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 19th
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.