Talk:Nikolaus Lenau
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[edit] Query
- ... he disliked the Americans with their eternal English lisping of dollars (englisches Talergelispel).
What does this mean? -- JackofOz 01:40, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
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- This means that instead of pronouncing the word "Taler" with a hard "t," the Americans pronounced their equivalent word "dollar," with a soft "d." Lenau thought that it was similar to the way that Spaniards substitute "th" for "s." Note of interest: Spaniards adopted this pronunciation for the benefit of their king, who had a speech impediment.Lestrade (talk) 17:29, 5 December 2007 (UTC)Lestrade
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Here's another speculation. The original spelling of Taler was Thaler. In the nineteenth century, quite a few German words that had the letters "th" were changed to "t." An example: the word for "judgment" is now "Urteil." But, it was originally spelled "Urtheil." Germans pronounce the "th" as "t." It is possible that Lenau was contemptuous of the U.S. residents who looked at the German word "Thaler" and didn't pronounce it with a hard "t." He considered their mispronunciation as a lisping. This speculation is more in accord with our definition of lisping, which relates to the "th" sound.Lestrade (talk) 10:59, 10 December 2007 (UTC)Lestrade
