Variations in German

Hello, once more, friends and scholars.  Last week, I went over some common symbols and abbreviations in German records.  These can appear throughout German or Latin records, sometimes without rhyme or reason.  Today, I will be discussing three categories for changes in German: phonetic variations, interchangeable consonants, and regional cognates.  We should not dismiss someone or something in a record, simply because of deviation in writing or sound.

Historical Context and Phonetic Rules

As the student of history may recall, “Germany” did not exist as a unified state until the 19^th century.  In addition, various German-speaking areas went through phases of expanding, shrinking, and merging with other political entities.  Consequently, while these regions share a “common tongue,” they use different forms regarding place names, surnames, and personal names.  On occasion, a citizen of one state would move to another.  Scribes might then record his or her name differently (in contrast to the spelling used in the home area).

In a previous blog, I briefly discussed the German alphabet.  This topic requires me to dig a little deeper, in order to provide a reference frame.  First, here are three basic vowels—by themselves.  The letter ‘A’ sounds like the first vowel found in father.  ‘E’ sounds roughly like an English long ‘A,’ such as obey—but it is a pinch shorter.  One oddity is that ‘E’ produces a noise like the English expression uh when finishing a word or name (similar to the letter ‘A’ in Justina).

The letter ‘I’—by itself—sounds like the short English ‘I,’ as in bit.  When ‘I’ is followed by ‘E,’ a long ‘E’ sound forms.  One example of this distinction is found in my surname and one of its variations: Davies and Davis.  The difference in sound is based on the employment or the omission of the letter ‘E.’  In the latter surname, the soft ‘I’ is used—which produces the same sound in German.  While German vowels are almost always pronounced, this usage of ‘E’ provides a noteworthy exception.  Sometimes ‘IE’ may be swapped with ‘I’ or ‘Ü’—I will explain the latter in a moment.

The German ‘O’ is shorter than the English counterpart and sounds like the ‘O’ in body.  The ‘Ö’ is unique from an English-speaking perspective, almost sounding like the ‘O’ in loser.  The ‘U’ sounds a bit like the double-o in boot.  ‘Ü’ does not have an equivalent sound in English.  Native speakers produce a sound that is somewhere in between the ‘OO’ in look and the ‘I’ in girl.  When Americans re-write German given names and place names, ‘Ö’ and ‘Ü’ are occasionally rendered as ‘OE’ and ‘UE.’  This can cause confusion, because the letters ‘O’ and ‘U’ might be followed by ‘E’—making two distinct vowels—in their original forms.

The letter ‘Y’ is rare, it normally sounds like a soft ‘I.’  At the end of words, it sounds like a long ‘E’ in English (like the ‘Y’ in candy). Vowels can join and produce diphthongs.  These frequently sound like “one vowel,” but they technically target two distinct sounds.  Suppose that the letter ‘A,’ ‘Ä,’ or ‘E’ were followed by ‘I,’ ‘Y,’ or ‘Ÿ’ (Y with an “umlaut”); the result sounds like the long ‘I’ in English.  In this type of diphthong, ‘Ä’ or ‘E’ imitates the role of a German ‘A.’  Two English words that illustrate this concept are Thai and height.

Phonetic Variations

As explained above, there are various ways to produce the same sound.  Using German phonetic rules, the surname “Meyer” may also appear as Maier, Mayer, Maÿer, Mäier, Mäyer, Mäÿer, Meier, or Meÿer.  All of these examples are valid possibilities and it is difficult to ascertain one “correct” or “original” form.  In the sidebar on the right, we see two forms of writing a month, March, in old German: “Maerz” and “März.”

Interchangeable Consonants

As can be seen, German—like many other languages—has evolved over time.  Many consonants trade places with others because of generational or political boundaries.  The letters in the set ‘P,’ ‘T,’ and ‘K’ are typically exchanged with those found in the set ‘B,’ ‘D,’ and ‘G’ or in the set ‘PF/F,’ ‘Z/TZ’, and ‘H/CH.’  Over time, one letter (or grouping of letters) would evolve into another.  However, many phonetic shifts do not occur (‘R’ with ‘K,’ ‘S’ with ‘M,’ or ‘L’ with ‘T’).

Suppose that the newly wed Jeremias moves to the hometown of his bride.  He names his first-born son Jeremias and then takes him to a pastor for christening.  The church record uses the following descriptor: “Jeremias Kerper.”  A researcher today may feel tempted to ignore the latter name, because she expects to find a son surnamed “Gerber.”  Despite modification of the consonants, this entry refers to the right person.  Of course, she should dismiss forms like “Herder” or “Kertzer.”

Regional Cognates

At this point, some readers may reason: “Regional cognates?  Isn’t that where someone just takes a ‘C’ and swaps it with a ‘K’?”   Sometimes, the difference in cognates is that simple.  At other times, one form is completely distinct from others.  While feminine names often end either with “-A” or “-E,” the difference between “Catherine” and “Katarina” involves a lot more contrast than the final vowel.  Many of the respective discrepancies are rooted in the political boundaries.

Some given names have one or two forms (like Sara and Sarah); others have a large list of variations.  Johann and Johannes—both cognates of the English John—have countless forms.  A few examples include Jan, Jahn, Johan, Hannes, and Hans—today, people use Jahn primarily as a surname.  In a Christening record in the sidebar, we see a slight difference between a father’s name and that of his son—Johann and Johan.

Conclusion

Differences in spelling are common throughout old German records.  Such contrasts may seem intimidating at first; with some practice, they will not be so overwhelming.  When evaluating the relevance of a name (be it of a person or a place), make sure to take into consideration possible shifts and regional dialects.  Thank you for the time that you have taken to read this blog.  Best wishes in all of your endeavors.

Common Abbreviations and Symbols

Welcome back to my blog.  Last week, we covered the Church records written in Latin.  Today, we’ll be discussing abbreviations and symbols used in Latin and German records.  Throughout the history of central Europe, these have been used in both religious and secular records.  Sometimes, the information that a researcher needs has been written in plain sight.  However, comprehension of both representations and abbreviations is necessary in order to find it.

Background information

Scribes chose not to write something out in full for various reasons.  Sometimes, they would shorten names and words that were supposed to be understood in context.  While writing materials are relatively inexpensive today, they were very costly during the Middle Ages.  Consequently, writers had to get their ideas across without exhausting resources.  When it came to expressing ideas, there were different ways to “get the idea across.”  In addition, the same letter or abbreviation took on various meanings—depending on the context.

The last few posts have employed an example, that is described at the end.  This week’s illustration—found in the sidebar—includes a variety of examples in context.  The reader is advised to consult this while I explain the various symbols and abbreviations.  It should be remembered that these serve as examples—not the rules themselves.  The purpose of this article is to explain general principles; thus, readers should be able to pick up on common patterns and practices.

Abbreviations used in names

As previously stated, masculine names and words typically ended in ‘-us.’  This ending was sometimes written as a character resembling the letter ‘g.’  For instance, the Latin name “Augustus” could be written as “Augustg.”  A single letter with a stroke above was a substitute for double letters.  For example, “An̄a” and “Joan̄es” were short ways of writing “Anna” and “Joannes” (corresponding to Johannes—or other forms of John—in German).  In addition, the name “Joannes” could be presented as “Jo,” “Joes,” and “Jois.”  It should be noted that Johann (a common form of Johannes) was by far the most popular given name for boys during the middle ages in German-speaking areas.

Many devout Christians have found the term Xmas offensive, claiming that Christ has been taken out of Christmas.  Historically, the purposing of using the letter ‘X’ has been the opposite.  In Greek, the name “Christos” (Χριστός) was written with a letter that looks like the letter ‘X’ in our alphabet (commonly called “Chi” in mathematics).  Thus, for more than a millennium, scribes used the letter ‘X’ to represent “Chris” or “Christ.”

Two examples of naming conventions were “Xtofer” (Christopher) and “Xtina” (Christina).  Occasionally, the name “Christ” would appear in German records.  Perhaps an English-speaking Christian feel troubled by its use.  In a Christian context, this was not blasphemy; instead, it was a short form of other names—much like the English nick-name Chris.  Instead, Jesus’ surname in German has been rendered “Christus.”

Abbreviations related to numerals

The following were shortened forms of months: “7ber/7bris” (“September/Septembris”), “8bris/8ber” (“October/Octobris”), “9ber/9bris” (“November/Novembris”), and “10ber/10bris” (“December/Decembris”).  In addition, December was occasionally represented by the Roman numeral ‘X’—also meaning 10—in “Xber/Xbris.”  For more information on the background of calendar months, see my podcast in the sidebar.

Ordinal numbers often employed endings—either in masculine or feminine forms (“-us” or “-a” respectively).  Examples of this practice included “7ma” (7^th), “19na” (19^th), or “25ta” (25^th).  Many readers today are accustomed to reading Roman numerals.  However, two important notes need to be made here.  First, unconventional applications were used.  For example, 9 could be written as VIIII (instead of IX) and 70 could be written as XXXC (rather than LXX).  Second, Roman numerals typically signified feast days (instead of calendar days). and calendar years.  Occasionally, the number 1 was rendered ‘I’ with a dot—appearing much like the lower-case ‘i.’

Other Abbreviations and Symbols

Place names could be written by their German or Latin names.  In both of these languages, abbreviations were typically employed.  For instance, “Regensburg” (in German) could be rendered as “Ratisbon” (in Latin).  The latter could be abbreviated as “Ratisb.,” “Rat.,” or even “R.”  Latin used a variety of words to say “same as above”—especially, “ditto,” “eodem,” “eiusdem/ejustdem,” “idem,” and “item.”

A host of genealogical symbols often presented themselves in church records.  A star referred to birth; one or two lines with squiggles—somewhat resembling a tilde—signified a christening.  Marriage was signified by two adjacent circles—appearing in form like the number eight on its side.  A cross represented death.  If a cross was followed by a star, the scribe has mentioned a stillborn child.  A burial was illustrated by means of a simple rectangle (with the shorter sides being on the left and right sides).

Conclusion

In both German and Latin records, there have been various ways to explain the same information.  As the article shows, useful information could be shortened.  Scribes used abbreviations and symbols to save time, space, and money.  For success in research, careful attention must be paid in extracting details.  Thanks for reading this week’s blog.  Next time, we’ll be discussing regional spellings and variations in German.

Latin Church Records

Once again, greetings, friends and guests.  Last time, I explained some common German terminology that will come in handy.  Today’s lesson will be on Latin—yes, you read that correctly.  Understanding this “dead language,” is actually more useful than most people would think.  Knowledge about it will help you become a more capable German genealogist.

Background Information

One evening, I was watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding—spoiler alert: Its about two people getting married (surprise, surprise).  Anyways, the groom-to-be is named Ian.  In order to have an Orthodox wedding, he must first be baptized into the church.  Instead of using our vernacular English, the priest performs this sacrament in Greek.  Due to my understanding of linguistics, I immediately recognized the cognate used for Ian (“Ioannis”).  Unfortunately, there will be no Greek in today’s post (though some of its elements may be shared next week).

Various religious cultures use liturgical languages—meaning that they hold sentimental value due to their historical or spiritual associations.  For that reason, Ian was baptized in Greek—rather than in his native English.  For western Christians, Latin enjoyed prestige and far-reaching influence during the Middle Ages.  Even when German dialects (which will be discussed in a later post) took over, Latin’s employment in religious documents persisted into the 20^th century.

To begin, let’s discuss some important facts about the alphabet.  Many ancient manuscripts use what 21^st-century westerners call “all caps.”  The reason for this was that “lower case” letters didn’t exist.  The letters ‘A’ and ‘O’ could be combined with ‘E’ to create the ligatures ‘Æ’ and ‘Œ.’  In dealing with “Ecclesiastical Latin,” these combinations typically—though not always—correspond to the German ‘A’ and ‘O’ with umlauts (‘Ä’ and ‘Ö’).  For example, while the Latin “Matthæus” is rendered as Matthew in English (using ‘E’ in place of the ligature ‘Æ’), German uses the form “Matthäus.”

The classical alphabet did not have the letters ‘J,’ ‘U,’ or ‘W.’  Some readers in my audience may be thinking: “Then, how would German scribes spell out given names that normally use those letters?”  Many modern-day speakers—including English- and German-speakers—don’t realize that languages have evolved over time.  Thus, words and even characters will transform, as they adapt to new generations and cultures.  There is a notable exception regarding the letter ‘W’:  Despite not being a “Latin” letter, it was typically included when dealing with given names (like “Wilhelm”) or place-names (such as “Wittenberg”).

The letter ‘V’ could function as either a vowel (almost sounding like ‘oo’ as in juice) or a consonant (similarly to the English ‘w’ as in wind).  A great example of both usages is ‘VITVS’ (which is the original form of Vitus)—which would be pronounced like “wee-toose.”  Over time, the letter ‘U’ was created to function as a vowel.  From that point onward, ‘V’ was treated like a consonant.  Most romance languages pronounce the letter like ‘V’ (as in victory).

The letter J (pronounced like ‘y’ in yawn) simply derived from the letter ‘I,’ as a means to easier pronunciation.  If a letter appearing to be ‘J’ is followed by a consonant, then it is probably the letter I.  However, vowels may be preceded by either ‘I’ or ‘J.’  With that background, here’s something that needs to be remembered: The two pairs, ‘V’ with ‘U’ and ‘I’ with ‘J,’ are actually interchangeable.  For instance, Julius could be also rendered as “Ivlivs,” “Iulius,” or even “Jvlivs.”

While ‘K’ is often a substitute for ‘C’ in German, Latinized names will often use ‘C’ and sometimes even ‘Q.’  Thus, the name ‘Jakob’ in Latin could be rendered ‘Jacobus.’  Both ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ were taken from the Greek alphabet and placed at the end of the Latin alphabet.  The letter ‘Y’ was used as a vowel for foreign words (like the Greek-derived word, mystery); it should never be pronounced like the English consonant (like yodel).

Vocabulary

It should be noted that Latin uses masculine, feminine, and neuter (non-gender) terms.  The masculine terms often times end in ‘-us’ while feminine terms often end in ‘-a.’  Not only are there gender-specified nouns, but there are also gender-specified adjectives.  The terms “filius” and “filia” mean son or daughter respectively.  The words “pater” and “mater” refer to father and mother.  “Uxor” and “marita” are common terms for wife while “maritus” designates husband.  “Conjux” simply means spouse—male or female.

 Latin has similar cognates to English words.  For instance, the descriptors “baptizatus” and “baptizata” both mean baptized (masculine and feminine respectively).  One blessing in disguise is that Latin names have six singular cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, and vocative.  This makes documents very easy to read—because we know who plays what role.  To illustrate this concept, let’s decline the name “Petrus” (which corresponds to the English and German name Peter):

Case	Singular
Nominative	Petrus
Genitive	Petrī
Dative	Petrō
Accusative	Petrum
Ablative	Petrō
Vocative	Petre

Don’t worry, the nominative and genitive forms will cover most of your needs.  The word “nominative” derives from a Latin word, meaning name.  Genitive forms are possessive cases; one major use for these is designating parentage.  German documents can be a little confusing because they do not use a consistent pattern for familial relations.  In contrast, Latin sentences can place the persons in whichever order because the nominative and genitive case make the relationships crystal clear.

Suppose that one wanted to write the following phrase in Latin: Karl, son of George and Catharina.  To create a genitive form, change the ‘-us’ to ‘-i’ (in the case of males) and the ‘-a’ to ‘-æ’ (in the case of females).  One would use the nominative case for Karl (Carolus) and the genitive case for George and Catharina (“Georgii” and “Catharinæ”).  There are a few ways that one could construct this sentence.  Here is one example:  “Carolus, filius Georgii et Catharinae.”

A Word about Names

When I was in high school, names recorded in my family tree often surprised me.  One day, I came across the name “Franciscus.”  I looked up the name and discovered that it was a Latin form of the name Francis (or “Franz” in German).  In reality, his mother would not have used this name to call him for dinner.  Remember to use the vernacular form of a name.  If this name is found, it should be extracted as “Franz.”  It is highly recommended that name-lists be consulted to determine what German name corresponds to the form used in Latin.

An example from my own pedigree

In one of my German families, there was a daughter named Viviana.  Her parents were Johann Mareis and Agatha.  To my surprise, her name was written down as “Bibiana.”  The side-bar has a copy of her entry in a Latin church record.  Below is a transcription:

Bibiana            22^ta decembris nata et die sequenti

baptizata est honestorum parentum

Joannis Mareis, et Agatha filia

legitima, cuig [cuius] patrini errant Joannes

Brenner et Maria Anna Mayrin.

Here is my translation:

Viviana was born on the 22^nd day of December and baptized the following day.  She was the legitimate daughter of the upright parents, Johann Mareis and Agatha.  The witnesses were Johann Brenner and Maria Anna Mayrin.

Conclusion

The entry above comes from a parish record, all written in Latin.  Learning this language can be hard work, especially when dealing with new vocabulary terms and name cases.  On the other hand, it can also be very fulfilling to be able to personally read and understand a small moment of someone’s life.  By combining skills in both German and Latin, you will be better able to find deceased relatives.  Next week, I will be discussing abbreviations and symbols commonly used—both in German and Latin records.

Basic German Vocabulary

Willkommen in meinem Blog!  (Welcome to my Blog!)  We discussed the Gothic and Fraktur alphabets last week.  As stated before, I highly recommend writing your name in Gothic to learn how to read the font in historical entries.  Now, we’re going to discuss actual German.  Some of my readers may feel intimidated by the subject.  One does not need to “master German” per se but he or she should memorize key terms.  Occasionally, you may need to consult a book or online list when encountering a new word—and that’s totally fine.

Disclaimers

English and German are both “Germanic languages” and thus have much in common.  That being said, significant differences will arise.  In some cases, German is more Germanic than English; in other cases, it’s more Latin.  A simple example is the English word gospel—which comes from the Old English godspel.  German borrows the Greco-Roman word “evangelium.”  Notwithstanding the different backgrounds, both of these words mean good news.

In addition, German distinguishes itself from English due to its rules in pronunciation.  The letter ‘J’ should never be pronounced with the initial sound used in jungle.  Instead, treat it like the English ‘Y’ (when employed as a consonant) like yes.  Also, the letters ‘V’ and ‘W’ may cause some confusion.  The first is pronounced like an ‘F’ (as in fog) and the second is pronounced like the English ‘V’ (as in vine).

In many cases (though not always), the German letters ‘C’ and ‘K’ are interchangeable—particularly before ‘A,’ ‘O,’ and ‘U.’  For example, a boy may be called “Carl” or “Karl” in various documents.  When dealing with things and place-names, German vocabulary tends to favor using the latter consonant—as is the case with “Amerika.”  The letter ‘D’ sounds like the English ‘T,’ at the end of a word (somewhat like drought).  Elsewhere, one should treat it like an English ‘D’ (like dough).

There is no ‘th’ sound (like thin) in German.  When ‘T’ and ‘H’ are seen together, the latter is either silent or part of the next syllable.  The combination ‘S-C-H’ is pronounced like the English ‘sh’ (as in shoe).  The letters ‘C-H’ (when not preceded by ‘S’) sound like ‘K’ (as in kite) at the beginning of a word or like the ‘-ch’ in loch at the end of a syllable.  The above observations explain why family names typically take on different spellings over time (such as Jägar becoming Yaegar or Schumann becoming Shumann).  In a later post, I will discuss regional variations in more detail.

Words with both similar counterparts and meanings in English

Over time, Germanic languages went different directions—for lack of a better term—with sounds.  One manifestation of this is the discrepancy between of ‘F’ versus ‘V.’  If Luke Skywalker had studied German, he would have realized that Vader was simply a variation of “vater” (meaning Father).  Perhaps that would have alleviated the shock when Luke learned the truth about his father's identity.  In fact, this is probably where George Lucas got the idea.

Familial terms are very similar.  In English, we refer to mother, brother, and sister—German uses “mutter,” “bruder,” and “schwester.”  The latter word seems quite exotic (and perhaps it is).  If I were to take out the vowels and w for both “scwhester” and sister, the only difference would be the initial sound: ‘sh’ versus ‘s.’  In order to refer to grandparents simply add on “groß-” (as in “Großvater” and “Großmutter”)—much like the English word grand-.

Many religious terms are easy to spot.  A record states that my ancestor was “Katholisch,” so I swap the ‘C’ for ‘K’ and recall the word Catholic.  An Evangelical (Reformed) Christian might be referred to as “Reformiert.”  The term “Lutherisch” bears resemblance to Lutheran (as I stated before, the German word doesn’t make the ‘th’ sound).  The English word Jew technically means a descendant of Judah.  Thus, the term “jüdisch” means Jewish; notice the inclusion of ‘D’ (which English excludes).

Another major contrast between German and English is illustrated in their use of ‘D’ and ‘T’ (hence the German “guten” corresponding to our English good).  One term for deceased persons is “tote.”  Sometimes, an English double-‘O’ corresponds to a German ‘U.’  For instance, “buch” simply means book.  Many words like these are combined to create other terms.  For example, “totenbuch” (“tote” + “buch”) simply means death records (or book of deceased persons).

Words with unique origins or different definitions

The term “copulation” deserves attention, as it is also an English word.  In German records, this simply refers to a marriage.  The word “ehe” also signifies marriage.  The etymology of the term comes from a Germanic root meaning law or custom.  The terms for legitimate and illegitimate are “eheliche” and “uneheliche.”  Note how the root “ehe” is included in both of these terms.

Ministers and pastors typically recorded whether or not a child being christened was legitimate.  In German culture, this meant that the parents were married by the time that the child was born.  While this custom may seem strange today, most Christians—both Catholic and Protestant—were expected to be abstinent before marriage.  From a research perspective, such information about children is helpful in tracking down a marriage date.

“Taufe(n)” is used for baptism(s) or christening(s).  If you see “Baptist” in a German record, it’s likely a given name (in honor of John the Baptist) instead of a religious office or title.  In some rare cases, a “nottaufe” or emergency baptism was performed for a newborn whose life was in danger.  Another sacrament commonly performed was the confirmation (typically spelled “konfirmation” in German).

Example of German Record

Here’s a simple baptism record, written in some messy Gothic (see the image included in the sidebar).  I was looking for a Lazarus Ruff, whose father had the same name.  At the top, we see a heading with four words.  In the third entry, we find our person.  I will provide a transcription and interpretation for the heading and our entry:

	Eltern	Kind	Gevatter	Monat
	Lazaruss Ruff Anna	Lazarus	Melchior Löslin. Diedrich Hoffer ...	14 Octobris

	Parents	Child	Godparents, sponsors	Month
	Lazarus   Ruff, Anna	Lazarus	Melchior Löslin. Diedrich Hoffer ...	14 October

           

Conclusion

German and English are branches from the same tree, but they have been grafted into different plants.  At times, you will see a record that uses the Latin, Gothic, and Fraktur alphabets.  When transcribing, ask yourself, “Does this make sense?”  At times, you may need to look at letters before and after, in order to figure out a word.  For example, the ‘T’ and ‘H’ in “Katherine” might look like a squiggle—but after reading the rest of the name (K-A-...-E-R-I-N-E), the name becomes obvious.  Thanks for reading this week’s post.  Next week, we will discuss Latin Church Records.