while the a and u are more common in the ‘sharp noises,’ the ‘puttering,’ and the ‘talk.’
The same is true of a group of verbs in -la which show unexpected sl in areas 3 and 4; fisla ‘tattle,’ gjødsla ‘fertilize,’ pusla ‘putter,’ rasla ‘rustle,’ rusla ‘stroll,’ tusla ‘putter.’ Interestingly enough, in some dialects, these coexist with verbs having the expected form of the region, but having a different meaning. In each of these cases the word with the unexpected sl is identical in meaning with the corresponding word in standard Norwegian.³⁸ The word gjødsla is recent in form, no doubt because of the fairly recent practice of fertilizing the soil as a regular practice in Norway (about a century ago). The others have spread by virtue of their delicate expression of emotional and emphatic overtones. In a few cases they have actually succeeded in establishing a new phonetic opposition on the ruins of the old.
³⁸ fisla ‘tattle’ very general v. fihle ‘putter’ Nord-Trøndelag... pusla ‘putter’ Ryfylke, pusle Troms, Senja, etc vs. putla ‘putter’ Ryfylke, pusle vs. potla (the same) Gyland; rusla ‘stroll’ rusle Østlandet, rusla Ryfylke...
p893
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Nineteen verbs with the l-suffix have been found in Old Norse lexica. Of these ten are attested in the modern dialects, while nine appear to have been lost. Of those which have survived, fatla, skutla, and aetla are attested from all four dialect areas, while the rest are less widespread. It is clear that the connotations of puttering, iterative action, fooling around, wasting time etc. were present in some of these verbs already in Old Norse times, but these meanings have become more pronounced in the Norwegian descendants. Thus fatla ‘tie’ has in Jaeren acquired the sense of ‘bungle’; so have fitla and tutla, husla and skutla in various parts of the country.
In number, too, the verbs with the l-suffix seem to have increased. Practically all of them can be referred to certain typical meanings, ranging in a series from movement and repetition, to diminution and waste. Some of them have several of these meanings and will be listed under each head. The areas from which they are attested with regular phonetic forms are given after each.
- Short, quick movement...
- Puttering and ineffectual work.⁴³
⁴³ bratla 3; dasla 3; disla 1, 4; dutla 3, 4; fatla 4; fatlast 3; fitla 3, 4; fjatla 1, 3, 4; fjusla 1, 3, 4; fusla 1, 3?; knatla 4; kratla 1, 3; krutla 1, 3, 4; lasla 4; masla 3; mutla 1, 3, 4; mysla 1, 4; njatla 4 nusla 1, 3; pjotla 4; prisla 4; prutla 3; pusla 2, 3, 4; sysla 1, 3; tasla 3, 4; trusla seg 4, tusla 1, 3, 4; vasla 3.
- Aimless walking, strolling, sauntering.
- Trickling, dripping, squirting.
- Gentle noises.
- Sharp noises.
- Chattering, tattling, gossiping.
- Waste.
- Tickling sensation.
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...but this is true only in the sense that a free variation of vowel quality can take place here on account of the limited significance of the class as a whole. that a free variation of vowel quality can take place here on account of the limited significance of the class as a whole.
...These words lead a life of kaleidoscopic change, in which several words may cross to form a new one which is immediately understood because it is reminiscent in sound to others of its type.
Within this type one may also discern a certain tendency toward distinguishing the vowels on the basis of symbolic value. The i is most frequent in the groups entitled ‘short, quick movement,’ ‘trickling, dripping, squirting,’ and ‘tickling sensation,’ while the a and u are more common in the ‘sharp noises,’ the ‘puttering,’ and the ‘talk.’ In such words as this the vowels are not so rigidly governed by adherence to historical precedent; their natural differences in resonance may come into play and produce some of that sound symbolism of which Jesperson writes.⁵¹
⁵¹ Cf. pairs like the following: drisla—drasla, gnisla—gnatla, krisla—krasla, risla—rasla, skvisla—skvasla.
896
ex sections 5 and 6, “Semantic and Morphological Interference with the Sound Change” and “Some Phenomena Associated with the L-suffix,” in
Einar Haugen, “Analysis of a Sound Group : SL and TL in Norwegian,” in PMLA 57:3 (September 1942) : 879-907 (esp. 893-896)
archive.org, opening to page 895 : link
see also putterings 356 / eg bare putla saa smaat
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Einar Haugen (1906-94), linguist (Norwegian and other Scandinavian languages), sociolinguistics
wikipedia : link
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