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Low German Language in German Research: Difference between revisions
Low German Language in German Research (view source)
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<br>Researchers will probably encounter Low German names when researching in northern Germany. But will they encounter the Low German language itself? Since most official switched to High German so early and there are not many records from before the switch that are of interest to the genealogist, the answer is probably no. However, once in a while, a researcher will encounter a Low German document. What to do? How hard will it be to decipher and translate the document? These questions can be answered very simply. The difficulty in reading the document depends more on the handwriting than the language. If you can read German or Dutch, you will have no trouble reading Low German. In fact, sometimes it is difficult, even impossible to tell whether a text is in Dutch or Low German. | <br>Researchers will probably encounter Low German names when researching in northern Germany. But will they encounter the Low German language itself? Since most official switched to High German so early and there are not many records from before the switch that are of interest to the genealogist, the answer is probably no. However, once in a while, a researcher will encounter a Low German document. What to do? How hard will it be to decipher and translate the document? These questions can be answered very simply. The difficulty in reading the document depends more on the handwriting than the language. If you can read German or Dutch, you will have no trouble reading Low German. In fact, sometimes it is difficult, even impossible to tell whether a text is in Dutch or Low German. | ||
<br>Here are a few entries from the church book in Wirdum, which is in the very northwestern corner of Germany, very near the North Sea and | <br>Here are a few entries from the church book in Wirdum, which is in the very northwestern corner of Germany, very near the North Sea and The Netherlands. | ||
<br>Anno 1657<br>Rebecca Arnold Joh: Schoolmeisters Dochter, Hemke Jacobß d: Vaddersche d. 25. October. | <br>Anno 1657<br>Rebecca Arnold Joh: Schoolmeisters Dochter, Hemke Jacobß d: Vaddersche d. 25. October. | ||
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<br>Here we see the Dutch (and English!)-looking ''School''-, where German would have ''Schul''-. ''Dochter ''looks Dutch, too, as does ''Vaddersche''. | <br>Here we see the Dutch (and English!)-looking ''School''-, where German would have ''Schul''-. ''Dochter ''looks Dutch, too, as does ''Vaddersche''. | ||
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Haitet, Joahn Meteß Sohn, syn Suster Vaddersche. D. 20. Sept. | Haitet, Joahn Meteß Sohn, syn Suster Vaddersche. D. 20. Sept. | ||
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Although it is sometimes impossible to tell whether a text is Dutch or Low German, there are often clues to tell the reader which language it is. First, this parish is in Germany, which lends support to the idea that the language is Low German. But that is not a determining factor. In this entry we see the word ''Sohn'', which is German. In Dutch, we would expect ''zoon''. ''Syn ''is not typical of Standard German and neither is ''suster''. Both are Low German. | Although it is sometimes impossible to tell whether a text is Dutch or Low German, there are often clues to tell the reader which language it is. First, this parish is in Germany, which lends support to the idea that the language is Low German. But that is not a determining factor. In this entry we see the word ''Sohn'', which is German. In Dutch, we would expect ''zoon''. ''Syn ''is not typical of Standard German and neither is ''suster''. Both are Low German. | ||