Re: German Suffix "-isch"

From: Gordon Barlow
Message: 35706
Date: 2004-12-29

Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 19:09:56 +0100
From: "alex" alxmoeller@...
>Since the suffix is a IE suffix, I wanted to see how was to understand this
suffix at all and why it makes in the derivatives the meaning "like", as in
the example given: child -> like a child -> childish

It is very interesting, following this List's discussions. I have nothing
to contribute to this "-isch" topic, except perhaps to wonder whether full
value is always given to dialectal variants. English "-ish" is
pronounced -esh, -ush, -@... and even occasionally -ash and -osh, though the
spelling is always -ish. It is an obvious version/variant of -esque, and
arguably another of -ic and *its* variants. The same in German and its
dialects, I'm sure.

GB