The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-10-20
ESTABLISHED 1862.
NO 40
BOEE NAMES.

What mislcads the English Speaking
American in the language of the Beers
is its similarity in spelling to German
The confusion is increased by an oc-
casional oversight ofthe London trans
mltters of Transvaal news, substitu
ting, c. g., the German "stein" for
"steen,' the Dutch for "stone''. 1t
looks as if the Dutch were pathological
ly akin to the Germans more than to
English. The fact is just the reverse.
English, Dutch and Flemish belong to
one group of the Teutonic languages
(Low Dutch); German is the only sur
viving written language of tue other
group (Hlgh Dutch). This once un-
derstood, it is not difficult, especially
if one has read little Chaucer, or even
Spenser, to guess correctly the mean-
ing of the Transvaal names which soon
fill all the American dispatches.
"Bloemfontein," for instance-pro-
nounced BLOOM fone tine"-is Bloom
Spring, Or Flower Spring. Lang's
Mex needs no explanation. Majuba-
pronounced, Of course, Ma-yoo-ba-is
not a Dutch word, except by right Of
adoption and conquest, but Kaifir. A
Boer general is called a ''veldheer,' or
''field lord,, '.The veld' is simply"thc
field open country. as when it is
said an army stakes the field The
rnral guard or military police of the
Transvaal ale the "veil watcheren,' or
field watchers. The weld in many
parts of the Transvaal is much cut up
clefts OF ravnes, which the newspaper
correspondents are sure to call by the
Cape name of "kloofs' fs'-pronounced
"klofes," as, by the way, President
Kruger's pet name should be pronoun-
ced Come Powl." You must also be
sure, if you do the proper thing. to
speak of Dom Paul's general not as if
Joubert were French name, but with
the pronunciation Yow-bert. The
members of the first and second Raads,
or orders, OF the Legislature are called
Jonkheeren''- n''-pronounced "Yonk-
hairen"-or "young lords,' and they
assemble in the "Raad Huis" pro-
nouncel "Rahd Hoys." The much
banded name of the individuals who
are excluded from voting, spelled cult
lander" is pronounced oytlahnder."
That part of the Transvaal territory
which has been found to contain the
wealth of Ophir and OF Golconda COM
bined is the "Rand:' the word means
"division" or "border line"-the line
that renders or sewers one State from
another. "Witwatersrand" means
edge OF the White Water" Many
of the Boer names Of place end in 'dorp,
which is neither more nor less than
'thorp," the Yorkshire name for ham,
let: German "dorf." "Stad" is like
the German "stadt, ,""a CITY," restroom"
sometimes printed "strom" is "stream."
"Berg" means mountain" but "kop-
ie," or 'little head" is also used for
smaller eminences.
One feature of the South Africa
open country of which much is likely
to be heard is the "meallc field" The
English-speaking colonists often pro-
nounce the former of these two words
as it would be in English; the Dutch
pronunciation is more like "melly;;" it
means just what it looks-a field where
you get the Vegetable material for
meal, which in those parts is chiefly
what Americans call corn and Eng
lishmen maize The unfortunate
young Prince Imperial was killed in a
mealie field in the Zulu war. He had
gone on reconnaissance several miles
away from his "laager"-
something like lah-her-which means
camp. or, as it would ba called if the
host were host of wild beasts, his
"layer," in modern spelling "liar."
When hunters or soldiers in the veldt
are not in "laager" they arc on the
"trek," or making tracks" as the
| Forty-niners were in the habit Of say
ing. And the Dutch settlers who
made the "Great Trek" across the Vaal
river 65 ycaas ago, because the British
authorities suppressed their peculiar
institution of slavery. and who have
been blocking up the "trek" of ad-
vancicg civilization ever since, pro-
gounced their distinctive name Doors,
which, like the German ''bauer" and
the identical English word, means
"rustice." 1t seems little paradoxi-
cal to read of "the Beer bughers,' be-
cause "burgher' bourgeois, or a man
of the city, is essentially contradis-
tinouished from "boer"