Pages

▼

Friday, March 24, 2017

Derick De Deer, German or Dutch?

A Dutch dogger with a whaler and other vessels off a Dutch port RMG BHC0969

Both, right? The Dutch and Germans chase after sperm whales under one "flag." And Stubb calls Captain De Deer and/or his ship "Yarman" and "unmannerly Dutch dogger!"

Probably Dr. Snodhead could sort it out.

at

3 comments:

  1. Robert J.March 24, 2017 at 4:27 PM

    > Probably Dr. Snodhead could sort it out.

    He is the Clement Moore Professor of Linguistics at the College of St. Claus, is he not?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Scott NorsworthyMarch 24, 2017 at 5:08 PM

    He will be, after I endow the Chair, after I hit the Powerball jackpot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Scott NorsworthyJuly 24, 2022 at 6:30 AM

    Hey hey, I just found this excellent and highly pertinent article by Cornelis de Jong on Melville's mockery of foreign whalers. Wish I had seen this earlier, via SSOAR:

    "Like many Americans Melville does not always make a distinction between the Dutch and the Germans, sometimes calling both nations Dutch. He depicts Derick de Deer and his crew as inexperienced, clumsy but conceited suckers."
    https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-56113-3

    Hooray for open access!!!

    ReplyDelete