75 ivIBl ■■jh^«*m,v '-s../- : »?•««'! '■m 'M I' wi_- * ■m Hm*^. 'It.- ' ' •liS*'i '«%.Vi#4 s*«. *i*^*^ ■%.; '-S?^ Jag"?" ■} ^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924026527873 Cornell University Library PD 75.M61 Germanic dialects. 3 1924 026 527 873 GERMANIC DIALECTS BY GUSTAV MEYER, Ph. D., PROFESSOR IN OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY, WESTERVILLE, OHIO. WEBf BRVItUei OHIO. PUSIISHEO BY TMB AUTHOR. 1800. 5 COPYRIQHT, 1900, BY GU8TAV MEYER. WOStTIKi OHid. MfeDAkD PRINTlNO COMPAMV. ABBREVIATIONS. Cp.=compare. fin.=final, Germ, auslautend, pertaining to a letter ter- minating a word. ini.=initial, Germ, anlautend, first letter of word. inl.=Germ. inlautend, letter in middle of word. H. G.=High German. L. G.==Low German. M. H. G.=Middle High German. Md. G.=Midland German. Mod. H. G.=Modern or Literary High German. 0. E.=01d English. O. F.=01d Frisian. O. Ir.=01d Irish. O. N.=01d Norse. O. S.=01d Saxon. 0. Sc.=01d Scandinavian. Sc. or Soand.=Scandinavian. Skt.=:Sanskrit. Sw.=Swabian. Ur-=a German prefix, meaning primitive, f. inst. : Urg. meaning primitive German, West. G.=West Germanic. GERMANIC DIALECTS. There are different opinions concerning the division^ of the Indo-Germanic languages. Leskien believes that the original language from which the separate Indo-Germanic languages are supposed to have sprung first divided itself into three different dialects or branches: (1) The Asiatic, consisting of Sanskrit, Zend and Ar- menian, the ancient dialects of India, Persia and Armenia; (2) the South European, comprising Greek,^ Celtic and Latin; and (3) the North European, containing Germanic and Slavo-Lettic. 'Concernini! the question of the oriein and primitive seat of the Indo-Germanic race, cp. 0. Scbrader, SpracbverKleichnng nnd TJr- gescbichte, Jena 1883, p. 442 sqq. ; also Canon Taylor, The Origin and Primitive Seat of the Aryans in "The Journal of the Antbropol. Inst, of Gr. Britain and Ireland. Vol. xxyii, London 1888, p. 238 sqq. 'Next to the Greek language may be mentioned the Albanian, the language of ancient Illyria. The true character of this language bag not yet been fully ascertained, philologists meeting with great trouble in separating pure Albanian words from those borrowed from Greek, Latin, Romance, Slavonic and Turkish languages. In addi- tion to this the oldest monuments of any extent date only since the seventeenth century. Notwithstanding, the Illyrians must have spoken a language differing considerably from that of the Greeks, as Thucy- dides, lib. 1, calls the Illyrians barbarians. Cp. Gustav Meyer, Al- banesieche Studien, Wien, 1883-84. 4 Germanic Dialects, Among these different members Sanskrit is acknowledged as unparalleled in antiquity and distinctness of structure and as bearing the closest resemblance to the prehistoric parent speech.' It consequently forms for comparative philology the natural basis of comparison. For the South European lan- guages Greek forms the best connecting link with Sanskrit; for the North European, Slavo-Lettio; while Celtic is the organic link between the North and South European groups. Joh. Schmidt claims that only two dialects first made their appearance. This theory is supported by the fact that the Indo-Germanic languages of North and South Europe have some characteristic features in common with eaeh other as a distinctive difference from the Asiatic group: (1) In uniformity with each other, they either retain the old a sound or show it in its weakened form as e or i, while Old Indian and Old Persian as a rule retain in the same cases the original a, and show the weakening of a to { only in a very limited measure. Skt. and Zend dasan, Gr. Sena, Lat. decern, Celt, deg., Lith. deszimt, Goth. taihun, O. H. G. tehan. Germ, zehn, Eng. ten; Skt. matri, Gr. jj,dTsp(/iijTrfp), Lat, mater, Slavonic mater, Celt, mathair, 0. H. G. muoter. (2) They show some uniformity in changing original r into I which latter letter is not a member of the original Indo-Germanic alphabet. Skt. rokas "light," Gr. Xevnos, white, Lat. lux, lucis, O. Ir. loche, Lith. laukas, O. Bulg. luca; Skt. oru, "to hear", Gr. kXv-oo, Lat. clu-o, O. Ir. door, Goth. hlo-s-e-m, Slav, klau-s-an, "1 hear." (3) They use in common some prepositions in a meaning altogether different from what the same words in Sanskrit indicate : Skt. a6Ai="ad", but Gr. afxcpi, Lat. amh. O. H, G. umbi, Celt. im»i="circa." (4) They all have a vocabulary, similar to each other, in terms relating to a higher state of agriculture which is want- ing in Sanskrit. (5) The common name for salt of the European groups 'In some respects Greek, Latin, and especially Lithuanian show more archaic forms than even Sauskritj J et speaking ia a general way the above Btatemeut ie coiiect. Germanic Dialects. 5 does not appear in the Old Indian and Persian languages. (6) The so-called German "Lautverschiebung" is in some words not conditioned by the consonantism of Sanskrit, but by that of the other European languages: the "k" of Low German "ik" is derived from the media (ego, iyoo) but not from the aspirata of the Sanskrit {aham). From this it seems probable that the Indo-Germanic fam- ily of languages split originally into two dialects which may be named after their later home, the Asiatic and European; and that the common family separated before its people had entered the so-called second state of civilization; but that the members of the European branch were still united, when they changed the nomadic life for that of agriculture, and when they found salt in some form on their way to Europe. It may be that one branch crossed the narrow channels of the Aegean Sea from Asia Minor to Europe and that another branch had gone around the Northern shores of the Caspian and Black Seas and entered Northern Europe and that both branches lived again beside each other in Europe as a Northern and a Southern division. Illiterate nations are apt to change their languages rapidly. According to Max Miiller, the time of one to three generations, and in isolated cases even less, may suffice to change the whole aspect of a language: and so doubtless the European members of the Indo-Germanic family changed, some faster, some more slowly, the idiom that they had brought along from Asia. Originally all their languages may have been only dialects of one common speech. Later the points of difference became so great that they represented independent languages. Again as each of these languages was spoken by a large conglomeration of people extending over large territory, dialectical differences appeared and from these dialects new languages developed. So Latin changed into Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Pro- vencal, French, Wallachian and Roumanian, each being at first only a local dialect, now generally called a language. My object shall be to consider the Germanic division of the Indo-Germanic family of languages, and of this more par- tiuuiuriy tkal biauck wliiuh is {generally known as the German S Germanio Dialectt, language. Germanic would then mean a collective name for all the branches of the primitive German language. Cp. Bopp, Franz, Ueber das ConjuKatioDBSjstem der Sanekritsprache . Grimm, Jacob, Deutsche Grammatik. Eenfey, Geschicbte der SprachwisBenschaften. Muenchen, 1869. Delbrueck, Introduction to the Study of Language. Leipzig, 18S4. Pott, Aug., Etymologische Forschungen auf dem Gebiete der Indo-Germanischen Sprachen. Schleicher, Compendium der yergl. Grammatik der Indo-Ger- manischen Sprachen. Weimar, 1873. Kuhn, Zeitschrift fur vergl. Sprachforschung. Berlin since 1857. Beitraese zur vergl. Sprachforschung. Berlin since 1858. Bezzenberger, Beitraege zur Kunde der Indo-Germanischen Sprachen. Goettingen, since 1877. Paul, Principien der Sprachgeschichte. Halle, 1880. Muller, Max, Lectures on the Science of Language. Schrader, Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte. Jena, 1883. Leskien, A., Introduction to "Die Declination im Slavisch-Litau- ischen u, Germanischen." Leipzig, 1876, Schmidt, J., Die Verwandschaftsverhaeltnisse der Indo-G. Sprachen. Weimar, 1S72. Brugmann, E., Elements of the Comparative Grammar of the Indo-Germanic Languages. N. Y., 1888. Bernhoeft. Fr., Sprachvergleichung n. Urgeschichte. In Zeitschr. f. vergl. Rechtswissenschaft. Bd. 9, Stuttgart, 1891, p. 203, sqq. CurtiuB, G., Grundzuege der Griech. Etymologie, Leipzig, 1873. Mistelli, Lautgesetz und Analogie, in "Zeitschrift fner Voelker- psychologie," XI, p. 365, sq. Zimmer, H., "Arisch" in "Bezzenberger's Beitraege z. Kunde der indogerm. Sprachen," III, p. 137 sq. Huebschmann. TJeber die Stellung dee Armenischen im Ereise der Indo-Germanischen Sprachen in Zeitschr. "Vergl. Sprachf." XXIII. p. 6 sq. Fick, A., Die ehemalige Spracheinheit der Indogermanen Europas. Goettingen, 1876. Bruggmann, E., "Zur Frage nach den Verwandtschaftsverhaelt- nissen der indogerm. Sprachen," in "Techmer's Internation- ale Zeitschrift fuer allg. Sprachwissenschaft," (1884) I, p. 226 sq. Cartins, Ber. d. Saechs. Ges. d. Wiss. 1864, p. 9 sq. Mueller. H. D., Der Indogerm. Sprachbau in s. Entwickelung. Goettingen, 1879, Schleicher, Zur vergleichenden Sprachgeschichte. Die Sprachen Europas in system. Uebersicht. Bonn, 1850. The name "Germans" originated with the Celts of Belgium who applied it to their neighbors, the Tungri. If the name should be identical with Paemani as mentioned by Caesar, \\i woulc^ m.ean ^oigetbin^ U^e destructive, fts it cont^iae the Germanic Dialects, 7 Celtic word, beim, "wound," "stroke." If we derive the word from Celt, gairm, pi. gairmeannct="cTj" it would mean a roaring, wild warrior. The latter interpretation seems the more natural, especially as historians repeatedly mention the war cry of the Germans as being dreadful and fear-crpating to Celts and Romans alike; it would indeed be a proper name for a hero fighting in battle and reminds us of the Greek fioijy ayaSios. Another interpretation of thename German may yet be mentioned. In Old High German, as still in Modern High Ger- man, ger indicates the framea, the old German spear. Ger-man would then mean a spear-man, or a man carrying a spear. Bich. Schroeder has furnished an interesting treatise concern- ing this spear in Zeitschrift fuer Rechtsgeschichte, Weimar, 1887, 6d. XX, Germanistische Abth. p. 52 sqq. The Germans called themselTes simply thiuda=GT. i^vos, meaning a people or a nation, whence the adjective thiudisJc, "popular," "national," and the Gothic adverb, as used by Ulfilas, thiudisko, which was a translation of the Greek sBvixdos. Thiuditk became O. H. G. diutisch, then deutisch and this was contracted to deutsch. This self-selected name seems to indicate that the Ger- mans in oldest time had a clear reminiscence in their language that all their various people came originally from one home and one community. When the Germanic people first appear in history, they are composed of many tribes and nations and their language impresses both Bomans and Greeks as being barbarous like the people themselves. Though their language may have differed considerably as spoken among these different tribes, yet there must have been sufScient points of similarity in this, as well as in their manners and customs, to give even a care- less observer the impression that all were members of one great people. And although the warlike Germans would fight among themselves, toward a strange nation they remembered their nationality and often appeared in united efforts. How could the Cimbri and Teutones have descended so quickly from their little Northern peninsula, Jutland, and deluged Italy and Gaul, unless other Germans had joined them or at least allowed them to march thither unmolested. Ariovistus easily persuades Harudes, Marcomanni, Triboces, Nemetes, Eudusii * Germanic Dialects. and Suevi to invade Gaul jointly. United Germany fights under Arminius against the Romans and, if monarchy bad been acceptable to the Germans, all Germany would have united under him or Maraboduus. Later in history the Quadi and Marcomanni are willing to enlist in the Roman army, but refuse Domitian's request to fight against their kinsmen, the Daci. Historical records are too scanty to decide whether at one time all the Germanic people were located on the shores of the Baltic and extended thence to the North and South. Certain it is that later the Germanic language appears in four distinct dialects, the Gothic, Scandinavian, High and Low German. The views concerning the relationship of these old Germanic dialects have differed. Grimm places Old High German and Gothic side by side; Schleicher, Old High German and the other West Germanic languages but isolates the Nordish. Holzmann believes that Gothic and Nordish are most closely related. Of late the standard seems to be a division into East and West Ger^ manic, the former comprising Nordiah and Gothic, the latter High and Low German. The Western division is chiefly mwked by the introduc- tion of a considerable number of forms and sounds of less archaic character, while the East Germanic has adhered more closely to the original forms, Thus almost the only distinct innovation in the sound-system of the Eastern branch is the insertion ot & g sound ; urgerm. ww. is changed into ggw, jj into Scand. ggj or Goth. ddj. Goth, glaggivo, "carefully," triggws, "true",=Urgerm. glawwo, trewwa. On the other hand. West Germanic developed numerous laws of its own for syncope and apocope, and changes of vowels and consonants. It would, however, be incorrect to regard Gothic as the common source of modern Germanic idioms. Although very archaic in many of its forms and sounds, it is far removed from the original language and does not bear on all its features the same archaic impress. In fact, in instances it goes further than other cognate dialects in dropping short final vowels : Goth, haurn, "horn"=Westg. horna, Goth, gasto, "guest," Westg, gaati, Scand. run. inscr. gartir=\]Tg. gasHz, Qermanio Dialeots. 9 The dropping of finaf**! is common to all West Germanic languages, and besides being one of their principal character- istics, took place before any other dialectic difference arose : O. H. G. wili=Goth, wileis (Lat. velis). This z became Goth, s but Scand. r; Goth, dags, "day", Scand. dagr, 0. H. G. dago or ciaflr^Urgerm. dagaz. Another prominent feature of the West Germanic dialects is the doubling of single consonants ending a short radical syllable before j, w, r, I, n, m; O. E. theccan, "to cover," 0. S. thekkian, O. H. G. decken, Goth, thakjan, O. Sc. thekja. The syncope of short a, e, i, o, u, in trisyllabic words when- ever a long syllable precedes is entirely unknown in East Germanic : 0. H. G, aftro "backwards," andre, "other," herro, "master," instead of aftaro, andere, hairiro. For further details I refer to Kluge, Fried. Vorgeschichte der Altgerm. Dialecte. Zimmer, H. "Ostgermanen und Weetgermanen" in Zeitachr. f, Deutgcbes Alterthum XIX, 393 sq. Sivers, Breitraege z. Gerch. d. Deutschen Sprache V. 101 sq. Braume, Ueber d. Grammatiachen Wechsel, I, 513 sq, Verner, Zeitschrift fuer vergl. Sprachwiaaenachaft XXIII, 97 aq. The characteristic difference between East and West Germanic did not develop till the second century A. D. and it would be contrary to history to believe that no further connec- tion between Scandinavian and West Germanic existed after that period. I shall mention here only the phonetic change of ludo-Germanic final e into a and final o into u (the same change takes place when o is followed by m or w), z into r, thl into^ which changes are common to Scandinavian and West Germanic alike : O. N. lata, "let". A, S. latan, Goth, letan. O. N. slapa, "sleep", A. S. slapan, Goth, slepan. O. N. and West Germ, dagum, Goth, dagam, Urg. dogum. A. E, fatu, A. N. fatu, Goth, fata, Urg. fato. O. H. G.fliohan, "flee," O. "Si.Jlyja, Goth, thliuhan. As there undoubtedly has been a development of the Germanic languages subsequent to the establishment of sep- arate nationalities, and in a certain sense uniform, a classifi- cation must depend mainly on the question what character- istics are to be regarded as criteria. Cp. Streitberg, Einfuehrung in das Studium der altgermanischen JDia* lekte, Heidelberg 1896. 10 Oermanic Dialecti. Kluge, Friedr., Vorgeechichte der aUuerinanischen Dialekte. StrasBburg 1898. Holzmann, Altdeutche Grammatik. Leipzig, 1875. Grimm, I., Deutsche Grammatik. Gottingen 1840. Kelle. Vergl. Grammatik d. Goth.. Hdt , Ndt., Hrs. Pr. 1863. Scherer, Zur Gescbichte d, deutechen Sprache. Berlin, 1878. Of all the Germanic nations the Goths produced the great- est effect upon the history and civilization of after times. To the Goths was leserved the destiny of overthrowing the Roman empire and of introducing a new order in Europe. Through their valor European civilization was, on the battlefield of Cha- lons, saved from utter destruction by the Tartars. Yet hardly any other great speech of primitive Europe has left a smaller trace in the subsequent languages of the continent than has this powerful Gothic. Fragments of the translation of the Bible by Ulfilas are today nearly the only literary monuments of Gothic, but as these are by several centuries the oldest speci- mens of Germanic speech^ they have a particular value for the student of German philology. In its original home, at least in the region where it found its first literary expression, — the country around the Middle and Lower Danube, — it did not, save in isolated tracts, survive the emigration of tbe Goths. The translation of the Bible was largely instrumental in keeping the language alive among a few. We hear that in a few localities in Moesia church services were held in the Gothic language as late as the ninth century, and remnants of the East-Goths still speaking the Gothic language were found in a remote spot of the Crimea even in the sixteenth century. We possess today only eighty-six words of the later language which were gathered by the Dutch traveler Aurelius de Bnsbeck between 1554-64; although the material has been skillfully selected, the vocabulary is too limited and the grammar hardly touched upon. A. clear insight into this language will be out of the question, until further material may be found. In the new dominions of the Goths, in Italy, Spain, and Southern France, their language seems to have died out even sooner than the Gothic nationality, giving away to the over- 'Perhaps a few runic inacriptions excepted. Germanic Dialects. 11 powering influence of the Latin and leaving only a few indistinct relics in proper names and words adopted into the prevailing language. In all probability the East and West Gothic languages were in the fourth and fifth century nearly identical. Ulfilas was a West Goth, but his translation of the Bible came to us through the East Goths. A brief manuscript of Naples and another of Arezzo both of the sixth century, as also a fragment of a calendar, are speci- mens of the Gothic language of a later period, and when we add to this the dialect as spoken last in the Crimean penin- sula we haVe the Gothic language in three different stages : Biblical Gothic, Documentary Gothic, and Crimean Gothic. It is remarkable that in its latest stage, notwithstanding its entire separation and far removal from all West Germanic dialects, it has in common with these the e and o vowels instead of i and u as in Biblical Gothic. Cp. Kluf;e, F,, Geschichte der gothischen Sprache. Strasaburg, 1898. Braune, Gothische Grammatik. Halle, 1895. Wrede, Ueber d. Sprache der Ostgothen in Italian. StrasBb., 1891. Maasmann, KrimgothiBch, In "Zeitecbrift fuer deutBcbes Alter- thum, p, 345 sq. Zacher, D. Gothiache Alphabet, Vulfilas und das Bunenalphabet. LeipziKi 1855. The second group of the East Germanic division is com- posed of the Scandinavian or Norse languages, formerly and now spoken by the Germanic population of Scandinavia and by the inhabitants of countries that have been wholly or partially peopled thence. Although there is no positive proof, yet it is possible that German people occupied Scandinavia as early as the beginning of the Stone Age, or many thousand years before the Christian era. But our positive knowledge concerning the occupants of the peninsula dates only from the beginning of Christianity. At that time the German-speaking Scandin- avians had spread not only over Denmark and great parts of Southern and Middle Sweden and Southern Norway, but also over Nyland and Esthonia. Notwithstanding this large geographical extension, the language seems to have been almost homogeneous throughout the whole territory till the ninth century. 12 Germanic Dialects. The oldest sources of our knowledge of primitive or "Ur"- Nordish are words borrowed from the Scandinavians by their neighbors, the Lapps and Finns. Several hundred of such words have come down to our time in Lappish and Finnish. Concerning these it is to be regretted that some and especially the oldest are doubtful, as they may have been borrowed from Gothic neighbors in Southern Russia or on the shores of the East Sea. The same may be said about the Nordish proper names, quoted by the historians, Strabo, Mela, Pliny, Tacitus, Ptolomaeus, Procopius and Jordanes. In later times Norse words were imported into Old Irish, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon (about one hundred words), and Middle English (over five hundred words). By far the best information is furnished us by the numer- ous runic inscriptions. Some of these, found in Denmark and Schleswig, originated in the third and fourth century A. D. While most of them consist of a few words, others are quite lengthy, one containing seven hundred words. Though the language in these runic inscriptions does not display quite so archaic a character as the words preserved in the Finnish and Lappish languages, in its principal points it stands nearer to the primitive Germanic mother tongue than Gothic or any other cognate dialect. It may be of interest to mention some of the character' istic differences that existed between the East Germanic branches of languages at this earliest period : C Urn. retention of final vowel in the a and (1) Nom. Sing. < i stems, dagar, gastir ("day," "guest"). ( Goth, syncope, dags, gasto. ,-, „ £,. \ Urn. a stems end in as, dagas (2) Gen. Sing. | (.^^^_ .. .. , „ ;.,_ /^^ .^ i Urn. an stems end in an, thrawigan, (3) Gen Sing. } "servant" ( Goth, an stems end in ins, hanins, "cock" Urn. an stems end in an, halaibhari Goth. " " " " in, hanin Urn. a stems end in e, kurne, "corn" Goth. " " " " a, kaurna, "corn" i Urn. u stems end in iu, diu I Goth. " " " " au, sunau, "son" (4) Dat. Sing. (5) Dat. Sing. (6) Dat. Sing. Germanic Dialects, 13 rt\ s! PI ( Urn. »• stems end in ir,dAoA, "daughter" (7; JNom. riur. | Qq^j, « « « ^^ jus, dohtrjus /•Q^ 1 T> TJ 4. ^ Urn. weak verbs end in o, tawidho (8j 1 i-ers. li-raet. | ^^^^ „ ., „ ., ^^ ^^^^.^^ The history and development of the Nordish languages is generally divided into two principal periods. Old Nordish till about 1530 and New Nordish since 1530. Old Nordish before 800 is frequently called "Ur-Nordish." About A. D. 800 began the so-called Viking period dur- ing which the Norse language underwent in a comparatively short time such serious changes that its character was almost entirely transformed. Unaccented vowels are dropped ; other vowel changes are effected by the "Umlaut', and "Brechung" ; Ith, nth change into II and nn; Ir, nr, sr into II, nn, rr; w is dropped before o and M as in ordh, ulfr^wordh, "word", wulfr, "wolf" ; the inflexion of verbs is simplified, etc. Even the written characters previously used participated in the general changes. The former twenty-four runes were reduced to sixteen and the inscriptions became so numerous that we possess today several hundred, some of them quite lengthy, belonging to the Viking period. Dialectical differences began to multiply, and when, c. 900, Iceland became colonized chiefly from Western Norway, the first distinct dialect very soon made its appearance. More dialectal diflerences developed with the introduction of Christ- ianity and about 1000 A. D. four different dialects are unais- takably apparent, and ever since, the four literary idioms have been in use: Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. Of these, the first two and the latter two bear, respectively, closer relationship to each other, hence the first group is called West Nordish, the last East Nordish. Cp. Thomson, W., Ueber d. Einflues der Germ. Sprachen auf die Finnish-Lappischen, Halle, 1870. Montelius, O., Die Kultur Schwedens in vorgeschlchtlicher Zeit 1885. Stephen, G., Handbook of Old Northern Eunic Monuments of Scandinavia and England. Epb. 1884. Bugeie, L. , Norges, Inskrif ter med de aelder Bimer. Christiana,1891. Moebius, Th., Ueber die Altnordische Sprache. Halle, 1872. p.7 sq. 14 Germanic Dialects, Noreen, Altiilaendische and AUnordiscbe Grammatik, Halle 1892. Wimmer, Die Runenechrift, Berlin, 1887. Burg, F., Die Aelteren Nordiscben Bunenschriften. Berlin, 1885. Sievers, Tuebinger Brucbstuecke der aelteren FroBtuthingBloeg. Tuebingen, 1886. MoebiuB, Catalogua librorum ielandicorum et norvegicorum aetatis mediae. Leipzig, 1866. Yerzeichniss der . . altis- laendiacben und altnorwegiscben . . . von 1855-1879 erscbienenen Scbriften. Leipzig 1880. Noreen, Altschwediacbe Grammatik, 1898. Dablerup, Det danske aproga Hiatorie. Kpb. 1896. Groth, P.. A Daniab and Daniab-Norwegian grammar. Boaton, 1894. Noreen, Geacbicbte der Nordiacben Sprache in Paul's Grundrias d. Germ. Pbilologie, I, 518 aq. Straaaburg, 1898. Wood, F. A., Germanic Studiea Cbicago 1895. Before I leave the East Germanic languages I must mention that of late the attempt has been made by aome, especially by Koegel, to count the Burgundian language as be- lojiging to the same group, and it la true, this language showed in common with Gothic a tendency to use the extreme vowels i and u for the German e and o as still found in Old High German, nor has it accepted the West Germanic con- sonant extension. The Vandalian language belonged most likely also to the East Germanic family of languages. Procopius'd. b. Vand. 1, 6, mentions this nation as one of the four moat important nations of the Goths. He adds that they uaed the Gothic language and held the same faith (Arian), and their close relationship to the Goths is best proven by the historical fact that in both nations the same tribe, the Azdingi, are mentioned as containing the bravest warriors. Notwithstanding all these seemingly good arguments we know to-day too little of these two languages — only a few words and these mostly proper names having been preserved to us — to decide this question. Relationship of people does not always mean relationship of languages spoken by the same people ; and as to the time, when different periods of phonetic changes have begun or were established, science so far has not been able to give a definite verdict. Op. Eoegel, Die Stellung dea Burgundiachen innerbalb der germania- cben Sprachen, in "Zeitachrift f. deutacbe Alterthumakunde," XXXVII, p. 223. Germanic Dialects, 15 Wackernagel, Sprache u. Sprachdenkmaeler der Bnrgunden. Leipzig, 1868. Jahn, Gescbichte der Burgundionen. Halle, 1874. Meyer, C, Spracbe u. Denkmaeler der Longobarden. Faderborn, 1877. Wrede, XJeber d. Spracbe der Yandalen. Straseburg, 1888. Bruckner, Die Sprache der Longobarden. The West Germanic dialects are mainly those of the "deutBche Sprache," but Frisian, Dutch and English also be- long in this division. In the following I shall give a brief sketch of the geograph- ical extension of these West Germanic dialects exclusive of the English. I shall, however, include the Dutch and Frisian territories and define their boundaries separately, when I consider their languages. After a statement of the present boundary line, I shall mention former deviations from it, thus giving a better insight into the development of the German language. The nations speaking the various dialects of German extend in a compact mass along the shores of the East and North Seas from Memel in the East to the vicinity of Grave- lines in the West. On the northern line the Germans come in contact with the Danes, and here the German language is gaining constantly in territory. At present the dividing line extends from Luppell in the West to Hoxer in the East, leav- ing these cities. as well as Tondern on Danish soil. The German-French frontier commences in the north just east of Gravelines. passes the French St. Omer and Aire, goes along the Lys or Leis to Menin or Maenen, leaving only one French town, Waasten, on the left bank of the river below Aire. Thence the line goes in an almost straight eastern direction till it crosses the Maas just below Vise; east of Eupen it turns southward, leaves Arlon to the West and con- tinues thence in a south south eastern direction till it reaches the crest ot the Vosges mountains, which it follows up to Bel- fort, traversing there the watershed of the Rhine and the Doubs. In the Swiss territory the line of demarcation passes through Biel, Freiburg, Saanen, Leuk, and lUonte Rosa. In the South the Germans come in contact with Bhaeto- Romans and Italians, the former inhabiting the valley of the Vorder-Bbine and the Eogadiue, while the latter bare settled 16 Germanic Dialects. on the southern slopes of the Alps, and are continually advanc- ing up the valley of the Adige. Carinthia and Styria are in- habited by Geiman people except the valley of the Drave towards Elagenfart. Their eastern neighbors there are first the Magyars, then the northern Slavs and the Poles. The whole Eastern frontier is very much broken. Besides detached German colonies in Hungary, the western parts of that country are held by Germans. The river March is the frontier north of the Danube from Pressburg as far as Bruenn, to the north of which the German regions begin near Olmuetz, — the interior of Bohemia and Moravia being occupied by Czechs and Moravians. In the Prussian provinces of Silesia and Posen the eastern parts are mixed territories, the German language progressing slowly among the Poles. In Bromberg and Thorn, in the valley of the Vistula, German is prevalent. In West Prussia some parts of the interior, and in East Prussia a small region along the Eussian frontier, are occupied by Poles, Kassubians in West Prussia, Masurians in East Prussia. The German tongue is also fast invading the Lithu- anian territory, and in a short time no people speaking that idiom will be found to the left of the river Memei. The total number of German speaking people within the boundaries just described is estimated at about sixty millions. The geographical limits of the German language do not quite coincide with the German frontiers. The empire contains about three and a half millions of persons who do not make use of German in everyday life, not counting the two hundred tind ninety thousand foreigners. The non- German languages have their representatives only in Prussia, Saxony and Alsace- Lorraine. Semi-official estimates give the following proportion : of a thousand people in the empire there are nine hundred and twenty- one Germans, sixty-six Poles, Wends and Czechs, three Lithuanians, four Danes, and six Frenchman, The above linguistic boundary and statistics are mainly according to "Geographic und Statistiken Deutschlands by Dr. H. Wagner, Prof, of Geography at the University of Koenigsberg. Cp. Wenker u. Wrede, D. Spracbatlas des deutscben Keichs. Marburg ■ '• 1895. Qermanio Dialecte, i 17 Wrede, Berichte ueber Wenkers Sprachatlas d. d. Beichs in "Anzeiger f. deutsche Alterthumskunde XVIII 1892 p. 300- 309, 405-413 XIX p. 97 sq., 200 sq.. 277 sq., 346 sq.. XX 95 sq., 207 sq., 320 sq., XXI p. 360 sq., XXII p. 96 sq., 322 sq. Bremer, Karte d. deutschon Mundarten in Brockhaus Konver- Bationslezikon, 14 Aufl., B IV, p. $28. Bernhardi, Spracbkarte Deutbcblands. Kassel, 1849. Brenner, Zum Spracbatlas des deutscben Beiches. Bavern's Maa. 11 1895 p. 264-273, !Nabert, D. deutscbe Spracbgebiet in Enropa. Stuttgart, 1893. It is a remarkable fact that the now German- speaking people should occupy with little deviations exactly the same territory which the historians Caesar, Tacitus, Pliny, and Strabo ascribe to German tribes nearly two thousand years ago. The frontier of the Eoman empire from Caesar's time was the Rhine from the lake of Constance to its mouth. But it was not a boundary between races, for already of old the Celts of the North Eastern part of Gaul had on various occasions mingled with Germans, and according to Caesar ^ the majority of the Belgians were of German origin, and so today a Low German dialect mixed with some French is the language of Belgium. On the upper Rhine the Sequani had ceded to Ariovistus and his one hundred and twenty thousand Germans one third of their territory and another third was demanded for additional Germans which were to follow to Gaul. Caesar protected this district against the Germans, but the Gauls feared the Ger- mans^ and probably never again dared occupy the territory be- tween the rough Vosges mountains and the Rhine. Strabo {IV, 295.) says distinctly that the Tpi^onxoi, repjjiaviKOv sSrvos,, had conquered and were living in the country of the Sequani and Medriomatrici. Only Germans are known by Pliny as residents on the upper Rhine^. Caesar himself pro- 's. G. II,'f4, "Plerosque Belgas esse ortos a Germanis Ehenum- que antiquitus'traductoB'propter loci fertilitatem ibi consedisse ..." 'Oaes. B. G. 1,31: . . . "nisi si- quid in Caesare populoque Komano sit auxilii, omnibus Gallis idem faciendum, quod Helvetii fecerint, ut domo emigrent, aliud domicilium, alias sedes, remotas a Germanis petant." 'Plin. II. N. IV,''|17. . . . Mediomatrici, Sequani, Kaurici, Helvetii . . • Ehenum autem accolantes Germaniae geatium in eadem proviucia iDiemetes^ Tiibrochi, Vaiigiones." IS Germanic DialeeU. Tides settlements for the remnant of the hosts of Ariovistus : the Tribochi settle in Alsace, the Nemetes about Spires, the Vangiones about Worms. In the year 38 B, C. the German tribe of the Ubii sought protection and new abodes on German soil, and Agrippa con- ceded them the territory around Cologne on the left bank of the Rhine. Under Tiberius 40,000 Sugambri were transferred from the right bank of the Khine to the shores of Gaul, where we meet them again under the name Cugerni. Also Suebian bands were transferred to Gallic soil. The present Western frontier line lies in the north further east than in former centuries. In the seventeenth century it reached beyond Boulogne and in the beginning of the eighteenth century Calais, Lille, Tournay, Douai. Cambrai, Velenciennes were at least partly German territory. Alsace- Lorraine iras a mixed territory till the tenth century. At that time the German element was gaining supremacy and a a fixed frontier line was established. Metz has never been German. From the thirteenth to the middle of the sixteenth century the German teiritory was slowly gaining a little, then followed a period of reaction till 1871. Since that time the boundary has been stationary and about the same as in the tenth century. In the South the Helvetians occupied Switzerland in Caesar's time. He describes them distinctly as of Celtic origin, and so does Tacitus: ". . . Helvetii, Gallica gens . . .", while Livy XXXI, 38, referring to the time of Hannibal, says ■ ■ ■ "ntique quae ad Fenninum ferunt, obsepta gentibus semi- germanis fuissent." Beyond donbt the Helvetians were Celts who only with Soman aid held the Germans at bay. Yet in the civil war between Galba and Yitellins the Helvetian canton suffered general desolation and its people were either put to death by thousands or sold as captives under martial law. The Hel- vetian capital Aventicum was the only city that by timely surrender escaped destruction. The Bomans never again attempted fully to colonize the country, and the invading Germans — the Alemannians — foand it sparsely settled, and Aventicum was the only place that withstood them, as Avencbe is still to-day the foremost bouadary line of Freach Germanio Dialects. 19 speaking people. In the western part of Switzerland the French language has been gaining ground since the French Kevolution. It is true the Eoman provinces of Rhaetium, Noricum and Fannonia hail the Danube as their northern limit, and their inhabitants, the Rhaetii, Boji, Brenni, Taurisci, Scordlsoi, etc., were of Celtic origin. Yet when Caesar calls the next neigh- bors to the Hulvetii, on the right banks of the Rhine, Germans, we may suspect that the above mentioned Celts were only colonists on German soil, it may be the ruling class, who, after having lived there for centuries, were entirely Germanized, as vice versa the Franks, Burgundians, and Longobards have left on Celtic soil they occupied little save their names to remind us of their original German nationalities. The Norici appear even in Caesar's time as allies of the Germans^ and hostile to the Boji, which seems to indicate their closer relationship to German than to Celtic tribes. The Romans retained undisputed control of Rhaetium and Noricum much longer than of some other provinces. It lay somewhat sheltered from the first inroads of the barbari- ans. The Goths invaded Italy by a road south of the Alps, and the Vandals, and Huns under Attila passed north of the Danube to the Rhine. The Roman rule did not cease in Rhaetium and Noricum till the death of Theodoric the Great (526). Then the Bajobarii=Bajovarii=Bavarians are men- tioned as occupying the country between the Lech, the Danube and Alps. Historians mention all other migrations, save that of the Bajovarians. If we combine with this the fact that in the district mentioned one principal dialect prevails to this day, we are inclined to believe that in the Celto-Romanic prov- ^ince the original German population was never entirely extinct but even numerous enough after the Roman supremacy was overthrown to appear, probably strengthened by related Ger- man immigrants, once more, as an independent nation. In the chronicle of Salzburg ad annum 508 are the following words: "Hoc tempore gens Noricorum — prius expulsa — revertitur ad 'Caes. B. G. I, 53. "Duae fuerunt Ariovisti uxores, una Sueva nations, quam ab dome secum abduxorat, altera Norica, regis Vocionis sorer, quam in Gallia' duxerat, a fratre missam." so Germanic Dialects. patriae sedes duceTheodone, Latinis ejectis." A statement in the chronicle of Fassau seems to indicate that the Bajovarii first spoke Celtic, at least not good German: "Bajovarii relicto proprio idiomate teutonicum a Teotonicis accommodayerunt.' The Marcomanni, pressed by Slays, wandered south from Bohemia, but their name is not mentioned again in history after the appearance of the Bajovarii. This is in harmony with the myth, current in ihe Middle Ages, that the Mar- comanni fled before the Romans to Bohemia, but returned in the sixth century to their former seats of Noricum. The origin of the Bajovarii has never been ascertained historically; probably it was a confederation of different tribes, part of them being descendants of the Marcomanni. The long and continuous Roman rule in Ehaetium, Vin- dilicium and Noricum explains why scattered Romanic settle- ments were found in the country of Voralberg as late as the tenth century, in the vicinity of Regensburg in the ninth, near Ebersberg in the eleventh, and around Salzburg in the thirteenth century. The passes oyer the Alps were of the greatest importance to the German emperors, when their interests were divided between Germany and Italy. They brought therefore at var- ious times German settlers into those regions and even south of the Alps unto Italian soil. But since the fourteenth cen- tury the Romanic element has steadily been gaining ground. In the eastern half of Carinthia the Germans have the Slavs as southern neighbors, and beyond the above mentioned boundary line the large number of German islands in Slavish territory deserve mention. The principal ones are Marburg, Fettan, Laibach, Gurkfeld, Neustaedtel and especially Gottsche. The latter is situated within a territory of sixteen German square miles, containing about two hundred small German villages. These settlements date from the fourteenth century. Since the eighth century the Bavarians have success- fully kept back the Slavonians, and although during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Slavish element gained new strength, a reaction in favor of the Germans has begun since. The greatest changes have taken place on the eastern Germanic Dialects. 91 boundary line. The earliest historical records place the Ger- man people on the shores of the Baltic. They have spread thence to the west and south. At the beginning of the sixth century the whole West and South-west of Europe and even the northern coast of Africa was occupied by German states, yet to Germanism this exten- sion proved very disastrous. The Germans owned large ter- ritories, but these were thickly populated by Romanic people of higher civilization, and in many ways the subject nation became the teacher. The German language was one of the first thingti to be sacrificed. The Vandals, the East and West Goths, the Burgundians and the Longobards, the mightiest nations of Germanic descent, proved a total loss to the Ger- man nationality. The Franks, the mightiest German tribe left in the Fatherland, absorbed through conquest so many Romanic elements, that in the year 842 the whole empire of the West Franks appears as a Gallo- Romanic or French- speaking nation. But more than this, Germany itself sufiered most serious consequences, when so many powerful tribes left their home. Those who remained in the home country — and a portion always remained — were not able to hold their own against the Slavs who now pressed forward from the East The new foe soon occupied the shores of the Baltic, the country around the Duna, Vistula, Oder and even of the middle Elbe. Besides this the country of the middle and lower Danube and along the Black Sea wa& lost forever to German claims. Even Bohemi^once the heart of Germany and the only barrier to Roman arms, was lost to the Czechs. At the same time, while these losses in the east took place, the Danes entered the Gimbrian peninsula, formerly occupied by the Jutes. They soon became the most formidable neighbors to the Saxons who had at the same time to contend with the Slavs in the east. With the defeat of the Tburingians by the Franks and their allies, Germany lost its best safeguard against eastern invaders. A large part of Thuringia from the Saale to the Elbe was ceded to the Slavs and from there they pressed westward and southward till they settled on the Regnitz and in the country around Fulda and Wuerzburg. In the second half of S2 Germanic Dialects. the sixth century the Slavs occupied the whole eastern half of Germany to hold it for several centuries. Their numerous colonies were scattered throughout central and western Ger- many as the many names of German villages with the charac- teristic Slavish final itz and in even now testify : Uechtriiz, Crellioitz, Goehliiz, Doerstewifz, Doelitz, Beuchlitz, (Jroellwitz, Lttim, Goedewitz, Zaschwitz, Trebitz, Kloschwitz, Bumpin, Suehitz, Lochwttz, Beidewitz, Zabitz, Zicheritz, ZoeUwitz, Ihlewitz, ttc. In the district of Dannenberg, Luchow and Wustrow, province of Hanover, the Slavish language was used down to the end of the eighteenth century. The reaction of Germanism against Slavism probably commenced with Charles the Great. It is true, he ceded Saxon territory to the Slavish Obotrites, yet at the same time he fixes the Elbe and Saale as the eastern boundary of Germany, and establishes German supremacy over the coun- tries between the Elbe and Oder, and opens them for German missionaries and German culture. It may be observed that the Germans were not so much opposed to the Slavonians or their language as to their religion, for temples of their heathen gods were standing on the right bank of the Elbe as late as the beginning of the twelfth century. Henry I. and Otto I. and the latter's brave Margraves Billung on the lower Elbe and Gero on the upper Elbe, and later the Saxon rulers Lothar, Albrecht, and especially Henry the Lion did much towards Germanizing and subduing the Slavs living upon German soil. Henry I. established the mark of Schleswig 931, and Otto I. founded the sees of Schleswig, Kipen and Aarhuus, also the bishopric of Havel- berg (946) and of Brandenburg (946) and the arch- bishopric of Magdeburg (968) which included the sees of Weissen, Zeitz and Merseburg. With the establishment of the bishop- ric of Bamberg in the early part of the eleventh century began the Germanization of the Slavonic population in South Ger- many. At the same time Germans commenced to settle again in Bohemia. In the second half of the fourteenth centurv so many Germans migrated to Bohemia that the country once more displayed a German aspect in its literature. Later the Czechish element rallied and forced the new settlers back into the mountainous regions. This explains why [the Germans Germanic Dialects. 2S today live nearly in a circle around Bohemia in or close to the mountain ranges which encircle the fertile plains, while in the interior of the country only scattered German settlements can be found. The hostility between the two races is still very intense, and open riots in the streets of Prag or in the Bohemian diet are ordinary occurrences. Silesia was colonized during the latter part of the twelfth and during the thirteenth century, Germans established themselves in Livland in the beginning of the thirteenth cen- tury, and Prussia was conquered for Germanism by the Knights of the German Order during the same century. The colonization of these eastern sections has been very thorough and was accomplished in a comparatively short time which gives rise to the belief that the German population had never been entirely exterminated in these districts. After the victories of Charles the Great over the Avares (822), the Bavarians extended German territory further east and colonized the country south of the Danube from the Enns to the Forest of Vienna, Considerable territory north of the Danube was conquered in the same century but temporarily lost to the Hungarians. With the defeat of the latter on the Lechfeld, German supremacy was again established and later through the campaign of 1048 extended eastward to the rivers March and Leitha, The German colonies in Siebenbuergen and in the Zips date since the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and still com- prise 300,000 German speaking people, separated by 350 miles from the consolidated mass of Germans, Cp. Bernhardi, K., Sprachkarte von Deutchland Kassel, 1849. Braemer, K., Nationalitaet u. Sprache im Eoenigreich Belgien. Stuttgart. 1887. Doering, O., Bfitrage z. aeltesten Geschichte d. Bisthum Metz. Innsbruck, 1886. This, C, D. deutech-franzoesische Spracbgrenze i. Lotbringen u. ElsasB. Strasburg, 1887 u. 1889. Witte, H., Zur Geschichte d. Deutschthums in Lotbringen : Strass- burg, 1890. -D, deutsche Sprachgebiet Lothringens im Mittelalter in "AUgemeine Zeitung," 1894, Beil. No. 240. Neumann, L., D. deutsche Spracbgrenze in d. Alpen. Strass- burg, 1890. Zimmerli, J,, Spracbgrenze im Schweizerischen Jura, Gottingen, 1891. Zimmerli, J., Spracbgrenze in d. Schweiz. Basel, 1895. Germanic Dialects, Zemmrich, Verbreitung u. Bewegung der deutscben in d. franz- oesischen Schweiz. Stuttgart, 1894, Guntber, S., D. deutscben Spracbreste in Suedtirol u. an ^®'" Nordgrenze Italiens. Munchener Neueste Nachrichten, isai. No. 566. Halbfasa, Zwei verschollene Sprachinseln in Piemont, Beilage d. Leipz. Zeitung. 1893, N : 21. Bidermann, H. J., Die Nationalitaeten in Tirol. Stuttgart, 1886. Neuere slaviscbe Siedelungen auf sueddeutscben Boden. Stuttgart, 1888. V. Krones, F., Die deutscbe Besiedelung der oestlicben Alpen- laender. Stuttgart, 1889, Schlesinger, L., Die Nationalitaetsverhaeltnisse Bobmens. Stuttgart, 1886. Bendel, J., Die Deutscben in Boebmen. Maebren u. Schlesien. Wien, 1884. Strankosch-Grassmann, Geschicte der Deutscben in Oestreich- TJngarn. Wien, 1895. Kiezler, Geschicbte Bayerns. Gotba, 1878. Wendt, G., Die Nationalitaet der Bevoelkernng der deutscben Ostmarken vor dem Beginne der Germanisierung. Gottinger Dissertation, 1878. Ewald, Die Eroberung Preussens durch die Deutscben. Halle, 1886. Sehottin, R., Die Slaven in Thueringen. Bautzen, 1884. ' Haas, Gescbichte des Slavenlandes an d. Aiscb u. dem Ebrach- Fluesscben. Bamberg, 1819. Wendt, G., Die Germanisierung der Laender oestlich der Elbe. Liegnitz, 1884. Kaemmel, O., Die Germanisierung des deutscben Nordostens in "Zeitscbrift fuer allg. Geschicbte." 1887. Gieselbrecbt, Wendische Gescbicbten. Berlin, 1843, Brueckner, Die slaviscben Ansiedelungen in der Altmark u. im Magdeburgiscben. Leipzig, 1879. Gruenbagen, Gescbicbte Schlesiens. Gotba, 1886. Weinbold, Verbreitung u. Herkunft der Deutscben in Scblesien. Stuttgart, 1887. Eeissenberger, Die Forscbuncen ueber die Herkunft des sieben- buergiscben Sacbsenvolkes. Hermannstadt, 1877. Krones, F., Zur Gescbicbte des deutscben VolksthumB im Karpatbenlande. Graz. 1878. Hansen, E., Die Spracbgrenzen in Schleswig? Globus, Bd. LXT 376. ' * Andre u. Pescbel, Pbysikalisch-statistiscber Atlas d. d'Bnto«T,»„ Reicbes. Bielefeld, 1877. Map No. 10. "euiscnen Nabert, Das deutscbe Spracbgebiet u. d. deutscbe Spraehfi .,^„■,* und ietzt. Stuttgart, 1893. ^ *°'^^' Meitzen, A., Siedelung u. Agrarwesen der Westgermannn „„.i Ostgermanen. Berlin, 1895. "lanen und Fressl, Job., Ueber die genaueren Grenzen der Baiwaren sowie einiges ueber Sprache and Abstammung der eeRarLL\ ' ' Baiwaren. in -Beitr. z. Anthr. u. Urgesch. Bayerns vr?ill" p. 122-134. Mit einer Spracbkarte. ' ' ^^^5. Germanic Dialects. S5 Patieler, Etbnographisches auB Tirol-Voralberg. Progr. von BudweiB, 1887. Krones, F. v., Die deutsche Besiedelung der oestl. Alpenlaender insbes. Steiermarks, KaerDten and Erains nach ibren geBcbichtlicben and oertlicben Yerbaeltnissen, in "Forscbung- en z. deutch, Landes und Yoelkerkunde" III, 6. Czoernig, K. v., Die deutscben Sprachinseln im Saeden des gSBcbloBsenen deutscben Spracbgebiets. Klagenfurt, 1889. Tobler, L., Ethnograpbiscbe GesicbtBpunkte der Bchweizerdent- Bcben Dialectforscbung, in Jabrbucb f. Bcbweiz. Geschichte XII. 1887, p. 185-210. Wilte, H., Das deutsche Spracbgebiet Lotbringens und seine Wandlungen von der FestBtellung der Spracbgrenze bis zum AuBgang des XYI Jabrh. Mit Karte. Stuttgart, 1894. Meier, J., Die deutsche Spracbgrenze in Lotbringen im XV Jabr- bucb in Beitraege XVIII, 1884, p. 401. Pfister, H. v., Ueber Verachiebung cbattiacher Sitae. Vortr. gehalten im hist. Verein d. Grh-Hessen. Darmstadt, 1890, Meier, J., Die Herkunft der Siebenburger Sachsen. Scbuller, Fr., Einwanderung der Sachsen nacb Siebenbuergen. Hermannstadt. Bergner, B., Die Fiage der Siebenbuerger Sachsen. Mit Earte. Weimar, 1890. Weinhold, E., Verbeitung u. Herkunft der Deutschen in Schlesien, in EircbofiEs "Forscbungen z. d. L. & Y." Bd. II, Heft 3. Stuttgart, 1887. - Langhans, P., Die Spracbgebiete in Scbleswig, Xebenkarte auf Yelhagen u. Elasings Heimatskarte von Schleswig-Holstein. Leipszig, 1889. Masstab 1 : 2,000,000. Winter, Die Spracbgrenze zw. Piatt- und Mitteldeutsch im Suden von Jiiterbog, In Mitteilungen des thiir. saechs. YereinB. Bd. 9. Hft. 2. Hausbalter, B., Die Grenze zwischen dem bochd«utchen und dem niederdeutscben Spracbebiete oestlich der Elbe. , Halle, 1886. HoUe, S„ Die Slaven in Oberfranken. Beyreuth, 1842. Wolf, F., Geschichte des Eicbsfeldes. Schaumann, Geschichte des niedersaechsischen Yolkes. Gott- ingen, 1839. The intimate intercourse of the Germans with the Celts, Slays, Bomans and French cannot have failed to leave some impression upon the character of the German language. Doubtless the Germans adopted a large number of words from each of the above languages. As to Celtic and Slavic words which we find in German it is difScnlt to say to what extent the similarity of the Ian- guages represents primitive Indo-Germanic relationship and to what extent it is due to later intercourse. The fact that the German and Celtic accentuation of word syllables is iden- tical, and nearly the same as in Latin, can be explained in ^6 Germanic Dialects. either way. The identity of many proper names for people and territories is explained by the fact that the Germans in many instances occupied the same places that the Celts had occupied before them. The Germanic and Slavic lan- guages haye a most intimate primitive relationship to each other, as the Slavic is the natural link that connects Ger- manic with the primitive Aryan language. This alone will make it unsafe to pronounce a German word, that shows a similarity with a corresponding one of the Slavonic language, an imported one. The similarity may be a remnant of primi- tive relationship. But besides this, the Slavish people appeared to the Ger- mans an inferior race ; they were at that time insolent, listless people, still pagans after the Germans had been Christians for centuries. It was therefore but natural that the Slavonians adopted German expressions freely, but the Germans were not prone to accept Slavonic words. It was different with Latin. Here the preeminence of Roman civilization was undeniable. The superior military, state, provincial, and commercial organizations of the Romans and their comforts of daily life were something new and wonderful to the barbarian. His own language had no words for expressing these and other things never seen or heard of before. He was not above serving the new neighbor and sacrificing in return for pay even his life blood for him ; why should he object to adopt words of his language? TJiere was even no choice left ; the only way to make himself under- stood was to designate things by names which were known. Hundreds of Latin words were adopted into the German lan- guage during the first centuries A. D. and later again with the introduction of Christianity. I will give a few illustra- tions: Essig (acetum) Engel (angelus) Anker (ancora) Esel (asinus), August (Augustus, mensis) Balsam (Lat. balsamum Goth, balsan), Bestie (bestla), Pranke=Tatze (branca) Buchsbaum (buxum), Kaiser O. H. G. Keisar Goth. Kaisar (Caesar), Kalk (calx) Ziegel (tegula), Korb (corbis) Fass (vas), Oel (oleum), Markt (mercatus), Pfeffer (piper), Rettig (radix), Kohl (collis), Nuss (nux), Pfirsich (persicum), Frncht (fructus), Kerker (career), Kerze (carta), Glocke (clocca), kop- peln copulare), Kueohe 0. H. G. chuhhina (cocina), Kreide Qermanic Dialects, S7 (creta), dauern (durare), Pflaster (plastrum), Fackel (facula), Flamme (flamma), Fenster (fenestra), -Insel (insula) ,Mei8ter O. H. G. meistar (msgister;, Meer (mare), mischen (miscere), Pfal. (paluB), Papier (papyrus,) Pfeiler (pilarium), pfluecken (piluccare), Pfeil (pilum), Planke (planca), Pflanze (planta), pflanzen (plantare), platt (platys, late Latin), pfropfen (propa- gare), Rigel (regella), Kegel (regula), Eose (rosa) Siegel (aigillum), stolz (Stultus), Tafel (tabula), Zelt (tentorium), Zitze (tittft), Tribut (tributum), Wein (vinum.) "Vom Thurme (turris) des Muensters ;(monasterium) oder Elosters (claustrum) deutete das Kreuz (crux) zum Himmel, waehrend die Pforte (porta) aller Welt nicht nur dem Moench (monacus) offen stand, der den Kelch (calix) fuef die Gemeinde trank."^ The different "Lautverschiebungen" will establish the time of adoption. The borrowed words of the older period take no part in the so-called "Germanic Lautvershiebnng," but have suffered the effect of the High German Lautverschiebung; this latter fact will place them at least before the seventh century. Those Latin words that Ulfilas uses must have been current in German at least in the fourth century. It is noteworthy of Latin words of the later period that their vocalism is in harmony with classical Latin rather than with the Vulgar-Latin of later periods. No German documents from the period before the Chris- tian era are extant, nor have we any of the West Germanic type for centuries afterwards. During this period the lan- guage of legal documents, science and poetry is Latin. Here and there appear German proper names in Latin manuscripts, and the first two extensive German poems the "Heliand" and "Evangelienharmonie" date as late as the ninth century. Of importance are German commentaries and translations writ- ten between the lines in Latin manuscripts ; later on diction- aries took the place of these. But the manuscripts of German poetry of the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries printed together would hardly form one good sized volume. The text of German manuscripts of the eleventh century is largely intermixed with Latin words. The twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are represented by numerous poeti' iHirsch Weltliteratur, p. 62. SS Germanic Dialects. cal works, Bermons, histories and some law books,'; in the iGrerman language. Latin predominates in legal documents and as church language. The beneficent influence of the Eeformation in introducing the German language in place of Latin is counterbalanced to some degree by Humanism, and it is not till 1681 that books published in German were more numerous than those in Latin. Ten years later the Latin publications outnumber for the last time those in German. About 1730 only three Latia books were published in Germany to every seven in vernacular language; this ratio was an exact reversal of that of 1570. Towards the end of the eighteenth century the German language was used almost exclusively in common literature. In the year 1687 Christian Thomasius delivers the first German "Vorlesung" at the University of Leipzig; the Univer- sity of Halle was the first to follow his example. At the same time, while the Latin language lost ground in Germany, the French language became an infiuential factor. It was fashionable at the courts and in the aristocratic society in the eighteenth century, to speak French, and the latter language claimed ten per cent of all publications in Germany from 1750 to 1780. But foreign influence is giving away to the newly awak- ened spirit of German nationality, and the good tone in Ger- many to-day requires one to express himself in choice German rather than to clothe a German thought in a foreign garb. Cp. Behaehel, O., Gescbichte der deutschen Spracbe. StrasB- burg. 1898. Yancesa, M., Das erste Auftreten d. deutschen Spracbe in den Urkunden. Leipzig, 1895. Behaghel,, O., Schriftsprauhe und Mundart. Giessen, 1896 p. 6. Hodermann, R., TTniversitaetsTorlesungen in deutscher Spracbe um die Wende des 17. Jabrbunderts. Jena, 1891. Hodermann, E., "Christian Tbomaeiua" seine Voreaenger u. Nachfolger in "Wissenschaftl. Beibefte zur Zeitscrift des allgem. deutschen Sprachvereins." H. VIII 1895. The history of the West Germanic languages is generally divided into three principal periods, the Old, Middle and New German, accordingly we speak of Old High German, Middle High German; and New High German; Old Low German, Middle Low German, New Low German. The first period, Old High German and Old Low German Germanic Dialects, S9 extends to about 1100^ and may be defined as the period of fall inflections. O. H. G. iages, tage, tagu, taga, togo, tagum. O. L. G. dages, dage, dagu, dagos, dago, dagun. The second period, Middle High German and Middle Low German, reaches to about 1500 and may be called the period of levelled inflections, the e being substituted for the original fuller vowel endings. M. H. G. tages, tage, tagen. M. L. G. dages, dage, dagen. These inflexional changes did not take place all at once. The various vowels were changed at different times, and many sections of Germany made the same changes at different times. The South was the slowest to act, excepting in the Allemannian dialect, which even to this day retains some of the original long vowel endings, the short vowels were all weakened to e before 1100 in all sections of Germany. The third period, New High German and New Low Ger- man, dates from 1500. The characteristic features of differ- ence between this and the former period belong almost exclu- sively to the literary idiom, the larger proportion of the dia- lects taking no part in the changes. It is therefore the estab- lishment of one common literary idiom, preferred to both the High and Low German dialects which had been heretofore freely used for literary purposes, which marks this period. The dialectical subdivision of the. German language and and the consequent geographical subdivision of its territory offers even greater difllculty than the establishment of histor- ical stages. It is almost impossible to draw upon a map a correct boundary line between the different dialects, as the transition from one dialect to a neighboring one is generally very gradual and the question often arises what character- istic features shall be considered a criterion for separation. The location of the boundary line will entirely depend upon our selection. The division into High and Low German is accepted as standard. Midland German forms a connecting link between both, but, as it shows greater affinity to High German, it is counted as belonging to High German, while 'According to some authorities, to 1150. so Oermanic Dialects. the Frisian, Dutch and English languages belong to the Low German branch. Before I describe the High and Low German dialects, I wish to correct the erroneous opinion that High German is the language of the higher classes in Germany, while Low German is spoken only by the lower classes. High and Low have in this case no reference to the classes of the people, but to the geographical condition of Germany, High referring to the Highlands or Southern Germany, while Low refers to the Lowland or Northern Germany. Not less incorrect would it be to consider the present lit- erary idiom, acknowledged everywhere as the German "par excellence" and used for literary and verbal intercourse throughout the German empire, as being identical with the dialect spoken in Southern Germany. As we will see later the former originated from a combination of the Highland and Midland dialects, and we will call it Literary or Modern High German to distinguish it from the dialects as now spoken in Southern Germany which we will call collectively Dialectic, or Strict High German or briefly High German. Whenever dialectal pronunciation is given, the letters should be pronounced as in Modern High German. Long vowels are always pronounced singly, never as diphthongs. Germ. a=a in father. Germ. e=a in ale, fate. Germ. i=e in eve, or ea in peace. Germ. 0=0 in note, old, Germ, u=oo in moon, or as u in rude. Germ. ae=ai in air. Germ. ei=y in fly. Germ. ai=i in line. Geim. au=ow in vowel or as ou in out. Germ, aeu, oeu=oy in oyster. Germ. eu=oi in oil. Germ, oe and ue are rounded or labialized e and i sounds formed by pouting the lips while trying to pronounce e and i. (For further particulars on this subject see Sievers Grund. zuege der Lautphysiologie. Leipsig, 1876.) The following table may be of some'asBistance in attain- Germania Dialects. 31 ing the proper pronunciation of tlie five Germ, vowels a, e, i, o, u. I I Tonpe Lateral ftiward openiie (transition ) longne Ronnded McKwaid opening' i i eat cat a C/3 1 10« i less e j « 1 less B most u , ., - - ,., 1 The most striking peculiarities of High German as opposed to all other Germanic dialects are those caused by the second or High German Lautverschiebung or change of mute consonants. In accordance with the latter the mediae became tenues, the tenues aspiratae, and the aspiratae mediae. The following table will illustrate tnis : Qerman before B. Q. Lauivemchiebung had taken effect. ph. P & th t d kh k 9 Sir. H.'.a. f ini. ph (pf) inl. ) f fin. (■' P d ini.l , fin \ <" ml. sz I h inl. ch «., 1'"'' k > The High German ph changed later \>o pf. Low German; 32 Germanie Dialeett, Peerd, Lepel, deep, kueren, maken, Daak, Tyd, Water, Salt, changed into Str. High German.- Pferd, Lotffel, tief, kchueren, machen. Bach; Zeit, Wasser, Salz; similarly Burg, Baum, dun, Midde, Sueggen, Blad became High German Purg, Paum, tun, Mitte, Ruecken, Blatt. This Lautverschiebung began perhaps in the fifth and sixth centuries and was fully established about 700 A. D. But High and Low German presented characteristic features of diflference long before this. I will mention here the following. A. striking phonetic feature of Low German is its regular dropping of the nasal sound before /, th, s accompanied by subsequent lengthening of the preceeding vowel, thus A. S. flf, other, cuth, gos, "fi:ve," "other," un-"couth," "goose" O.S. and 0. Fr. fif, othar, cuth, gos, corresponding to such Gothic forms as Jimf, anthar, kunths or Modern High German Juenf, ander, kund, Gana. Dutch partakes to some extent in this peculiar- ity of Low German. Another characteristic diflference is found in tlie inflex- ional system of the verb. Here Low German fused the forms of the three persons of the plural numbers, thus O. S. we, ge, hie, flndath, or fundon, "we, you, they, find or found ;" 0. Fr, wi, gi, hia, Jindath or fundon; 0. S. wi, gi, sia, flndath or fundon. The corresponding Old High German forms are: wir flndam, ir flndat, sie flndant, for the present, wirfuntum, irfuntut, sie futUun for the perfect tense. In this case Old Dutch joins the High German: for instance from werthan, "to become" it forms: wi, werthan, gi werthith, sia werthunt. The declension of nouns shows another remarkable dif- ference. Low German retained the original « in the nom. plur. or changed it into r: O. S. dagos, O. F. dagar, O. E. dagas, while High German dropped the consonant altogether, the corresponding form being H. G. iaga. Dutch sides here again with High German, its corresponding form being dage. From this it appears that Dutch, from a purely grammat- ical view can claim a closer relation to High German than any other Low German dialect. It is true that there is at present a more conspicuous conformity between Dutch and Low Qerffiaa, as spoken today in North Germany, than Qcrmanic Dialects, SS between the same Low German and High German ; but this ia only due to the fact that High German has deviated much more from its original forms than either Dutch or Low Ger- man, neither of which took part in the High German Lautver- schiebung. The geographical boundary line between High and Low German territories commences on the French frontier south of Limburg running along the following places: ^(Eupen), Aachen, (Geilenkirchen, Erkelenz, Oldenkirchen), Duessel- dorf, Kaiseswoerth,' (Wipperfuerth, Gummersbach), Wald- broebl, (Olpe), Berleburg, Waldeck, Naumburg, Cassel, Heil- igenstadt, Sachsa, Harzgerode, Magdeburg, Wittenberg, (Luckau), Fuerstenberg. Reaching Birnbaum the territory becomes exclusively Low German, with Slavish speaking peo pie to the south. The isolated German settlements in Posen are High Ger- man, and BO is a settlement in East Prussia on otherwise Low German territory. The principal places of this High German settlement are Guttstadt, Wormditt, Seeburg and Heilsberg. Another isolated High German colony is found in the Harz around Glaustal, Zellerfeld, Lautenthal, and Andreasberg. These people probably came in the 16th century from the Erzgebirge. There is also an isolated Low German settlement around Ermsleben and Aachersleben on otherwise High German ground. These settlers are descendants of Saxons who in the year 568 joined the Longobards in their march to Italy, but returned later to Germany conquering this territory from the Suabians. The boundary line in former centuries ran further south than at present. Mansfeld, Eisleben, Merseburg, Halle, Bern- berg, Koethen, Dessau and Wittenberg were originally on Low German territory, the change taking place in the four- teenth and fifteenth sentnries. High German is divided into "Oberdeutsch" or Highland- German and "Binnendeutsch" or Midland German. The for. 'Places marked in parenthesiB are on Low German territory, those without on High German. 'Kaiseswoertb is on the'divide. S4 Germanic Dialects. mer has changed the original German initial p and final pp into pf, and forms its diminutives with the I suflix, -while the Midland German forms its diminutives with the ch suffix (Silesian and Upper Saxon excepted ),retain8 final pp, also initial p in its Western territory, but changes the latter to / in the East. In former times, Midland German retained also inl. d instead of changing it into t, as the High German Lautver- Bchiebung required. The boundary line between Highland and Midland German passes between the following cities: Saar- burg andZabern, Luetzelstein and Ingweiler, Bitsch and Reich- hofen, Bergzabern and Weissenburg, Eheinzabern and Muehl- burg, Germersheim and Philippsburg, Wiesloch and Waib- stadt, Ebersbach and Mosbach, Amossbach and Buchen, Mil- tenberg and Kuelsheim, Freudenberg and Stadtprozelten, Lohr and Gemeunden,* Brueckenau and Bischofsheim, Kalten- nordheim and Fladungen, Salzungen and Schmalkalden. The line follows then the Thuringian Forrest and Rennstieg to the source of the Werra, thence touches Saalfeld, Berga, runs east of Reichenbach, Auerbacb, Falkenstein and Schoeneck, reaches the Erzgebirge in the vicinity of the sources of the Elster and Mulde, runs south of Konstadt by G., Bleistadt, Petschau, Netschetin. The boundary line further east has never been fully ascertained. Highland German is diyided into three principal dialects, the Austro-Bavarian, the Alemannian, and the High-Frankish; the first occupying the Eastern section, the latter two the Western. The Lech nearly indicates the dividing line between the Bavarian and Alemannian dialects and accordingly the Ba- varian-Austrian dialect is frequently called the "East Lech" and the Alemannian correspondingly the "West Lech." A line drawn from Donauwoerth to the source of the Mulde will near- ly form the dividing line between High Frankish and Bavarian. Referring to German States we may say, the Bavarian- Austrian dialect is spoken in the south-eastern half of Bavaria, in Tirol and Austria, the High Frankish in the north- western part of Bavaria, in southern Thuringia, in a narrow eastern strip of Wuertemberg, and the northern smaller half ^According to others between Eeineck and Gemuenden, Gfermanio Dialects. 35 of Baden. The AUemannian dialects are subdivided into High and Low Alemannian, and Swabian. The latter is at home in Wuertemberg, Hohenzollern, and in south-west Bavaria. The High Alemannian is preserved in Switzerland, and the Low Alemannian in Alsace and the Southern larger half of Baden. All literary documents of Highland German, belonging to the Middle Ages show manifold dialectical differences from each other, yet as no uniformity exists in these, we can- not very well classify in detail for the older periods. As an illustration of the differences existing in Old Ger- man I will quote^ three contemporaneous versions of the Lord's Prayer which fortunately have been preserved to us. Frankish version : "Fater unser thu in hirnilom bist, giuwhit si namo thin. Quemerichi thin. , Uuerdhe uuilleo thin samaso in himele endi in erthu, Broot un- seraz emezzigaz gib uns hiutu. Endi farlaz uns sculdhi unsero samaso uuir farlazzem scolom unserem. Indi nigileili unsih in cosiunga, auh arlosi unsih fona ubile." Alemannian version : "Fater unsar thu pist in himile, uuihi namun dinan. Qhueme rihhi din. Uuerde uuillo diin samaso in himile sosa in erdu. Prooth unsar emezich hip uns hiutu. Oblaz uns sculdi unsaro so uuir oblazem uns sculdikem. Enti ni unsih firleiti in khorunka, uzzer losi unsih fona ubile." Bavarian version ; "Fater unser, du pist in himilum. Kauuihit si namo din. Pi- qhueme rihhi din. Uuesa din uuillo samaso in himile est, sama in erdu. Pilipi unsraz emizzigaz kip uns eogauuanna. Enti flaz uns unsro sculdi samaso uuir flazzames unsrem scolom. Enti ni princ unsih in chorunka, uzzan kaneri unsih fona allem sunton." As an illustration of the Middle German period I will quote* from the then existing law, as written in Alemannian (thirteenth century), Bavarian (fourteenth century) and Mid- land Saxon dialects: Schwabenspiegel: ''Dem pabest ist geselzet in bescheidenlicher zit ze rihten vf einem ^Maasmann, Die deutschen Abschwoerungs-, Beicht- und Bet- formeln. Leipzig 1839. p. 139. (Lassberg, Schwabenspiegel, p. 5. ' -iFlcker, Spiegel der Leute, p. 35 ( Hildebrand, Sacbsenspiegel, p. 3. 36 Germanic Dialects, blanchen pherdcj vnd der cheiser sol dem pabest den stegreif haben, dux sich der tatel nit entwinde. Daz bezeichent daz, swaz dem pabest widersle des er mit geiatlichem gerihte niht betwingen mac, daz sol der cheiser vnd ander weltliche rihter betwingen mit der ehte." Spiegel deutscher Leute: "Dem babst ist geset;:et ze richten ze beschaidener zeit auf einen blancTiem rosse, vnd der chaiser sol im den stegraif haben durch daz sich der satel icht entwende. Ditz ist dev beschaidenunge: swaz dem babest widerste, daz er mit geistUchem gerichte nicht betwingen muege, daz sol der chaiser vnd ander wertleich richter mit der aechte be. twingen vnd das geistleich soil twingen mit dem panne." Sachsenspiegel : ''Berne babste ist ouch gesaczt zu ritene zu bescheidener zeit uf eime blanken pferde, und der keiser sal im den stegereif halden, durch daz der satel nicht entwinde. Daz ist die bezcechenunge: swaz deme babste widersle, des her nicht mit geistlichem gerichte getwingen mag, daz ez der keiser mit weltlichem gerichte twinge deme babste gehorsam zu wesene." A characteristic feature of all Highland dialects is the frequent use of diminutives ; and the different forms in which these appear furnish a criterion for classification. Bavarian is recognizable by the el {l, -erl) suffix; BisseJ, JFranzl, Vogerl; Frankishby the -la; Buehla, Waihla, Haeussla, the Swabian by the -le, Busle Kaetzchen ;i while the High and Low Alemannian have a number of suffixes all ending into i {-li, eli, -schi or -tschi, -ti when I proceeds, and -ji): Choepf- li Koepfchen, Haendeli Haendchen, Fuessi, Fuesschen, Lammschi Laemmchen, Buehntschi Huehnchen, Vogelti Voegelchen, Berji Bergchen. The Swiss dialect forms also a diminutive verb with -elen OT erlen: ^erze?e»i, toewgeWew ein bischen herzen . . . tanzen, while the -len suffix indicates repetition : foerschlen wieder- holt forschen,/or«c/ierZen ein wenig forschen. The diminutive does not always signify "little" but is frequently used as an expression of kind, tender, loving feeling. Ghristli may be a man six feet high, Er ischt no es Mandli means er ist noch ein Mann, he is indeed a brave ^The Modern High German translation is added in ordinary print to show the difference. Germanic Dialects. S7 man. The husband calls his wife lovingly Fraueli, while he is called in return Ilanndli or Manndeli. Bavarian is the only High German dialect which has preserved the old dual form of the second person: es or oes, enk. In common with kindred dialects it changes initial 6 into^: pitten bitten; but in contrast to other High German dialects it substitutes also ap for"inlautend" 6: he-pan geben. The principal characteristic difference between High and Low Alemannian is that the former changes initial h to ch, while the latter retains initial h unchanged: H. Alem. Chauf. L. Alem. !Kauf. Swabian retains initial k when l,novr follows; Bavarian changes initial k to ch, and final k to kch : H. Alem. and Bav. chlug, Chranz, Ghnopf, Alem. and Swab, king, Kranz, Knopf; H. Alem. chranch, L. Alem. and Sw. kranch, Bav. chrankch. Ng has in all German dialects a nasal sound except in the territory east of the Lech ; here the two consonants are pronounced separately : sin-ge, ban-ge, Laen-ge. All the High German dialects, especially the Alemannian and, next to it, the Swabian, have changed the original Ger- man s into sch, not only before I. w, m and n as in modern High German, but also before t and p: ischt, hascht, schpicken, Kaschper, ist, hast, spicken, Kasper. H. Alem. and Bav. : Chunseht, Kunst. L. Alem., Kunscht. Bavarian substitutes in instances w for b : doeschthalwe, deshalb. A very important vowel change took place in the Bavarian dialect at an early time of the middle period, the long vowels i, V, iu and ue changed into ei, ou (which became later au), eu. This transformation started in the southeastern part of the Bavarian district and spread from there gradually towards the northwest and northeast during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, while the High and Low Alemannian has to this day rigidly retained the original vowels. S8 Germanic Dialects. H. Alem. chli, L. Alem. kli, Bav. cfdcin, Mod. H. G. klein M.i H. G. klin. Alem. min, din, sin; Bav. mein, dein, sein. Alem. Fvscht, Fueschte, huerote, Luet, Buele, Fuer, huet, k'huer; Bav. Fauscht Faust, Faeuschle Faueste, heirathen (M. H. G. hiurat and hirat), Leute, Beule, Feuer, heute, geheuer. The Swabians, next neighbors to the Bavarians, < hanged long i to ei, but distinguished this sound from the older ei sound by pronouncing it as e : Sw. Zeit, Weib, proun. Zet, Web, M. H. G. zit, wib. In addition to this the older ei received either an o, a, or oa sound, the former prevailing in the northern district of the Swabian dialect, the second in the southern, while oa forms a compromise between both : North. Sw. kon, ko, zwo, dihomme. South. Sw. kan, ka, zwa, dihame, Bav. kein,zwei, daheim. Sw. Flosch und Bo und Foscktes dro, ''Fleisch und Bein und Feiste-i dran." Central Sw. broad, Oach, Oad, Ooaz, Chload, Loab, breit, Eiche, Eid, Geie, Kleid, Laib (Brot). It is interesting to compare with these the corresponding English words: broad, oak, oath, goat, cloth, loaf. Swabian changed Middle High German long m into aw: M. H. G, hus, Sw. Haus; but here again it made a distinction between this and the older au sound by pronoucing the latter as a, or near the Alemannian frontier aso. Auge, FrauiB pronounced in Swabian as Ag', Fra, or near the Alemannian territory as Og\ Fro. Frankish changed the Middle High German i to ai. M. H. G. ivib, zit=FT&nk, Waib, Zait. In the Bavarian dialect the e is not pronounced in the suflBx en; gaw'en gewesen; the n changes to m after b,p, w. lebm leben. The Eastern Highland German dialects on the contrary prefer to drop final n, ggwesse gewesen, svffe saufen. Besides these formations all Highland dialects have another transformation of the en suffix, viz., changing it to a ; Kucha, lieba, rauba, Kuchen, lieben, rauben. 'Middle High German, Germanic Dialects. S9 The South Eastern Bavarian dialects haye the a also in place of final e : Serza, Hitza, alia, seina, neuna, Herze, Hitze, alle, seine, neune. The prefix and suffix an. is in the Swiss dialects con- tracted into long a: arede, abringe, areitze, Afang, anreden, anbringen, anreit- zen, Anfang; similarly the prefix un changes into long m or o: ubehannt or obekannt, JJjall or O/all, uhuessli, Oannehmlich- keit, uverschant, unbekannt^ Unfall, unhausslich (not eco- nomical), Unannehmlichkeit, nnverschamt. The prefixes be and ge receive a peculiar treatment in all High German dialects ; as a rule the e is not pronounced at all : b.hend, b.lavgen, b.iunder, k'stole. p'dueta, g/allen, g.macht, E.dankche, behend, belangen, besonder, gestohlen, bedeute, gefallen, gemacht, Gedanke, When the prefixes are followed by the consonants b, p, g, k, d, t, z, the e is pronounced as i : bikeren, Gibot, GipoUer, Giburt, bekehren, Gebot, Gepolter, Geburt. Before the consonants just mentioned the prefix ge is often entirely ignored in pronunciation : '£iet, ^Traid, ^Ziefer, Gebiet, Getreide, Geziefer. A characteristic feature of Swabian compared with Frankish is the dropping of n before s, giving at the same time to the preceding vowel a nasal sound; Frankish retains the n. Sw. ^e«^Frank. gens, Gaense, (Eng. geese.) High and Low Alemannian drop the n, but do not always give the preceding vowel a nasal sound. In Swabian and Alemannian the labials may change a neighboring vowel as follows : e to o and oe, i to u and ue, ei to oeu: Sw. and Alem. troffe, Schwoester, vummle, mueschle, huerote (O. H. G. hirat), Poeutsche, treffen, Schwester, wim- meln, mischen, heirathen, Peitsche. These changes effected by labials are not known in Frankish. We haye already mentioned that High Alemannian has preserved more truly than any other German dialect the full 40 Germanic Dialects. inflexional vowel su lows: Masc. N. de Maa G. cCs Maas D. dem Maa A. de Maa N. die Marine or Manna G. der Manna or Mannu(n) D. dene Manna A. die Manna A Swiss declines a noun as fol- Neut. d's Ghind d's Chinds dem Chind d's Chind d' or f Chind or Chinder dero Chinda or Chindru(n) dene Chinder d' or t'Chmd(er') full inflexions: schoenes. The Singular. Fem. di Schwester der Schwester der Schwester di Schwester Plural. di Schwestra or Schwestre dero Schwestra or Schwestru(n) dene Schwestra di Schwestra or Schwestre Similarly the adjectives have retained achoena, schoeni, schoens, schoener, schoene, following forms are peculiar : De Ma ischt schoena, d' Fro ischt schoeni, 's Olas iseht schoens. If the German all, ganz, voUends, is connected with the adjective it takes similar inflexions as the adj. or the er suffix: Sing. De Maa ischt alia freudiga, der Mann ist ganz frohlich. d' Frau ischt alii freudigi, die Frau ist ganz frohlich. 's Chind ischt alls freudigs, das Kind ist ganz frohlich. PI. Die Manna si alia freudiga, ) di Fraua si allu freudigu^ \ Die Manner, Frauen, Kinder d' Ghind si alii freudigi, ) sind ganz frohlich. 's Chind ischt aller g'sunds g'si,^ das Kind ist ganz gesuad gewesen. "Inlautend" k and ch are pronounced in Swiss as ch, kch glc, gg: Acker, pron. Acher; Buecken,-pTori. Rueggen; druecken, pron, druekche or drugke. Middle High German long a is frequently changed in Swabian to au, in Alemannian to o: Sw. hauscht, hast, hattt, hat, Strausch, Strasse. Alem. adochtig andaechtig, jomere jammere, Tochte ^g'si or gesi is with weak verbs. derived from si, sein, perf. gesi, in analogy Qermanic Dialects. J^l Docht, M. H, G. tacU, Tope Tappe, M. H. G. tape, Woffe Waflfe, M. H. G. wafen, Wope Wappen, M. H. G. wapen, do da, jo ja, no nalie, Pobst Pabst, Salot Salot, gHo gethan, wor wahr, Store Star. The suffixes nng and heit change in Alemannian to [inn with nasal sound, ig, ing and et: Maninn, Meinung, Orninn, Ordnung, Handlig or Handling Handlung, Kwonet Gewohnheit, Woret Wahrheit. Middle High German o changes before n+consonant, fre- quently also before m-f-consonant to u: 'kunne gewonnen, h'runne geronnen, p'sunne besonnen, 'k'spunne gesponnen, gunne gonnen, p'sunder besonder, Sunn Sonne, Trumbete Trompete, IVwjnnie Trommel, Tunder Donner, Summer Sommer. Similar deviations from Modern German are: Tule Dohle, A. H. G dula, Wuehche Woche, h'swulle geschwollen, Wull Wolle, Wulkche Wolke, 'kulte gea[olten, Schwumm Schwamm. In the Swabian High and Low Alemannian dialects the root- syllables are spoken in a lower voice than the end-syl- lables; in the Swiss dialects the pitch of the voice varies con- stantly, and the difference between a long and short vowel is very marked. Some features of the Swiss as well as other dialects can hardly be described on paper. There is the stiff, important, sober speech of a man from Bern, contrasted with the hasty rapid language of a repre- sentative of Entlibuch, again the drawling pronunciation of the "Freiaemter" in contrast with the cheerful melodious voice of the herdsmen from Uri, Appenzell, and Wallis. A great diflSculty exists in the fact that almost all vowels, and often some consonants, receive in different cantons a some- what different tone shading, which would be hazardous to attempt to describe fully. Even if all were written down and explained on paper, it would require some one acquainted with the dialects to vividly reproduce them and to lend the dead letters once more the breath and soul. A separate book could be written about the dialect of every little village, at least of every canton, and it is a fact that representatives of different cantons are often only with difficulty intelligible to each other in their different dialects. 48 Germanie Dialects. To illustrate the variety of the Swiss dialects alone I will reproduce the following little sentence in the dialects of differ- ent cantons:^ "A certain man had two sons." The ministers of the respective places given, have ascertained and furnished the proper dialectal translation : Kanton Ziirich, Kilchberg : 'S ischt emahl en Maa gsy, de hed zwee Sueh ghae. Kanton Ziirich, Otterbach: Ea haed en Maa zwee Bube ghah. Kanton Bern, City of Bern : Ea hed e Ma zwee Suehn g'ha. Kanton Bern, Langnau : Ea het a Maa zwee Suehn gha. Kanton Bern, Sigriswyl: E Mo het zwee Buebe gho. Kanton Bern, Habern : Ea hed e Vater zwee Sueh ghaeben. Kanton Bern. Grindelwald: Ea iacht enn Man gain, daer heed zween Sinn ghaebenn. Kanton Bern, Oberhasli: E Mentach het zwee Sihn ghaeben Kanton Bern, Boltingen; Ea waa e Mensch, der hatti zwe Soeh. Kanton Bern, Biel : Ea isch aeiniach e Mo gsi, dae het zwee Sihn kho. Kanton Luzern, City of Luzern: 'S hed e Maa zwoe Suehn gha. Kanton Luzern, Entlibuch : 'S iat emal en Aiti gai, dae hed zwee Buobe ghah. Kanton Uri, Urseren: Ea het a Maa zwee Buoba ghaeh. Kanton Schwyz, Arth: Ae gwiaaae Maa hed emal zwe Buobae gha. Kanton Unterwalden, Stans : Ae Moa hed zwey Sihn gha. Kanton Unterwalden, Alpnacht : Ea iat einist a Vater gai und hed zwee Buobae gha. lA complete dialectal translation of the parable of the Prodigal Son can be found in "Stalder's Dialectologie, Aarau, 1819." Germanic Dialects. 43 Kanton Glarus, Glarus and Mollis : Eg haet Oeper zwi Sueh gha. Kanton Zug, City of Zug : E Maa het zwee Sueh ghah. Kanton Freiburg, Diidingen: A Mentach het zwe Buehe gehaebe. Kanton Freiburg, Muschels: As est a Maa gsi, er haet zwee Soehn ghaehe. Kanton Solothurn, Solothurn : Es isch e Mohl e Ma gsi, und dae het zwee Suehn gha. Kanton Basel, City of Basel : Es het e Maa zwee Suehn gha. Kanton Schaffhansen, City of Schaffhausen : 'S ist amohl en Ma gsi, dae haett zwae Soe gha. Kanton Appenzell, City of Appenzell : Es het amohl aen Buur zive Buoba ha. Kanton St. Gallen, City of St. Gallen : Es haet an Ma zwee Soeh gha. Kanton St. Gallen, Toggenburg: Es het Naemer zwe Soeh gha. Kanton St. Gallen, Upper Rhine: Es hied amohl en Mah zwie Sueoehn huah. Kanton Graubiinden, Bheinwald : A Mentch het zwee Sue hhae, Kanton Graubiinden, Chnr: 'S hett einer zwei Soehn g'han. Kanton Aargau, Aarau: Es het emol e Maa zwee Buebe gha. Kanton Aargau, Mellingen i. Freiamt: As ist aemol a Ma gsi, dae hed zwee Suehn g'ha. Kanton Aargau, Sansingen i. Frickthal : Ne Maa het zwen Buobe ha. Kanton Thurgau,- Bischofzell : En riche Ma het zwe Soeh gha. Kanton Thurgau, City of Thurgau : Es haet aemahl aen zwae Soeh gha. Canton Wallis, Vispach: Einest hed aen Maa zwee Buobu g'haebu. The Swiss dialects have been divided into an eastern 44 Oermanic Dialects. and a western group; in the former the three persons plnr. ind. pres. end in ed {et,) while in the latter they either end in e (en), this is the case in Baselstadt, or the first person ends in -e (en) and the second in -et. Eastern groups: mer, ir, si legged, wir legen, ihr leget, sie legen. ) Baselstadt: mer, ir, si leqge. Western groups: > Wallis: mer legge, ir, si legged. ) Elsewhere : mer legge, ir legget, si legge. Cp. Mueller, Joh., QuellenschrlEten u. Geschichte des deutschsprach- lichen Unterrichts bis zur Mitte des xvi Jahrhunderts. Gotha, 1882. Socin, Ad., Schriftspraclie u. Dialekte im Deutschen nach Zeugnissen alter u. neuer Zeit. Heilbronn, 1888. Adelung, Chr., Mithridates od. Allgem. Sprachenkunde. Berlin, 1809. Weinhold, K., Ueber deutsche Dialektforschung. Wien, 1853. Radlof, J. G., Die Sprachen der Germanen in ihren sammtlichen Mundarten dargestellt durch die Gleiclinisreden vom Sae- mann u. dem verlorenen Sohne. Frankfurt, a. M. 1817. Radlof, J. G., Mustersaal der deutschen Mundarten. Gedichte u. Aufsaetze in den versch. Mundarten. Bonn, 1822. Firmenich, J. M., Germaniens Yolkerstimmen, Saminlung der deutschen Mundarten in Dichtungen, Sagen, Maerchen, Volksliedern etc. Berlin, 1854. Welcker, H., Dialectgedichte, Leipzig, 1889. Tromel, P., Die Literatur der deutschen Mundarten. Halle, 1854, Bahder, K. v., Die deutsche Philologie im Grundriss. (Biblio- graphy of German dialects, p. 160-195). Paderborn, 1883, Hermann, C. H., Bibliotheca Germanica (Bibliography of Germ. dialects p. 67 sqq,) Halle, 1878. Michaelis, G., Tbesen ueber die Schreibung der Dialekte. Berlin, 1878. Nagl, Z. W., Deutsche Mundarten. Wien, 1896-97. Bavarian-Austrian dialects: Weinhold, K., Bairische Grammatik. Berlin, 1867. Schmeller, J. A., Die Mundarten Bayerns. Munchen, 1821. Bayrisches Worterbuch herausgeg. yon G. K. Frommann. Munchen, 1878. Muth, E. v.. Die bayrisch-oesterreichische Mundart, in "Deutsche Mundarten," VII, 495 sqq. Hoefer, M., Die Volkssprache in Oesterreich vorzueglich ob der Enns. Wien, 1800. Etymologisches Woerterbuch. Linz, 1815. Castelli, J. F., Woerterbuch der Mundart in Oesterreich unter d Enns. Wien, 1847. Landsteiner, K., Ueber niederoester. Dialectliteratur, Wien 1880. Germanic Dialects. i5 Prinzinger, A., Die bair.'; oesterr. Volkasprache und die Salz- burger Hundarten in "Mittheilungen der Gesellschaft fuer Salzburger Landeskunde" 22, 178 sqq. ; also in "Deutsche Mundarten," III, 334 sqq, Huber, N., Die Literatur der Salzburger Mundart. Salzburg, 1878. Lexer, M., Kaerntisches Woerterbuch. Leipzig, 1862. Schoepf, B., Tirolischee Idiotikon. Innsbruck, 1862. V. Hintner, Beitraege zur tiroliachen Dialectforschung. Wien, 1873. Brenner, 0., Bayerns Mundarten. Miinchen, 1895. Zum deutschen Vocalismua. in "Beitreige z. Geschichte derdeutschen Spraehe." XIX. 1894, p. 472-485. XX, 1895, p. 80-87. Schmeller, J. A., Cimbrisches Woerterbuch. Wien, 1855. Scbroer K. J., Die Laute der deutschen Mundarten des ungar- ischen Berglandes. Wien, 1864. Worterbuch der Mundart von Gottschee. Wien, 1870. Pak, J., Die deutschen Sprachinseln in Walschtirol und Italien. Innsbruck, 1892. Nagl, J. W., Ueber den Gegensatz zwischen Stadt- und Land- dialect in unsern Alpenlilndern, in'"Zeitschr. f. oestr, Volks- kunde" I, 1895, p. 33-36; p. 166-167. High Alemannian dialects : Morikoter, Die Schweizerische Mundart im Verhaltnis zur hoch- deutschen Schriftsprache. Bern, 1864. Bapp, M., GrundrisseinerGrammatikfiir die deutsche Schweizer- sprache, in "Die deutchen Mundarten" II, 470; III, 62. Bachmann, A., Beitrage zur Geschichte der schweiz, Guttural- laute, Ziirich, 1886. Bosshart, J., Die Flexionserscheinungen des schweiz.Verbums. Frauenfeld, 1888. Stalder, F. J., Versuch eines schweiz. Idiotikons. Aarau, 1812. Die Landessprachen der Schweiz. Aarau, 1819. Staub, Tobler, etc., Schweizerisches Idiotikon. Fauenfeld, 1881- 1890. Siitermeister, O., Schwizer-Diitsch. Zul'ich, 1890. Tobler, L., Die lexikalischen TJnterschiede der deutschen Dialekte mit bes, Beriicksichtigung auf die Schweiz. Ziirich, 1891, Stickelberger, H., Lautlehre der lebenden Mundart der Stadt Schaffhausen. Aarau, 1880. Paul u. Braune, Der alemannische Consonantismus in der Mund- art von Schaffhausen in "Beitr.-z. Gesch. d. d. Spraehe." XI, 381. Hoffmann, G., Der mundartliche Vokalismus von Basel-Stadt. Basel,1890. Seller, G. A., Die Basler Mundart, Basel, 1879. Blattner, H., Ueber d. Mundarten des Kantons Aargau. Leipzig, 1890. Winteler, J., Die Kerenzer Mundart des Kantons Glarus. Leip- zig, 1876, 4S Oermanic Dialects. Low Alemannian dialects : Berlinger, A., BechtsrheiniBcheB Alemannien, Grenzen, Sprache, Eigenart. Stuttgart, 1890. Heimburger, K., Grammatische Darstellung der Mundart des Dorfee Ottenheim in Paul-Braune, Beitr. XIII, 211 sqq. "Die Dentschen Mundarten" herausgea. v. Frommaun : Mundart- liches aus Voralberg I, 41; III, 297; IV, 1, 319; V. 479; VI, 218, 253; Ueber den Vocallamus einiger Mundarten Voral- bergs V, 593; VI, 115; VII, 177; VII, 448 eqq. Mundart- liches aus d. Elsass II-IY (by Stoeber) Sammlung von Ge- dichten und Aufeatzen in Strassburger Mundart VI. 257. Hermann, A., Die deutche Sprache im Elsass. Progr. von Miihl- hausen, 1873. Kahl, "Wm., Mundart und Schriftsprache im Elsass. Zabern, 1893. Menges, H., Yolksmundart and Volksschule im Elsass. Geb- weiler, 1893. Schmidt, Ch., Worterbuch der Strassburger Mundart. Strassburg, 1896. Fecht, K. G., Mundarten des Grossh. Baden. Karlsruhe, 1885. "Jahrbuch fur Geschichte, Sprache und Literatur Elsass-Loth- ringens Jahrgang 1884-1890, I- VI, also "Strassburger Redens- arten" in Jahrgang XI, 1895, p. 110-125. Swabian dialects: Fischer, H., Geographie der schwabishen Mundart. mit einem Atlas von 28 Karten. Tubingen, 1895. Kauffmann, F., Geschichte der schwabischen Mundart im Mittel- alter und in der Neuzeit. Strassburg, 1890. Bauer, L., Die schwabische Mundart in der Schule. Ntlrnberg, 1895. Bohnenberger, Zur Geschichte- der schwabischen Mundart. Tubingen, 1892. "Die deutschen Mundarten" I, 131, 171 sqq; II, 102, 467; IV, 118 sqq. Bopp, C. Der Vokalismus des Schwabischen in der Mundart von Miinsingen. Strassburg, 1890. Knaus, L. Th., Versuch e. schwaeb. Grammatik f. Schulen. Keutlingen, 1863. Birlinger, A., Schwabisch-augsburgisches Worterbuch. MUn- chen, 1864. High Prankish dialects : "Die deutschen Mundarten" IV, 253, V, 130, 512. VI, 161, 260, 314,462; VII, 129. 259, 389; also the article by Brueckner, G., "Hennebergische Mundart" in II and III. Schleicher, A., Volksthumliches aus Sonneberg im Meininger Oberlande. Sonneberg, 1894. Heilig, 0., Beitrage zu einem Worterbuch der ostfriinkischen Mundart des Taubergrundes. Leipzig, 1894. Halm, H., Skizzen aus dam Frankenland. Mundart, Sitten u. Gebriiuche. Schwaebisch-Hall, 1893. Regel, K., Die Ruhlaer Mundart. Weimar, 1868. Germanio Dialects. 1^1 Spies, B., Die frankisch-hennebergische Mundart. Mit Karte Wien, 1873. SartoriuB, B., Die Mundart der Stadt Wurzburg. Wurzburg, 1862. Brenner, 0., Denkt das Volk iiber seine Sprache nach? Beleeei f.d. Formen, ?ioe«re, zwo, zwei ausd.OatfrankischeninZeitschr. f. d. d. Unterr. VIII, 1895, p. 258. The Midland dialects are divided into an Eastern and Western group, the Werra forming nearly the dividing line. The former shows for German initial p an /" or p/", while the latter has retained the initial p: Eastern Md. G.: Pfah; West. Md. G.: Palz. To the first group belong the Silesian, Upper Saxon, and Thiiringian dialects, to the latter the Rhenish and Middle Frankish dialects, Examining these dialects I find that each could be sub- divided into numerous sub-dialects, and comparing the many different dialects I notice a great irregularity and discrepancy, so much so that a general treatment doing justice to each is entirely out of question. These dialects have always been exposed in the South to Highland German influence, and in the North to that of Low German, yet as the physical aspect of their territory is more similar to that of the Highlands, their idioms have always shown more resemblance to those of Southern Germanj' than to those of the low lands northward. This natural predominance of Highland German influence has been strengthened through the literary idiom which supersedes all dialects and bears more resemblance to High- land German than to Low German. In ronsequence Highland German has been steadily gain- ing ground in Midland German territory, and the latter has been steadily extended to the North. High Frankish has been in former times classified with Midland German, while it is now generally counted to Highland German just as the northern boundary line of Midland German used to run, in former centuries, in several districts further south than today. The influence ol Highland and Low German upon Mid- land German has been in different directions. While High- land German affected both consonantism and vocalism of Mid- land German, Low German touched mainly the latter. When 45 Germanio Dialects, we reach nearly the southern boundary of Midland German, Highland German features prevail everywhere, and ii is not always easy to say where Midland German ends and Highland German commences, while in districts lying farther north features similar to those of Low German appear, yet though the yocalism may become nearly Low German, the consonant- ism remains in the main Highland German to the last. Besides this difference between northern and southern Highland German quite a difference is noticeable between the dialects as spoken in the cities and the country districts, the former being more exposed to modern High German influence than the latter. Again the country dialect often divides itself into a special Highland and Lowland dialect, one occupying the mountainous regions, the other the flatlands, each one not unfrequently containing several subdialects. The dialects in the mountain districts favor short and sharp sounds; instead of diphthongs simple vowels appear; while long vowels are shortened and short ones lengthened; the inflexional en changes to a. The dialects of the flatlands favor broad and mellow sounds as their numerous diphthongs ei and au indicate, many i, e, and ae change to ei, and not only are many au sounds retained which the mountain dialects change to a and o, but frequently o and a change to the same diphthong. In addi- tion other vowel transformations take place due to Low Ger- man influence; i changes into e, u and au into o and oa, a into ua. Silesia illustrates this best. Here in the dialects of the mountain districts, diphthongs and "Umlaute" are contracted into the simple vowels a, e, i, u, as follows ;! 'I will classify the examples accordiDg to their original Middle High German vowels which I will indicate in front of each group : the modern High German form immediately follows the dialectal form. When dialectal features are found in other eections besides those mentioned, the names of such places will be added in foot notes. Germanic Dialects, 49 Short a=M. H. G. fi: Flamme'- Pflaume, Grapp Graupe. =M. H. G. iu:Baln Beulen, Al Eule, nale neulich. Long a=M. H. G. ae:salig ealig, dran drehen, lar leer, Mar, Mare Geschichte, Kase Kaese, jarij jahrig, schwar schwer, unflatj unflatig grob. =M. H. G. ei; kan or ka^ kein, Man kleiu, Klad Kleid, ansig einzig, Getrade Getreide, Wazen Weizen, Flasch Fleisch.8 =M. H. G. ou, u: Bab Raub, glawa glauben, Age Auge, ach or a aucb, Each Rauch, as aus.* Short e=M. H. G. ue : derre diirre, Derner Dorner, Gewerme Gewiirm, erzernt erziirnt, ferchte fiirchte, wergen wiir- gen, Berde Biirde, gebertsch gebiirtig, Seherz Schiirze fVerschtel Wiirstchen, wenscAen wiinschen, FlegelFlugel, Gleche Gliick, Eecka Eiicken, nechtern niichtern, netza niitzen, Pesehla Biischel, gelestig geliistig, rnest miisst, Becher, Biicher.^ ^M. H. G. i: be, bei, bem bei dem, betm bei ihnen, Wella Weilchen, senn sein sind, Fennd Feind, sfrett streitet, wetter welter, resst reisst, schniesst schmelsst, verschlessen yerschleissen.^ =M. H. G. ei: enner einer, hlenner klelner, Hennerich Heinrich, grenna greinen, rendlich relnllch, bekledt bekleidet, gebrett gebreltet. Letter Leiter, mesten meisten, Ohem Oheim;^ ei Is entirely thrown out in ^The Eastern Midland dialects change initial p (Mod. H. G. pf) to /, and "inlautend" and final p to p or pp: Fanne Pfaune, Fingsten Pflngsten, flegen pflegen, Flicht Pflicht, Forte Pforte, Fund Pfund, schippen schoepfen, Schneppe Schnepfe, kloppen klopfen, Troppen Tropfen, Kupper Kup!er,\ schlippen schlupfen, Topp Topf. 'Final n is often dropped especially in monosyllabic words : oa an, dro dran, hi hin, ma man, ne nein. schi schoen, scho schon, vo von, a Ma Kindla ein kleines Kindchen, a schi Karle ein schoener Karl. Inl. n is thrown out in the prefix ent : atgaen entgegen, a'lziehn entziehen, atlaufe entlaufen, atschlissn ent- schliessen. 'Mainz, Odenwald, Taunus, Wetterau, Vogtland, Erzgebirge. *Trier, Hundsriick, Eheinpfalz, Odenwald, Taunus, Wetterau, Altenburg,lVogtland,IErzgebirge. *Quite general in Md. G. 60 Germanic Dialects. Arbt Arbeit, wulfi wohlfeil, Vortl Vortheii, Wort Warhelt. =M. H. G. J: be bei, bem bei dem, benn bei ihnen, Wella Weilchen, senn aein sind, Fennd Feind, strett streitet, wetter weiter, resst reisst, schmesst BchmeisBt, ver- ichlessen verschleissen.^ =M. H. G. ei : enner einer, kleri,ner kleiner, Hennerich Heinricb, grenna greineo, rendlich reinlicb, bekledt bekleidet, gebrett gebreitet, Letter Leiter, mesten meiBten, OAem Oheim;' ei is entirely thrown out in Arbt Arbeit, wuljl wohlfeil, Vortl Vortheii, Wo^t Warheit. =M. H. G. iu: ech euch, neste neuste, letten liiaten. =M. H. G. u: sefft siiuft, Heffen Haufen, letter lauter. ^M. H. G. oe: Eelzl Holzchen, ^ne^Jisei Knopfohen, Treppel Tropfchen, Lechl Lochlein, Sch^esser Schlosser, Freschl Froschlein, gresaer grosser. Long e==M. H. G. ou (ou); Frele Friiulein, Berne Baume, fren freuen, gleben glauben, Leben Lauben, zebern zaubern, kefen kaufen, left liiuft, Tefn Taufen, ersejt ersauft, gekeln gaukeln, rechern riiuchern, Frede Freude, Het Haupt.'' =M. H. G. iu: Frend Freund, hefeln Haufen macben, schecht scheucht, Lechter Leuchter.' Short i=M. H. G. ei: inner einer, klinner kleiner, Stinn Steinen (dat. pi.), Binn Beinen (dat. pi.) beritt bereit, britt breitet, geklitt gekleidet, wiss welss (scio), Gissol Geisel.* =M. H. H. ae: geritt geraeth gedeiht. M. H. G. iu: Frind Freund, Frindscliifft Freund- schaft. =M. H. G. S (u): hilzarn hoelzern, Gehilze Gehoelz, kimmt kommt, Timpel Tuempel Wassertiefe, ginn goennen, kinn koennen,^ dinne duenne, Tindl Toenn- chen, knippn knuepfen, schippen schupBen Btossen, 'Quite general in Md. G. 'Middle Rhine, Eheinpfalz, Wetterau, Schwarzach, Regen. 'Upper Regen, Schwarzach. *Reichenbach, Waldenburg, Obernick, Glogau,5 Primkenau ; East Thuiingia. 'Final en is thrown off entirely when it is preceded by ot or n : kumm kommen, heklumm, beklommen, Bim Boehnen, gewinn gewin- nen, gespunn gesponnen. Germanic Dialects. 61 Mute Huette, Fitzl Bischen Stiickchen, Stitze Siyiize, Schlissel Schluessel. =M. H. G. Me: Eindr Huehner, Kiffr Knefer, Bichl Buechlein, Tichl Tuechlein, Fliche Flueche, Blitte Bluete, brittn brueten, Gemitte Gemuete, witte wuete, bisse buesse, grisse gruesse, sisse suesse, wiste wuest. Long i=M. H. G. oe : hire hoere, Sire Roere, stire Btoere, Bim Boehmen, schine schoene, hinschen hoenen, Hiche or Ei Hoehe, Bite Roete, Klissel Kloesschen, bise boese, Trister Troester, Vigel Voegel, liblich loeblich.^ =M. H. G. ii: Mile Muele, Tire Tuer, Irte Zeohe, Kinig Koenig, Sine Scene, Hihel Huegel (M. H. G, huebel,) Lige Luege, tigen taugen (M. H. G. tiigen.) =M.. H. G. ue: blin bluehen, brin brennen bruehen, grine gruen, kile knehl, rim rueren, Bliml Bluem- chen, Krigl Krueglein, mist muest. Short w=:M. H. &. uo; Ruf, Stufe, Fluck Pflug, -BmcA, Buche, Kuche Kuchen, sucJien, Tuch, Blut, Brut, Glut, gut. Hut, Mut, Bute, tut, Flut, Busse, Musse, Fass< rufe, verjlucht. suchte, Husie Husten. Long M^M. H. G. uo: fru frueh, zwu zwei (fem.), kule kuel, guder guter, muss mtiss, fulte fuelte. Short vowelB are substituted for long ones in following words: Short i^M. H. G. J: Binn Bienen, hinte^ heute M. H. G. hmte. =M. H. G. e: wink^ wenig, "ze vll un ee wink Is oils e ding," sirrer compar. to ser, irschte erst, Qritte Grete, Kniffel or Knejel Knaeufel. =M. H. G. ie : hilde hielte, liff lief, vertifft vertieft, Krick Krieg, krichn kriechen, richn riechen, Ziche Zieche Bettbezug, iglich jeglich, Mitte Miete, gebittn gebieten, lissn liessen, genissen geniesscn, Spiss Spiess.* 'Upper Main, Fegnitz, Bhine (Koblenz) "Wetterau. 'Westphalia. 'Cologne, Odenwald, Thuringia, Osterland. •Result of L. G. influence. 62 Germanic Dialects. Short o==M. H. G. Q: letter lauter. Short M=M. H. G. u: vj'^ auf, Muchel Scheltwort M. H. G. miichel. =M. H. G. a: Nulde Nadel (0. H. G. 7ja2da=nadala) Ziimmel Messer, M. H. G. Ifimel, JSTupper Nachbar, schluffa schlafen, bruchte brachte, duchte dachte, verducht verdacht, luss lass, hust hast.* Long vowels are substituted for short ones : Long a=M. H. G. a: Sak Sack, Tak Tag, mak mag, Bache Bach, Dach Dach, han kann, sat satt, /S^ai Stadt, Schaten Schatten, /rate mager elend. Gal Schrei, Warte, Jagd, maren zaudern 0. H. G. marrjan M. L. G. marren, Saz Satz, aid alt, Garten ; a?e' alte, proverb : "Ale Kale hala ni neie Kale hala," alte Naegel halten nicht, neue Naegel halten, bale bald, kal kalt, haln halten, eim Wale im Walde, Kal Karl*, atlich artlich.^ r=M. H. G. e dan denen. Bare Bere,, zarn zeren, san senen, gal gelb, M. H. G. gel, Fal Fell, Mai Mel, Qual Quell, stain stelen, namm nemen, zane zehne, ar er. Bar Baer, har her, Schwar Schwer, Arde Erde, varte voriges Jahr, Garschte Gerste, Labr Leber, Kabl Nebel, Wabr Weber, lawa leben,*' ^i'avr Kaefer, •Common to Md. G. 'Common to Md. G.' *The liquid I throws a following t either entirely out or changes it to d : alder alter, halde halt, gewalde gewaltig, Foldr Folter. gildn gelten, hildn hielten, Eldern Eltern, scheldn scbelten, selde sollte, selden selten ; similarly n changes a following ( into the media : kende koennte, hindr hinter, nande nannte, undr unter, ermundert ermuntert. *The liquid r is frequently dropped and either the preceding vowel lengthened or the following consonant doubled : verti'bt ver dirbt, Aperna Erdbirnen Kartoffeln, Magen Morgen, wa'd wird, mosoh morsch ; mattern martern, Hazze Herze. ^Quite general in Md. G, ^B and w frequently interchange in Md. G., w stands for 6 : Nok- wer 'Sa.ch'ba.r , atrawa streben, hei Leiwe bei Leibe, uwa ohen, Newel Nebel, liewer lieber, darvje derbe, daschlholwe deshalb, (Taunus, Zieg- enhaln, Kassel, Thuringia, Altenburg, also common to the Bavarian- Austrian dialect). B stands for w; her or heir wir, Wither Witwer, Krabaten Kroaten KrskMraten, Jubilirer Juwelier, Loehe Loewe, Forhrig Vorwerk, Fiebig \iehweg,\Schwalwe Schwalbe, Germanio DialeoU. BS Schwavl Schwefel, eim Wage im Wege, Tadr Feder, Brat Brett, Watr Wetter, gebatn gebeten, sat seht, !N^ast Nest, gewast gewesen, racht recht Long e=M. H. G. j : vel viel, wel will, Spel, Spiel, spelt spielt, nem nimm, en ihn, er ilir, ber wir, der dir, geb gib, geblebn geblieben, geschrebn geschrieben, krebein kribein, webeln wibeln, sebzig siebzig, Steveln Stiefeln, legen liegen, Tegel Tigel, Sirek Strick, ech ich, mccA mich, seek sich, Jj-crfe Friedc, Gfed Glied, vied mit, iScAn«ialecU, 67 inflexional system are common only to the languages of these people. A change of the consonantism of the Slavo-Ger- manio language which commences during this period is of greatest importance to us for our present object in view. The primitive Indo-Germanic language shows besides the tennes i. Pi t, and the mediae g, 5. d, also the mediae aspiratae gh, bh, dh The Slavo-Germans changed the aspirated mediae into simple mediae, gh to g, bh to b, dh to d, and perhaps began to develop aspirated tenues hh, ph, th: Indo Germanic bhaghu^'Ut-Germ. bagu " " mazghos, '» masgae " " bhendh (root), Goth, bindan " " dhumbhaz^ Ui-Geim. dumbaz, Goth, dumbs, O, N. dumbr. It is supposed that the Slavolettians and Germans formed one nation about 2000 B. C. Probably they were living at that time near the Caspian Sea and entered thence the wide plains north of the Black Sea. It may be that a part of the people, the later Slavolettians, remained there, while another, the later Germans, proceeded to the countries around the lower Dnitstr and Danube, where they may have settled about 1000 B. C. For the first time the Germans form a separate nation and this marks the beginning of the fourth prehistoric period. During it a uniform language, free from dialectical differences, is spoken, which now begins to show a development of its own independent of other languages. Two characteristic features which distinguish the Germanic languages from all other Indo- Germanic languages make their appearance. One is the so- called "Ablaut," the other the "Lautvcrschiebung." The first refers to the regular established law of vowel changes in the so-called "starken" verbs, to indicate different tenses : binde, band, gebunden, the same appearing also in nouns : Binde, Band, Bund. This feature is found in other kindred languages only in isolated cases, but as it is still common to both High and Low German we cannot enter further upon this interest- ing subject. The -'Lautverschiebung" has affected the mute consonants of the Gerrr.an language. Its first beginning was made in the third prehistoric period, when the aspirated 68 Germanic Dialects. mediae were changed to simple mediae, but the movement continues and its consequences are felt during the fourth period. At the beginning of the latter there existed two kinds of mediae, one representing the original mediae, the other the new ones, representing the formerly aspirated mediae. In order to avoid misunderstanding a desire and necessity arose to distinguish the two originally entirely different sounds. The original mediae previously represented the harder sound of the two, and, to retain this original difi°erence, the mediae received a firmer and more energetic articulation, until they finally were turned into tenues, the old 6, g, d into p, k, t, Skt. dva, Goth, tvai, L. G. ixoein two. Gr. yovv, Lat. genu, Goth, kniu knee. Lat. labium, Anglo-Saxon lippa lip. Now a similar trouble arose. The old tenues needed to be distinguished from the newly created tenues and also from the created mediae. The only course to pursue was to aspirate them: k, p, t were changed into M, ph, th, and with this alteration the first Lautverschiebung was completed. The consonantism herewith established is nearly the same as found in the Gothic and Low German dialects for which reason the first Lautverschiebung is called the Gothic Low German Lautverschiebung. Gothic deviates from Ur- Ger- manic consonantism only through a substitution of the aspir- ata h for kh, and of the fricatiye/ for ph, while Low German replaces jjA by /or v, th by d, khhy h: Indo-Germ. seks, Goth, saihs, Mod. H. G. sechs. Skt. nakt, L. G. naht. Mod. H. G. wocAft •' pad, Goth, fotus, Mod. H. G. I'uss. " uksan, " avhsa, " " " Ochse. " pacu, Lat. pecu, Goth. Jaihu, Mod. H, G. Vieh. Lat. celare, Goth, hilan. Lat. duco, Goth, tiuha. " rectus, " raiht. " decem, Goth, taihun. " tenuis, O. E. thynne. " tonare, L. G. dunnern. " tres, Goth, threis, L. G. dre. " dico, " teiha. At the end of the fourth prehistoric period the same his- Germnnio Dialects. 69 torical events repeat themselves with the German people that happened at the end of the first prehistoric period with the people of the Indo-Germanio family. The Germans, up to this time having formed one nation, now separate. Notwith- standing the consonantism of their language, as probably established about 450 B. C, remained the same in all dialects until the great migrations occurred, when High German entered a new stage of development, caused by the so-called second or High German Lantverschiebung. We mentioned this law already when we stated the characteristic difference between High and Low German. If we compare this second Lantverschiebung with the first, we find that High German is derived from Old High German as spoken in the first three centuries, by the same process that Low German is derived from the Indo-Germanic language. We find here again the media is changed to a tenuis, the tenuis to the aspirata, and the aspirata to the media. This law was first discovered by Jacob Grimm and is called after him, Grimm's Law. In the word -'tamtam" the the first of any three successive letters indicates the quality of the Indo-Germanic consonant, the second the changed quality of the same consonant in Gothic and Low German and the third the same sound transformed into High German: t(enuis) a(spirata) m(edia), a(spirata) m(edia) t(enuis), m(edia) t(enuis) a(spirata), Skt. tri, Goth, threis, H. G. drei; Skt. bhratar, Goth, brothar, L. G. brodr, H. G. Pruodar, Mod. H. G. Bruder. We need, however, to add a few special rules. (1) As mentioned above, Gothic and Low German substituted/ and h for ph and kh, the second Lantverschiebung does not affect /» at all, and / only when it forms the last letter of a word. Only mute consonants are affected by the Lantverschiebung, neither/ nor A is a mute consonant: Skt. naktam, Goth, naht, H. G. nachi ; Skt. pancham, Goih. Jimf, H. G./n/e, Mod. H. G. fuenf. (2) Initial p changes to ph (pf), inl. p to /. From this it appears that we have two kinds of /in High German, one 70 Germanic Dialects. representing the Gothic or Low German/, the other the Gothic or Low German p. Goth.^sA*. H. G.Jiah; L. G. slapen, H. G. schlafen. (3) Initial and final t is changed to z, inl. t toss. L. G. «o«, ut, Water, H. G. zu, anz (aus), Wasser. High German has no aspirated t; only Gothic, Scandinavian, Old Saxon and English have iA preserved; the modern High German tA, as for instance in Thai, That, etc., is no aspirated consonant, it is a tenuis, and was formerly as well as of late again repre- sented by simple t. (4) Initial *, or k following a short vowel, changes to kch otherwise to ch or hh. (5) The "Lautverschiebungen" do not affect t,p, k, when immediately preceded by another consonant especially by s- Indo-Germ. skh, sth, sph change to sk, st, sp, Skt. (roots) sphut, sphur, skhait, stha, O. H, G. spaltan, spurnan, Goth, skaidan, 0. H. G. stan. Skt. naktam, H, G. Nacht ; Lat. piscis, Goth, flsks; " specio, H. G. spaehe; " rectus, " recht; " octo, " acht. Some characteristic features of Low German have been mentioned already, when I enumerated the principal differences between High and Low German. I will add a few more. JD between two vowels is dropped in Low German, but following a short vowel it is doubled before I, r, n: L. G. bate, H. G. beide, L, G. laien, H. G. leiten, but L. G. moddr, esnaeddn, kaddln. Although the consonantism will always be the principal point of difference between High and Low German, the vocal- isms of both show almost as many discrepancies. And here we find again that Low German bears a more archaic stamp than High German. The long vowels i, m, iu were changed in Austria and Bavaria to the diphthongs ei, au, eu towards the end of the thirteenth century, and this change conquered in the following two centuries nearly all the territory of Highland Germanic Dialects. 71 and Midland German, while Low German has to this day preserved the old vowels : «J« sein, din dein, min mein ; ut aus, Hus Haus, drvp drauf, lude laut; niu neu, Spriu Spreu, The old diphthongs ei and au (ou) are pronounced as e and o: Del Theil, JBTe/ Heil, -S 78 Germanic JDialects. tablished and everywhere acknowledged German language, as to- day Modern High German is, nor did entire uniformity pre- vail. Highland as well as Midland German features appear side by side, and many local dialectical differences in these again; nor is Modern High German the direct continuation of Middle High German. A glance at the following will prove this: "Du bist min, ih bin din," etc. With the end of the dynasty of the "Hohenstaufen" the classical period in litera- ture ends, and with it begins the decline of Middle High Ger- man. Dialectical development now goes on very rapidly to the greatest inconvenience of writers, publishers and readers. The imperial and other courts, realizing the necessity of a uniform language in all governmental branches, try to estab- lish a fixed official language through their chanceries. So the literary idioms of the different chanceries arose and served as standard for all forms of language. Among these the imperial "Kanzleisprache" naturally held the most prominent position, and inasmuch as its public acts were addressed to readers of all dialects existing through the empire, it obviously had also greatest interest in calling into existence a general idiom. This was the reason that the language of the imperial chancery though, since the reign of Charles IV (1347-78), a German dia- lect as spoken in Prag, Bohemia, gradually Ireed itself of all dialectal peculiarities, and adopted features of other German dialects. Besides the language as used in the imperial chan- cery, that of the chancery of Saxony had taken foremost prom- inence and was extensively used and recognized throughout central Germany. Conditioned through its location, it natur- ally formed a compromise between the Highland and Lowland German dialects. Through mutual concessions these two "Kanzleisprachen" became more and more one language, and this same language was made popular by Martin Lather through his translation of the Bible and his numerous other writings. Concerning the language selected by him he ex- presses himself as follows (Tischreden by Dr. Wuelcker, chaps. 69 and 70): "Ich habe keine gewisse, sonderliche, eigene Sprache im Deutschen, sondern brauche der gemeinen Deutschen Sprache, das mich beide, Ober- und Niderlender, verstehen moegen. Ich rede nach der Sechsischen Cantzelei, welcher nachfolgen alle Fuersten und Eoenige in Deutschland. Germanic Dialects. 79 Alle Reichsf uersten, Fuerstenhoefe schreiben nach der Sechsis- chen und unsers Fiirsten Cantzelei. Darumb ists auch die gemeinste deutsche Sprache. Kelser Maximilian und Chur- fuerst Fridrich, Herzog zu Sachsen, haben im Roemischen Eeich die deutschen Sprachen also in eine gewisse Sprache gezogen." Of the cities in which the "gemeine Deutsch" was most at home about 1500, Merseburg, Leipzig, Halle and Wittenberg deserve to be mentioned. It appears that the Modern High German language does not show in its formations as much consistency as either High or Low German. In its n:ain features it resembles the High German dialects, yet it would be a serious mistake to identify it with Highland or Midland dialects. In its vocalism it shows the Bavarian diphthongs ei, au,eu, in place of the old long vowels i, u, iu; the Southern dipthongs ie, uo, ue are contract- ed into the Midland monophthongs i, often spelt ie, u, u, but the laws of the High German Lautverschiebnng are only parti- ally observed. Already Middle High German had given up the initial tenues, Ic and^, and had substituted the Low German mediae, b and g. Hd.G. kiporen, Paum, M.H.G. geboren, Bdum. Middle High German had further replaced the Gothic aspirated dental tenuis th by the media d, the same consonant as in Low German.^ The Bavarian orthography of ch and kch in place of h was not adopted by Luther. Modern High German Krank heit Bav. Chranchheit. If we add to this that h was not aflfect- ed by the second Lautverschiebung and / only as final letter, we see that the consonantism of Modern High German shows almost as many features in common with Low German as with High German, a fact which explains why the laws of the Ger- ^Idg. t changed in "Ur"-Germanic to th for which Low German d substituted, the aspirated t changed through second Lautverschie- bung to d. Evidently both High and Low German reach b) different methods the same letter d. But as High German had two different different kinds of / so has Low German two different kinds of d, one representing Idg. dh, the other Idg. t: Skt. trijas, Goth, thrija L. G. dre, H. G. drei ; Idg. haldhaz, Goth, halde, L. G, kald, H, G. halt. 80 Germanic Dialects. man Lautverschiebung have not been discovered until the his- torical development- of the German language was studied in a scientific way during the present century. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Midland Germany had become the literary center of Germany, and as this country was Luther's birthplace and home, it was but natural that his vocabulary should mainly be the same as was used in Middle Germany. I insert a table showing the various changes which the mute consonants have suffered from their first appearance in Indo- Germanic till their transformation in High and Low German. Indo-Oerm, Ur-Oerm. Gothic Strict H. a. mddleB.O. Mod. B. G. L B. p 6 bh t d dh k a gh ph. P b th t d kh k g f P b th I d h k 9 f ini,ph int.f P d ini.z inl. 8z final z t A ini. kch inl. chorhh k ini. z f.v b(p) d inl. 8z(8a) t *(<7) k.ch g(c) (b) ph.. J fin. »(«) /.».(!>) Pf.f b d t, ez, ea, a im Mg) k, ch g int. b /.« P inl. w finals d t d h k g Luther's language has by nd means become at once the undisputed idiom of literary intercourse in Germany. The Catholic countries, then the larger portion of the empire, were especially slow to adopt it. In North Germany the Low German language was for some time afterwards spoken in the schoolroom, pulpit and courtroom; Bible, catechism and hymnals were translated from Luther's language into the local dialects. For a time three literary idioms were striving for supremacy, the Swiss, the South German, and Luther's language, but at the end of the sixteenth century the question may be considered as decided in favor of the last. Yet some Cferfnanio Dialects. Si Catholic districts in South Germany were still in the middle of the eighteenth century objecting to it. Dr. Martin Schulz asserts in the preface to his "Dioticon" that in Nordhausen the Thuringtan dialect was still used by teachers and scholars alike in the lower classes of the gymnasium in the early part of the present century. It was largely due to the untiring efforts of Matin Opitz (his "Deutsche Poeterei" was published in 1624) and more to these of Johann Christoph Gottsched (1700-1766), Professor of Oratory at Leipzig, that the Modern High German lan> guage overcame provincial and dialectal peculiarities so suc- cessfully as to become the most effective factor in uniting at least mentally and spiritually all the different members of German nationality. Through all religious and political con- troversies the Germans have remained united in science, art and literature by their common literary idiom. If imperial- ism during the Middle Ages was instrumental in creating a common literary language, the Middle High German, a liter- ary language common to all Germans, and a literature written in this language and owned by all Germans was not less instrumental in uniting once more in our days all Germany under one crown. At a fortunate time this literary idiom was created, when religious and political differences threat- ened to obliterate forever German nationality. It is also note- worthy that this language was more firmly established by Opitz just at a time when Germans were to fight against Ger- mans in that most dreadful and prolonged struggle, during the "Thirty Years "War," and by Gottsched just before and during the "Seven Years War." The learned German may speak several languages, but the less educated is also often master of two or more idioms. Besides his own dialect he finds it to his advantage and almost a necessity to be able to understand and speak Modern High German. If he lives near the French, Italian, or some other frontier he may speak that language in addition. Of course his grammar and pronunciation as a rule will differ somewhat from that of the well educated classes. The more the dialect differs from the Modern High German the more will those who speak the dialects endeavor to learn Modern High German. The knowledge of the latter will be almost SS Germanic Dialects. indispensable to them for commercial and social intercourse. They will feel also that their dialect stands below the lan- guage of the learned and refined, and consequently will become to some extent ashamed of it. We find that the country peo- ple of North Germany in intercourse with strangers invariably try to speak Modern High German, but in their family circle and with their nearest friends they speak Low German, while on the other hand even the best educated South German will not exchange in conversation his native dialect for Modern High German, as both are quite similar. This is one reason why foreigners who wish to learn German visit rather North than South Germany. But while in North Germany well educated people and in general the bietter classes speak Modern High German the idea is but natural that dialectal speech only belongs to the lower classes. The well-to-do farmer sends his sons and daughters to the city to attend higher grade schools. When they return, they speak nothing but Modern High German. The poorer classes seek employment in the cities and one of their first accom- plishments is to be able to speak conversantly Modern High German. During the obligatory military service every Ger- man is at least for two successive years encouraged to speak nothing but Modern High German. Reading of all kind can be done only in Modern High German, and though the poorer classes may not be much versed in literature they take or have access to newspapers and magazines. In school the child is obliged to use Modern High Ger- man exclusively and consequently learns from youth to look upon his dialect as incorrect. Subjects of the Bible, history, geography, in short all forms of knowledge are learned only in the Modern High German language, and a child will rarely if ever try to translate these new names into his own dialect. The idea gradually wins ground that the dialect can only be used for common expressions of every day life, while for all expressions of culture and knowledge only Modern High Ger- man is appliable. Hence the vocabulary is extended in the one language, while the sphere of the other becomes gradually more limited. It is remarkable to what extent Modern High German has assumed undisputed supremacy in Germany. Many otherwise fairly well educated Germans sow look upon Germanic Dialects. 8S dialects of any description only as Modern High German in a corrupt form, while often the reverse would be more appropri- ate. These people are not conscious that there was a time when Low German was the only language throughout North Germany, spoken by emperors, kings, princes, and people alike. Modern High German now is the favored language besides which the dialects struggle at unfair odds. The constant exposure of the dialects to the most various influences has made it especially difficult to ascertain the true character of each, and often great varieties of speech can be found within the limit of a village containing only a few hun- dred inhabitants ; often even between the language of the older and younger members of the same family. There is even in Modern High German no standard of ex- pression or pronunciation, except perhaps on the stage. The same sentence is expressed with difl'erent words, when uttered by a North or South Germ an, -or by a highly educated man or a common laborer living in the same district. Even when the sentence is written it often sounds differently when read by a North or South German, or hj members of different classes of society. Dialectal differences make themselves known in most of these cases. "Erde" may be pronounced as Srrde or Aerde, "nun" as nunn, "schoenste" as schoennste or schoennschte. "Geben" is pronounced in Hannover as geben, in Gottingen as jeben, in Guestphalia as cheben. The best educated German despises the conventional and ultra formal language of the merchant and his clerks, while the latter sees in his carefully learned words and sentences of politeness, which he so liber- ally makes use of, the best means of distinguishing himself as standing above the plainly speaking common working man. Notwithstanding all this the language of the most re- fined society is quite similar in all sections of Germany and certain laws of pronunciation may be considered as established. A foreigner should observe the following rules: initial * is pro- nounced as English z; initial st and sp as English sA< and *^i> ; w as English v; v as English /, these two letters were origi- nally identical as the words j'uellen and voll prove. Unac- cented e is dropped in the terminations el and en. Handel, Lippen, bitten, haben, lieben, nehmen are pronounced as if *4 Germanic Dialects. written Handl, Lippn, habn or habm, Uebn or liebni,n§m, (with lengthened m). The yowel a should be pronounced aa a bright a, as a in father, the dark pronunciation, inclined to o, is considered as ordinary and vulvar: Thaler and not Tholer or even Dolr. The vowel t should be distinguished In pronunciation from ue, e from oe. It is considered as showing a lack of educa- tion, when this distinction is neglected. Just so ei should be pronounced as i in like. Less educated people are liable to give it an e sound as is done in Low German. Cp. Bueckert, H., Die deutscbe Scbriftspracbe der Qegenwart und die Dialekte, in "Deutsche Vierteljahrechrift," 1864, Vol. VI, III, p. 90 eqq. Osthoff, Scbriftspracbe u. Volksmundart Berlin, 1883. Kauffmann, P., Dialektforscbung in "Anleitung zar deutscben Landes- u, Volksforechung herrauegegeben" by A. Kirchoff, p. 383 eqq. Stuttgart, 1889. Franke, 0., Reinheit u. Beichtum der Scbriftspracbe gefoerdert durcb d. Mandarten. Leipzig, 1890. Sanders, D., Zur Verscbiedenbert der Aueapracbe in Nord u. Sueddeutscbland, in "Zeitscbrift fur deutscbe Spracbe," VII. 1894. Vietor, W., Wie ist die Ausspracbe im Deutscben zalebreo? Marburg, 1893. V. Babder, £., Orundlagen des neubocbdeutscben Lautsysteius. StrasBburg, 1890. Wrede, F.. Die Entstebung der neubocbdeutscben Diphtbqnge mit Karte. Zeitscbr. fiir dt. Altertbumskunde XXXIX, 1895, pp. 257-301. Krueger, £., Wecbselo S und Z in den deutscben Mundarten? Zeitscbr. f. d. dt. Unterrictht, V. 1891, p. 279 sq. 849, Bebagbel, O., Scbriftspracbe und Mundarten. Gieseen, 1896. Bueckert, H., Gescbicbte der neubocbdeutscben Scbriftspracbe. Leipszig, 1875. Socin, A., Scbriftspracbe und Mnndart. Ueilbrunn, 1888. Muellenboff u. Soberer, Denkmaeler deutscber Poesie u. Prosa. Einleitung. Berlin, 1873. Brenner, O., Mandarten u. Scbriftspracbe Bayerns. Bamberg, 1890. Paul, H., Gab es eine mittelbocbdeutscbe Scbriftspracbe 7 Halle, 1872. Bebagbel, 0., Zar Frage einer mittelbocbd Scbriftspracbe. Basel, 1886; also in Paul u. Braune, Beitr. XVIII. 534. Brenner, O., Bin Kapitel aus der Grammatik der deutscben Ur- kunden. Erlangen, 1890 (especially p. 183). Brandstetter, B., Die Lazerner Kanzleispracbe, 1250-1600 in "Gescbicbtsfreund," 1892, XLVII. 227. Piscbek, Zur Frage nach der Ezistenz einer mittelbocbd. Scbrift- spracbe im ausgebenden XIII Jabrh. Teschen, 1892. Germanic Dialects. 85 Waeleker, £., Die Enstehune der kurBaechsischen Eapzleispfache. Zeitscbr. des Yereins fuer kurs. Geschichte. IX, 349. Fietscb, P., Martin Luther und die neubocbdentBChe Schrift- spracbe. Breslan, 1883. Burdach, K.. Die Einigung der neuboobd. Scriftspr. Einleitung. Halle, 1883. Kluge. F., Die Entstebung unserer ScbriftBprache. Jena, 1886. , Von Luther bis Leasine. Strassburg, 1888. Gessler, Alb., Beitr. zur OeBcbicbte der Entwickelung der neu- bocbdeutscben Scbriftspracbe in Basel. Basel. 1888. Brandstetter, B., Die Reception der neubochd. Schriftspr. in Stadt und Landscbaft Luzern. Gescbichtsfreund, 1892. Fasola, C, Die Spracbe des Jobann von Staupitz, Marburg, 1892. Burdach, K., Geschichte der neubochd. Schriftspr., in "For- Bcbungen zur deutschen Philologie," 1894. Scbolz, Fr., Geschichte der deutschen Scbriftspracbe in Augsburg. Berlin, 1895. Felsberg, O., Zur Ausprache des Schriftdeutscben, mit besond, Bezugnahme auf die Coburger Lautverbaeltnisse. Coburg, 1894. Hildebrand, B., Zur Geschichte der deutschen Aussprache aus neuester Zeit in "Zeitscbr. fuer d. deutschen Unterricht" VII, 1893, p. 153-165. 449-451, Also VII, p. 757 sq. and 786. Heine, G., Zur Geschichte der Aussprache in "Zeitscbr. f. d. d. Unterr," VII. 1893. p. 451-455. Beiss. H., Mischungen von Scbriftspracbe u, Mundart in Bhein- hessen, Germania, XXXVII, p. 423-435. Meyer-Markau, W., Unsere hochdeutsche Spracbe in ibrem Duis- burger Altagsgewande. Duisburg. 1893. The English language was not found in Great Britain at the dawn of history. The earliest reliable records mention the Celts as exclusive inhabitants, and modern forms of the Celtic branch of the Indo-Germanic language still survive in isolated places in Wales and the Scottish Highlands, in Ire- land in localties scattered throughout the country, and in the Isle of Man, while one Celtic dialect an Cornwall died out only within the last century. Probably the early speech of the natives gave way consid- erably to the overpowering influence of Latin during the long occupation of South Britain by the Romans (49-409 A. D.) and all indications are that Great Britain would have never given up Borne if Rome had not been obliged to give up Great Britain. Had the Roman emperor Honorius been able to send suflScient reinforcements to his faithful British subjects and so enabled them to effectively repel the German invaders, the language of Great Britain would probably be today Romanic or Neo Latin, but his advice to help themselyes as best they could did not turn aside the course of events. S6 Germanic Dialects, Saxons, Frisians and Franks set first foot on the island, but subsequently from 450-550 mainly Angles, Saxons and Jutes followed and brought the island under their control. The Celtic population was not only subdued, but almost ex- terminated. The Celtic-Latin language disappeared entirely, and the Germans developed their own dialects independently, but in such a way that a certain uniformity prevailed and that all may be called one language, the Anglo-Saxon ; and this became the foundation of the English language of later and today. The Jutes settled in Kent, the Isle of Wight, and the southern part of Hampshire, the Saxons on the lower banks of Thames Biver and in the remaining southern part of Britain; the Angles occupied the rest. We have no speci- mens of the language of these tribes for nearly three centuries after their first appearance in Great Britain and we cannot tell to what extent their dialects agreed with or differed from each other. As the Angles seem to have represented the majority of Germans in Britain, and as in the district occu- pied by them literary culture first flourished, the language of ' all received early the name Anglicus in Latin manuscripts, while the popular name for it became Englisc and later English. This name did not change, when the West Saxon dialect of Alfred became the literary idiom, nor when the Northern and Midland dialects contended for supremacy. English has been from first to last the general term for all forms of ver- nacular language of English as opposed to Latin and French or any other language. The yarious stages through which this English language has passed are generally distinguished as Old, Middle and New or Modern English; or the same stages differently named Anglo-Saxon, Semi-Saxon and English, the first period reaching to 1100, the second, the transition period from Old English to Modern English, 1100-1611, and the third period since. The three leading dialects of English during these stages are the Northern, Midland and Southern English. Old English or Anglo Saxon was a homogeneous language, having very few foreign elements and forming its compounds and derivatives entirely from its own resources. Very few Celtic words were received by the invaders into their language Germanic Dialects. 87 except a few appellations relating to the employment of field ^^^ household menials, showing the seryile attitude of the 6W Britains left living among the newcomers. The scanty dumber of Latin words found in old Anglo-Saxon may have een imported from Germany, as they are the same words that most Germans had learned from the Romans. The Conti- nental home of the Anglo-Saxons had not been far from the lower Rhine district which was at that time a center of Roman culture. Here for centuries Germans had enlisted in the Roman army, and it is not impossible that even some of the German conquerors of Britain had served in former years as Roman soldiers. With the introduction of Christianity Britain was opened once more to the Latin language and Roman refinement. The Roman Catholics founded churches, schools and monasteries on British soil, and a large series of Latin words connected with the new doctrine and its institutions was taken into the English language from the seventh to the tenth centuries. In the ninth century the Scandinavian viking expeditions to the British Islands commenced. In 855 Norsemen settled in Nordhumbrien, and soon became masters of the whole coun- try north of the Thames. Subdued by King Alfred, they secured equal social rights with the older German settlements. In view of the very close relationship of tiie Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon languages it is hard to tell how far one lan- guage borrowed from the other. In the North, Scandinavian influence was of course the strongest. Many Runic inscrip- tions have been found there, but in the twelfth century the Scandinavian language began to die out in England. The Norsemen at that time already used the English language for inscriptions. One reason why Scandinavian influence is not more noticeable in the English language is that literature mostly flourished in the south, where the Scandinavian ele- ment was least represented. Of much more importance was the French influence. The Norman conquest established in England a foreign court, a foreign aristocracy and a foreign clergy, and the French lan- guage, in its Norman dialect, became the only polite medium of intercourse ; while the vernacular English, the now despised language of a subject race, became more and more confined to 38 Germanic Dialects. the country districtfi. French was the fashionable language, and Latin the language of the learned. Documents were written in the latter. When the educated generation that witnessed the arrival of the Normans had died out, English was neither read nor written, and consequently words relating to science, art and higher culture were soon forgotten. The sphere of the English language no longer went beyond every- day life, and before it could again become a fitting medium for literary intercourse, English had to replace the loss in its vocabulary by substituting words from the French of the privileged classes, of whom alone art, science, law and theol- ogy had been for generations the inheritance. So we find that words relating to government, administration, ronstitu- tion, court, titles, art, science and literature, are mostly of French character, while those relating to ordinary life, nature, agriculture and navigation are German, as are also auxiliary verbs, articles, pronouns, prepositions, numerals and conjunc tions. James A. H. Murray thus sums up the changes from Old to Middle English : "Loss of a large part of the native vocabulary, and adoption of French words to supply the blank; not Infrequent adoption of French words as synonyms of existing native ones; modernization of the English words preserved, by vowel change in a definite direction from back to front, and from open to close, a becoming u, o tending to 00, u to ou, ea to e', e' to ee, ee to J, and by advance of con- sonants from guttural to palatal; obscuration of vowels after the accent, and especially of final a, o,u to e; conse- quent confusion and loss of old inflexions, and their replace- ment by prepositions, auxiliary verbs, and rules of position ; abandonment of alliteration of rhyme; and great development of dialects, in consequence of there being no standard or rec- ognized type of English." French was the language of the Royal Court for several centuries. Lord Dunbar apologizes, in a letter written c. 1400 and addressed to Henry IV, for not using the French or Latin language, but the English. Eegulations of the Uni versity of Oxford from the years 1322-25, 1329 and 1340 state that students are requested to use in their conversations the Latin or French language exclusively. In the year 1362 parliament was opened for the first time in the English Ian- Germanic Dialects. 89 guage, the same year an act of parliament was passed that in court pleadings the English language shoulcl be used: coart records were kept as before in Latin. The first will known to have been written in English dates from 1383; before that time those of the higher classes were written in French, those of the common people in Latin. 1731 a motion to use the English language instead of Latin in records of the courts was passed in parliament only in face of severe opposition. The present vocabulary of the English language contains perhaps a larger percentage of foreign ingredients than any other language known. The development in sciences has been accompanied by an adoption of many Greek and Latin terms. Through the extended commercial intercourse of Great Britain with all nations of the globe, words from the most various tongues have been imported into the English language. Perhaps the number of original Anglo-Saxon words does not represent more than a fourth or a third of a complete English dictionary, and it might seem therefore strange that English is still classed as a member of the Low German division. But we must remember that the grammar of the English language is and has always been pure Anglo-Saxon; the English inflexions and constructions by which alone words express ideas, are of pure German type. Whenever foreign words were admitted, they were at once subjected to all the duties and liabilities of English words in the same position ; they became English by the very act of admission, In addition to this, of the total number of words in a diction- ary only a small portion is used in ordinary speaking and writing, and these words are mainly Anglo-Saxon words. If we count the words of non-Germanic derivation in an English book we may find that they form only ten to fifteen per cent and in exceptional cases, in very scientific treatises, still below fifty per cent. In many cases foreign words have been admitted as synonyms of existing German words, or German words ceded part of their meaning to imported ones without in either case going out of use themselves. In this way the English language has attained means of expression superior to those of other cultured languages. 90 Germanic Dialects. The dialect which has now become the English language used alike In verbal and literary intercourse, is not a descend- ant of that used by cultured Englishmen of King Alfred's time, but a sister dialect, then obscure. That of Alfred sur- vives only in the neglected and rustic speech of Wiltshire and Somersetshire. While French was so long the language of the higher classes and Latin the vehicle of scientific inter- course, English had no literature of its own by which a fixed language could be established, and the dialects of the North, Midland and South developed very rapidly. But just as in Germany the Midland dialect formed the natural connecting link between the two extremes. Midland English was intel- ligible to both the people of the North and the South even when the dialects of these were unintelligible to each other. Natur- ally this Midland dialect presented itself as the most desir- able language for writers and speakers who expected to be understood by the majority of Englishmen. And every reason conspired to make this dialect English "par excellence." It was the English of London, where the supreme law courts were, the center of political and commercial life, it was the language in which the WycliflBte versions had given the Holy Scriptures to the people, the language in which Chaucer had raised English poetry to a height of excellence admired and imitated by contemporaries and followers. According to Morsbach's researches this literary lan- guage as established by Chaucer and further developed in the next centuries is on the whole the same language as used in the documents of London from 1380 to 1430. The same author- ity believes that the dialect of London has been originally South- ern, but has changed gradually to a Midland dialect. Accord- ing to Puttenham's testimony, the best English was spoken in London and vicinity in the second half of the sixteenth century. A characteristic feature in which the English literary idiom differs from the Modern German language is that the orthography has not kept pace with phonetic changes which the English nation has undergone especially in the fifteenth century. In the German literary language the orthography was as a rule changed so as to always unmistakably indicate the sound represented by it. It is otherwise in English. The Germanic Dialects, 91 pronunciation is modern, while the orthography is still that of the Middle Ages. In fact there has never been what might be called a reformatory rupture with the traditional spelling in English, The orthography of the dialects furnishes to some extent a criterion by which we may decide where the literary language of England originated. Kent and Sussex cannot be consid* ered, as we find here dis, dat, dose, dumb, dorn, etc. for this, that, those, thumb, thorn, etc. (See Ellis, Engl. Dialects.) Cornwall, Somersetshire and Devonshire show vour, vive, vish, vox, zea, zet, zailor zing instead of "four, five, fish, fox, sea, set, sailor, sing." West Cornwall and DevQnshire have still Middle English e: dail, mail, bait, clain, aise, say instead of "deal, meat, beat, clean, ease, sea; the letter e is here still called ai (see Earle, Philology of the Engl. Tongue, § 104), In West Cornwall the old i sound is retained: to sheen, cheem, keenly, cheeld for "to shine, chime, kindly, child." In Kent deck O. E. die) meece, (0. E. mys), heeve (0. E. hyf), sheer (O. E. scir) is used instead of "dyke, mice, hive, shire." Nor can Modern English have originated in North England, as there long u was not diphthonged. We find in East York- shire, N. W. Lincolnshire, Whitby and further north: doon, goon, coo, pronoonce, noo, roond, doot, for "down, gown, cow, pronounce, now, round, doubt," also amang, sangs, tangs for "among, songs, tongs." In Scotland the northern dialect attained a distinct development and a high literary culture during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but when the parliament's decree of March 19th, 1542, according to which the New Testament was to be translated into ^Hnglis vulgare toung," was recalled, and the Bible was published in Scotland only in the English version free from all Scottish dialectal influences and when, according to Parliament's decree of Oct. 23, 1579 a Bible and Psalmbook had to be in every well-to-do family of Scotland, then the Northern dialect could not long hold its own as a literary language, and with the end of the sixteenth century Modern English was the only medium of literary intercourse in all sections of England. Interesting as it would be to treat of the diflTerent living dialects of the English language S* Germanic Dialects. want of space and time prevents us from following this sub- jiBct further. Cp. Fowler, W. C. The English Language. New York, 1872. Pauli, E., Die Politik Wilhelms des Eroberers. Gotha, 1876, Freemann, E. A., The History of the Norman Conquest of Eng- land, Vol. V, The Effects of the Norman Conquest. Oxford, 1876. Freeman, E. A., and Gardiner, L. R., Hietorv of England. In Encyclopedia Britannica. New York, 1880, VIII, p. 263 sqq. Marsh, G. P., Orjgin and History of the English Language. Lon- don, 1862. , Lectures on the English Language. London, 1862. Koch, C. F., Historische Grammatik der Englischen Sprache. Weimar, 1863. Earle, J., The Philology of the English Tongue, Oxford, 1866. March, F. A., Comparative Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Lan- guage. New York, 1870. Morris, R., Elementary Lessons in Historical English Grammar. London, 1874. Sweet. H., On Dialects and Prehistoric Forms of English. Philo- logical Society, 1877. Weymouth, R. L., On Early English Pronunciation. London, 1874. Stubbs, W., The Constitutional History of England in its Origin and History, I-III. Oxford, 1874. Gneist, R., Englische Verfassnngsgeschichte. Berlin, 1882. Prutz, H., Staatengescbichte des Abendlandes, Bd. II, Berlin, 1887, p. 63 sqq. Die Entstehung des englischen Staats. Scheibner, 0., Ueber die Herrschaft der franz. Sprache in Eng- land. Annaberg, 1880. Hingeston, F. C, Royal and histor, letters. London, 1860. Corbett, Parliamentary History, VIII, 858, 860 sqq. Budinsky, A., Die Universitat Paris und die Fremden an derselben im Mittelalter. Berlin, 1876. Anstey, Monumenta Academica. London, 1868. I, p. LXX. Kluge, F. K., Geschichte der englischen Sprache, in "Paul's Grundriss." Strassburg, 1898, p. 928 sqq, Lyte, History of the University of Oxford. London, 1886. Pogatscher, A., Zur Lautlebre der griech., latoin. und roman- ischen Lehnworte im Altenglischen. Strassburg, 1888. ten Brink, Chaucer's Sprache und Verskunst. Leipzig, 1884. , For bibliofiraphv on dialects see Wright, "Englische Mundarten." in Grundriss der germanischen Philologie. Strassburg, 1891. B. I, Hft. 5, p. 975 sqq. Dutch is the last member of the Low German family of languages to be considered, found to-day in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and in the northern half of the Kingdom of Belgium, as also in the Dutch colonies of South Africa and the West and East Indies. The Frisian dialect was formerly Germanic Dialects, 93 the predominent form of speech in all sections along the sea throughout the provinces of Groeningen, Friesland and North Holland. But the Frisians had neither superiority of culture nor political preponderance enough to secure the assimilation of the adjoining populations, who in the east spoke Low Saxon, and in the south Low Frankieh. On the other hand, the long intercourse with the Romans had elevated the Franks to a higher plane of culture, and as to political ambition and aggressiveness, no other German tribe or confederation could compare with them. The Frankish dialect was considerably extended in the time of Charlemagne, and if Latin had not been used in all official documents emanating from the author- ities, perhaps Frankish might have besome at that time the vehicle of all literary intercourse. As it was, the dialects held their sway and multiplied rather than attained uniformity. But Low Frankish was destined to gain supremacy over Frisian and Low Saxon. The inhabitants of Flanders and other parts of Southern Netherland had always continued in close intercourse with their brethren in France, and the literary productions put fopth in France during and after the Crusades were diligently translated into the Low Frankish or the so-called Dietsch dialect. Holland, Zealand and Utrecht in their turn were closely connected with Southern Netherland, and as the Frisian, Saxon and Low Frankish dialects still showed sufficient similarity to be considered for all practical purposes one language, the Dietsch reproductions of French literary works readily found their way northwards. The total subjugation of the Northern provinces by the Counts of Hol- land and the Bishops of Utrecht made Dietsch the language of the dominant, Frisian and Saxon the idioms of the con- quered race. This language of the aristocracy and clergy was made popular through the eminent literary works of such men as Jacob van Maerlant (-|-1291), Jan van Boendale (1280- 1365), Jan de Weert (4-1362), and Melis Stoke (his "Rhymed Chronicle" was composed in 1305), and has since been the predominent dialect for literary and verbal intercourse through- out the Netherlands. The consonatism of the Dutch language is similar to that of other Low German languages. Instead of the English th we find, as in Modern High and Low German, d substituted. 94 Gern In its vocalism Dutch shows a complete relationship to Low Frankish, Saxon and Frisian in the order named. As to the dialects of Dutch I refer to the excellent work of "Ian Te Winkel, Geschichte der Niederlaendischen Sprache." The subject has been treated by him in such an extensive and masterly way that a further consideration in this short treatise seems superfluous. I might state, th ugh, that all dialects belong to one or the other of the three W( 11 defined groups, Low Frankish, Saxon and Frisian. The first is spoken in Guelderland excepting the country of Zutphen, Utrecht, North and South Holland, Zealand, North Brabant and Lim burg, the Saxon dialect in Groningen, Drenthe, Overyssel and Zutphen, the Frisian in Friesland. Cp. Winkel, J., Geschichte der niederlaendischen Sprache, Straas- burg, 1898. Frank, J., Mittelniederlaendische Grammatik. Leipszig, 1883. Helten. W. L. von, Middelnederlandsche Spraakkunst. Gron- ingen, 1886. Behaghel, 0., Heinrich's von Yeldeke Eneide. Heilbronn, 1882. Verdam, J., Middelnederlandsch "Woordenboek. Gravelingen. In course of publication since 1882. A-M has been published. Stallaert, E. F., Glossarium van verouderde Becbtstermen. In course of publication since 1886. Petit, L. D., Bibliographie der middell. Taal- en Letterkunde, Leiden, 1888. Schueren, G. van der, Teuthonista of Duytschlender. Coin, 1475- 1477. New revised edition by J. Verdam, Leiden, 1886. Frank, J., Etymologiscb Woordenboek der Ned. Taal. Gravelin- gen, 1892. Vries, M. de. Winkel, L. A. te etc., Woordenboek der Neder- landsche Taal. In course of publication since 1864. A and G are complete, B, and H only partially. A brief review of our treatise shows that the Eastern division of Germanic languages is divided into two principal groups, the Scandinavian and the Gothic, the latter not any more a living language, the former today living in four dis- tinct languages, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish; that the West Germanic division is divided into two groups, the High and Low German, the former living today as the so- called "Deutsche Sprache," being also represented in various forms by the many dialects of South and Midland Germany, the latter represented by the Dutch and English languages and the many dialects as spoken in the country districts of North Germany.