English & Its Closest Relatives, Part Three/Final
To answer a question by a reader, English is not Low German, but the Germanic dialects in and around the ancestral homeland of English in northern Germany did not undergo what is called by linguists, "the High German sound shift." Of course neither did English (Anglo-Saxon), as it was by then in England. English does come from Germanic dialects that were unaffected by the sound shift, and the closely related dialects, predominately Saxon, that remained in that area of northern Germany came to form Low German; thus, while English is technically not Low German, it is very closely related. This is a good lead in to High German.
High German is also a close relative of English, and it too is West Germanic. The reason it is called "high" is, it developed in the more hilly and outright mountainous areas of what are now modern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. During a period between about 500 A.D. to 700 A.D.the southern Germanic dialects underwent a "sound shift;" that is, pronunciation of certain sounds changed. High German became the basis for modern German, but with some Low German influences. Regular readers have undoubtedly seen the noticeable variation in spelling for words of Germanic background, even some that were borrowed from non Germanic sources, when I list close relatives of English words. That is largely because of this sound shift from hundreds of years ago.* The English and Low German "p" sound, often because High German "pf;" thus English has "pipe," but High German has "Pfeife," and it is indeed pronounced as "pfifeh," with the "i" being long. Similarly, we have "pan," and German has "Pfanne," we have "apple," but German has "Apfel." Further, a syllable or word ending "p" sound, became an "f" sound in High German; thus English has "sheep," but German has "Schaaf." We have "sleep," but German has "schlaf(en)." The same happened with ending "t" sounds, which became "s" or "ss" in German; thus English has "out," but German has "aus" (German "au" is pronounced like English "ou" or "ow," as in "how"). English has "eat," but German has "ess(en)," and we have "kettle," but German has "Kessel." Other changes also took place, but you get the idea. German is spoken by about 100 million people, most naturally in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein, as well as parts of France (especially in Alsace and less so in Lorraine). German is not uncommon outside of Europe, including in the United States, Brazil, and parts of southern Africa (Germany had colonies there for a time). Keep in mind, there are many dialects (variations) of High German, even though "standard" forms of High German are taught in schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
"Frankish," usually rendered as "Franconian" in English, is not a true language as such, but rather a group of Germanic dialects, although modern Dutch comes from Frankish,** which traces back to the large Germanic tribe, the Franks.*** Various Frankish-derived dialects are spoken in Belgium, France and western Germany, including Hessian ("Hessisch"). These various dialects are all also closely related to English.
* Not all spelling variations are the result of this sound shift, but many simply reflect pure differences in representing sounds, or variations in pronunciation. Remember, all English speaking people do not pronounce words the same, nor are all words necessarily spelled the same. In German spelling, for example, "ie" is pronounced as English long "e," and German "ei" is pronounced as English long "i."
** Afrikaans was spawned by Dutch in southern Africa a few centuries ago, and as such it too traces back to Frankish. It is now considered a language in its own right, rather than as a Dutch dialect.
*** The Franks conquered or occupied much of what is today France (named after them), Belgium, the Netherlands, and western Germany. Historical finds in England indicate some Franks also participated, along with the Angles and Saxons, in the Germanic invasion of Britain, which led to the establishment of England and of English.
WORD HISTORY:
Long-This is the verb meaning "yearn for, have desire for." Like the adjective form, the verb goes back to Indo European "dlonghos," which meant "long." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "langojanan," with the main meaning being "to make long, to grow long, to lengthen," but also with the additional figurative meaning "yearn for, desire," from the notion of "yearning makes time seem long." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "langian," with the basic meaning "to yearn for, to desire, to grieve after." This later became "longen," before the modern version. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "verlangen," which has several meanings, among which are "to want, to desire, to long for, to crave;" Low German Saxon has "längen," meaning "to crave, to long for," Dutch has "verlangen," meaning "desire strongly," Frisian has "ferlangje," meaning "to desire," Danish has "længes," meaning "yearn for," Norwegian has " lengte," meaning "yearn or long for," Icelandic has "löngun," meaning "to desire," and Swedish has "länge," "to long for."
High German is also a close relative of English, and it too is West Germanic. The reason it is called "high" is, it developed in the more hilly and outright mountainous areas of what are now modern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. During a period between about 500 A.D. to 700 A.D.the southern Germanic dialects underwent a "sound shift;" that is, pronunciation of certain sounds changed. High German became the basis for modern German, but with some Low German influences. Regular readers have undoubtedly seen the noticeable variation in spelling for words of Germanic background, even some that were borrowed from non Germanic sources, when I list close relatives of English words. That is largely because of this sound shift from hundreds of years ago.* The English and Low German "p" sound, often because High German "pf;" thus English has "pipe," but High German has "Pfeife," and it is indeed pronounced as "pfifeh," with the "i" being long. Similarly, we have "pan," and German has "Pfanne," we have "apple," but German has "Apfel." Further, a syllable or word ending "p" sound, became an "f" sound in High German; thus English has "sheep," but German has "Schaaf." We have "sleep," but German has "schlaf(en)." The same happened with ending "t" sounds, which became "s" or "ss" in German; thus English has "out," but German has "aus" (German "au" is pronounced like English "ou" or "ow," as in "how"). English has "eat," but German has "ess(en)," and we have "kettle," but German has "Kessel." Other changes also took place, but you get the idea. German is spoken by about 100 million people, most naturally in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein, as well as parts of France (especially in Alsace and less so in Lorraine). German is not uncommon outside of Europe, including in the United States, Brazil, and parts of southern Africa (Germany had colonies there for a time). Keep in mind, there are many dialects (variations) of High German, even though "standard" forms of High German are taught in schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
"Frankish," usually rendered as "Franconian" in English, is not a true language as such, but rather a group of Germanic dialects, although modern Dutch comes from Frankish,** which traces back to the large Germanic tribe, the Franks.*** Various Frankish-derived dialects are spoken in Belgium, France and western Germany, including Hessian ("Hessisch"). These various dialects are all also closely related to English.
* Not all spelling variations are the result of this sound shift, but many simply reflect pure differences in representing sounds, or variations in pronunciation. Remember, all English speaking people do not pronounce words the same, nor are all words necessarily spelled the same. In German spelling, for example, "ie" is pronounced as English long "e," and German "ei" is pronounced as English long "i."
** Afrikaans was spawned by Dutch in southern Africa a few centuries ago, and as such it too traces back to Frankish. It is now considered a language in its own right, rather than as a Dutch dialect.
*** The Franks conquered or occupied much of what is today France (named after them), Belgium, the Netherlands, and western Germany. Historical finds in England indicate some Franks also participated, along with the Angles and Saxons, in the Germanic invasion of Britain, which led to the establishment of England and of English.
WORD HISTORY:
Long-This is the verb meaning "yearn for, have desire for." Like the adjective form, the verb goes back to Indo European "dlonghos," which meant "long." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "langojanan," with the main meaning being "to make long, to grow long, to lengthen," but also with the additional figurative meaning "yearn for, desire," from the notion of "yearning makes time seem long." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "langian," with the basic meaning "to yearn for, to desire, to grieve after." This later became "longen," before the modern version. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "verlangen," which has several meanings, among which are "to want, to desire, to long for, to crave;" Low German Saxon has "längen," meaning "to crave, to long for," Dutch has "verlangen," meaning "desire strongly," Frisian has "ferlangje," meaning "to desire," Danish has "længes," meaning "yearn for," Norwegian has " lengte," meaning "yearn or long for," Icelandic has "löngun," meaning "to desire," and Swedish has "länge," "to long for."
Labels: English, etymology, Frankish, German, Germanic languages, High German, High German sound shift, Hochdeutsch, Oberdeutsch
posted by Randy at 9:56 AM
2 Comments:
Johnnie did U see the ad here for learnGerman for free?
That was my question about English and Low German. Thanks for answering.
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