The German Element in Brazil | Page 7

land of their nativity. Physically they had to adapt themselves to a new climate. From the moment of their arrival on the parcel of land allotted to them they were in contact with many objects for which their mother tongue offered no designation. The animals, plants, insects and even the agricultural implements in the new home land had, to a large extent, names for which the German language offered no equivalent. As a result, many non-germanic words had to be immediately adopted.
In reference to the older colonies, the German-speaking immigrants from any particular section of Germany, Switzerland or Austria would more or less settle in a particular section of Brazil. Thus we have Petropolis in Rio de Janeiro settled by former inhabitants of the Coblenz district and Blumenau in Santa Catharina settled largely by Pomeranians. In a general way it may be stated that the older colonies were in this respect relatively homogenious, while those founded since the middle of the past century drew their settlers to a larger extent from different German-speaking sections of Europe.
The settlers, largely drawn from the agricultural class, naturally brought with them from Europe a variety of German dialects. These were more or less preserved depending on the relative isolation of the colonies. In cases where a considerable and constant influx of settlers either by direct or indirect immigration was kept up after the first years of the history of any particular colony the original dialect largely gave way to a modified form of High German, due primarily to the normalizing influence of the German school and church. Such is the case in the "Stadtpl?tze"[41] of Dona Francisca, Blumenau, Santa Cruz and S?o Louren?o.
The preceding statements are intended to present, as it were, the background or basis on which the new dialect was developed. We now come to the most potent influence in the formation of that dialect. It is the Brazilian Portuguese, a language which has no connection with the Germanic group. In this point, therefore, our case differs radically from that of the student of the German dialects which have been developed in North America.
The degree of linguistic influence exerted by the Brazilian Portuguese on the High German or its various dialects as spoken by the immigrants varies again according to the relative isolation of the settlements. We have degrees ranging from that of the old settlements in the Santo Amaro district of S?o Paulo,[42] where the German language has practically in its entirety given way to the Brazilian Portuguese, to that of some of the sections of the "municipios"[43] of Blumenau in Santa Catharina and S?o Leopoldo in Rio Grande do Sul where a modified German has not only held its own among the inhabitants of German extraction, but has also become the language of parts of the Luso-Brazilian[44] and negro elements as well.[45] About half way between these two extremes we might range the case of Petropolis in Rio de Janeiro.
BRAZILIAN GERMAN WORD FORMS.
The following general principles are observed in connection with the dialect which has been developed by the German element in Brazil.
Nouns form by far the greatest number of words taken over, followed next in order by verbs, exclamatory words and phrases, adjectives and adverbs. The last two appear relatively rarely.
OBSERVATIONS ON WORDS FROM THE BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE.
I. Nouns.
A. Masculines.
1) In the case of masculines the vowel ending is as a rule dropped, e.g.,
Brazilian Brazilian _Portuguese._ _German._ _English._
abatimento... abatiment... discount. campo........ camp........ field, plain. fac?o-....... fac......... hunting-knife. intendente... intendent... administrator. pasto........ past........ pasture.
2) The same holds for words of the following type where there have been further orthographical changes with preserve, however, the same phonetic values.
Brazilian Brazilian _Portuguese._ _German._ _English._
macaco....... makak....... monkey. trapiche..... trapisch.... warehouse (on the wharf).
3) Internal phonetic changes have taken place in such words as:
Brazilian Brazilian _Portuguese._ _German._ _English._
kaschero..... kasch?r..... shop-man, clerk (in a store). municipio.... munizip..... district.
B. Feminines.
In feminines the final vowel '_-a_' is as a rule weakened to _'e'_, e.g.,
Brazilian Brazilian _Portuguese._ _German._ _English._
capoeira..... capoeire.... copse. carreta...... carrete..... cart. garaffa...... garaffe..... bottle. lancha....... lanche...... barge. larancha..... laranche.... orange. mula......... mule........ mule. persianna.... persianne... Venetian-blind. picada....... picade...... lane (through a forest). pimenta...... pimente..... pepper. pipa......... pipe........ barrel, tun. ro?a......... rosse....... clearing (of a forest). sanga........ sange....... ditch. tolda........ tolde....... cover, hood (of a wagon). tra?a........ trace....... track, design. venda........ vende....... inn, store.
C. Change of gender in nouns.
1) Masculine to feminine, e.g.,
Brazilian Brazilian _Portuguese._ _German._ _English._
barranco _m._ barranke _f._ slope. cabresto _m._ cabreste _f._ halter. cachimbo _m._ kaschimbe _f._ tobacco-pipe. camarote _m._ camarote _f._ box (in a theater). cangalho _m._ cangalhe _f._ packsaddle. charuto _m._. charute _f._. cigar. farelo _m._.. farelle _f._. bran. hiate _m._... jatte _f._... yacht. portreiro _m._ portreere _f._ pasture-ground. rio _m._..... rio _f._..... (rarely _m._) stream, river.
2) Feminine to masculine, e.g.,
Brazilian Brazilian _Portuguese._ _German._ _English._
cacha?a _f._. cachass _m._ gin, brandy (of sugar-cane). troca