Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Dysart

Blouse

die Taille — Texas German

die Bluse — European German

Nobody seems to have commented on this, but what a wonderful little historical relic is embedded here. “Taille” is literally “waist” in European German. But at one time (circa early 20th Century), women’s blouses were popularly called “waists” in American English. Short for “shirtwaist” (as in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire of 1911 in New York where 146 garment workers died). Apparently “waist” in the sense of “blouse” was literally translated as “Taille” by the Texas Germans when the term was current, and they have called it that ever since even though the European German word was “Bluse” (from French “blouse,” apparently).


122 posted on 08/26/2007 11:48:54 PM PDT by Deklane
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


To: Deklane

We always pronounced blouse, (Phonetically) tall-ge-ah or tall-he-ah or tallg-yah. Anyway In our area it mostly has three syllables.


132 posted on 08/27/2007 9:04:09 AM PDT by rock58seg (Change Homeland Security to U. S. Security. It's time they remember what country to protect.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 122 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson