The German Language

is a language of the Teutonic division of the Aryan family of speech. Its development followed from the seventh century onward, along two main lines; High German (Hoch-Deutsch), which became the official language; and Low german (Platt-Deutsch), which is spoken principally in Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pomerania (Pommern), Hanover, and Westphalia (Westfalen). Both have attained the dignity of literary tongues. High German has gone through three stages of development known as Old, Middle, and New, respectively. During the first two stages, books were generally written in greatest part in one or another of the local dialects. The language of the third stage is due to a fusion of dialects. It grew out of the style and diction adopted in the administrative chancelleries of the German states and owed its widespread acceptance to the fact of Martin Luther choosing it as the speech into which to translate the Bible. In other words, modern classical German was in its origin a book language. Some of the old dialects, however, still survive and even possess literatures of some distinction.*

German is spoken in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Records written in German may be found in these countries and also in parts of Poland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Hungary, and wherever German people settled between Germany and Russia, and between Germany and into the Balkan states. There are many different dialects in the German language. For example, in the province of Westphalia and other areas of Germany that border the Netherlands, you may notice words that are closely related to Dutch words. In Hessen, there is a very distinct "slang" German dialect used in everyday speech, but not in written or printed documents.

German words for persons, places, and things (nouns) are always capitalized. All nouns are classified as masculine, feminine, or neuter. This classification is called gender. The gender of a noun is indicated by der (masculine), die (feminine), and das (neuter), which translates as "the". Word endings may vary, depending on the way the words are used in the sentence. However, and most confusing to English-speakers, the der, die, and das rule does not hold true in all cases, e.g., "das" Mädchen (the young girl), "der" Frau (the Mrs.).

German continues to closely resemble old English. Examples:

Du = Thou     Dein = Thine    Dir = Ye   Dich = Thee

Kommst = Commest  (Kommst du mit? = Commeth Thou with?)

The "Du" form of German is used only for children, close personal friends, and loved ones. Otherwise, one MUST use the "Sie" form, which corresponds to English you, yours, rather than Du, Dein. VERY important to distinguish and properly use the two in conversation or in writing. "Du bist mein Geliebte"  (Thou art my loved one) for children, family and very close friends, but "Sie sind mein Freund" (You are my friend) for others. Pets are also addressed using the "Du" form. One unique development since the advent of the internet: the "du" form is used in E-Mail, forum, and chat room exchanges - but if you met the same person on the street, you would use the "Sie" form.

The origin of family names goes back to the 13th and 14th centuries (Germany, 11th century). The four basic types of family names can be described in terms of their historical origin:

Patronymics, i.e. surnames derived from the first name of the father; for example: Adam (Adams), Bast (short form of Sebastian), Jahner/Jantzer (variation of John), Lipp (abbreviation of Phillip), Lutz (abbreviation of Ludwig), Mischel (variation of Michael), Peter (Peters), Philip (Philipps). The little letter "s" on the end of a surname mean "son of" in some English cultures. Peters = son of Peter. However, in German the letter "s" is genitive. It "looks back" to the word it possesses. If you encounter WEBERS in German, that's genitive. The "root" or actual surname is Weber.

Surnames which are derived from nicknames relating to a distinctive physical or mental characteristic; for example: Braun (brown), Ell (noble), Groll (anger), Gross (big), Klein (small), Lang (tall), Klug (wise), Reichert (rich + heart = brave), Reihl (mighty), Stolz (proud), etc. Other nicknames are derived from names of animals or plants; for example: Baum (tree), Fuchs (fox), Schaf (sheep), Stroh (straw), Wolf, etc.

Surnames which are derived from the name of a locality (town or village) or from some feature of the landscape; for example: Äcker (field; acre), Bach (brook), Bayer (from Bavaria [Bayern], Germany), Böspflug (poor land), Frank (French/France), Hatzenbiehler (from the city of Hatzenbühl, Pflaz, Germany), Hof (yard; farm; estate), Landauer (from Landau, Pfalz, Germany), Koffler (hut/cave), Schweizer (from Switzerland), etc.

Surnames which are derived from a trade, profession, or occupation, or some product or tool distinctly associated with a particular craft, for example: Amtsmann (official), Bauer (farmer/peasant), Beck/Becker (bake/baker), Deck/Decker (roof/roofer), Ferderer/Föderer (plaintiff), Fitterer (feeder/provides fodder), Germann (spear + man), Hellmann (warrior), Kessel (kettle), Koch (cook), Nagel (nail/peg), Schröder (tailor), Zander (Alexander/tooth extractor), Zentner (tithe/tax collector), Zimmermann (carpenter/finish carpenter), etc.

Some German surnames which are modified by the ending "er" to indicate that they are "from" a village, mountain, nearby river, old castle or fortress, and similar. For example, Bach or Berg or Burg might be the surname. It is changed to indicate where the person is "from" to Bacher, Berger, or Burger. "er" = "someone from..." or "someone who is a (trade/profession/occupation)." "erer" = "an apprentice to someone from... or is a (occupation)." "ern" = "someone from." "en" is the plural ending to many words, for example, Frau is the equivalent of Mrs (actually, Lady, in the British sense), and Frauen indicates "Ladies." But one would never say, "Meine Frauen und Herrn," (Ladies and Gentlemen), always, "Meine Damen und Herrn." Damen is in the sense of nobility, not in the American sense of "dames." "en" also indicates a future action: "Willst du es kaufen?" = Wilt Thou it buy? (Do you want to buy it?). "in" on the end of a surname simply indicates that the surname is feminine. The actual surname would be the same as her husband or father.

"bach-er" = "someone by a river..."

"berg-er" = "someone from a mountain/hill"

"burg-er" = "someone from a castle/fortress"

"dorf-er" = "someone from the village of..."

"feld-er" = "someone from a field, or one who works in a Feld (field)"

"gross-er" = "someone larger, or someone great in rank"

"hof" = "someone from a farm or faming estate, or one who operates a rural  farm/estate"

"klein-er" = "someone small/short, or lower in rank"

"tal" = "valley" "He lives in the 'tal,' but "He is a taler" (valley dweller), and "täler" (valleys)

"mann" = "man, as in 'he was an ordinary man/husband.'" (masculine. Plural is männer"), but
"man" = "one", as in "one must do thus and so..." (gender neutral, both singular and plural form)

German Common First Names: Understanding a person's first name in old documents can be confusing. For example, you will find Anna Katharina or Maria Margaretha, and the middle name was used. You will often find a family with many sons with exactly the same first name: Johann, especially. Most of the fellows used their middle name when they married or had children, for legal purposes, and for their "called-by" name (Rufname) in the community. But, if the first name was Johannes instead of Johann then his only name was Johannes and that is the name used 99% of the time, with NO middle name. Johannes is of Latin origin.

For many 1800's German-Russian relatives, it was considered an honor if a child was named after them. Frequently, if one child dies, the next same-sex born child would be given the same name. Another "quirk" was to reuse a favorite name if that first child was no longer living in the home! The first name / middle name combination would be different, but the child would go by the particular given name that the family liked.

Religion had a profound impact on our German-Russian ancestors as most of the children were given biblical or Saint's names. Every newborn was considered a blessing from God. Each succeeding "gift" child convinced the parents that God was bestowing His grace on the family and community.

There were many German variations of names as seen with "George" and "John".

"George" = "Georgi" (Latin form), "Jörg", "Jürgen", "Georg"

"John" = "Johannes" (Latin form), "Johann", "Joann", "Hannes", "Hans" - but don't refer to someone named "Johannes" as "Johann." Be careful about names. Johannes was a name given in tribute to Saint John of the Bible. Comparing Johann and Johannes is similar to comparing John and Johnathan. There are other spellings: Hans, Hannes = John; Joannes, similar to our use of Johnathon. Johanna is the German feminine form. Johanne is found primarily in Norway, Denmark, and in the north of Germany in Schleswig-Holstein.

Nicknames were very common in Germany. For example, "Josef" (Joseph) nicknames include "Peppi", "Jupp", "Sepp", "Josel", etc.


Surname History & German Script Translation Chart

Surname usage began in Germany around 1100 and first appeared in parts of Switzerland in the 11th century. From then until the 13th-14th centuries was a transitory time. By 1600 surnames were commonly used in German-speaking Europe. Between 1670 and the early 1800's, surnames became permanently attached to a family by decree. Prior to the 1800's, name spellings were far from an exact science and were often done phonetically. To further confuse things, there were many German scribes who misinterpreted the old script and confused one letter for another which produced many variations of the same name. The following is a sample of German lettering idiosyncrasies and how they are many times translated to English. The two dots above a letter (ä, ë, ö, ü) are called "umlauts". You can type umlauts on your keyboard by using the [ALT] key. See the Extended Character Codes keyboard* following this presentation:

German Letter(s) and later renderings, transitional forms	English Substitute	Example (Every letter in the German alpha- bet is distinctly and clearly pronounced. There is no skipping over or slurring of letters in a German word. Every syllable in a word is clearly and distinctly pronounced. Zero tolerance for slurs.)
Ä ä	AE ae E	Gärtner = Gaertner, Jäger = Jaeger
AI ai	EI ei	Staiger = Steiger
AU au	OW ow	Braun = Brown
The German "sZ" ß þ	SS ss	Schloþ = Schloss
D	T, TH, DT	Dermer = Termer, Dermer = Thermer Heid = Heidt
EY ey	IE ie	Schteyn = Stein
F	P, PH	Filip = Phillip, Josef = Joseph
G	CH (hard), CK (hard), GE ge K, Y (soft)	Gloggemann = Glocheman Eger = Acker Georg = George Geyn = Kuhn, Degele = Dekele Goders = Yoders
H	J	Hansen = Jonsen
J	Y	Jost = Yost
K	C, CK, G	Kook = Cook Flek = Fleck Kratz = Gratz
O	U	Sommer = Summer
Ö ö	A, OE oe, E	Schröder = Schrader (modified) Schröder = Schroeder Schröder = Schreder
OE oe	I	Hoersch = Hirsch = Hörsch
P	B	Plittersdorf = Blittersdorf
SCH	S	Schwan = Swan
T	D, TH	Erhart = Erhard, Bart = Barth
Ü ü	UE ue, I	Müller = Mueller Müller = Miller
V	F	Volf = Wolf, Vetsch = Fetsch
W	V	Weiþ = Veiss
Z	K, TZ, TS, S	Franz = Frank Schulz = Schultz Schulz = Schults Zander = Sander,

Ancient and transitional forms:

p used for b
a used for e
t used for d or dt
s used for z
ck used for k
c changed to k in most words
y used for i or j
v used for w or f
k used for g
tz used for z
ig used for isch or ich
t used for th
u used for i

Examples:

Freytag for Freitag

Burckhart for Burkhard

Waltpurga for Waldburga

undt for und

German Alphabet (pronunciation): Ah, Bay, Say, Day, A, Ef, Gay, Ha, E, Yot, Kah, El, Em, En, Oh, Pay, Kewe, Air, Es, Tay, Ewe, Fau/Fow, Vay, Iks, Ipsilon, Tzet. If you don't know the alphabet you can't say the word! Strictly phonics!

German Numbers (pronunciation): Eyens, Tsweye, Dry, Fear, Foonf, Sessch, Seeben, Ahkt, Noin, Sayen.

German Script Handwriting (Suetterlin):

Suetterlin script: a script, created by L. Suetterlin, Berlin (1865-1917) , which was taught from 1915 to 1941 in German schools. It is also called "German handwriting". This style is a standard form of the earlier, very different chancery-writings.

Those of that generation often cannot write any other way and yet both the postman and the grandchildren have trouble reading their envelopes and letters written in this script. When old family documents are taken out or church books are to be read the knowledge of this writing is absolutely necessary - but few in the younger generations are willing to learn it.

This writing is rarely written precisely since it occurs almost only in handwriting. Even an experienced reader must "read himself into" the handwriting, until the text becomes understandable.

Today in Germany some remainders of this writing are still in use :

Special german characters : ä, ö, ü have two dots above. In the Middle Ages it was a tiny "e" above, this is similar to two tiny strokes (compare the Sütterlin "e"). Nowadays there are two dots.

You are writing correctly, if you write ae, oe, ue instead of ä, ö, ü.,  i.e., Doerling is same as Dörling.

The "ß" that looks like "B" means "sZ" (es-tzet) and can understandably be written as "sz" or "ss". "ß" represents a combination of s and z, rarely the "r" and the "z". Do not worry about where to use "sz" or "ss", In the past, the "sz" (ß) followed a soft, slow vowel, while the "ss" followed a short, fast vowel.

You can download or simply view the Suetterlin Script. Use the "Link Tables" at the Hessen website, or for more in-depth study you can visit this link: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/german.htm. 

For insight into reading the old script in German church records, please visit the following important link:

http://www.narafriends-pittsfield.org/gechurch.htm

Extended Character Codes (remember that these do not always print out the same on all computer systems).

International Characters:

Windows keyboard for ä ö ü ss(sz) quick ref for E-Mail:

NUM LOCK on
Hold down ALT key

Press 132 for ä
Press 148 for ö
Press 129 for ü

Press 225 for ß (sz, ss)

See all letters, below, for various keyboards.

Upper Case (hold down the   [alt] key and use the numeric keypad to enter the number ... 'numbers lock' should be on)
À  0192	Á  0193	Â  0194	Ã  0195	Ä  0196	Å  0197	Æ  0198	Ç  0199
È  0200	É  0201	Ê  0202	Ë  0203	Ì  0204	Í  0205	Î  0206	Ï  0207
Ð  0208	Ñ  0209	Ò  0210	Ó  0211	Ô  0212	Õ  0213	Ö  0214	×  0215
Ø  0216	Ù  0217	Ú  0218	Û  0219	Ü  0220	Ý  0221	Þ  0222	ß ("ss")  0223
Ÿ  0159	Š  0138
Lower Case (hold down the   [alt] key and use the numeric keypad to enter the number)
à  0224	á  0225	â  0226	ã  0227	ä  0228	å  0229	æ  0230	ç  0231
è  0232	é  0233	ê  0234	ë  0235	ì  0236	í  0237	î  0238	ï  0239
ð  0240	ñ  0241	ò  0242	ó  0243	ô  0244	õ  0245	ö  0246	÷  0247
ø  0248	ù  0249	ú  0250	û  0251	ü  0252	ý  0253	þ ("ss")  0254
ÿ  0255	š  0154

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*adapted in part from Roll Family Genealogy (c) 2000. Roll Family Genealogy parts are used by permission.