Dictionaries say that in linguistics, folk etymology is a false representation and association due to colloquial forms of words. Over time, it is fixed in the classical language used to create literature. More often they remake, rethink borrowed words. Somewhat less often, such transformations are subjected to their own. Let's take a closer look at this topic.
What is it about?
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of etymology for the development of the language, its structure and the variety of words available to the speaker of the dialect. The alteration of words within the framework of the phenomenon under consideration takes into account the already existing pattern. At the same time, the format of the alteration comes from some kind of native word, and it is more often transformed that comes from other dialects. Very often these two words have nothing in common in terms of origin. Classical examples of such a false etymology are the pairs of words microscope-melkoskop, gulvar-bulvar. A curious example of the word "speculator", transformed intoeveryday speech thanks to the verb "buy". In the folk dialect, you can, as a result, hear the word "buyer". No less indicative is the example of the word “palisade”, which came into our language from French and originally meant a palisade or fence, including one made from living plants. Under the influence of linguistic features, a new colloquial word "half-garden" appeared.
A fairly typical example of folk etymology is the phrase "crimson ringing". It is used when they want to describe a bell ringing that sounds harmonious, pleasing to the human ear. The combination of the word gives rise to associations with berries. In fact, the roots of the expression are quite different. In Belgium there is the city of Mehlen, in a different reading - Malin. In it, in the old days, a beautiful cathedral was erected and an educational institution for bell ringers was opened with it. These people are taught to create beautiful, pleasant music with the help of bell towers. This is how Malinov's musicians appeared. The development of the theme was the phrase "raspberry ringing".
Colloquialism - and more
According to experienced linguists, examples of folk etymology can be seen in specialized scientific works. Similar conclusions can be found in the materials published by Professor Otkupshchikov. He analyzed how, in the 18th century, the philologist Trediakovsky wrote a work in which he considered the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula. As the linguist noted, the name of this people (Iberians) probably came from the word “upers”, somewhat distorted over the centuries. Such a word couldappear from the fact that geographically they lived surrounded by water on all sides - as if stubborn by the seas.
Trediakovsky in his work also suggested that Britain is a word that also has a similar origin. Perhaps the original sound was "Brotherhood", which has roots in the word "brother". A word similar in terms of the application of folk etymology is “Scythians”. It was explained by Trediakovsky through the verb "to wander". In his opinion, initially the nationality was called "monasteries". According to his own logic, the Turks are so named, because this is a transformation of the word "brisk", meaning that such people are fast, agile. All of these examples are typical colloquial etymology that has become an academic science and has been taken seriously by the philological community.
Science? Really?
The listed words with folk etymology have other real roots. Although these examples were perceived as an academic science, in the 18th century, during the period when Trediakovsky worked, the scientific field in our country, especially in the field of linguistics, was in its infancy. As modern researchers of that time say, it is difficult to blame Trediakovsky for inaccuracies. Moreover, it cannot be said that he was too strongly influenced by colloquial forms and word changes under the influence of non-literary language. The main reason for the mistakes he made was the fact that etymology as a science in the 18th century did not actually exist in our country. Accordingly, anyone who tried to immerse himself in this area could simply fantasize without anyrestrictions. It was enough just to publish your work in a certain form, so that it was perceived by contemporaries as scientific and worthy of trust. This is how amazing opuses appeared, which to a modern educated person often seem devoid of logic and meaning.
Can we draw conclusions?
The situation described by Otkupshchikov with the problems of linguistics and philology allowed this professor to assume that the use of the term "folk etymology" in Russian is incorrect. The author suggested considering the phrase as chosen unsuccessfully, since it shows disdain for the masses. From Otkupshchikov's point of view, this is completely unfair, since for many centuries ordinary people were not only far from science, but also did not have the opportunity to get closer to it, which means that they cannot be blamed for a lack of academic knowledge. In addition, many terms that relate to the phenomenon under consideration did not even appear among ordinary people at all. This argument is considered as the main and most important among those formulated by Otkupshchikov.
Some linguistics experts prefer to use "false etymology". Folk and false are essentially the same phenomenon, but encoded in different terms. The alternative is naive. However, according to others, both options are even less relevant to the issue under consideration. The naive is not always false, naivety is a property inherent in scientific etymology, though not always. Folk, in turn, practicallyalways false, but not every false format is popular. Accordingly, as Otkupshchikov concluded, it is impossible to replace these terms with one another.
Can it be more precise?
Since linguistics is actively developing, the methods of scientific etymology, the phenomenon of folk etymology today attract the attention of many experienced scientists. For more than a year now, experts in this field have been thinking about choosing the most accurate and correct definition that would replace the word "folk". The etymology is well illustrated by numerous examples published in reference books, scientific literature, manuals for learning our language. Here you can see instances related to the folk form of etymology. They are often called the childish, erroneous form. Similar-sounding words in different sources are described by different terms. Linguistic facts differing in nature, however, can be equated with each other. To eliminate this confusion, according to scientists, it is necessary to thoroughly rework the terms, clarify the meanings of the chosen words, and define concepts.
It is not easy to describe and characterize the phenomenon of folk etymology using the methods of scientific etymology. The boundaries of such a false etymology as a specific phenomenon inherent in a certain language are rather blurred. The term in question was first used by Ferssman. Today, the phrase is used to describe diverse linguistic phenomena. This includes phonetic corrections - assimilation, dissimilation and others. Paronymy and homophony are also included here. It can be seen in specialized scientific papers that suchconfusion is characteristic of the opinion of both Otkupshchikov and Maximov, as well as Gelhardt. Similar features of opinions were voiced in their linguistic works by Krushevsky, Derzhavin, Thomson.
Interpretation: what do we choose from?
In his works devoted to scientific and folk etymology, Otkupshchikov collected different variants of terms and definitions in order to determine the most successful version of the wording of the essence of the phenomenon based on the largest possible amount of information. He spoke more than once about the possibility of different interpretations of a single term. The definitions that he identified in the various analyzed works of various authors can, as Otkupshchikov noted, be combined so that it is possible to create key definitions that are further applicable in scientific practice.
It can be said that from the scientific point of view, folk etymology is a variant of understanding individual words, whose morphology is unclear and not obvious. It is possible if the word does not have simple semasiological associations. This version of the wording was proposed by Courtenay, supported by Akhmanov. Thomson, Maruso and some other authors proposed to define false etymology as a process in which, in the human mind, a single word is associated with others, as if giving it an explanation. Bulakhovsky formulated understanding as an interpretation of meanings in the form in which they arise in the human mind, if the person does not have specialized training in the field of science. Such a person is forced to comprehend the word, creating individually independent associations tohim.
Dictionaries and more
Before the folk etymology of Bulygin and Shmelev is taken up in 1999, their own version of the interpretation of this phrase will be published in a dictionary compiled under the guidance of editor Ushakov. The interpretation presented here differs significantly from everything formulated earlier, although it has certain typical features. Such definitions were subsequently used by Rosenthal. The considered type of etymology is supposed to denote the processes of change, rethinking, taken from a foreign language, much less often than a word inherent in one's own language. At the same time, words that sound similar, but are in the native language, are taken as a sample. False etymology involves the formation of semantic relationships based on external signs and the coincidence of sounds. This process takes place without any regard for actual reality and true origin.
The specified definition is the first in which children's and folk etymology is considered as a phenomenon in which the word is remade. As modern linguists and philologists say, it is the alteration that is the main, key characteristic quality of false etymology. However, both the term and its interpretation have caused a lot of controversy since the 19th century. Many scholars consider the phrase chosen to refer to the phenomenon to be extremely unfortunate, but its use is enshrined in tradition. Today it is not just a folk version of etymology, but also morphological, phonetic, semantic corrections of some specific word.
Additional terminology
In the field of linguistics, there are several specific terms that are used in parallel with the one under consideration and supplement it, clarify it, and in some cases replace it. Gelgard, in particular, argued in his works that it is necessary to say "false etymology", since this is a more successful option. At the same time, the scientist recognized the existence of an internal contradiction inherent in this phrase.
Krushevsky and Courtenay, some other authors can see the term "folk word production". However, this definition has not been widely adopted. According to many specialists in the field of linguistics, this phrase best reflects the essence and idea, gives an understanding of the inner form of the word, deetymologization, folk etymology. Courtenay also suggested designating the phenomenon under consideration as semasiological assimilation.
You can see the term “comprehension” in Lotte. Explaining his choice, the scientist says that such a phenomenon in the literature on linguistics is often characterized as an etymology due to the folk, colloquial language. In Maruso, one can see the fixation under this term of a phenomenon that other specialists call paronymic attraction. But this phrase is used much less frequently and it has not received wide distribution. Akhmanova can see a dictionary entry that equates these two phrases to each other. The attraction is obvious, but the phenomenon of paronymy is doubtful for many. There are suggestions that in the case of the etymology under consideration, there are otherlexical transformations.
The phenomenon - what's inside?
Folk etymology (of Germany, Russia and other countries) is a complex phenomenon that can be seen as several types of linguistic transformations combined into one phenomenon. Derzhavin concludes that there are three types of this variant of etymology. Scientists have been trying for more than a decade to create a classification system applicable to words, the appearance of which is due to such a linguistic phenomenon. Based on Derzhavin's categories, the first type is a simple apperception of a word that came from another language. At the same time, it is processed in such a way as to become closer, more like words characteristic of the native local language. That is how the gulvars and stingers appeared.
The next direction of folk etymology is words that came from a foreign language, whose morphology is corrected, phonetics changes, semantics is transformed. Derzhavin, describing this type, proposed to consider a front garden and a T-shirt, as well as a mess. Such words can rightfully be called one of the most striking examples.
The third type in the understanding of the scientist is a genuine folk etymology, which shows the ability of the colloquial language to be creative, reflects its activity. Here he included words that demonstrate the ability of people to etymologize, to explain alien, previously unknown, and also inherent in their own language, but outdated. The main task of such a process, Derzhavin indicated the need to describe the meaning of an obscure word.
Noteverything is so simple
The problematics of terminology, the presence of heterogeneous phenomena and the lack of methods for their differentiation, the mixing of various phenomena that are not related to each other, indicate the need to rework the approach to researching the topic. Scientists involved in this area have noticed that folk culture in its form is not similar to its academic counterpart. So, the singing of the common people in our country attracts attention with sound extraction. The sounds that are characteristic of such singing have nothing to do with typical bel canto. A toy is not at all plastic, close to reality, but stylized items for games. A fairy tale is not a reflection of the historical realities of the state, but literary creativity. It is surprising how many examples of folk etymology can be found here. From "Lefty", for example, you can learn about the small scopes mentioned earlier, as well as the prelamute. There are other curious and funny words that can be found in this folklore: multiplication dolbitsa, nymphosoria, pubel.
Fairy tale - what is it?
From the dictionaries you can find out that a folk tale is a genre of creativity of the common people, which has an epic character, an oral form. These are prose works that tell about invented events. Folklore is in different countries, each has its own. Prose narrative includes various genres and numerous works, which are united by the fact that the text is based on something fictional. Fairytale folklore is the opposite of authentic storytelling, that is, prose that is not a fairy tale.
The above examples of folk etymology in the tale "Lefty" are attractive not only because they show the features of word formation and understanding of words by ordinary people. In addition, they give a certain idea of the fairy tale itself and the genre to which it belongs.
A literary tale is also an epic work, in many ways similar to the one defined above. Such a work is focused on fiction, close to a folk tale, but has a specific author. Such a fairy tale has only one version, it did not exist orally until the moment when this author wrote the work. Such a fairy tale is similar to folklore, written in a folk poetic style, but can be didactic, based on a plot that is absent in folklore.
Folklore is a pioneer. Literary appears much later.
And if the analogy?
According to some linguists, one could similarly approach the definition of what constitutes folk etymology. which we are considering today. To some extent, this format of etymology can be called folk art, because it is the common people who form new words, change existing ones, transform those that come from other dialects, having the full right to such transformations. According to some, this definition is unacceptable in science, since there is a mixture of the academic sphere and simple life, which is not allowed by scientists. At the same time, we have to admit that linguistic creativity is an ancientsphere of human activity, which is inherent even in those very small peoples who generally do not have their own linguists, philologists.
However, if we recognize folk etymology as the sphere of creativity of ordinary people, this will automatically move it outside of science. Society simply will not be able to recognize such activity as scientific, if it is called folk art. Etymology as a term denotes belonging to science, therefore, if a certain process cannot be considered inherent in science, then words that are used only and strictly in an academic environment cannot be applied to it. At the same time, it should be taken into account that folk word production is a phenomenon aimed at phonetic development, semantic awareness, word formation. It is not the goal of word-producers to reconstruct the history of a certain word, and they have never sought to do so.
A curious example
You can find examples of folk etymology in German. So, in ancient times, a city was founded by Slavic people on the territory of modern Germany, which they called Sagittarius. German phonetics requires you to read "s" followed by "t" as "sh". Accordingly, the word turned into "Strelets". In addition, in German, the stress must fall on the first syllable. This was the reason for the transformation of the word into "Strelitz". In the 18th century, the settlement burned down, it was rebuilt, adding the word "new" to the name. This is how the city of Neustrelitz was born. For the Germans, the history of the word was not very important, just language rules were applied to it. Is it possible to consider such a case of folketymology? And if so, what interpretation of the term is applicable? Opinions differ on this, but some consider this example to be quite revealing and curious.
Word change
The folk etymology considered by Otkupshchikov with examples is rather curious. In particular, an example of the appearance of the word "Kolomna", used to designate a specific settlement, is given. They say that in ancient times, near this city, Dmitry Donskoy was blessed by Father Sergius, who then went to the village, but was expelled by the population, who threatened the holy man with stakes. Then Sergius complained that he came to them with kindness, but they met "with a stake". This is how the name Kolomna appeared.
Similar story - with the name of the city of Samara. Legends say that there used to be a small river, it flowed from the east, and from the north a large river carried its waters to it. The big river demanded from the small one to step aside, shouting to her “After all, I am Ra!”. The streams collided, but the small river won, and the big one changed its direction of running to the west. This is how “Sama Ra” appeared, Samara, built in a bend in the river.
