concordia-memories.org Forum Index concordia-memories.org
Recalling Concordia's Past
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Spelling of Low German and Dictionaries

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    concordia-memories.org Forum Index -> Low German
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
roger.pape
Site Admin


Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Posts: 414
Location: Liverpool, NY

PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:26 am    Post subject: Spelling of Low German and Dictionaries Reply with quote

The spelling of ‘Low German’ that is most commonly seen is Plattdeutsch. Actually, Deutsch is the High German spelling. Low German (and its many variants) is an oral language. There is no standard written language (or orthography) for Low German. High German (Hochdeutsch) became the standard for Germany, primarily because of Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible into this dialect. That was the language and spelling taught to children in school.

I have a number of letters written by my grandfather's relatives during the latter 1800s in Meinstedt, Germany where a Low German dialect was commonly spoken. As far as I can tell, all of the words in them were spelled in High German (other than occasional misspellings by the writer). That’s the language they learned to write.

As far as the Low German dialects that migrated to Concordia, Missouri are concerned, I recall them being pronounced as Plattdütsch (or anglicized as Plattduetsch). Linguists usually spell it as Plattdüütsch to emphasize the u with an umlaut. Pronunciation keys describe the ‘ü’ sound (such as in Mueller or Stuenkel) as “a vowel made with the lips rounded in the pronunciation for ‘oo’ as in ooze, while trying to say ‘e’ as in east. The Mennonite spelling is Plattdietsch. Other variations are also found.

Low German in Concordia appears to be part of the Low Saxon group of dialects. There is a lot of current research into the various Low German dialects. One German website by Marcus Buck at http://en.plattmakers.de/ has identified 118 variations in this group alone.

If you are interested in Low German words and their spellings, there are several websites that are a good starting point, namely http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_German and http://www.omniglot.com/writing/lowgerman.htm. Additional links to other sites can be found in them.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    concordia-memories.org Forum Index -> Low German All times are GMT - 6 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group