hun Dutch · revision 37196

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=901–1000, Wachtendonck Psalms|origins=ine-pro *h₁eimus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɦʏn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''hun''' (dependent possessive, independent possessive hunne)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|hen]], also spelled [[m|dum|hun]], [[inh|odt|im]], [[inh|gem-pro|*im]], [[inh|ine-pro|*h₁eimus]], originally the dative plural of the third-person pronoun.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) The same form is [[osx|im]], [[goh|im]] (modern [[de|ihnen]]), [[ofs|him]], [[ang|him]] and [[got|𐌹𐌼|tr=im]].^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|171)

+

+ The ⟨h-⟩, probably at first a demonstrative particle, was put before the old stem in North Sea Germanic and parts of Middle Franconian, as in [[hij]], [[hem]] and [[haar]].^(EWN) The Wachtendonck Psalms mostly lack it, as the reviser's inland dialect did, and their single ⟨hin⟩ stands in the strongly Middle Franconian second psalm.^(EWN) De Vries & De Tollenaere and Franck–Van Wijk explain the ⟨h-⟩ as taken over from ⟨hij⟩.^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|171)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) Middle Dutch ⟨hen⟩ and ⟨hun⟩ were probably only spellings of one form /hən/; the Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek calls ⟨hun⟩ a dialect form, comparable to ⟨bul⟩ beside ⟨bel⟩.^(EWN)^(MNW)

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+ The possessive developed late in Middle Dutch from the dative, replacing the older ⟨haar⟩ that served all genders in the plural.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) De Vries thinks the wish for a distinct form and blends of ⟨hare kinderen⟩ with ⟨de kinderen van hen⟩ helped the change.^(De Vries 1971)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Wachtendonck Psalms (10th century) have Old Dutch ''im'' eleven times and ''hin'' once.^(EWN) Middle Dutch first has ''hem'' (1236) and ''hen'';^(EWN)^(MNW) ''hun'' appears in 1358: ''dat si hun ghehenghich sijn, so waer sijs van hun vermaent worden'', “that they obey them whenever they are urged by them”.^(EWN)^(MNW) The EWN finds the possessive in ''honne bode'', “their messenger” (1450–1500), and ''hune amptman'', “their bailiff” (about 1510).^(EWN) Van der Sijs dates the possessive to 1358 instead.^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 17th century grammarians who wished to regulate the language, Christiaan van Heule and P. C. Hooft, prescribed ''hun'' for the dative and ''hen'' for the accusative, and three centuries of teaching carried this artificial rule through in writing.^(EWN) In speech ''hun'' remained the general stressed form for people in all positions.^(EWN)

+

+ In the 20th century a strong tendency arose, only in the Netherlands, to use ''hun'' also as the subject: it is probably older in speech and dialect (around 1900), but the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal notes it in writing only from 1921.^(EWN) Since about the last quarter of the 20th century ''hen'' has been gaining ground at the expense of ''hun'', which Zaalberg ascribes to hypercorrection.^(EWN)

+

+ As a possessive ''hun'' took over from ''haar'' from the 15th century, at first only for masculine and neuter plurals.^(EWN) The distinction was kept up artificially in 18th- and 19th-century schooling on the model of Latin genitives.^(EWN)^(WNT) In the standard language, and in most speech, ''hun'' has now replaced the possessive ''haar'' entirely.^(EWN) Chinese Malay borrowed it as ''hen''.^(Van der Sijs 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 901–1000 – Old Dutch ''im'' “(to) them” appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)^(Aarts 2017)

+ * 1220–1240 – The plural object form is recorded in Middle Dutch.^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1236 – Middle Dutch ''hem'' “them” is recorded.^(EWN)

+ * 1358 – ''Hun'' appears as a pronoun.^(EWN)^(MNW)

+ * 1450–1500 – The possessive ''honne'' “their” is recorded.^(EWN)

+ * 17th century – Van Heule and Hooft prescribe ''hun'' for the dative and ''hen'' for the accusative.^(EWN)

+ * 1921 – Subject ''hun'' “they” is noted in writing.^(EWN)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # (to) [[m|en|them]], as indirect object: ''We hebben hun een kaart gestuurd.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(EWN)

+ # ''(colloquial, Netherlands, proscribed)'' They, as subject, only of people: ''Hun hebben het gedaan.''^(Wiktionary)^(EWN)

+

+ ===Determiner===

+ # [[m|en|their]]: ''hun nieuwe auto''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(independent, with the article)'' Theirs: ''Dat huis is groter dan het hunne.''^(Wiktionary)^(WNT)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hen]]

+ * [[hij]]

+ * [[hem]]

+ * [[haar]]

+ * [[zij]]

+ * [[de|ihnen]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In the written standard, ''hun'' is used for the indirect object and ''hen'' for the direct object and after prepositions; the rule goes back to 17th-century grammarians, and speech does not keep to it.^(EWN)^(Van Dale 2014) Subject ''hun'' (''hun hebben'') is widely condemned, though common in the Netherlands.^(EWN)^(Wiktionary) The capitalised ''Hun'' “Hun, a member of the nomadic people” is a separate word.^(WNT)^(Wiktionary) A Middle Dutch ''hun'' glossing Latin ''elleborum'' in 1240 was probably an old name for hellebore, of obscure origin.^(VMNW)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}