Paper Part 3

....Dutch loanwords in American English fall into 13 different areas. Let’s take some of the words mentioned previous and break them down. Coleslaw, which is regarded as a typically American product and is exported to other countries under this American name, was recorded at one time as Cold Slaw which was most likely due to Americans not calling the plant cole; instead calling it cabbage. It was borrowed in the 17^th century from the Dutch koolsla or cabbage salad. Cookie, in Dutch koekje, is a small flat sweet cake. Cookie is one of the most frequently used Dutch loanwords in American English and has been used in many expressions that do not exist in Dutch. Spill your cookies, the way the cookie crumbles, have your cookie and eat it, etc. (Sijs 126) Waffle, or Dutch wafel, is a light flat pastry with a diamond shaped pattern. Derived from weven (to weave) and related to Wabe (honeycomb). Boss, or Dutch baas, meaning master foreman. This loanword has ‘conquered the world’ as it were. It reflects a new view on society. And many other cultures use it as well. Even Santa Claus, or Dutch Sante Klaas / Sint Nicolaas is Dutch in origin even though the modern day version has strayed quite a bit from the Dutch. (Sijs 251)

            The Dutch and English languages are seen to be most closely related to each other, closer than Dutch and modern German. The reason this is not observed right away is in the difference of how the words are written. It is likened to two sisters who had different educations growing up. The Dutch language had their time as a dominate ‘educated’ nation during the 17^th century and thus spread their words and influence then while today the reverse is true with America and the rise of English as a world wide language making the borrowing of English words more prevalent. (de Vries 60).
            What is English? English today is the most widely spoken language in the world It is the 3^rd most common native language. Historically as we will see, English originated form the fusion of closely related dialects. American English is a set of dialects of the English language used in the USA. Every language it has been in contact with, primarily West Africa, Native Americans, German, Irish, Spanish, Dutch, and many other waves of immigrants have influenced American English. American English is an amalgam of different dialects molded into one.
            What is a loanword or word borrowing? A loanword is a word that is borrowed from one language and incorporated into another, usually with a spelling change to better acclimate it to the norm of the area. Hence names like Walstraat became Wall Street and Breede Weg became Broadway. (Sijs 51) This Americanization can work both ways. There is a form of Dutch called Americanized Dutch where contact with English has worn off the original inflections and the definite and indefinite articles (Mencken 417). The case endings have nearly disappeared. At both the abstract and concrete level of communication two cultures ‘rub off’ on each other depending on the conditions under which the two come into contact. The following questions may be asked then to determine sociolinguistic analysis for word borrowing in any given language; in this case Dutch. 1) What circumstances are words borrowed by one language? 2) Who are the borrowers? 3) Why are foreign words borrowed? 4) How are they borrowed? 5) What are the words that are borrowed? 6) What is the extent to which borrowed words can be used? (Higa 278)....