Rhineland (Rheinland) Language and Handwriting

Rhineland (Rheinprovinz) Wiki Topics

Getting Started
Finding Town of Origin Finding Aids For German Records Research Strategies Record Finder
Major Rhineland (Rheinprovinz) Record Types
Church Records	Civil Registration
Reading the Records
German Word List Latin Word List French Word List	Handwriting Languages Feast Days Script Tutorial
Additional Rhineland (Rheinprovinz) Record Types
Directories Emigration & Immigration Jewish Records	Land and Property Occupations Town Genealogies
Rhineland (Rheinprovinz) Background
Gazetteers Language and Handwriting	Maps
Local Research Resources
Archives and Libraries Societies FamilySearch Centers
Germany Record Types
Cemeteries Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Genealogy Population Records Manumission Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship	Newspapers Obituaries Online Records Town Genealogies Periodicals Probate Records Religious Records School Records
Germany Background
Biography Church Directories Church History Former German Areas Funerary Customs Cultural Areas Gazetteers	Handwriting Historical Geography History Jurisdictions Letter Writing Guide Maps Names Personal Nobility Websites

Germany

Rhineland-Palatinate

Because of the French influence during the Napoleonic years, many records will be written in French. As a result of this it is also the time when the French Republican Calendar was in use in Rheinland.
Early Civil Registration beginning in 1792 often had preprinted French formats requiring specific information.

There are several interesting and helpful articles on the linguistic situation in the Rheinland.

Click here for languages in the Lower Rhein, here for Spellings Variants in the Northern Rheinland
here for dialect basis of spelling variation in German names|, and here for Low German.

Reading the Records[edit | edit source]

It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately. Here are some resources for learning to read German records.

German Genealogical Word List

German Handwriting

These video webinars will teach you to read German handwriting:

Also online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:

Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 1: Kurrent Letters
Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Making Words in Kurrent
Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading Kurrent Documents. In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
German Script Tutorial

This converter will show you how any phrase or name might look in German script:

Kurrentschrift Converter (enter German genealogical word, click on "convert", view your word in Kurrentschrift (Gothic handwriting)

Latin Records[edit | edit source]

Records of the Catholic church will usually be written in Latin:

Latin Genealogical Word List

Learning to Read Enough French to Do Genealogy[edit | edit source]

It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately. Here are some resources for learning to read French records.

French Genealogical Word List

French Handwriting.