populaire sans Frontieres"

palgravemacmilan

LEARNING ALSATIAN THROUGH ENGLISH

© Paul Adolf, 2007. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007978-1-4039-7987-2 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

First published in 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN~ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world.

PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin's Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries.

ISBN 978-1-349-73847-2 ISBN 978-1-137-11895-0 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Adolf, Paul. Learning Alsatian through English: a comparative dictionary

English-German-Alsatian-French for English speakers / Paul Adolf. p.cm.

Includes indexes.

1. German language-Dialects-France-Alsace-Dictionaries-Polyglot. l. Title.

PF5246.A372007 437' .944383-dc22

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.

First edition: April 2007

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Transferred to digital printing in 2007.

2007003102

DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-11895-0

To the English-speaking world and especially the US Alsatian Heritage

Speakers

To my wife Malou and my grandchildren Camilla and Frederick

Map of Alsace Preface

How to use this dictionary

Contents

List of abbreviations and conventional signs

Pronunciation guide: Alsatian pronunciation

English-Alsatian comparative dictionary

Appendix

Alsatian index

English index

V111

IX

X111

XVll

XX111

167

167

184

SWITZERLAND

Map of A1sace

Preface

A hearty welcome to wonderful Alsace!

Hifrzlich willkomme im wundervolle Elsass!

Come and have a look at the wonderful Garden of Alsace in rhe northeast of France along rhe River Rhine! Welcome to its surprising distinctiveness and time-old traditions. Alsace has a population of more rhan 1,790,000 inhabitants and is full of history and culture. It has always been at the heart of significant events. Come and discover our eventful history and our unique architectural heritage ... our traditions including our old German language.

Alsace has always been an exception: While Alsatians pride rhemselves on their patriotism, they also display their differences with the other French people beyond the Vosges mountains. Alsace is a distinct territory and is proud of a fortunate blend of French-Alsatian German and European spirit and identity.

Have you ever visited Alsace? Did you ever hear about rhe Alsatian language? How many English-speaking persons would like to understand and speak Alsatian to get more familiar with its population and way of life, traditions, food, etc.

Alsatian folks are friendly people and defenders of rheir art, history, culture, and language. Come and listen to Alsatian folk music and folk songs! Watch folk dances! Come and enjoy a Rhinelander dance!­Listen to Alsatian &iends singing beautiful songs and to Alsatian nightingales singing beautifully at night!

We are delighted to have you as our guest in our beautifullitrle land! You will see great sights and we hope you will enjoy everything about our beautiful Alsace ... moreover much more if you can understand and speak some Alsatian German, the morher-tongue of the Alsatian folks.

You will be fascinated as you stroll along the small, narrow, crooked streets and lanes amid rhe very old half-timbered buildings. Come and see our wonderful landscapes! Watch our Alsatian handicrafTsmen at work and rheir folk craft ... rhe beautiful work of rhe glass blower and rhe goldsmith! Yes, Alsace is worrh seeing!

You'll be welcomed by our hearty Alsatian folk! Imagine yourself being together wirh friendly people, eating good Alsatian food, and listening to the Alsatian language!

It is good living in Alsace (Alsat.) "1m Elsass isch giiet lawe"! Most Alsatian women are good cooks and housewives! Have an old cooking recipe from an Alsatian grandmother-en alts Kochrezapt . .. Alsatian cooking is known allover the world! We drink wine and beer in Alsace! Come and enjoy a glass of beer and a pretzel in a beer cellar or a glass of wine in a Winstub (Alsatian pub)! You'll enjoy the Alsatian light and dry white wines at traditional wine festivals! Eating and drinking hold life and soul together! (Alsat.) ''Esse un Drlnke halt Liib un Seel z'samme!"

Drive along the Alsatian wine route enjoying the seven grape varieties, the golden kougelhopf, and ... the refreshing delicate flavor of our Alsatian dialectl-Alsatian people have the gi& of tongues-If you understand and can say Alsatian words and sentences ... you'll learn a lot more about Alsace, its people, its traditions, its way of life! Have a look: good morning! Giiete Morje! The five fingers of rhe hand: Dflnef

Flnger vun d'r Hand-My son is seven years old: Miner Suhn lsch slwwe Juhr alt! So before starting and enjoying your trip, please have a look at this book, a key to a betrer understanding

and appreciation of the various charms of Alsace! Here's good news for you! Yes! Unbelievable! You can understand and practice rhe Alsatian dialect

precisely through English! Alsatian German is-like English-a delicious blend of picturesque old German and French. Learning Alsatian through English will provide you with another passport. Then you'll better understand the daily life and rhe land of this friendly people and you'll spend the best moments of your life in Alsace! Alsatian folks will become your &iends for life! Your stay in Alsace will be unforgettable (Alsat. "unvergesslich")! You will understand Alsatian, it won't be double Dutch to you! Don't wait!

What a lot of Alsatian words, sentences, and phrases you'll find in this new wordbook!

x

Dictionary ''Learning Alsatian through English"

Paul Adolf

Preface

A totally new book! A new major reference guide for American or English-speaking learners of Alsatian German allover the world!

This comparative multilingual dictionary enables English speakers to put their knowledge of English or American to good use when learning basic Alsatian, helping them to fix Alsatian words and expressions in memory! What more? It reveals many surprising family relationships and similarities between the two languages that readers will find fascinating to explore, discovering thus Alsace and Learning Alsatian through English!

It contains

1. Hundreds of examples in which the two languages are identical, in whole or in part. Guess Alsatian cousins behind those English sentences: Good morning "Giiete Morje!". It's cold in winter "Es isch kalt im Winter" I drink a glass of water, wine. "Ich drInk e Glas Wasser, Win."

2. Compounds, derived words, phrasal verbs/compound verbs: Peppermint: Pfoffirminz; wine cellar: Winkaller. We'll still hold out for long! Mir halte's noch lang iis!

3. Expressions in common use, idiomatic turns of phrases, and picturesque proverbs: Arm in arm : Arm in Arm Alsat. Where there's a will there's a way. Wo e Wllle lsch, lsch e Waj / Wi!j.

4. Anglicisms in Alsatian German. 5. Notes on erymology and grammar. 6. Comparative notes and items of historical interest.

The author Paul Adolf, Ph.D., former teacher of English, former vice president of the Federation des Universites Populaires d'Aisace (France).

This comparative word and workbook is a supplementary passport to Alsatian facilitating the learning of basic Alsatian thanks to the similarities between English and Alsatian German root words.

This book will not only make you rapidly familiar with Alsatian mnemotechnics but owing to the similarities you will also learn more quickly.

This new handy dictionary will increase the awareness of many Alsatian words and phrases and their similarities with English or old English. Alsatian German has numerous words that are similar to English words. Some of them have similar meanings but others have different meanings and many can cause misunderstandings! This book is the definite guide to understanding these Alsatian good, true, and false cognates or false friends. Each headword is illustrated by several sentences. So it would be very helpful for an English speaker to learn a Germanic language such as Alsatian by taking into account his or her knowledge of English!

Various similarities between the English and Alsatian vocabulary have indeed been noticed by English speakers who hear people speak Alsatian or learn Alsatian German. It would have been possible to refer the English-speaking reader to a bilingual English German dictionary but we needed precisely an English Alsatian comparative dictionary for English speakers who are anxious to discover Alsace through its dialects.

Now what sets this dictionary apart is that Alsatian German-and not standard German-precisely gives to the comparison a "distinctive flavor," to discover from the everyday speech used by a great number of fellow citizens. Moreover Alsatian German reveals erymological links with English that are missing in standard German.

This wordbook does not offer an exhaustive study of Alsatian but a betrer knowledge of what can be drawn upon from English to facilitate the approach of basic Alsatian.

Therefore, it is not a current bilingual dictionary listing all the Alsatian and English words. The dictionary is based on English and Alsatian words and phrases selected on account of erymological similarities.

Preface Xl

The author's research work has been devoted to the comparison of the phonological, grammatical, and lexical systems of Alsatian and English as well as to the pedagogical exploitation of those genetic affinities between both languages. So the book deals with everyday Alsatian situations in life, illustrated by Alsatian sentences and their equivalences in English.

Perceiving the word "grass" and its Alsatian equivalent Grlts, Germ. Gras, along wirh its phonetic variants, the reader might make rhe most of orher common roots in this field of lexical interest: Alsat. Heck f., Germ. Heeke, Fr. haie f. < hedge, or Alsat. Matt f., Germ. Wiese, Matte, fro pre < meadow, etc. Starting from English words you can also discover familiar or archaic, old Alsatian words behind their English counterparts such as "gumpe" vb., Fr. sauter, Eng!. to jump or Alsatian "drule" vb. possibly reminding you of "to drool' / syn. to dribble."

A few common roots at first glance do not seem self-evident and yet who would suspect at first sight a kinship between the English word towel and its Alsatian equivalent ZwehllZwahl?

towel ['taualj : ZwalllZwell f. Germ. Handtuch n.; Fr. serviette n. That difference in form can be elucidated here owing to the second consonant shift. (See the helpful

symbols of phonetic variants in the list of abbreviations as well as in rhe chart of the phonetic equivalences of Alsatian and English.)

That is why it would be better to identifY and memorize in this way Alsatian words and phrases, even sentences, starting wirh English.

I want to express my deep rhanks to Palgrave Macmillan, and to Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner who contacted Mr. John Sargent.

PAUL ADOLF

How to use this dictionary

This wordbook lists, grouped alphabetically, more than one thousand English and Alsatian words of common roots without taking into account their derivatives and compounds. The book mainly deals with the elementary concrete, simple, everyday vocabulary, drawn from different fields even on a colloquialleve!. Indeed Alsatian has a great number of colloquialisms since it is above all a spoken vernacular.

Some derogatory words asterisked (**) and also having common roots appear in the word list. These phrases are not meant to be used but are simply listed for understanding. Let us finally mention some anglicisms in Alsatian.

Survey of a headword

Headword

The English headwords, cognates of Alsatian, followed by their German and Alsatian etymological equivalents in italics are listed in alphabetical order and in bold type. ex.: blue [bIll:] adj. (Germ. blau) Alsat. btai / bioi UA, MA; bioi LA; Fr. bleu,e.

There may not always be a corresponding standard German equivalent for the English or Alsatian headword. ex.: lounge [laun~] vb.: (Germ.Jau!' behaglichsitzen,Jaulliegen) Alsat.liientsche *v.

Remember that the swung dash ~ always stands for the English keyword illustrated by one or several sentences or phrases. book [buk] n. a new ~: e nejs Biiech / Boech / Buuch; un nouveau livre.

On the right of the English headword in bold type (with its pronunciation) appears first the standard German equivalent followed by the Alsatian German one in italics with its phonetic variants enclosed in brackets and transcribed by means of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IP A). The headword is followed by the abbreviation of the type of word such as adj., adv., v., n., etc. (see index of abbreviations).

In order to understand the value of the phonetic transcription of the Alsatian word, you may consult the phonetic chart or pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book or the Alsatian index at the end of the dictionary.

There is also a chart of the phonetic equivalences between English and Alsatian words facilitating the memorization of Alsatian words.

The British English word is sometimes accompanied by a spelling or lexical American variant: ex.: Br. Eng!. plough, Amer. plow.

Dialectal variants

The headword appears followed by different Alsatian dialect forms (Alsatian variants) that require more than one pronunciation. Alsatian German has not a standardized set spelling but variant spellings according to the linguistic areas. Unlike standard German, Alsatian German has regional features. (It is not always easy to decode the "written dialect.") That is why you will find the standard German word at each entry to help identify more quickly the main Alsatian variants. ex.: (Germ. blau adj.) Alsat. btai/ bioi UA, MA, bIoi Str., LA; Fr. bleu. (Germ. Bier n.) Alsat. Biar UA, Biiir MA, Bier LA, Beer Str., LA n.; Fr. biere f.

XIV How to use this dictionary

Please consult the Alsatian word index to find the pronunciation of the Alsatian keyword (all variants are not given) because it is not possible here to give the pronunciation found in each regional variety of Alsatian German. See also the list of abbreviations indicating the main Alsatian dialect areas in the abbreviation index: SG = Sundgau, UA = Upper Alsace, LA = Lower Alsace, etc. This information shows you what differentiates a phonetic variant from another one and also the different spellings compared to standard German: breast [brest] n. (Germ. Brust f.) Alsat. Bruscht AA, FA f.; Fr. poitrine f.

Lexical variants of the Alsatian words may be mentioned: awl [::d] n. (Germ. Ahle f.) Alsat. AhlAA, FA; OhlCZ f., lex. var. Rlngledruckerm. UA; Fr. alene f. yawn [j ::m] v. (Germ. giihnen) Alsat. gahne UA; giihne ['gE::ne] / giiwe / geewe LA, lex. var. schnappe AA; Fr. bailler.

When the Alsatian keyword represents an irregular verb or an irregular plural, the past participle (p.p.) or the plural (pl.) is indicated. ex.: bake [belk] reg. vb. p.p. baked [belkt] (Germ.) backen p.p. gebacken irreg. vb. Alsat bache (AA, Str., AF) p.p. gebache. ex.: mouse [maus] irreg. pI. mice [mals] (Germ. Maus f. pI. Miiuse); Alsat. MuUs UA, MA, Str.; MUs Str., LA; Mus AB; MoeUs, Maus NEA f.; Miis f. pl.; Fr. souris f.

The German and Alsatian words are followed by their French equivalent.

Examples

If we wish to be able to express ourselves in speech we must learn to cope with the combination of all those headwords into phrases and plain sentences-in brief to learn how those Alsatian words combine with each other.

An English speaker wishing to express in Alsatian the word or collocation bache: bake looks up the English word "bake" and will find plain Alsatian examples (phrases and sentences). This book gives priority to sentences reminding you of your Alsatian roots:

My son is nine years old. Miner Suhn / Sohn Isch nin Juhr / Johr alt. Mon fils est age de neuf ans. or Two apples and a pound of sugar, please! which reminds you of its Alsatian counterpart

Zwei Epfel un e Pfund Zucker, wenn s beliebt! Deux pommes et une livre de sucre, svp!

All the keywords or pattern keywords are abundantly illustrated and reveal total or partial equivalence or no equivalence of meaning (false friends): I eat an apple evety day. feh iss less e-n-Apfel jede Dag I Doej I Daa. Je mange une pomme tous les jours.

On the left the English sentence is translated into Alsatian sometimes indicating the Alsatian keyword with its phonetic variants followed by the Alsatian sentence in italics.

Each meaning of the word is preceded either by a number (1, 2, 3, etc.) going from the most current, or from the general to the particular one.

flesh [fief] n. (Germ. Fleisch n.) Alsat. Fleisch AA, FA; Fliilsch / Fliiiisch CZ n.; Fr. chair f. 1. a) (sofr part of body) human ~ : Menschefleisch n.; chair humaine f. b) fig. (prov.) My children are my ~ and blood. Minni Klnder sinn minn Fleisch un Bluet. LA Mes enfants sont la chair de rna chair. I The spirit is willing but the ~ is weak. D'r Gelseht lseh willig, s Fleisch lseh sehwaeh. L'esprit est prompt, mais la chair est faible. 2. (cpd) ~-eating / carnivorous animal: Fleischfrasser I-fi"esser m. sg.; animal carnassier m. fl This symbol appears before an English or Alsatian word having partial similarities or total differences: fl M'r kauft Flelsch bim Metzjer. We / People buy meat [mi:t] at the butcher's. On achhe de la viande chez Ie boucher. flAisatian Fleisch does not only refer to flesh but also to meat.

How to use this dictionary xv

Phrases and sayings

There are numerous similarities. An English and an Alsatian speaker can thus enliven their conversation with colorful idioms dictated by popular wisdom: blue [blu:] Germ. blau

Phrase

blue* Monday: Alsat. blaier / bloier Mondag UA, bliiier*Mandi / Mondaa LA Jour ch6me par quelqu'un qui manque a son travail.

will [wIll Germ. Wille(n) m. Alsat. WIlle m.; volonte f.

Idioms

It's God's will! Es isch Gotteswllle! C' est la volonte divine! I It's my last will! Es isch miner letschte WIlle! Ce sont mes dernieres volontes! I I do it from free will. Ich diie 's iis frejem WIlle. Je Ie fais de plein gre. I with the best will in the world: mit'em beschte WIlle In / vun de Welt; avec la meilleure volonte du monde.

Therefore, idioms, phrases, and a few proverbs and sayings ofren complete an entry by showing equivalent wealth of colloquialisms spicing up the book and giving it a special flavor: to have a screw loose: e Schriib luck han litt. avoir une vis desserree; ~tre timbre' poor as a churchmouse: arm wie e Kirichemiis litt. pauvre comme une souris d'eglise, pauvre comme Job. to go through thick and thin: durich dick un dinn gehn; aller contre vents et marees.

Proverbs

Where there's a will there's a way. Wo e Wille isch, isch e Waj / We.;.

La ou volonte il y a, une voie elle ouvrira / II ne faut pas se plier ala fatalite / Vouloir, c'est pouvoir.

Let us hope those idioms are preserved and protected in colloquial language as well in English as in Alsatian.

Derivatives and compounds

You can't help being struck by a wealth of derivatives as well as Alsatian and English compounds since Germanic languages form many of them. Thus, prefIxes and suffixes are part of numerous English and Alsatian words; therefore you can start from nouns and verbs to form adjectives or vice versa: ex.: England> English. Alsat. England> englisch

However, this process does not always work the same way in both languages. Derivatives and compounds (cpds) are placed under the examples and phrases, idioms.

Here are some examples:

Derivatives

PrefIxes: over prep. overheat v. (Germ. iiberhitzen, iiberheizen) Alsat. lwwerhltze; Fr. surchauffer I ~ed engine, room: lwwerhltzter Motor, lwwerhltzts ZImmer; moteur surchauffe, piece surchauffee cf. heat.

Suffixes: ex.: childhood: Alsat. Kindheitf.; Fr. enfance f.

cf. child [tJaIld] Kind n.; Fr. enfant m. f.

XVI How to use this dictionary

Compounds

Compound adjective: bitter-sweet : bittersiess I -seess adj. aigre-doux, doux-amer-compound nouns: summer: Summer m.; Fr. ete m. I - timetable: Summnfohrplan m. horaire d'ete m. (des chemins de fer) I - holidays: Summerferie f. pI. vacances d'ete f. pI. I - clothes / wear: Summerkleid(er} f. pI. v~tement(s) d' ete m.pl. I - coat: Summerm?mtel m. manteau d' ete m. I - month: Summermunet I-monet m. mois d' ete m. I - night: Summernacht f. nuit d'ete f. I - shoes: Summerschite(j} m. pI. chaussures d'ete f. pI. I - evening: Summeruwe I-owe m. soir d'ete m. I - weather: Summerwatterl-wetter n. temps estival m. I - time: Summerzit f. heure d' ete f.

fl You cannot systematically and indefinitely generalize the formation of compounds in Alsatian according to the English equivalent: A bedroom is not a "Bett roejm" but e SchlufZimmer. Germ. SchlafZimmer.

Phrasal verbs: to hold out: Ushalte (Germ. aushalten); Fr. tenir bon vb.

The garrison will hold out for long. D' Garnisun I Garnison halt s noch tang Us. La garnison tiendra bon pendant longtemps.

to hold up : ufhalte (Germ. aufhalten); Fr. retarder, retenir vb.

The bad weather is holding us up. s schlechte Wetter halt uns uf LA Le mauvais temps nous retarde / nous arrete.

Explanatory notes

There are numerous and various helpful notes at the end of the headword entries : etymology, history, grammar, and the like.

Appendix

The Alsatian word index makes you find rapidly the Alsatian keyword and its main variants followed by the English cognate. There is also an English index.

Bibliographical sources

A survey of the author's main research work, publications, and own personal sources he drew upon during the making of this dictionary.

Universiry research work (Alsatian dialectology and English linguistics).

Two doctoral dissertations: "Phonologie contrastive du parler local d'Obernai et de l'anglais britannique," These de 3,m, cycle, Strasbourg, 1975.

"Structures lexicales contrastives du parler d'Obernai et de l'anglais britannique. These de doctorat nouveau regime, Strasbourg, 1985.

Various contributions.

a.s.

Amer.

a.m.

AA

AB

abbrev.

acc.

adj.

adv.

aeron.

agr.

AIsat.

anat.

anglic.

ant.

arch.

archit.

asterisk

auxi!.

aviat.

B.-Rh.

bib.! bib!.

BO

bot.

Brit.

BV

c.-a-d

cath.

cf.

chern.

Co!.

collect.

colloq.

compar.

List of abbreviations and conventional signs

Anglo-saxon

American English

ante meridiem

Alemanic Alsace

Alsace Bossue (north west Alsace) (lit. hunchbacked because of its shape)

abbreviation

accusative

adjective

adverb

aeronautics

agriculture

Alsatian

anatomy

anglicism

antonym

archaic

architecture

(*) (**)

auxiliary

aviation

Bas-Rhin (Lower Alsace)

biblical

Bruch of Obernai (area)

botanic

British

Bruche Valley

c'est-a-dire (that is to say)

catholic

compare, refer to

chemical

Colmar

collective

colloquial

by comparison

XVIII

comparat.

comp!. of obj.

condit.

confus.

conj.

contr.

cpd

culin.

CZ

DA

dat.

def. art.

demo

der. I deriv.

derog.

dial.

dim. I dimin.

dir.

e.g.

electro

Eng!. I Brit.E.

etym.

euph.

ex.

exagger.

exclam.

expr.

f.

FA

fam. or *

fig.

Fr.

GB.

gener.

geogr.

Germ.

gram.

HC

hist.

comparative

complement of object

conditional

confusion

conjunction

contraction

List of abbreviations and conventional signs

compound (noun, adj., etc.)

culinary

Central rone of Alsace (between Giessen and Moder)

dialectal Alsace (= whole: Alemanic and Frankish)

dative

definite article

demonstrative (adjective or pronoun)

derivative

derogatory

dialect I dialectal

diminutive

direct (complement)

exempli gratia = for instance

electric

British English

erymology.-ical (word origin)

euphemism

example (for example)

exaggerated

exclamation lexclamative

expression

feminine

Frankish Alsace (north east and north west of Alsace)

familiar (language level)

figurative

French

Great Britain

generally

geography

German

grammar I grammatical note

Hanau country (between Kochersberg and Haguenau)

historic(al)

List of abbreviations and conventional signs

hom.

Ht-Rh.

humor.

idem

impers.

indo

indef.

indir.

info

interj.

interr.

intr. I intrans.

IPA

iron.

irreg.

jd.

jurid.

KB

kg.

LA

lat.

lex. var.

ling.

lit./litt.

liter.

low Gerrn.

m.

MA

math.

med.

MHG

milit.

mod. aux.

Mul.

mos.

MY

n.

N.B.

naut.

homonym

Haut-Rhin (Upper Alsace)

humoristic

the same

impersonal

indicative (verb)

indefinite

indirect

infinitive

interjection

interrogative

intransitive

International Phonetic Alphabet

ironic(al)

irregular vb.

Germ. jemand(en), sb., Fr. qqn

juridical, legal

Kochers berg area (Alsace)

kilogramme

Lower Alsace

Latin

lexical variant I variation

linguistic

literally I Fr. litteralement

literary

Low German

masculine

Middle Alsace

mathematics

medical

Middle High German

military

modal auxiliary

Mulhouse

music

Munster Valley (Upper Alsace)

noun; neuter

nota bene (please notice)

nautical

XIX

xx

NEA

neg.

neo!.

NR

numer. adj.

obj.

obs./obso!.

OHG

ordin.

p.m.

p.p.

patron.

pej.

pers.

pharm.

phonet.

phr. /phras. / phrasal v.

p!./ plur.

poet.

polit.

pop.

poss. case

poss.

poss. adj.

pref.

prep.

pres. indic.

pres. perf.

pret. subj

preter.

progr.

pron.

provo

qqch.

qqn

radic.

recipr.

ref. / reflex.

List of abbreviations and conventional signs

north east Alsace (beyond the forest of Haguenau)

negative

neologism (new word)

northern Ried (along the Rhine river)

numeral adjective

object

obsolete, old fashioned

Old High German

ordinal adj., number

post meridiem

past participle

patronym

pejorative

personal, person

pharmacy

phonetics/phonetical

phrasal verb (ex.: to hold out)

plural

poetical

political

popular (language level)

possessive case

possessive (adj., pron., case.)

possessive adjective

prefix

preposition

indicative present

present perfect

preterite subjunctive

preterite

progressive form

pronoun

proverb

Fr. quelque chose, something

Fr. quelqu'un, someone, somebody

radical, root

reciprocal (pronoun, etc.)

reflexive pronoun, verb

List of abbreviations and conventional signs

reg. Germ.

reg.

region.

rel.pron.

relig.

Rem.

RP

so.

sb.

SG

sg.

sl.

SR

sth

Str.

subj.

sufI.

superlat.

Syn.

techno

to

topon.

tr. / trans. v(b).

UA

v./vb.

var.

veter.

vulg.

Wis.

yid.

zool.

ZV

regional German

regular (verb), regional

regional (word)

relative pronoun

religious

remark

received pronunciation

someone

somebody

Sundgau (South Alsace near Swiss border)

singular

slang

southern Ried (Alsace)

something

Strasbourg

subjunctive

suffix

superlative

synonym

technical

infinitive particle ex : to eat

toponym / place -name

transitive verb

Upper Alsace (Southern Alsace)

verb

variant, variation, various expressions

veterinary

vulgar

Wissembourg (Northern Alsace , Lower Alsace)

yiddish

zoological

Zorn Valley (Alsace)

XX!

XXII List of abbreviations and conventional signs

Signs

~ swung dash standing for the English keyword

1, 2, 3 numbering introducing the various meanings of a keyword. Ex: 2 (cpd) = compound of a headword

,), difference of meaning and warning to prevent learner errors

* familiar

** very familiar, vulgar

['belauzl brackets concerning the pronunciation of the English or Alsatian headword "bellows"

I slash separating sentences

/ indicating variants of words or sentences

< derived from (erymology)

( ) optional ex : M'tl(i)ch, milk represents both M'tlch et M'tlich

I stands for standard German double s: after a long vowel: Sole/Saule, sauce after e diphthong: heif, hot heifen, to be called at the end of a word instead of a double s : (short vowel) ein Schuf, a shot and a long vowel: Gruf, greeting n.

Pronunciation guide

Alsatian pronunciation

Here is a phonetic translation of the Alsatian language. This is to remind you of the nearest English sound. The problem is we can't learn at the same time the Alsatian pronunciation with all its phonetic variants as shown in the phonetic variations of the different Alsatian words mentioned in the sentences of this wordbook. However this script might be of some help.

Alsatian spelling

e

e

Phonetic script of Alsatian: Spelling and sounds

Vowels

Is a short closed "i" like "beat," but short!

Can also be long like the vowel in "beat, heat"

sometimes with "ii," sign of vowel

length

Is a short open "i" of "bit, bitter, fish"

Is a long open "i" :

long Iii can be spelled "ee":

Barely pronounced as the "e" in butter, better at the

end of a word

Like the short" e" of pen

Is more open than "e" (bet), between "e" and "ae" (bad) sometimes written "a."

Alsatian word and phonetics English translation

bisse, hile, Pfif Bite, cry, pipe ['bisa] ['hila]

[bfif]

eMin Amine [mi:n]

liide Gi:da] Suffer

Flsch, bitter, Fish, bitter, Wlnter winter

[fIf] ['bIdar] ['vmdar]

mlr, Vieh (unlike "fee"),

[mIr] [fI:] Tee, See

Zucker, Butter ['dsugar] ['budar]

Beck, Bett [beg] [bed]

Wetter, Keller ['vEdar] ['kElar]

Long "a" Ie is not very far from ae (cat) or even ea of bear (animal) e Bar

Me, Cattle

Tea, lake

Sugar, butter

Baker, bed

Weather, cellar

XXIV

Alsatian spelling

a

o

ii

6

u

Alsatian spelling

ie

au

ai,ei

aU.j

Pronunciation guide

Alsatian word and phonetics English translation

Asch [as] 1. as the first 0 sound in color

or the "u" in cup

2. can be long: Baam, Bam

Mahl [ma:l]

long" a" looks like short American "0" in hot but is long!

Unlike Amer. "hot," rather like "a" of ball, raw, but short!

Aff, Batt(e)

bf] ['b::>la]

Closed "0" vowel. The "r" is always pronounced in Alsatian wherever its position!

To produce this sound, purse your lips as if you were saying "00" but make the sound "ee." It is a front vowel and rounded.

This sound is most often long and is pronounced with rounded lips.

A short open "u" like in "pull"; closed "u" only occurs in

loan words: Btus

The long "u" is also open but not closed like in "loot"

Hom [horn]

More closed "0" than English "0." Please avoid American "a" sound of "hot."

Hiis(s)

[hys]

HOt [h0:d]

rather like "u" in a fur, burns

kumme ['kuma]

"u" is never "u" of English "number"

Some diphthongs

Is not only a diphthong nearly like English ra but also a long open r !

Like "ou" in English house

Can be either the ai sound of English "eye," "height," or ai nearly like English "hate." Take a from English "bad" + i

Like oi in oil, boy

Alsatian word

biete ['br:ta, 'brcta]

Haus

[haus]

haisslheiss [hais/hEis]

schaje [f::>ya]

Ash, meallflour

tree

Ape monkey, ball

Horn

House

Hat

Come

Blouse

English

to bid

House

hot

To look at (same origin as "show")

Pronunciation guide xxv

Consonants

Alsatian spelling Alsatian word English

p At the beginning of some words p is packe ['ph~ga] To pack (suitcase)

very strong and aspirated ph=aspirated

p=b Is rather a weak "p" = b Pump [bumb] Bicycle pump

b b is not a voiced consonant but a bache ['b~xa] Bake

weak voiceless p consonant

At the beginning of some words "t" is Tee [th" / the:] Tea

very strong and aspirated

d d is not a voiced consonant but a Durm [durm] Tower

weak voiceless t consonant in Durm, tower; Bodal, bottle. It is Bottle not always easy to find out which words take "t" or "d." However, my

phonetic index at the end of the

manual gives some hints for each

word to pronounce!

k At the beginning of an Alsatian word Keller Cellar

k is very strong and aspirated ['kclar]

"kn" is always pronounced in

Alsatian unlike in English Knee Knie ie= long closed i

chs = sechs, Ochs = ks (hs) Six, ox

q = k Quetsch = qv Plum

g 1. Is most often like English "g" in Garde Garden garden, Gald ['g::>:rda] Money

2. g is not a voiced but weak voiceless

k consonant at the end of words:

Zug Train

Alsatian "g" is never [tf] except in gin

gh = at the beginning of a word is k gheje Fall

pf Unlike in English this consonant Pfund Pound

cluster is weak p + f [bfund]

fand v The If I sound is represented both by Finger, offi Finger, open f and v: fille, to fill and voll, full v can ['fIlJar] ['of a]

be pronounced like If I : vie! Much

s is always strong s in all positions Sack Sack and never a "z" [s::Jg]

sitze = sltse (a weak t) [sItsa] To sit

sch Is like sh of shoe Schiieh Shoe

Before p, t, w = sh + p, t, v at the [fyee]

beginning of a word [fm:] Snow, sport, swim Schnee, Sport I Schbort, schwlmme

Never use English sn, sp, st, sm, sw ...

XXVI

Alsatian spelling

ch

tz

z

tsch

m

n

ng

h

Pronunciation guide

Alsatian word

To make front and back ch, press the Klche tip of the tongue firmly against the ['kI\;e] c;: = front consonant lower teeth and say - ish, esh, osh

Think of Scottish "Lochness"

Don't put ck, k, or sh instead of ch Compare with clearing one's throat! The Alsatians say humorously it is "e Halskranket, a throat ache."

Is like "ts" in English" its," "cats"

There is no "z" sound in Alsatian

such as in English zeal, rose

Like English ch in coach

I is always pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the back of the upper incisors also at the end of a word never like a velar English I. (ex: ill)

Unlike English / rI, is trilled and is either a weak, voiced, uvular friction sound or a tongue tip trill

Is like ng in "ping pong." However, Alsatian ''Anger'' is pronounced by analogy to Alsat. singe, but not to its English equivalent "finger"

Before a vowel, it is aspirated like h in house, hat, but afrer a vowel, h is

silent and is a sign oflength of preceding vowel: Bohn, bean,Johr, year, Sohn, son

J as the y in year but is never the dj of juice

It is nearer the sound of h in huge (between aspirated h and

a following vowel)

Nacht [m:xt] back consonant mache ['m~:xe]

Nu{u}chber [ nuc:)xber]

K2ttz [bds]

Zahn [ds ~:n]

rutsche ['rutS e]

lang [bIJ]

April [::>'bnl]

Ross [ros]

Alsatian "r" is always

pronounced wherever it is in the word!

Mamme ['m~me]

nein

[nain]

Ring [nIJ]

Hund [hund]

Johr [jo:r]

English

Kitchen

Night

To make

Neighbor

Cat

Tooth

Glide, slide

Long

April

Horse

Mum

No

Ring

Sing

Dog

Year

Pronunciation guide

Alsatian spelling

w

Stress

w and v are confusing, but Alsatian w = always a v as in the word voice, never English w of wild OOsser, slwwe

In most Alsatian words, the stress is on the first syllable except in French Roman loan words 'slnge but Batt'ri, battery

Alsatian word

wild [viidl

Compare English

"modern," Alsatian mo'dern

XXVI!

English

Wild, savage

Water, seven

Sing, battery

English-German-Alsatian phonetic equivalences

English consonant

Beginning of word

p

th

Middle of the word (between two vowels)

p

th

P

k

End of the word

p

P

k

Alsatian consonant

pf

ts

d

pf

ts

d

f ch

pf

ts

f ch

English word

Pound

Tongue

Thing

Apple

Witty

Weather

Open

Cook(ing)

Water

Cup

Cat

Ship

Book

Foot

German and Alsatian word

Pfond - Pfond

Zunge-Zung

Ding-DIng

Apfel - Apfel

witzig - wltzig

Wetter - Wifdder

offen - offi

kochen - koche

Wasser - W'asser

Kopf - Kopf IKopp

Katze-Katz

Schiff-Schiff

Buch-Bilech

Fuss- Filess