Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1941, Page 236

230
LE NORD
influx of new phenomena and ideas for which the language will
have to find expressions.
Now, if we examine the vocabularies of the Scandinavian
languages we shall find that it is these 1‘culture words” which
more than anything else cause them to differ among each other.
What unites them is above all the common stratum of old popular
words. Whenever a new complex of ideas has arisen and de-
manded a set of names, the three languages have gone separate
ways. If, for once in a while, we have got the same word, that
has practically always been the result of chance, and not of any
conscious effort. These loan-words afford a proof of our century-
old divisions which is more eloquent than columns of historical
dates. Denmark has been subject to a more prolonged and
stronger influence from German language and civilization than
any of the others. In Sweden there was instead, especially in the
i8th century, an influence from France. This difference in the
susceptibility to foreign loans has left pronounced traces in the
two languages. A few instances will suffice:
(Danish) Lejlighed suite of apartments — (Swedish) vaning;
leje rent — hyra; Vœrelse room — rum; Vindue window —
fönster; Komfur fireplace — spis; Gulvtæppe mat — matta; Uld-
tœppe blanket — filt; Pude pillow — kudde; Pudebetrœk pillow-
case — örngott; Kommode chest of drawers — byrd; Servante
washstand — kommod; Sœbe soap — tval; Hue cap — mössa;
Stok stick — kapp; (Over)frakke overcoat — (över)rock; Kjole
tail-coat — frack; Skort skirt — kjol; Damekjole gown — klan-
ning; Slaabrok dressing-gown — nattrock; Flip collar — krage;
Krave shirt-front — skjortbröst; Briller spectacles — glasögon;
Lorgnet double eye-glass — pincené.
From the i9th century we have e. g.
Avis newspaper — tidning; abonnere subscribe — prenumerera;
avertere advertise — annoncera; Plakat bill, placard — affisch;
Pjece pamphlet — broschyr (pjas means, among other things,
“stage play”); Stemmeret suffrage — röstratt; Ministerium de-
partment — departement; Hospital hospital — lasarett; Sinds-
sygeanstalt lunatic asylum — hospital; Sygeplejerske nurse —
sjuksköterska; Sundhedspleje public health — halsovdrd; Fortov
sidewalk — trottoar; Elevator lift — hiss; Entré hall, front-room
— tambur; Petroleum paraffin-oil — fotogen; Ilt oxygen, Brint
hydrogen (terms invented by 0rsted) — syre, vate. From
the 2oth century: spejder boy-scout — skaut; Husassistent maid