Some linguistic features of New Dutch - Part 2
The following excerpt from Willem Godschalk van Focquenbroch's (>link) comedy De verwarde jalousy (The Confused Jealousy) of 1663 shows another conspicuous development in the Dutch language. (In the fragment, the character Jasper is talking to Katrijn who has just fainted after uttering a loud shriek):New Dutch:
Iy maeckt hier een gerucht, of 't heele land vergaen sou, Of dat de werelt niet een oogenblick meer staen sou. Nou lijckwel laet eens sien: of sy my noch wel hoort. Seg Iuffrouw, ben je doot? Och! Sy spreekt niet een woort.
Modern Dutch:
Jij maakt hier een gerucht, alsof 't hele land vergaan zou, Alsof de wereld niet één ogenblik meer (be)staan zou. Nou, wel wel, laat eens zien of zij mij nog wel hoort. Zeg juffrouw, ben je dood? Och! Zij spreekt niet één woord.
English translation:
You make here such a racket as if the whole country were about to perish, As if the world were not to exist one moment longer. Dear, oh dear, well, let's find out if she can still hear me. I say, Miss, are you dead? Oh! She doesn't utter a word.
Instead of the Old Dutch 'thu' or Middle Dutch 'du', Jasper uses a new *pronoun to refer to the second person singular: 'Iy' [remember: i = j] or 'je'. 'Je/jij' were used in informal situations only. When addressing a superior or older person, people used 'gij' instead, as was the case in the Middle Ages. ('Gij' was favoured by the writers of the Statenbijbel to refer to God; it is the stylistic equivalent of standard English 'Thou'). 'Gij' was also used for the second person plural ('vous' in French, 'ihr' in German). In time, 'gij' was replaced by 'u' as the polite form of address ('vous' in French, 'Sie' in German).
Middle Dutch:
du
ghi
ghiNew Dutch
jij/je
gij
gij(lui)Middle Dutch:
jij/je
u
jullie
New Dutch
you (informal, singular)
you/thou (formal, singular)
you (informal, plural)
Question 15:
How might a medieval poet have written the phrase 'Sy spreekt niet een woort'?
Check your answer (>link)
Click (>link) to go to the next stage in the historical overview.
