Early Modern German
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Early New High German (ENHG) is a term for the period in the history of the German language generally defined, following
Wilhelm Scherer Wilhelm Scherer (26 April 18416 August 1886) was a German philologist and historian of literature. He was known as a positivist because he based much of his work on "hypotheses on detailed historical research, and rooted every literary phenomeno ...
, as the period 1350 to 1650. The term is the standard translation of the German (Fnhd., Frnhd.), introduced by Scherer. The term ''Early Modern High German'' is also occasionally used for this period (but the abbreviation EMHG is generally used for '' Early Middle High German'').


Periodisation

The start and end dates of ENHG are, like all linguistic
periodisation In historiography, periodization is the process or study of categorizing the past into discrete, quantified, and named blocks of time for the purpose of study or analysis.Adam Rabinowitz. It's about time: historical periodization and Linked Ancie ...
s, somewhat arbitrary. In spite of many alternative suggestions, Scherer's dates still command widespread acceptance. Linguistically, the mid-14th century is marked by the phonological changes to the
vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
system that characterise the modern standard language; the mid-17th sees the loss of status for regional forms of language, and the triumph of German over
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
as the dominant, and then sole, language for public discourse. Scherer's dates also have the merit of coinciding with two major demographic catastrophes with linguistic consequences: the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
, and the end of the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
. Arguably, the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
in 1648, by ending religious wars and creating a Germany of many small sovereign states, brought about the essential political conditions for the final development of a universally acceptable standard language in the subsequent
New High German New High German (NHG; german: Neuhochdeutsch (Nhd.)) is the term used for the most recent period in the history of the German language, starting in the 17th century. It is a loan translation of the German (). The most important characteristic o ...
period. Alternative periodisations take the period to begin later, such as the invention of printing with moveable type in the 1450s.


Geographical variation

There was no standard Early New High German, and all forms of language display some local or regional characteristics. However, there was increasing harmonisation in the written and printed word, the start of developments towards the unified standard which was codified in the New High German period.


Dialects

With the end of eastward expansion, the geographical spread and the
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
map of German in the ENHG period remained the same as at the close of the MHG period.


, "printers' languages"

Since the printers had a commercial interest in making their texts acceptable to a wide readership, they often strove to avoid purely local forms of language. This gave rise to so-called ("printers' languages"), which are not necessarily identical to the spoken dialect of the town where the press was located. The most important centres of printing, with their regional are: *
West Central German West Central German (german: Westmitteldeutsch) belongs to the Central, High German dialect family of German. Its dialects are Franconian and comprise the parts of the Rhinelandic continuum located south of the Benrath line isogloss, including ...
:
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
,
Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
,
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
*
East Central German East Central German or East Middle German (german: Ostmitteldeutsch) is the eastern non- Franconian Central German language and is part of High German. Present-day Standard German as a High German variant, has actually developed from a compromi ...
:
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
,
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
, Leipzig * Swabian:
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
,
Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
,
Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...
*
Alemannic Alemannic (''Alamannic'') or Alamanni may refer to: * Alemannic German, a dialect family in the Upper German branch of the German languages and its speakers * Alemanni, a confederation of Suebian Germanic tribes in the Roman period * Alamanni (surna ...
:
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
,
Strassburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the E ...
,
Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
*
East Franconian East Franconian (german: Ostfränkisch) or Mainfränkisch, usually referred to as Franconian (') in German, is a dialect which is spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, ...
:
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
,
Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...
,
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...
*
Austro-Bavarian Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian. Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million peop ...
:
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
, Vienna.


Chancery languages

While the language of the printers remained regional, the period saw the gradual development of two forms of German (one Upper German, one Central German), which were supra-regional: the ("written languages", "documentary languages") of the chanceries of the two main political centres. * The ("common German") of the Chancery of the
Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...
and his successors in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
and then Vienna. * The
East Central German East Central German or East Middle German (german: Ostmitteldeutsch) is the eastern non- Franconian Central German language and is part of High German. Present-day Standard German as a High German variant, has actually developed from a compromi ...
of the Chancery of the
Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...
in
Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
The language of these centres had influence well beyond their own territorial and dialect boundaries. The influence of the Saxon Chancery was due in part to its adoption for his own published works by Martin Luther, who stated, "" ("My language is based on that of the Saxon Chancery, which is followed by all the princes and kings in Germany"). He also recognized the standardising force of the two chanceries: "" ("The Emperor Maximilian and Duke Frederick, Elector of Saxony etc., have drawn the languages of Germany together").


Low German

Middle Low German Middle Low German or Middle Saxon (autonym: ''Sassisch'', i.e. " Saxon", Standard High German: ', Modern Dutch: ') is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented i ...
, spoken across the whole of
Northern Germany Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...
north of the Benrath Line in the
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, was a distinct
West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages). The West Germanic branch is classically subdivided into t ...
language. From the start of the 16th century, however, High German came increasingly to be used in this area not only in writing but also in the pulpit and in schools. By the end of the ENHG period, Low German had almost completely ceased to be used in writing or in formal and public speech and had become the low-status variant in a diglossic situation, with High German as the high-status variant.


Phonology and orthography

For a number of reasons it is not possible to give a single phonological system for ENHG: * dialectal variation * the differing times at which individual dialects introduced even shared sound changes * the lack of a prestige variant (such as the "Dichtersprache" provides for
Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...
) Also, the difficulty of deriving phonological information from the complexity of ENHG orthography means that many reference works do not treat orthography and phonology separately for this period.


Vowels

The MHG vowel system undergoes significant changes in the transition to ENHG and their uneven geographical distribution has served to further differentiate the modern dialects.


Diphthongization

The long high vowels , and (spelt , and ) are diphthongized to , and , spelt , and . In many dialects they fall together with the original MHG diphthongs , and , which are all lowered. Examples: *MHG ''snîden'' ("to cut") > NHG ''schneiden'' *MHG ''hût'' ("skin") > NHG ''Haut'' *MHG ''liute'' ("people") > NHG ''Leute''. This change started as early as the 12th century in Upper Bavarian, and only reached Moselle Franconian in the 16th century. It does not affect Alemannic or Ripuarian dialects, which still retain the original long vowels. The map shows the distribution and chronology of this sound change. In Bavarian, the original diphthongs are monophthongized, avoiding a merger with the new diphthongs.


Monophthongisation

The MHG falling diphthongs , and (spelt , and ) are monophthongised, replacing the long high vowels lost in the diphthongisation. In the case of > the MHG spelling is retained and in Modern German indicates the long vowel. Examples: *MHG ''liebe'' ("love) > NHG ''Liebe'' *MHG ''bruoder'' ("brother") > NHG ''Bruder'' *MHG ''brüeder'' ("brothers") > NHG ''Brüder'' This change, sometimes called the Central German Monophthongisation, affects mainly the Central German dialects, along with South Franconian and East Franconian. The other Upper German dialects largely retain the original diphthongs.


Changes in vowel quantity

There are two changes in vowel quantity in ENHG, the lengthening of short vowels and the shortening of long vowels. Both show wide variation between dialects but appear earlier and more completely in Central German dialects. Many individual words form exceptions to these changes, though the lengthening is carried out more consistently. 1. Lengthening: MHG short vowels in open syllables (that is, syllables that end in a vowel) tend to be lengthened in the ENHG period. This is not reflected directly in spelling, but it is the source of the Modern German spelling convention that a vowel ending a syllable is always long. Examples: *MHG ''sagen'' ("to say") > NHG ''sagen'' *MHG ''übel'' ("evil") > NHG ''Übel'' 2. Shortening: MHG long vowels tend to be shortened in the ENHG period before certain consonants (, and others) and before certain consonant combinations (, , and , , , followed by another consonant). Examples: *MHG ''hât'' ("has") > NHG ''hat'' *MHG ''dâhte'' ("thought") > NHG ''dachte'' *MHG ''lêrche'' ("lark") > NHG ''Lerche'' *MHG ''jâmer'' ("suffering") > NHG ''Jammer'' This shortening seems to have taken place later than the monophthongisation, since the long vowels which result from that change are often shortened. Examples: *MHG ''muoter'' ("mother" > NHG ''Mutter'' (via ) *MHG ''lieht'' ("light" > NHG ''Licht'' (via )


Consonants

The overall consonant system of German remains largely unchanged in the transition from MHG to Modern German. However, in many cases sounds changed in particular environments and therefore changed in distribution. Some of the more significant are the following. (In addition, there are many other changes in particular dialects or in particular words.)


#MHG had two sibilants, written / and /. The difference between these is uncertain, but in ENHG both fell together in . (The affricate , for which is also used, remained unchanged.) #Before vowels this becomes voiced to , e.g. MHG ''sehen'' ("to see") > NHG ''sehen'' . #Initially before consonants becomes , indicated by the grapheme , e.g. MHG ''snîden'' ("to cut") > NHG ''schneiden'' . Before and this is not indicated in spelling, e.g. MHG ''stein'' ("stone") > NHG ''Stein'' .


#In initial position the bilabial fricative becomes the labio-dental , though this is not reflected in any change in spelling, e.g. MHG ''wil'' ("want to") > NHG ''will'' . In a few words, this also takes place between vowels, e.g. ''ewig'' ("eternal"). #Otherwise it is either lost, e.g. MHG ''snėwes'' ("of the snow") > NHG ''Schnees'', or forms a diphthong with a neighbouring vowel (e.g. MHG ''brâwe'' ("brow") > NHG ''Braue''.


#Medial is lost, though it remains in spelling to indicate the length of the preceding vowel, e.g. MHG ''sehen'' ("to see") > NHG ''sehen'' . The loss of and the : contrast are the only structural changes to the consonant system.


Morphology

As with phonology, the range of variation between dialects and time periods makes it impossible to cite a unified morphology for ENHG. The sound changes of the vowels had which brought consequent changes to *
verb conjugation In linguistics, conjugation () is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection (alteration of form according to rules of grammar). For instance, the verb ''break'' can be conjugated to form the words ''break'', ...
s * further simplification of the
noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...
declensions


Syntax

The following are the main syntactical developments in ENHG: *Noun phrase **Increasing complexity: in chancery documents noun phrases increasingly incorporate prepositional and participial phases, and this development spreads from there to other types of formal and official writing. **Attributive genitive: the so-called "
Saxon genitive In English, possessive words or phrases exist for nouns and most pronouns, as well as some noun phrases. These can play the roles of determiners (also called possessive adjectives when corresponding to a pronoun) or of nouns. For nouns, noun ph ...
", in which the genitive phrase precedes the noun (e.g. ''der sunnen schein'', literally "of-the-sun shine") increasingly makes way for the now standard, post-nominal construction (e.g. ''der schein der sonne'', literally "the shine of the sun"), though it remains the norm where the noun in the genitive is a proper noun (''Marias Auto''). *Verb phrase **Increasing complexity: more complex verbal constructions with participles and infinitives. **Verb position: the positioning of verbal components characteristic of NHG (finite verb second in main clauses, first in subordinate clauses; non-finite verb forms in clause-final position) gradually becomes firmly established. **Decline of the preterite: an earlier development in the spoken language (especially in Upper German), the replacement of simple preterite forms by perfect forms with an auxiliary verb and the past participle becomes increasingly common from the 17th century. **Negation: double negation ceases to be acceptable as an intensified negation; the enclitic negative particle ''ne/en'' falls out of use and an adverb of negation (''nicht'', ''nie'') becomes obligatory (e.g.MHG ''ine weiz (niht)'', ENHG ''ich weiss nicht'', "I don't know"). *Case government **Decline of the genitive: Verbs that take a genitive object increasingly replace this with an accusative object or a prepositional phrase. Prepositions that govern the genitive likewise tend to switch to the accusative.


Literature

The period saw the invention of printing with moveable type (c.1455) and the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
(from 1517). Both of these were significant contributors to the development of the Modern German Standard language, as they further promoted the development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area – even the illiterate, who were read ''to''. The most important single text of the period was
Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...
's
Bible translation The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. all of the Bible has been translated into 724 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,617 languages, and ...
, the first part of which was published in 1522, though this is now not credited with the central role in creating the standard that was once attributed to it. This is also the first period in which
prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...
works, both literary and discursive, became more numerous and more important than verse.


Example texts


The Gospel of John, 1:1–5


From ''Fortunatus''


See also

*
Early Modern English Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...
*
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
* German literature of the Baroque period *
Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...
*
New High German New High German (NHG; german: Neuhochdeutsch (Nhd.)) is the term used for the most recent period in the history of the German language, starting in the 17th century. It is a loan translation of the German (). The most important characteristic o ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Primary Sources

* * * * *


Further reading


Grammar

* 7 vols. * (Reprint of 1909 edition)


Dictionaries

* Alfred Götze. ''Frühneuhochdeutsches Glossar.'' 2. Aufl. Bonn 1920 (= ''Kleine Texte für Vorlesungen und Übungen,'' 101); 5. Aufl. Berlin 1956; Neudrucke 1960 u. ö. The second edition (1920) is online: archive.org. * Christa Baufeld, ''Kleines frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch.'' Niemeyer, Tübingen 1996, . * ''Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch.'' Hrsg. von Robert R. Anderson ür Bd. 1/ Ulrich Goebel / Anja Lobenstein-Reichmann ür die Bände 5, 6, 11–13und Oskar Reichmann. Berlin / New York 1989 ff.


External links


Early New High German texts
(German Wikisource)
Luther's translation of the New Testament
(German Wikisource) {{Authority control History of the German language High German languages German, High