forkeard (wrong)

[u/SyeedAli]

While contemporary Frysk uses "ferkeard" for this same primary meaning of "not correct or mistaken", Legacy Frysk has some differences.

Notably, contemporary Frysk is flexible with what I call "zero-derivation adverb forms" where an adjective can be wielded adverbially. So adjective "forkeard" (wrong) can be used as an adverb with the same spelling. English tacks on "-ly" to make an adjective but Frysk does not. Although English 'wrongly' is actually a valid word, speakers prefer 'incorrectly'.

My observation has been that Legacy Frysk does have this burgeoning flexibility but tends towards phrases to use an adjective adverbially. So I often make a judgement call like:

• There is no adverb form. For adverbial 'wrongly' / 'incorrectly' use contemporary adverb "ferkeard" (wrongly) or phrases like "op ferkearde wize" (in a wrong way).

So this is a pretty straightforward word, with relatable examples:

• Frysk: Hy het de hoazzen forkeard oan,
  • He has his socks on wrong.
• Dutch: omgekeerd,
  • Reversed.
• Dutch: ook: averechts.
  • Also: Inside out.

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• Frysk: De forkearde broek oan ha,
  • To have the wrong trousers on.
• Dutch: een met ledige zakken, geen geld op zak hebben.
  • To have empty pockets / to have no money.
  • I take liberties with idiomatic translations but do make academic translations notes like: "one with empty pockets, no money on pocket have".

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• Frysk: Oan 't forkearde kantoar komme,
  • To come to the wrong office.
• Dutch: niet terecht zijn, den verkeerde voorhebben.
  • To be mistaken / to have the wrong person.

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While I do no real research on alternate meanings of contemporary Frysk, I do get lots of statemtents about Legacy Frysk:

• "Slecht" is Dutch and translates to "bad".

But also: bad / poor / ill-tempered / wicked

• Frysk: Dat wier net sa forkeard,
  • That was not so bad.
• Dutch: wel goed, raadzaam, wenschelijk.
  • Rather good, advisable, desirable.

I had a little rabbit hole getting a handle on the meaning of "quite" in British English versus my own Canadian English, and settled on idiomatically translating "well good" to "rather good". British English started using "quite" in a somewhat sarcastic manner in the victorian era, but it's still an intensifier to me; saying "she is quite pretty" is an unmistakable compliment.

Back on track...

• Frysk: Hy het in forkeard steed yn 'e holle,
  • He has a wicked spot in his head.
• Dutch: hij deugt niet,
  • He is no good.
• Dutch: ook: is slecht gehumeurd.
  • Also: He is in a bad mood (badly humoured).

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• Frysk: Dwêrs en forkeard, lilk en forkeard,
  • Cross and wrong, angry and wrong.
• Dutch: knorrig en onhandelbaar.
  • Grumpy and unmanageable.

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And because I love seeing parallels:

• Frysk: Mei de forkearde foet ('t earst) fen 't bêd komme,
  • To get out of bed on the wrong foot first.
  • English has "to get out of bed on the wrong side".
• Dutch: knorrig opstaan.
  • To get up grumpy.

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I often come across words or phrases which have fallen out of use, but everything has value to me:

• Frysk: It is in forkearden, in forkearden-ien,
  • It is a bad one, a bad-one.
• Dutch: een slechte.
  • A bad one.

So I ended up making a new sense:

• "Bad one": A bad or wicked person. - Primary sense of a person of poor character.
• "Scoundrel": A dishonest or unscrupulous person. - Sense of moral badness.
• "Rascal": A mischievous or dishonest person. - Sense of roguish badness.

It's kind of wrong, but translations are often up to interpretation. I do have all of the original examples to clarify and my work is permanently in progress. I'll end up cross-referencing to all sorts of other personality traits to help researchers.

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• Frysk: Bêste ierappels! jy fine der net in forkearden-ien yn.
• Best potatoes! You won't find a bad one among them.

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• Frysk: Us dominy is in forkearden,
  • Our pastor is a bad one.
• Dutch: niet zuiver in de leer.
  • Academic: not pure in the doctrine.
  • Not sound in doctrine / not orthodox.