Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-11-01

Africa Is n Patois Compounded of
Many Others Besides the Dutch.
South African OK Wagon.
News readers always suffer incon-
venience when the reports from abroad
contain unfamiliar words and express
sions idiomatic to the locality from
which they may have been written.
The occurrence of such "uitlandische"
terms will be frequent in the dispatch
es which will record the strife between
England and her stubborn neighbors
in South Africa, for that country has a
patoiS all it's own.
We therefore propose to furnish our
readers with n glossary, simply illus
trating the terms which are most likely
to find their way into the war CORE
spondents' ink horns from the dust of
the dry African ''veldt," says the Chi
cago Inter Ocean. And this 0he COM
prehensive term for all open country
there, and not merely 1.-The plainS'0 will
do to start with. Dealing as we are
with "de Afrikaansche taal," and not
with what the Beers" (meaning farm
ers and nothing more) call ''pront hol-
laus"-correct European Dutch-we
properly spell this word with a final
IT." because Theoretically the word is
in Africa felt" even though the books
spell it weld" Some people mistaken
ly connect with the above word the
term "velschoens' and spell this. which
stands for the farmer made skin shoes,
which are only one degree removed
from our moccasins, with an added
"dt," under the impression that the
word means shoes for the veldt.
4 word IS to pronunciation. AS re-
marked. the "Boer taar' is not the
"Nederlansche" of today. but a patois,
the body of which consists of archaic
Dutch of the Seventeenth century eked
out by adaptations from French, Span
ish, Malay and some native words. The
vowel sounds are as in French or the
Latin of the schools. but in many in
stances the IA is ''ah," so long drawn
out that it ought properly be written
IA" to express the drawl which n
Boer always uses in that word. This
also appears in the word 'hweaie," i'm
mortalized by Uncle Powl when he de-
scribed the great queen as ''eene
kweaie vrouw." Pundits in three con-
tinents ran their heads against the
phrase, mostly in vain, for it was used
as a term of respectful awe. In its
archaic. and therefore Krugerian. sense
it is the explicit equivalent of dread
lady"
OF the consonants only two need be
mentioned, tx" and "g.'' The first,
when 4 terminal. has the sound of
ok" and we often therefore so spell
it. The ''S' is cultural so vibrant as
to have no representative equivalent in
English lettering. Even "ch" (ScOtch)
in ''loch" hardly reaches it as uttered
by 4 plainsman; "kh." deep in the
throat. might convey the idea.
Tit" is one of the most puzzling syl-
tables for the AngloSaXon reader to
master. y favorite pronunciation is
"weet." Its sound in Il Transvaaler's
mouth is exactly as we say eight in
English-e. G., uitlanders, ''eightland-
ers." Even in South Africa itself the
Saxon tongue boggles at this '.uit," and
for "spruit," 4 brook or streamlet. most
of them say "sprOot." Nevertheless,
the Beers always pronounce it
''spr-eight."
Some physical features of landscape
likely to be presented to their readers
by the news writer's in "taai" words
are shown in the following common
tary: Rand" any long, rolling hill;
range is 4 rand; more specifically the
grassy ridge itself OF such a forma-
ton. Cats rand and Witwater's rand
are illustrations. "Kopje," pronounced
Hoppe. designates isolated hills. espe-
cially such as are round and have
pointed tops. \ "kop" is larger; it
must be an isolated mountain peak to
attain the dignity of kop. To be a
"spitZkop" the peak must be high.
sharp and craggy. Berg or bergen"
signifies extensive mountain ranges.
To descend to the lower features of
the landscape-say from the top of Ma
juba ''kop"-we come down the grassy,
rock strewn ~hoogte," or braeside, and
find ourselves in Laingsnek. Mex"
means the rounded hollow of the dip
between any two peaks of n mountain
chain. But do not make the error of
the mex" with the
pass" Laingsnek is a pass, because
the road goes over it. but there are
'neks" which are not passes
If. however. we were upon a noun |
tain which offered us no easy "hoogte"
TO descend by, we should have to |
down some narrow and rug |
yed "kloof." A klOof is precisely what |
n America we call a canyon, and, as
with the word canyon. so also the word |
lloof may with equal propriety be APP |
piled to a deep, narrow cut in n plain |
Or level. narrow pass in rocky coun- |
Try. as to a rift or ascending valley in a |
side. AS we scramble down |
he windings of our 'kloof'' we may |
,ome in sight of the "krantz" of some |
Oeetling kop above us. "Krantz" is |
he ring of abrupt cliff which |
'wreathes" the brow of the character |
site kop of South Africa. Rensburg's |
xop. on the road over Quathlamba I
rom Natal to Harrismith. in the Free
State, is a good example Of a partly |
Granted" kop.