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The Dialect Basis of Spelling Variation in German Surnames (view source)
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Perhaps you have had the experience of coming across a surname that has been spelled in several ways. Often, but not always, the spelling variation is based on dialect differences and such spellings can often give a clue to the origin of the name. It is the purpose of this article to give a brief outline of the dialect basis for German surnames. Of course, it is impossible to treat every possible dialect variation. So, we will consider only the main dialect features. We will look at only a few consonants. | Perhaps you have had the experience of coming across a surname that has been spelled in several ways. Often, but not always, the spelling variation is based on dialect differences and such spellings can often give a clue to the origin of the name. It is the purpose of this article to give a brief outline of the dialect basis for German surnames. Of course, it is impossible to treat every possible dialect variation. So, we will consider only the main dialect features. We will look at only a few consonants. | ||
About 1500 years ago, for some unknown reason, certain sounds started to be pronounced differently from before. The sounds in question are ‘p,’ ‘t,’ ‘k,’ and | About 1500 years ago, for some unknown reason, certain sounds started to be pronounced differently from before. The sounds in question are ‘p,’ ‘t,’ ‘k,’ and ‘th’. This sound change started in the southern part of the German-speaking region and slowly spread northward. Linguists call this change the “Second Consonant or Sound Shift” or the “High German Consonant or Sound Shift.” | ||
In the first half millennium of our era, there was no single or official German language; there were many Germanic tribes, such as the Saxons, the Alamanni, the Bavarians, the Franks, and some others, each speaking closely related dialects. The consonant inventory of these early Germanic dialects was more or less the same as that of Modern English. So, we will illustrate the changes in German by comparison with English words, while keeping in mind that the English consonants represent the old Germanic consonants. | In the first half millennium of our era, there was no single or official German language; there were many Germanic tribes, such as the Saxons, the Alamanni, the Bavarians, the Franks, and some others, each speaking closely related dialects. The consonant inventory of these early Germanic dialects was more or less the same as that of Modern English. So, we will illustrate the changes in German by comparison with English words, while keeping in mind that the English consonants represent the old Germanic consonants. | ||