Re: Nominative: A hybrid view

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott" <BMScott@...>
wrote:

> At 4:57:13 AM on Wednesday, June 4, 2003, tgpedersen wrote:
>
> > Its use: cf 'them thar hills', Sw 'dom där bergen' (I
> > wonder if the US expression might have Swedish substrate,
> > another candidate would be Sw. 'fånig' "silly, stupid" ->
> > Am. Eng. 'phoney')
>
> According to AHD, <phon(e)y> is an alteration of <fawney>
> 'gilt brass ring used by swindlers', from Irish <fáinne> 'a
> ring' (also in OIr); according to M-W on-line the OIr is
> from OIr <ánne> 'a ring', possibly cognate with Lat <anus>.

Which means the vowel's wrong. Swedish 'å' is pronounced /O/.

Torsten