How To Read German Script
A genealogists guide to deciphering old german script If youve ever dabbled in genealogy you know that reading the print on old documents can be a daunting task. The capital s the middle s an s in the middle of a word such as Meisner and an end s an s used at the end of a word such as Johannes.
Before the 1940s most records in German-speaking areas as well as surname books newspapers journals and gazetteers used a Gothic font called Fraktur.
How to read german script. 3 the normal long s is for the center of a word the round ending s is used at the end of the word. This script was also used for North American German-language documents such as Birth and Death records Diaries -- particularly those of the Moravian Missions. Handwritten documents were composed in cursive using a type of script known as blackletter.
There was much excitement on my part last year when I uncovered 15 records on my family members all written in old German script. German writers used both cursive styles Kurrent and Latin cursive in parallel. I even practiced the latter since I dabble in calligraphy.
Moreover it will make it easier to read old block letters. Why Our Ancestors Wrote in the Old German Script and How This Effects You 2. Reading German Script with Alte Deustche Handschriften A crucial skill for genealogists with German ancestry.
Sometimes you will see what appears to be a capital B in the middle of a word. I have selected the Kurrent script which was in common usage in 1900. Location contents and context of the text determined which script style to use.
The first letter shown is used at the beginning of a lowercase word or a syllable ie. Selecting the appropriate font. Learn to Sight-Read the Individual Letters of the Alphabet.
Once you have learned this particular script and its characteristic features you will discover that it becomes far easier to decipher the preceding and subsequent German scripts. Sütterlin is a modern script based on Kurrent that is characterized by simplified letters and vertical strokes. Reading the Old German Handwriting ONLINe COURSEs There are 3 COURSE SECTIONS.
The old script has three different letters for an s. Enter up to 35 characters of text and then choose from the eight possibilities. 1 with the e the second hook is connected at the top with the n the second hook is connected at the bottom.
Resolute to be able to read these I sought out and watched every video and webinar I could find on the internet related to this old alphabet. Write these particular scripts. The final is the capital S used for nouns always capital in German and names.
How to Read the Valiant Vowels of the Old German Script - Uppercase and Lowercase. Gain a foundation of how to write and read the letters of the old German script by watching 10. The second s is used at the end of a syllableword ie.
Sections A B C can be taken individually or purchased together as a complete learning package. Discover the Must-Know Vocabulary in German Genealogy Records. To help you get to that basic level is a font generator found on.
Not only is the writing hard to read especially on documents that have not been well maintained but the formation of the letters is often different from what we see today. Notoriously difficult to read the Fraktur form of blackletter has been giving German genealogy researchers fits for centuries. In schreiben to write.
It was developed in 1911 and taught in all German schools as the primary script from 1935 until the beginning of January 1941. Video Lectures - Flashcards - Matching Games - Reading - Writing - Tests Quizzes - Practice Words - Discussion Forum - All Self-Paced. Germanic Alphabet Chart Deciphering the handwriting or print of Germanic documents may be the greatest challenge in researching your Germanic roots.
2 the u gets a curving line over it nn has an straight line. Youll walk away knowing.
