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Workshop

The History of

Germanic

languages

by Renata Urban

Quiz

How many language families are there

today? more than 150

How many languages are there today?between 6,500 and 7,000

Is this number growing

or declining?

Yes

Is English a Germanic language? Yes

examples

of languages

you don't know ☺

Is German a Germanic language?

Declining ... rapidly

Quiz

Do Spanish, German, English, Scottish,

Greek, Russian, Polish, Hindi, Latvian,

Armenian and Albanian have anything

in common?

Yes, they are all Indo-European languages

So why are they so different?

Because they belong to different language

families (all originating from Proto-Indo-

European)

Indo-European Languages

Centum Languages

Italic Languages

Hellenic Languages

Germanic Languages

Celtic Languages

Anatolian Languages

Tocharian Languages

Satem Languages

Slavic Languages

Baltic Languages

Indo-Iranian Languages

Armenian

Albanian

e.g. Latin, Spanish,

Italian, French,

Portuguese, etc.

Ancient Greek (extinct)

and Modern Greek

e.g. English, German,

Dutch, Swedish, etc.

e.g. Welsh, Breton,

Scottish Gaelic, etc.

Hittite (extinct)

Tocharian (extinct)

e.g. Polish, Czech, Russian,

Ukranian, Bulgarian, etc.

Latvian, Lithuanian,

Old Prussian (extinct)

e.g. Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi,

Urdu, Persian, Kurdish,

Pashto, etc.

Germanic Languages

NorthGermanic

Languages

Danish

Swedish

OldNorse

EastGermanic

Languages

Gothic(extinct)

WestGermanic

Languages

Low German

HighGerman

Norwegian

Icelandic

Faroese

Dutch, Flemish,

Afrikaans, Frisian,

Modern Low

German, English

Modern High

German, Yiddish

Indo-European languages

English West Frisian German Danish Swedish

foot foet Fuß fod fot

Latin Lithuanian Sanskrit

ped peda pada

consonant shifts:

p f k h

d t sk sh

t th

Old English Modern German Modern English

dag Tag day

dohtor Tochter daughter

fæder Vater father

frēond Freund friend

habban haben (to) have

hús Haus house

þancung Dank(e)/ Dankung thank(s)/ thanking

þíof Dieb thief

word Wort word

similarities

&

differences

Development of English

Indo-European languagesaround 1000 BC

split into Italic, Hellenic, Celtic, Germanic, Slavic,

Baltic, Indo-Iranian languages, etc.

Germanic languages split into North, East,

and West Germanic languages

West Germanic languages split into

High German & Low German languages

Low German languages split into

Dutch, Flemish, Afrikaans, Frisian,

Modern Low German and English

from

around

1000 BC

until today


What is BRITAIN today

Celts/ Picts/ Welsh (Celtic, Pictish, Gaelic)

Celtic English (continuous form)

(no writing)

Romans (55 BC - 436 AD)

impact on culture and infrastructure

little impact on language: few loan

words such as: 'win' (wine), 'piper'

(pepper), 'candel' (candle), pund (pound),

'munt' (mountain), or 'cycene' (kitchen)


Old English (7th - 11th century)

Angles

Saxons

Jutes

Frisians

Vikings

Hybrid

language

What is BRITAIN today


Old English(7th - 11th century)

example:Beowulf

Listen to Beowulf in Old English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH-_GwoO4xI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH-_GwoO4xI

Beowulf (Old English): Translation:Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum, Listen! We of the spear Danes in the days of yore,

þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, of those clan kings - heard of their glory

hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. how those nobles performed couragous deeds.

Oft Scyld Scéfing sceaþena þreatum, Often Scvld, son of Scéf, from enemy hosts,

monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, from many tribes seized the mead benches,

egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð and terrorised the fearsome Heruli. After first he

feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, was found helpless, fate then repaid him:

weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, for he waxed under the clouds, in wealth he throve,

oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra until to him each of the bordering tribes,

ofer hronrade hyran scolde, beyond the whale-road, heard his mandate,

gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning! and give tribute: that was a good king!

ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned, To him an heir was born then,

geong in geardum, þone god sende a son in his halls, whom God sent

folce to frofre; fyrenðearfe ongeat to comfort the people; he had seen their dire

þe hie ær drugon aldorlease distress that they suffered before, leaderless for

lange hwile. Him þæs liffréä, a long while. The Lord endowed him,

wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf; the ruler of glory, granted honour on earth.

Beowulf wæs breme, blæd wide sprang Beowulf was famed, his renown spread wide

Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in Scyld's heir, in the Scandinavian lands.

Swa sceal geong guma gode gewyrcean So ought a young man by deeds deserve,

fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme by fine gifts, while in his father's keeping,

þæt hine on ylde eft gewunigen that him in old age shall again stand by.

wilgesiþas þonne wig cume willing companions when war comes

leode gelæsten lofdædum sceal people serve him, by glorious deeds must

in mægþa gehwære man geþeon amongst his people everywhere prosper.



complex language

vowel shift: "Umlaut" (back of the mouth

vowels) front of the mouth vowels

High frequency words developed that

are still similar in Modern German, e.g.

brother (Bruder), daughter (Tochter),

drink (trinken), earth (Erde), farm (Farm)

find (finden), fish (Fisch), friend (Freund),

house (Haus), laughter (Lachen), etc.



King Alfred the Great (9th century)

treaty with invading Norsemen

("Danelaw")

Old Norse influence on Old English

e.g. awkward, bag, dirt, gate, mistake,

neck, sky, skirt, skull, ugly, wrong, etc.)

"parallelism": sick/ ill, dike/ ditch,

wrath/ anger, skin/ hide OR he/ his/ him

(cases) vs. to/ with/ from/ by (prepositions)



Old English "Wessex" dialect became the

standard in 10th century poetry, e.g.

'Homily on St. Gregory the Great':

Eft he axode, hu ðære ðeode nama wære þe

hi of comon. Him wæs geandwyrd, þæt hi

Angle genemnode wæron. þa cwæð he,

Rihtlice hi sind Angle gehatene, for ðan ðe hi

engla wlite habbað, and swilcum gedafenað

þæt hi on heofonum engla geferan beon.


Middle English (1066 - 13th century)

Norman Conquest 1066

Anglo-Norman French became the official

language for more than 300 years

Other languages used were:

• Latin (church, scholars)

• Old English regional dialects (peasants,

commoners) such as Southern, Kent,

Northern, or Midlands dialects



Influence of Anglo-Norman French on English:

• noun suffixes (-age, -ance/-ence, -ant/-ent,

-ment, -ity, -tion)

• noun prefixes (con-, de-, ex-, trans-, pre-)

• new vocabulary: prince, count, duke, baron,

court, judge, contract, armor, archer, guad,

courage, mansion, banquet, biscuit, color, etc.

• additional vocabulary: beef (cow), veal (calf),

pork/ bacon (pig), mutton (sheep), etc.



Influence of Anglo-Norman French on English:

• Myriad of synonyms in English, e.g. infant/

child, liberty/ freedom, commence/ start,

annual/ yearly, aid/ help, odor/ smell, etc.

• 'hw' 'wh', e.g. 'hwaer' where, 'hwil'

while, 'hwo' who, 'hwaenne' when, etc.

• Imported 'chic' French words, e.g. royal,

romance, courtesy, honor, tournament, music,

passion, popular, history, library, client, etc.


Middle English (12th - 14th century)

Oxford/ Cambridge English - "lingua franca"

• dropped vowel sounds unstressed 'schwa'

/ə/ (like in 'taken' or 'pencil')

• dropped inflections and inflected case

endings word order (S-V-O) & only "the"

• Old English letters ð ('edh' or 'eth') and þ

('thorn') 'th'; letter 3 ('yogh') 'g' or 'gh'

• 'ye' new formal YOU (Old English 'thou'

was kept as an informal singular YOU)




• 'cw' 'qu' (e.g. 'cwic' 'quick', 'cwene' 'queen')

• 'c' 'k', 'ck' or 'ch' (e.g. cyning/cyng king,

boc bock book, cild child, cese cheese)

• deletion of Old English 'h' at the beginning of

words (e.g. 'hring' ring, 'hnecca' neck)

• addition of 'h' to Romance loan words(e.g. honor, heir, honest, habit, herb, etc.)

• trailing 'e' silent (e.g. 'nose', 'name')




• differentiation of f & v, s & z, ng & n (while 'u'

and 'v' were still considered interchangeable)

• long OE 'a' vowel ME 'o' vowel (e.g. 'ham'

home, 'stan' stone, 'ban' bone, etc.)

• long vowel sounds double vowels(e.g. 'boc' 'booc', 'se' 'see')

• short vowel sounds double consonant(e.g. 'siting' 'sitting')

• plural 'en' 's' (e.g. 'housen' houses)


Middle English(late 14th century)

example:Geoffrey Chaucer's

Canterbury Tales

Listen to the Prologue of the Canterbury

Tales in Middle English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXqiwRRJTxA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXqiwRRJTxA

Development of EnglishGeoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (Middle English):

Prologue, lines 1-18:

Middle English Translation

Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote When April with its sweet-smelling showers

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, Has pierced the drought of March to the root,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour And bathed every vein in such liquid

Of which vertu engendred is the flour; By which power the flower is created;

Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth When the west wind also with its sweet breath,

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth In every wood and field has breathed life into

The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne The tender new leaves, and the young sun

Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne, Has run half its course in Aries,

And smale foweles maken melodye, And small fowls make melody,

That slepen al the nyght with open ye Those that sleep all the night with open eyes

(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages), (So Nature incites them in their hearts),

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,

And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, And professional pilgrims to seek foreign shores,

To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; To distant shrines, known in various lands;

And specially from every shires ende And specially from every shire's end

Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende, Of England to Canterbury they travel,

The hooly blisful martir for to seke, To seek the holy blessed martyr,

That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke. Who helped them when they were sick.


Early Modern English (14th - 16th century)

• Great Vowel Shift

• coined by Otto Jespersen (1860 - 1943)

• 7 long monophones changed:

/iː/ /eː/ // /ɑː/ /ɔː/ /oː/ /uː/

• 2 diphthongs changed: /əɪ/ /əu/

• Changes did not happen at once,

not consistently, and not everywhere



The Great Vowel Shift

• (German) "lachen" /laxen/ laugh /lax/ laugh /læf/



Consonant changes,e.g.:

• (German) "acht" /axt/ eight /æxt/ eight /iːxt/

eight /əɪxt/ eight /əɪt/

• Voiceless consonants climb, knee, island, scissors

• Added letters 'perfet' (perfect), 'faute' (fault),

'aventure' (adventure)

• Examples of "old" pronunciation patterns: derby, clerk,

Berkeley, Berkshire, and irregularities today: bear/

swear/ wear vs. great/ break/ steak or food/ moon/

soon vs. book/ foot/ good, etc.



• English Renaissance (16/17th cent.) Shakespeare

• Imported words from Latin and Greek, e.g.: genius,

species, radius, criterion, area, premium, or lexicon

• "Inkhorn" words: still in use (e.g. impede, admit,

external, exaggerate) did not survive (e.g. expede,

demit, unhair, disacquaint, vastidity, inquisiturient)

• Short-lived survival of old Germanic words, e.g.

'inwit' (conscience), 'gleeman' (musician), 'starlore'

(astonomy), or 'speechcraft' (grammar)



• Printing (Johann Gutenberg/ 1439) publishing

houses London/ 'Oxbridge' universities

• 'Standardized' writing (Chancery of Westminster),

dictionaries and efforts to 'purify' English

• Spelling variations: he/ hi, her/ her, had/ hadde,

which/ whiche, fellow/ felowe/ fallowe, etc.

• Independent letters: u/ v and i/ j

• 'Golden Age' of literature (W. Shakespeare,

J. Webster, J. Milton, A. Pope, Sir F. Bacon, etc.)

Development of EnglishPassage from Shakespeare's 'King Lear' (1623)

Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter,

Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty,

Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare,

No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour,

As much as childe e'er loved, or father found.

A love that makes breath poor and speech unable,

Beyond all manner of 'so much' I love you.

Sir, I loue you more than words can weild ye matter,

Deerer than eye-sight, space, and libertie,

Beyond what can be valewed, rich or rare,

No lesse then life, with grace, health, beauty, honor:

As much as Childe ere lou'd, or Father found.

A loue that makes breath poore, and speech vnable,

Beyond all manner of so much I loue you.

Early

Modern

English

'Trans-

lation'

Shakespeare Globe London Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

Development of EnglishEarly Modern English (14th - 16th century)

International trade examples of loanwords

• French: ballet, chocolate, salon, detail, cuisine, prestige, vogue

• Italian: carnival, casino, grotto, studio, piano, opera, violin

• Spanish: armada, cargo, plaza, salsa, banana, tango, vigilante

• Portuguese: breeze, cobra, flamingo, marmalade, albino

• German: kindergarten, fest, angst, delicatessen, dachshund

• Dutch/Flemish: holster, skipper, dam, smuggle, yacht, reef

• Norwegian: maelstrom, iceberg, ski, slalom, troll

• Icelandic: mumps, saga, geyser // Finnish: sauna

• Arabic: algebra, algorithm, almanac, saffron, coffee, mattress

• Turkish: yoghurt, caviar, chess, kiosk, tulip, turban

• Russian: sable, mammoth, vodka, kefir, commissar, tsar

• Japanese: tycoon, geisha, karate, samurai

• Malay: bamboo, amok, caddy, gong, ketchup, etc.

• Chinese: tea, typhoon // Polynesian: taboo, tattoo


Late Modern English (17th - 20th century)

Gradual transition due to industrialization,

colonization and globolization

"New tech" vocabulary, e.g. railroad,

steam engine, telephone, photograph,

bacteria, vaccine, electricity, economy

British English independent forms,

e.g.: American/ Canadian/ South African/

Australian/ New Zealand/ Caribbean/

Jamaican/ Black/ South Asian English


English today

375 million native speakers of English

1,500 million non-native speakers of

English 'Lingua Franca'

Regional differences

Confusing sounds/ spelling

myriad of synonyms and loanwords

Urban Dictionary/ new creations, e.g.

selfie, texting, edutainment, bromance

Lunch Break Mittagspause

(1 hr) (1 Std.)

Quiz

• What does this mean in English?

"Das ist mein Haus." "This is my house."

• How about this?

"Sie trinkt einen Kaffee mit Zucker." "She drinks a coffee with sugar."

• And finally: "Welcher der drei Sätze

war am einfachsten?"

"Which of the three sentences

was the easiest one?"

Quiz

Can you guess these German words?

MutterVater

Wasser

Sommer

Lampe

Hund

KatzeButter

Hundert Tochter

Buch

Freund

Straße

Oktoberfest Bier Bratwurst Apfelstrudel

☺

Germanic Languages

NorthGermanic

Languages

Danish

Swedish

OldNorse

EastGermanic

Languages

Gothic(extinct)

WestGermanic

Languages

Low German

HighGerman

Norwegian

Icelandic

Faroese

Dutch, Flemish,

Afrikaans, Frisian,

Modern Low

German, English

Modern High

German, Yiddish

Development of German

Proto-Germanic (~ 2,000 BC - 500 BC)

Germanic (500 BC - 750 AD)

Althochdeutsch

Old High German (750 - 1050 AD)

Mittelhochdeutsch

Middle High German (1050 - 1350 BC)

Frühneuhochdeutsch

Early New High German (1350 - 1650 AD)

Neuhochdeutsch

New High German (since 1650 AD)

Modern German (~ 20th/ 21st century)


Proto Germanic Germanic(~ 2,000 BC - 500 BC) (500 BC - 750 AD)

• "Great Germanic Sound Shift" separated

Germanic & Proto-Indo-European languages

• Rasmus Christian Rask / Josef Grimm

"Grimm's Law"/ "Rask-Grimm Rule" (1820s)

p f/v, t d, v w, k/c h/ch (/x/ sound)

Sanskrit Greek Latin German English

pitár patéras pater Vater father

hunda kýon canis Hund hound (dog)

trisrah treis tres drei three

• Spoken language/ no written records until

the 1st century AD (only citations in Latin)

• From the 1st century AD carved

inscriptions in "Futhark"


Proto Germanic/ Germanic(~ 2,000 BC - 750 BC)

• 24-letter runic alphabet used in continental

Europe "Elder Futhark"

• 33-letter runic alphabet introduced in

England (5th century) "Futhorc"


Proto Germanic/ Germanic(~ 2,000 BC - 750 BC)

24-letter "Elder Futhark"

Development of German33-letter "Futhorc"

16-letter "Younger Futhark" (Scandinavia)


Germanic Old High German(500 BC - 750 AD) (750 AD - 1050 AD)

Consonant Shift as described by Jacob Grimm

(1785 - 1863) and Karl Verner (1846 - 1896)

"Grimm's Law" & "Verner's Law"


"Grimm's Law" & "Verner's Law" (examples)

• p/ pp pf/ ff

apple Apfel; plough Pflug; swamp Sumpf;

pan Pfanne; pound Pfund; hope hoffen

• th d & t s/ z

three drei; that das; thank Dank; thick

dick; path Pfad; thorn Dorn; brother Bruder;

better besser; water Wasser; what was; ten

zehn; sit sitzen; bite beissen; foot Fuß

• k ch [/x/ sound]

make machen; speak sprechen; rake

Rechen; break brechen; hake Hecht


Germanic (8th century)

• Several other sound shifts (regional)

• Regional dialects, e.g. "Sächsisch" (Saxon),

"Bairisch" (Bavarian), "Fränkisch"

(Franconian), "Ostfriesisch" (East Frisian)

• Separation into "Oberdeutsch" (upper

German), "Mitteldeutsch" (middle German)

and "Niederdeutsch" (lower German)

• At the same time, Gothic still existed


Althochdeutsch (Old High German)

"Theodisk" (750 - 1050 AD)

• Documented written examples of

'streamlined' words selected from dialects

that had gone through all sound changes

• "Theodisk": Germanic root 'diot' (people/ folk)

adjective 'diotisc' (of the people)

'Theodisk' 'Diutisc' 'Diutsch' Deutsch

meaning "Volkssprache" ('folk speech'/ ver-

nacular language) Latin/ Greek/ Old French


Example of Old German/ Old Saxon text:"Der Heiland" ("The Savior") written by a monk living

in the Fulda Monastery in the 9th/ 10th century:

Modern German English

Matthäus und Markus, Matthrew and Mark,

so heißen die Männer. so the men are called.

Lukas und Johannes, Luke and John,

sie waren Gott lieb. they were loved by God.

Matheus endi Marcus, so uuarun thai man hetana.

Lucas endi Hohanes, sie uuarun liebe gode.

Development of GermanExample of Old German pagan text:"Die Merseburger Zaubersprüche"

("The pagan magic chants of Merseburg"):

Phôl ende Wuodan

fuorun zi holza.

dû wart demo balderes folon

sîn fuoz birenkit.

thû biguol en Sinthgunt,

Sunna era swister;

thû biguol en Frîja,

Folla era swister;

thû biguol en Wuodan,

sô hê wola conda:

sôse bênrenki,

sôse bluotrenki,

sôse lidirenki:

bên zi bêna,

bluot zi bluoda,

lid zi geliden,

sôse gelîmida sîn.

Translation (Modern German):

Phol und Wodan

begaben sich in den Wald

Da wurde dem Balders Fohlen

sein Fuß verrenkt

Da besprach ihn Sinthgunt,

Sunna ihre Schwester

Da besprach ihn Frija,

Folla ihre Schwester;

Da besprach ihn Wodan,

wie er es wohl verstand:

So Knochenrenke,

so Blutrenke,

so Gliedrenke:

Knochen zu Knochen,

Blut zu Blut,

Glied zu Glied,

so sind sie geleimt.

(Attempted, rather literal)

translation into English:

Phol and Wodan

betook themselves

into the woods

There the Balders foal's

foot was sprained

Then, Sinthgunt, Sunna's

sister conjured him

Then, Frija, Folla's sister

conjured him

Then, Wodan conjured

him the way he

understood:

So appendages wring

and set yourselves right

Bone to bone,

blood to blood,

extremity to extremity,

until they are glued


"Althochdeutsch" (Old High German) (750 - 1050 AD)

• Still a synthetic language (pagan text example)

• "Karolinger Zeit" (the age of

the 'Karolinger'), "Karl der

Große" (Charlemagne, 742 -

814) King of the Franks/

Lombards/ Romans

"imperium christianum"

(Christian imperium)


• "Volkssprache Theodisk" is used to spread

the written word

• Missing words were borrowed from

"Althochdeutsch" (Old High German) (750 - 1050 AD)

Greek: e.g. kyrikón (Kirche; meaning 'church'),

ángelos (Engel; meaning 'angel'), or epískopos

(Bischoff; meaning 'bishop')

Latin: scribere (schreiben; meaning 'write'), corpus

(Körper; meaning 'body'), discus (Tisch; meaning

'table), or fenestra (Fenster; meaning 'window')


• Development of the German Umlaut (ä, ö, ü)'Mærtz' März; 'Bruieder' 'Brüder; 'scœn' schön

"Mittelhochdeutsch" / "Dütsch"

(Middle High German) (1050 - 1350 AD)

• Unstressed additional syllable vowels:

'salbôn' Salben; 'gibirgi' Gebirge; 'taga' Tage

• Secular influencers ("Stauferzeit")/ chivalric

poetry/ "Minnesänger" influx of French words


Excerpt from the Middle High

German poem "Der arme

Heinrich" (the poor Heinrich) by

Hartmann von Aue (~ 1190s):

Middle German Modern German Modern English

Ein ritter Es war einmal ein Ritter, There was a knight who

sô gelêret was, der so gelehrt war, was educated enough

daz er an den dass er alles, was er in to read and understand

buochen las, Büchern geschrieben everything written in

swaz er dar an fand, lesen konnte. books.

geschriben vant,

der was Er hieß Hartmann, His name was

Hartmann genannt, Hartmann,

dienstman was er und war Lehnsmann and he was a

zouwe Aue. zu Aue. vassal/ leud in Aue.


"Frühneuhochdeutsch" (Early New

High German) (1350 - 1650 AD)

• Renewed idenfication with local territories

governed by "local" noble families

• Return to regional traditions and dialects

• No effort to achieve trans-regional

standardization

Development

of German

"Frühneu-

hochdeutsch"

(Early New

High German)(1350 - 1650 AD)

German

dialects


Early New High German

• Lengthening of short vowels in open syllables

e.g. "lebben" "leben"

• Shortening of long vowels in closed syllables

e.g. "haßt" "hast" / "hôchgezît" "Hochzeit"

Sound changes of the 14th & 15th century

• Diphthongization of long vowels, e.g. "liute"

Leute / "mîn niuwes hûs" "mein neues Haus"

• monophthongization of 'ei', 'uo', 'üe' 'iß', 'uß'

e.g. "füeze" Füße / "brüeder" Brüder /

"suochen" suchen


Early New High German

• Those sound changes did not happen

everywhere (dialectal differences)

• Rise of preferred 'categories' of dialects:

Österreichisch/ Bairisch (Austro-Bavarian)

Schwäbisch (Swabonian)

Rheinisch (Rhine and Lorrainian Franconian)

Zürich Dütsch (Zurich Swiss German)

Ostmitteldeutsch (Eastern Middle German)

Nordmitteldeutsch (Northern Middle German)

Sound changes of the 14th & 15th century




• Ratsherr Ulmann Stromer von Nürnberg opened

first paper mill (1389)

• Johannes (Gensfleisch zur Laden zum) Gutenberg

invented the first printing press (1439)

"Druckersprachen" (printing languages)

• Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) protestant

reformation movement/ proclamations/ 'new' Bible

trans-regional dialect "Ostmittel-deutsch"

'creator of Modern High German'




Martin Luther's 'new' German evolved:

(1/ Mos/ 1, 4)

1524: vnd Gott sahe das liecht fur gut an

1534: Vnd Gott saha, das das Liecht gut war

Today: Und Gott sah, daß das Licht gut war

(English: And God saw that the light was good)

(1/ Mos/ 40, 7)

1523: warumb sehet yhr heutte so ubel

1534: warumb seid jr heute so traurig

Today: Warum seht ihr heute so traurig aus

(English: Why do you look so sad today)




• Decline of regionally influencial noble families and

knights

Late 16th/ early 17th century

• Rise of aldermen and political leaders of growing

cities (cathedrals/ universities)

• Renaissance of Humanities trans-regional

"Deutsch" popular alternative to Latin/ Greek

• Standardized form of German that had 6 tenses, 4

cases, auxilliary & modal verbs, complex inflection


"Neuhochdeutsch" (New High German)

(since 1650)

• "Dreißigjähriger Krieg" (30-year war)

• "Westfälischer Frieden" (1648 peace treaty)

• Independence for territories - more than 300

so-called "Kleinstaaten" (mini countries)

• Trans-territorial trade revived "Luther's

German" (though despised) as a 'Lingua

Franca' while regional dialects remained in

use (preferred)



(since 1650)

• 'Chique' French words Louis XIV ('sun king')

Appartment, Bouillon, Chance, Chauffeur, Courage,

Dessert, Parterre, Portemonnaie, Rendez-vous,

Souterrain, vis-à-vis, etc.

• Anti 'frenchification' movement

Wohnung, Brühe, Gelegenheit, Fahrer, Mut,

Nachspeise, Erdgeschoß, Geldbeutel,

Verabredung, Untergeschoß, gegenüber, etc.



(since 1650)

• Justus Georg Schottelius (1612 - 1676)

"Ausführliche Arbeit zur Teutschen

HaubtSprache"

• Further standardization efforts poets

and writers 'Age of Reason' German

'main language' (logical & reasonable)

foundation of today's German



(since 1650)

• Martin Opitz (1624) "Buch von der

Deutschen Poeterey" guidelines for

homogeneous language, metre, intonation

and rhythm in German poetry

• "Weimarer Klassik" (Weimar Classicism)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 -

1832), Friedrich Schiller (1759 - 1805)

"Kulturelle Vorbildsprache"



(since 1650)

Meaning:

Not everything that glissens is gold,

neither is everything happiness that

is like that called;

not everything is as pleasant as it seems;

by that I refer to many different things.

Goethe wrote:

Nicht ist alles Gold, was gleißt,

Glück nicht alles, was so heißt;

nicht alles Freude, was so scheint;

damit hab ich gar manches gemeint.



(since 1650)

• Final harmonization of New High German

• "Haus der Hohenzollern "Preußen"

(Kingdom of Prussia) unification of all

kingdoms of Germany in 1871

• "Deutsches Kaiserreich" 1871 - 1918

all German citizens had to learn "Hoch-

deutsch" (High German) in addition to their

regional dialect still the same today!

"Deutsches Kaiserreich" (1871 - 1918)

today's

France

today's

Czech

Republic

today's

Poland

today's

Latvia &

Lithuania

today's

Denmark

today's

Slovakia



(since 1650)

• 1876: "Conferenz zur Herstellung größerer

Einigung der deutschen Rechtschreibung"

lead by Konrad Duden

• Today: Duden = official

Dictionary of German

(2017: 27th edition)

incl. several

orthography reforms



(since 1650)

Example: 'crazy' German compound nouns

• "Straßenbahnhaltestelle" (tram station)

• "Schifffahrtskapitänsmütze" (captain's hat)

• "Feuerwehrausfahrtsparkverbotszone" (fire

rescue exit no parking zone)

1891: Gustav Wurstmann published

"Allerhand Sprachdummheiten. Kleine

Grammatik des Zweifelhaften, des Falschen

und des Häßlichen."



(since 1650)

Historical events in the years to follow:

• Rising tensions among European nations

• 1914: assassination of Archduke Frank

Ferdinand of Austria

diplomatic crises European wars WWI

• WWI ended in 1918 Weimar Republic

(birth of a democratic nation)



(since 1650)


• Growing sentiment: equal opportunities

expropriation & demise of noble families

• Post-war reparation payments: 269 billion

Marks (~ 32 billion US$ today)

• World economic crisis (1930s)

• These events gave rise to Adolf Hitler

"Reichskanzler" (1933) Deutsches Reich



(since 1650)


• "Hitler years" "Volksempfänger",

"Volkswagen", "Arbeit macht frei", etc.

• Chancellor Dictator use of German

and rhetoric changed completely (from the

hights of German literature and poetry to

the lows of Nazi Germany)

• WWII (1939 - 1945)


"Modernes Hochdeutsch"

(Modern High German) (since 1950)

• No major changes to German grammar

• Several spelling reforms

• Socio-cultural and technological changes to

vocabulary (TV, radio, newspapers, movies)

• Mixture of dialects ("Ostkriegsflüchtlinge")

& rise of English (occupying allied forces)

• Influx of "Gastarbeiter" (Italy; Turkey)




Examples of the influence of the computer

and internet age on German:

• Computer, Internet, Email, Log-in, Laptop,

Tablet, Software, Online-Banking, Chat,

Software, Browser, Scanner, etc.

• downloaden, einloggen, klicken, Maus,

Passwort, Enter Taste, Handy, etc.




Examples of the influence of "Gastarbeiter"

(food) language on German:

• Italian: Pizzeria, Gelatti, Cappuccino, Pesto,

Parmigiano, Pesto, Tagliatelle, Gnocchi,

Scampi, Calamari, Bruschetta, or Lambrusco.

• Turkish: Döner, Börek, Baklava, Dolmades,

Köfte, Şiş Kebap, Ekmek, or Ayran.




Other "anglicisms" used in German today:

• Meeting - Brainstorming - Marketing Plan -

Update - Call Center

• Voicemail - online Chat - Tour Guide -

Broker - Sponsor - Event - Ticket - Jeans

• Fast Food - Snack Bar - Cheeseburger -

Ketchup - Cocktail - Happy Hour - Party


German today

• Unified written language (Modern High German)

coexists with a multitude of locally spoken

dialects "bi-lingualism" ☺

• Modern Low German languages still exist in

written and spoken form (Plattdeutsch, Friesisch,

or Niederdeutsch) or only in spoken form

(Bavarian, Franconian, etc.)

• German is spoken by more than 100 million

people (Germany, Austria, Switzerland,

Liechtenstein, parts of Liechtenstein/

Luxembourg/ Belgium/ Italy/ Brazil)

Final thoughts, Q&As

Why do English speakers around

the world sound so different?

Why does German spoken in

Berlin, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Munich,

or Cologne sound so different?

Why does English have so

many French words?

So why are English & German related?

??

?

the history of germanic - inlingua-if.com · development of english indo-european languages around...

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