{"id":902,"date":"2021-06-25T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=902"},"modified":"2021-12-08T21:56:31","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T02:56:31","slug":"reading-the-writing-on-the-wall-or-any-other-document","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therabbithoel.com\/?p=902","title":{"rendered":"Reading the writing on the wall, or any other document."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sometimes the challenge in genealogy is sorting out language differences, both in translation and in writing styles. In his post<\/a> about the Bruegenhemke place, Walt mentioned high and low German. We will look at that and then look at writing patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dialects <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Low German, High German<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Lizzie and her uncle Anton Kruempelmann. Anton, like Lizzie’s mom, Maria Catharina, was born in Germany. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

German language has several dialects, just like many other languages.  High German is the official written language of Germany. It is based on the spoken languages of the highlands of southern Germany and is spoken in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.  Low German is based in old Saxon language and is not spoken much these days except in certain areas in northern Germany.  It does not have an extensive amount of literature like high German does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The biggest difference between the two is in the pronunciation of some of the consonants. But high German also has several dialects of its own.  When you are trying to translate a written document, you may first have to figure out which dialect the writers used before you can figure out what they were trying to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Familiar words used in unfamiliar ways<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In English, words are used to mean different things by English speakers in around the world. An exchange student friend told the story being very embarrassed when asked for a rubber in class one day.  Of course, what they were referring to was what an American would call an eraser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was asked what I was bringing to a pitch-in shortly after I moved to Indiana. I was unfamiliar with the term, as where I grew up, we called it pot-luck. What they both refer to is a shared meal where people bring different dishes for all to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are translating, figuring out the local slang can be another obstacle to understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing writing patterns<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When you search older records, you often run into problems with changes that have occurred in the language itself. Writing styles, word usage, and terms change with time and location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
And this printing of \u201cParadise Lost\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A common example from history is the letter s. Writers used the short \u201cs\u201d as we know it as a capital letter to start words, and as the second \u201cs\u201d in words with a double \u201cs.\u201d They used the long \u201cs\u201d (written \u0283) for the first letter of non-capitalized words starting with \u201cs\u201d or a single \u201cs\u201d in the middle of a word. And so, we see \u201cCongre\u0283s of the United States\u201d at the top of the Bill of Rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It becomes even more complicated when you are looking at an older document in a different language than your native tongue. This document is Maria Catharina Kruemplemann’s (Walt\u2019s great-grandmother) Birth and Baptism Certificate. I knew that “Geb” was a word used for birth in German, so I was able to guess what sort of document this was. I was puzzled because of the differences in the text from current German. My German dictionary was letting me down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This certified copy was written in in 1885, before Maria Catharina Kreumpelmann immigrated to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here is a transcript of the document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Auszug aus dem Geburts-und Taufbuche
Birth and baptism certificate
Der Parochie (Pfarrei) Bersenbr\u00fcck
From the parish Bersenbr\u00fcck
Jahrgang 1857 pag. (Seite?) 31
Yearbook 1857, page 31
—————————————-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laufende Nummer: 29
Serial number: 29
Ort der Geburt: Priggenhagen
Birthplace: Priggenhagen
Geschlecht des Kindes: M\u00e4dchen
Sex of child: girl
Voller Name des Kindes: Kr\u00fcmpelmann Maria Catharina
Full name of child: Kr\u00fcmpelmann Maria Catharina<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ll cover this document in more detail later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digging Deeper<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This article<\/a> on Britannica goes into much more detail about German Language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read more about the Long S here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes the challenge in genealogy is sorting out language differences, both in translation and in writing styles. In his post about the Bruegenhemke place, Walt mentioned high and low German. We will look at that and then look at writing patterns. Dialects Low German, High German German language has several dialects, just like many other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Reading the writing on the wall, or any other document for that matter.\nSometimes the challenge in genealogy is sorting out language differences, both in translation and in writing styles.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[18,55],"class_list":["post-902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","tag-family-history","tag-genealogy-research"],"yoast_head":"\nReading the writing on the wall, or any other document. - Down the Rabbit Hoel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sometimes the challenge in genealogy is sorting out language differences. 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