Wat mutt, dat mutt

Wat mutt, dat mutt ( listening ^{? / I} ) is a Low German expression thatshowsan obligation .

Origin and Distribution

The saying "Wat mutt, dat mutt" comes from Low German.

The translation into standard German is “What must be, must be”. The German Proverbs Lexicon of 1876 lists this variant with reference to the first documentation in Dutch about the entry in the Spreekwoordenboek der Nederlandsche taal (German: "Proverbs dictionary of the Dutch language"; published 1858–1862) by the linguist Pieter Jacob Harrebomée (1809–1880) :

“What must be, must be, said the boy, and kissed the pig's ass.
Holl .: Ik wilde wel, dat ik hel al gedaan had, zei de jongen, en hij zou het varken den aars kussen, om de blaas te hebben. (Harrebomée, II, 360.) "

- German Proverbs Lexicon, Volume 4 “Sattel” to “Wei”, page 522, Bibliographisches Institut & FA Brockhaus , Mannheim 1876.

In present-day Dutch there is the shortened phrase based on it, “Wat moet, dat moet” ( listening ^{? / I} ), which is spelled and pronounced differently, but means the same as in German.

In addition to northern Germany , the phrase is also known in other regions and languages. The volume of the German dictionary of proverbs quoted above proves the existence of the phrase on the same page by referring to the German-British publisher and bookseller Henry George Bohn (1796–1884) in Danish with the phrase Det kommer vel der skel Skal. (Bohn I, 362.) and in French with the phrase Il faut ce qu'il faut. (Cahier, 664.) . This reference refers to page 36, entry number 664, of the linguistic publication Quelque six mille proverbes et aphorismes usuels empruntés à notre age et aux siècles derniers (German: “About six thousand proverbs and common aphorisms in our time and in the last centuries were borrowed ”) from 1856 from the Jesuit father Charles Cahier SJ (1807–1882).

Written language

In the written language , the phrase is usually found in headings or reproductions or quotations . For example, the magazine Der Spiegel titled an article on the demand of the Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein for pragmatic action with this phrase. As a heading, it is sometimes used directly in connection with the Low German language.

The use of the expression “Wat mutt, dat mutt” in the High German version can also be proven for publications in the GDR .

Trivia

• In 2019, the German National Library digitized sea shanties in the Wat mutt, dat mutt collection. Moist and happy sailor's yarn from the shark bar .
• A publication by the author Ina Sprotte (civil: Kristin Reischke) from 2016 is entitled Wat mutt, dat mutt! A novel between the seas.
• The game developer 2011 Michael Schmitz brought a board game entitled mutt Wat dat mutt. The Low German Wisdom Game out.
• The German rap musician Eko Fresh published a title on his album Vendetta (2006) called “Was muss sein, muss sein”.
• There is a comedy in three acts from 1995 with the title Wat mutt, dat mutt by Bernard Fathmann
• The group Godewind published on the album All Tied een Godewind (1990) the title "Wat mutt - dat mutt".
• The local poet Gerd Christiansen from Husum published a short story collection in 1989 with the title Wat mutt, dat mutt .
• The songwriter Rolf Zuckowski wrote the title Wat mutt dat mutt for voice and piano for the Finkwarder Speeldeel in 1978 .

literature

• Wolfgang Börnsen : Low German in the German Bundestag - Wat mutt, dat mutt! Sankt Augustin 2001, ISBN 978-3-87748-614-6 .
• Pieter Jacob Harrebomée: Spreekwoordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, of verzameling van Nederlandsche spreekwoorden en spreekwoordelijke uitdrukkingen van vroegeren en lateren tijd . Volume 2, page 360. Kemink en zoon, Utrecht 1870.
• P. Charles Cahier SJ: Quelque six mille proverbes et aphorismes usuels empruntés à notre age et aux siècles derniers . Page 36, entry number 664. Julien, Lanier et Compagnie Éditeurs, Paris 1856.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Matthias Pietsch, Susanne Steffen: "Wat mutt, dat mutt". NDR 1 Lower Saxony , December 7, 2008, accessed on May 23, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Entry in the Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren (DBNL), accessed on December 9, 2019.
3. ↑ Sayings index: Wat mutt dat mutt . Retrieved May 23, 2019 . 
4. ^ Digitized version of the Bibliothèque nationale de France , accessed on December 9, 2019.
5. ↑ Corpus hit for "Wat mutt, dat mutt", from the aggregated reference and newspaper corpus. Digital dictionary of the German language , 2018, accessed on May 23, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Kevin Hagen, Christian Teevs: Wat mutt, dat mutt. Spiegel Online , August 13, 2018, accessed May 23, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Jens Meyer-Odewald: Wat mutt, dat mutt! Plattsnackers preferred. Hamburger Abendblatt, May 14, 2011, accessed on May 23, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Jutta Schlott : Early and late . Kinderbuchverlag Berlin , 1982. Page 101. No ISBN.
9. ^ Entry by the DNB on Wat mutt, dat mutt. Moist and happy seaman's thread from the Haifisch-Bar , accessed on December 8, 2019.
10. ↑ Entry at the DNB on Wat mutt, dat mutt! A novel between the seas. , accessed December 9, 2019.
11. ↑ Entry at the DNB on Wat mutt, dat mutt. The Low German Wisdom Game , accessed on December 9, 2019.
12. ↑ Entry at the DNB on the comedy Wat mutt, dat mutt , accessed on December 9, 2019.
13. ↑ Entry at the DNB on the short story collection Wat mutt, dat mutt , accessed on December 9, 2019.