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.