(Fwd) Re: Dutch?
Westerhof T (T.Westerhof@BIOLEDU.RUG.NL)
Thu, 29 Apr 1999 08:54:37 MET
OK, altough you're right about the ignorance and such.(No, Friesian-
Holsteins don't come from Holstein, it was Holland-Friesian)
It may come a surprise but your untutored ears did in this case not
make a mistake. Dutch/Diets/Duits/Deutsch was the word for the
language(collection of dialects) spoken in let's say the German part
of Europe and more like that. The part the English did have most
contacts with was the Netherlands(take a map to see why),the
Netherlanders did start an independance war(lasted 80 years)
against Spain and started the(first modern) Republic. The English
still used for the smaller, but to them much more important country
Dutch. And came up with German as pretty lame alternative for the
larger(Latin). The People in the independant part did give them
selves other names, and the people in the larger part stil used
"Dutch" for themselves as did the people in the small part for them.
And this difference in the people who were ment by the word did
give cause to all the confusion, by the way a small part of the
Pennsylvanian Dutch seem to have indeed Dutch
ancestors(English meaning)See how interesting it is?
Sounds like a good campfire story.
Theodore
Dear Mr. Westerhof,
In this country, a "Dutch" Oven is a heavy, usually cast
iron, cooking pot of about 3-4 litres capacity, with a heavy lid that is
used to roast or slow cook meats including tough cuts, or bake. In
Scouting and camping the description is usually modified by
adding three
small legs or feet, and a raised ridge around the circumferance of
the
cover, so the oven can be placed over burning coals, and have
more coals
placed on top of the lid, to insure that things both cook the food and
brown the top. Recently these devices have been made of thick
aluminum
which reduces the weight somewhat, but they are still nothing you
want to
cary 10-15 miles to your next camp site, which reduces their use to
vehicular camping, or long term camping.
The name is a misnomer since it probably originated with the
"Pennsylvania Dutch" a group of German people who originally
settled in
the north east, in what is now called Pennsylvania. They called
themselves Deutch, the German word for German in origin, but our
untutored
or uncaring ears soon began pronouncing it as Dutch, an
appellation we
also use for those who come from your country, because
Netherlanders or
the proper name doesn;t come trippingly to tongue either. In many
ways we
are an ignorant chauvanistic people, but a people who's gerosity
occasionally surprises everyone, including ourselves. These
people,
mostly German peasants left their motherland to gain more personal
freedom, and brought a hard working spirit and native intellect that
allowed them to invent many new and innovative ways of doing
everyday
things. I suspect that the Dutch Oven was one of these things that
allowed them to roast or bake without wasting the fuel needed to
heat a
conventional oven, by cooking on the top of the stove.
Dutch is also a nickname for those with Germanic sounding
surnames, because it sounds nicer than Kraut, and hence is less
likely to
lead to words, and also because during WWI and WWII, loyal
citizens with
Germanic surnames sought to distance themselves from the
political
problems. Dishes like saurkraut became Liberty Cabbage, and
Dachshundts
became Sausage Dogs or were frequently slaughtered by ignorant
people!
Isn't the origin of words interesting?
Dave
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