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<br>Low German is spoken in the north, or 'low' lands, of Germany. Two thousand years ago, there were many Germanic dialects, including Bavarian, Alemannic, Frankish, and Saxon. It is mainly from Saxon that Low German developed. About 1500 years ago, a series of sound changes occurred which started in the southern part of the Germanic-speaking region and slowly spread northward. Various dialect features stopped at different places. These features are still with us today and are the main criteria for delineating modern German dialects. Low German is set off from the High (from the ‘highlands’ of the German-speaking region) and Middle German dialects by not having participated in any of the sound changes. Therefore, it is a very conservative language in many respects. Its consonants sound more like those of English than to those of High German. Low German also looks and sounds very much like its sister language, Dutch. | <br>Low German is spoken in the north, or 'low' lands, of Germany. Two thousand years ago, there were many Germanic dialects, including Bavarian, Alemannic, Frankish, and Saxon. It is mainly from Saxon that Low German developed. About 1500 years ago, a series of sound changes occurred which started in the southern part of the Germanic-speaking region and slowly spread northward. Various dialect features stopped at different places. These features are still with us today and are the main criteria for delineating modern German dialects. Low German is set off from the High (from the ‘highlands’ of the German-speaking region) and Middle German dialects by not having participated in any of the sound changes. Therefore, it is a very conservative language in many respects. Its consonants sound more like those of English than to those of High German. Low German also looks and sounds very much like its sister language, Dutch. | ||
<br>But what does this have to do with German genealogy? Well, the researcher might come across documents that have Low German features. Most commonly, it will be only names that are Low German, as most areas in Germany switched to High German for official purposes by 1600. | <br>But what does this have to do with German genealogy? Well, the researcher might come across documents that have Low German features. Most commonly, it will be only names that are Low German, as most areas in Germany switched to High German for official purposes by 1600. Names, such as Schoonmaker, ten Brink, Barkhofen, op de Weeg, Willems and many others betray their Low German origin. If you see one of these surnames, you should believe that the family that carries the name is, or at least had ancestors, from northern Germany. But, because people are now so mobile and move for various reasons, a name itself cannot tell you where a living person is from. However, the form of the name can give you a clue about the origin of an ancestor. | ||
<br>Researchers will probably encounter Low German names when researching in northern Germany. But will they encounter the Low German language itself? Since most officials 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 officials 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. | ||
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