wannechgelift

Luxembourgish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From underlying wann et iech geléift (“if it may please you”). Compare French s’il vous plaît, Dutch alstublieft, and also (though rarer) German wenn es Ihnen beliebt.

In spite of these parallels in the other languages of the region, the phrase is no longer clearly understood. The spoken word [əɕ] is interpreted not as the usual reduced pronunciation of iech (“you”, formal), but as the pronoun ech (“I”). This fact is seen in the spelling ech, but even more clearly in the fact that the form wann ech gelift is also used with people one address as du (“you”, informal).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈvan eχ ɡeˈlift/, [ˈvɑ.n‿əɕ ɡəˈlift]

Adverb

wannechgelift

please (polite interjection)