Why is Dutch so close to English?

Feddersen   Tue May 11, 2010 8:02 pm GMT
Boysen is such a Frisian surname!
Feddersen   Tue May 11, 2010 8:07 pm GMT
Or Boyesen!
Bud   Tue May 11, 2010 8:25 pm GMT
<<http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=boy&searchmode=none >>

This is such a bogus etymology.

No other language that I know of uses a word associating "fetter/chain" to mean boy, especially one's own son.

I mean, is the first thought describing what a boy is in anyone's mind going to be "oh yeah, that tied up captive over there". Not in any normal person's mind. Get real.
Leasnam   Tue May 11, 2010 8:29 pm GMT
It most likely originates from a form of proto-Germanic *bo-, meaning "brother, male relative" + an '-y'/'-i' diminutive ending (PGmc *bo-i = little brother, little male relative).

I agree, tying it to embuie "one fettered" is rather ridiculous.
Leasnam   Tue May 11, 2010 8:30 pm GMT
Also related is the Flemish word 'boe' "brother", from *bo-
Feddersen   Tue May 11, 2010 8:57 pm GMT
BO BOJESEN was the Danish newspaper caricaturist illustrator who drew the drawing of the Danish National Registration Authority answering this call:

- You want to be registered as a regular Dane, but you're saying your grandmother was German, your mother was Swedish, you are married to a Frenchman and on top of that you are calling from the Royal Palace?

:-)
minstrel   Fri May 14, 2010 3:19 pm GMT
> Leasnam Tue May 11, 2010 8:29 pm GMT
It most likely originates from a form of proto-Germanic *bo-, meaning "brother, male relative" + an '-y'/'-i' diminutive ending (PGmc *bo-i = little brother, little male relative). <

Hokkienese:
pou (pronounce as bor), means "man" or "male"
inn (pronounce as i + nn; nn = nasalization), means "baby"
pou-inn, means "boy"

Chinchewese: pou-inn
Amoyese: pou-enn
minstrel   Sat May 29, 2010 3:44 pm GMT
<There's always 'knave', 'lad', 'youth', 'groom' and 'knapling'>

English / Hokkienese:
knave / kann (Chinchewese: son)
lad / le-a (little girl)
youth / iu, iu-khi (youth)
Wilheaume de Quoidtbach   Sat May 29, 2010 8:37 pm GMT
English knave-German-Knabe-Dutch-knaaf. Nothing about Hokkienese.
Franco   Sat May 29, 2010 8:46 pm GMT
PARISIEN is a Knavefiddler
Franco   Sat May 29, 2010 8:54 pm GMT
Lol. In Spain, we say "blanco culo"...
Hokkienese & IE - sta   Sun May 30, 2010 1:22 am GMT
Question, regarding the proposed Hokkienese link:
- How many words would you expect to sound the same in two languages that developed entirely independently?

Rough analysis:
- Vowel changes are so normal, the vowel cound be anything
- Chance of having the same number of consonant sounds = 1 in median no of syllables = say 3
- Probability of having a similar first consonant sound (counting voiced and unvoiced as same) = say 1 in 20. Same for all subsequent consonant sounds.
- Therefore probability of sounding about the same despite being independent = approximately 1/3 x [1/20]^3 = 1 in 24000.
- Assuming the languages have an averagely rich modern vocabulary of about 500,000 words, you might expect something like only [500,000/20,000] 25 words to randomly coincide.
- Assuming the languages diverged in ancient times when vocabulary would have been limited to perhaps 50,000 words, you might expect one thenth of that, say 2-3 words to coincide.

Minstrel has pointed out many, many more that 2-3 words in Hokkienese that appear to coincide with IE structures and sounds. Therefore I conclude that there is a strong probability of a link between IE and Hokkienese. Surprisingly. Although Tocharian was a surprise link as well, don't forget.
Bentinck   Sun May 30, 2010 7:15 pm GMT
Nederlands is het versoek van een Engelse, Duits te praten.
minstrel   Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:18 am GMT
> English-knave, German-Knabe, Dutch-knaaf. Nothing about Hokkienese. <

The modern Germanic languages lost nasalization, but the spelling of English: knave, German: knabe, Dutch: knaaf, etc., still keep the nasalization; "kna, knaa" = kaⁿ, kaaⁿ.


nasalization = nn = ( )ⁿ

Hokkienese: kna = kann = kaⁿ
English: kna-ve = kann-ve = kaⁿ-ve
German: kna-be = kann-be = kaⁿ-be
Dutch: knaa-f = kaann-f = kaaⁿ-f

In Chinchewese (Peh-oe-ji: Choan-chiu-oe), the "kann" (son) can also call "kann-mi", "kann-bi". The words "mi, me" and "bi, be" mean little, small; such as "niau-bi, iaunn-bi" (kitty cat), "ah-bi" (kitty duck) etc.

English: army (the original meaning may be young men)
Chinchewese: am-mi (1. little boy 2. male name)

English: Hamiton (name, family name)
Chinchewese: am-mi-thun (means the boy about 7, 8 or 9 years old.)
encore   Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:25 am GMT
<<English: army (the original meaning may be young men)
Chinchewese: am-mi (1. little boy 2. male name)>>
Word "army" isn't of Germanic origin (O.E. "here").