Germany Languages: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:10, 17 February 2021

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Germany

Languages

Most materials used in German research are written in German. However, you do not need to speak or read German to do research in German records. You will need to know some key words and phrases to understand the records.

Because of Germany's history, you may also find several other languages in German records. Latin was frequently used in Roman Catholic church records. French was often used in Elsaß-Lothringen and during the French domination of the area west of the Rhein. Danish was used in much of Schleswig-Holstein until Preußen annexed that area in 1864.

Language Aids[edit | edit source]

FamilySearch Wiki has genealogical word lists for:
- German Word List
- Danish Word List Danish is used in some records of Schleswig-Holstein.
- French Word List French is used in some records of Alsace-Lorraine (Elsass-Lothringen).
- Polish Genealogical Word List
- Portuguese Genealogical Word List

The German Word List includes symbols commonly used in German genealogical sources.
List of Names in Old German Script A comprehensive list of German given names, written in old script, with possible variations.
Old German Script Transcriber (alte deutsche Handschriften): See your family names in the script of the era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on the 8 different fonts. Save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records.

Handwriting[edit | edit source]

These links to lessons and websites will assist in learning to read the records of Germany:

For more information about reading German writing, see Germany Handwriting.

Downloadable Handouts[edit | edit source]

Fraktur Font Used in Printed Records[edit | edit source]

Wikipedia Fraktur Script. For a printable table showing Fraktur letters, click here.

For a printable table showing Kurrent letters in a computer font, click here.

Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

The following books and English-German dictionaries can help in your research. You can find these and similar materials at many research libraries.
- Thode, Ernest. German-English Genealogical Dictionary. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1992. (FHL book 433.21 T352g 1992.)
- Langenscheidts German-English, English-German Dictionary = Langenscheidts Deutsch-Englisches, Englisch-Deutches Wörterbuch. New York, NY, USA: Pocket Books, 1952, 1993. (FHL book 433.21 L262g.)
- Grimm's Dictionary online can be found at this link Dictionary of German historical words.

Latin Aids[edit | edit source]

Other language aids for parish Latin can be found at these links:

Dialects and Variations[edit | edit source]

Numbers[edit | edit source]

In some genealogical records, numbers are spelled out. This is especially true of dates. The following list gives the cardinal (1, 2, 3) and the ordinal (1st, 2nd, 3rd) versions of each number. Days of the month are written in ordinal form. Ordinal forms may have other endings, for example: erste, ersten.

Cardinal		Ordinal
null
eins	1st	erste
zwei	2nd	zweite, zweyte
drei	3rd	dritte
vier	4th	vierte
fünf	5th	fünfte
sechs	6th	sechste
sieben	7th	siebte, siebente
acht	8th	achte
neun	9th	neunte
zehn	10th	zehnte
elf	11th	elfte
zwölf	12th	zwölfte
dreizehn	13th	dreizehnte
vierzehn	14th	vierzehnte
fünfzehn	15th	fünfzehnte
sechzehn	16th	sechzehnte
siebzehn	17th	siebzehnte
achtzehn	18th	achtzehnte
neunzehn	19th	neunzehnte
zwanzig	20th	zwanzigste
einundzwanzig	21st	einundzwanzigste
zweiundzwanzig	22nd	zweiundzwanzigste
dreiundzwanzig	23rd	dreiundzwanzigste
vierundzwanzig	24th	vierundzwanzigste
fünfundzwanzig	25th	fünfundzwanzigste
sechsundzwanzig	26th	sechsundzwanzigste
siebenundzwanzig	27th	siebenundzwanzigste
achtundzwanzig	28th	achtundzwanzigste
neunundzwanzig	29th	neunundzwanzigste
dreißig	30th	dreißigste
einunddreißig	31st	einunddreißigste
vierzig	40th	vierzigste
fünfzig	50th	fünfzigste
sechzig	60th	sechzigste
siebzig	70th	siebzigste
achtzig	80th	achtzigste
neunzig	90th	neunzigste
hundert	100th	hunderste
zweihundert	200th	zwei hunderste
tausend	1000th	tausendste

Dates and Time[edit | edit source]

In German records, dates are often written out. For example:

Freitag den vierzehnten Februar achtzehnhundert sechs und dreißig [Friday, the 14th of February, eighteen hundred six and thirty (1836)].

To understand German dates, use the following lists as well as the preceding “Numbers” section.

Months[edit | edit source]

English	German
January	Januar, Jänner, Hartung, Jenner
February	Februar, Hornung
March	März, Frühlingsmonat, Lenzing
April	April, Ostermonat, Osteren,Oster
May	Mai, Wonnemonat, Blütemonat, Wonnemond
June	Juni, Brachmonat, Brachet
July	Juli, Heuert, Heumonat, Heuet
August	August, Erntemonat, Hitzmonat, Ernting
September	September, Fruchtmonat, Herbstmonat, Herpsten, 7ber, 7bris, Scheiding
October	Oktober, Weinmonat, 8ber, 8bris, Gilbhard
November	November, Wintermonat, 9ber, 9bris, Neblung
December	Dezember, Christmonat, 10ber, 10bris, Xber, Xbris, Julmond

A more extensive list of month names in German.

Days of the Week[edit | edit source]

English		German
Sunday		Sonntag
Monday		Montag
Tuesday		Dienstag
Wednesday		Mittwoch
Thursday		Donnerstag
Friday		Freitag, Freytag
Saturday		Samstag, Sonnabend

Times of the Day[edit | edit source]

German birth and death records often indicated the exact time of day when the birth or death occurred. This is usually written out.

German	English
ein Uhr	one (o’clock)
zwei Uhr	two (o’clock)
drei Uhr	three (o’clock)
halb eins	half one = 12:30
halb zwei	half two = 1:30
halbe Stunde	half hour
Stunde	hour
früh	early (a.m.)
spät	late (p.m.)
morgens	in the morning
vormittags	in the forenoon
mittags	at noon
nachmittags	in the afternoon
abends	in the evening
mitternachts	at midnight

Symbols[edit | edit source]

Sometimes a symbol is used in German genealogical sources rather than abbreviations. Some of these are shown at GenWiki, Genealogical Symbols and Signs.

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 *These links to lessons and websites will assist in learning to read the records of Germany:
-**[https://familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer/375 Old German Script Part 1],  [https://familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer/377 Part 2], [https://familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer/426 Part 3 (German Church and Civil Records)]
+**[https://familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer/375 Old German Script Part 1],  [https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/old-german-script-part-2 Part 2], [https://familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer/426 Part 3 (German Church and Civil Records)]
 **[https://www.familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer/38 Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 1: Kurrent Letters]
 **[https://www.familysearch.org/ask/learningViewer/39 Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Making Words in Kurrent]